2020 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID Complaints

VEHICLE PURCHASED 5/12/20. ON 5/22/20, AT ODO 84 MILES, ON STARTUP, VEHICLE DISPLAYED POWERTRAIN FAULT - ILLUMINATES WHEN A POWERTRAIN OR AWD FAULT HAS BEEN DETECTED. CONTACT YOUR AUTHORIZED DEALER AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. VEHICLE FLAT BED TOWED TO SUNSTATE FORD WEST COLONIAL DR ORLANDO FL (PURCHASE DEALERSHIP). SERVICE TEAM HAD VEHICLE 5 DAYS. CLEARED CODES U0131, U0100, U0140, U0155, U0198, U0253, U0257, P0919, U0212, U023A, U0103, U0111, U0121, U013F, U0159, U0232, U0233, U0293, U0401, U0415, U0420, U0424, U0531, U0101, U0418, U0429, U0146. 4 MILE TEST DRIVE. 20 MILE DRIVE RETURNED VEHICLE WITH NO CAUSE OR CORRECTION. ONLY EXPLAINED POWERTRAIN FAILURE COULD NOT BE REPLICATED. SINCE RETURN, REAR AUTOMATIC LIFTGATE INTERMITTENT FAILURE, BACK UP CAMERA FAILURE, HEADLINER DROP AT FRONT PASSENGER AND DRIVER DOOR SEAL. *TR

VEHICLE HAS <500 MILES ON IT. HEADLINER DROPPING BELOW DOOR TRIM ON BOTH FRONT DRIVER AND PASSENGER SIDE. *TR

I RECEIVED A NOTOFICATION FOR A "FIELD SERVICE ACTION" 20B14 FOR A POWETRAIN CONTROL MODULE UPDATE ON MY 2020 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID DUE TO "STOP SAFELY NOW" AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHT AND DTC'S P0340 AND P0340 I TOOK IT IN TO THE DEALERSHIP ON 23 APRIL 2020 FOR THE UPDATE, I WAS THEN INFORMED MY MY SERVICE ADVISOR THAT THIS UPDATE IS NOW ON INDEFINITE HOLD DUE TO THE UPDAYE CAUSING ADDITIONAL FAULT CODES ON THE ELECTRONIC POWER STERRING AND OTHER SYSTEMS. HE ALSO PROVIDED ME WITH A LETTER FROM DAVID J. JOHNSON DIRECTOR SERVICE ENGINEERING OPERATIONS TAHT WAS SENT TO ALL FORD AND LINCOLN DEALERS PLACING "NEW VEHICLE DEMONSTRATION/DELVERY HOLD ON ALL IN STOCK VEHICLES UNTIL THE FIELD SERVICE ACTION CAN BE PERFORMED. I WILL ATTACH THIS LETTER TO MY COMPLAINT. MY QUESTION/CONCERN IS, THAT IF FORD DEEMS THESE VEHICLES UNSAFE TO DRIVE FOR DEMONSTRATIONS DRIVES AND DELIVERY, WHY DOES FORD CONSIDER THEM SAFE ENOUGH FOR MYSELF AND MY FAMILY TO DRIVE ON A DAILY BASIS?

MULTIPLE TIMES VEHICLE HAS SAID STOP SAFELY NOW WHILE DRIVING AND LIMITED ME TO ENOUGH POWER TO MAINTAIN 15MPH AT THE MOST. THIS HAS HAPPENED AT HIGHER SPEEDS AND HAS REQUIRED PULLING TO THE SHOULDER.

UNEXPECTED "STOP SAFELY NOW" WARNING APPEARED ON INSTRUMENT CLUSTER WHILE TRAVELING ON THE INTERSTATE. ENGINE LOST POWER AND WAS ON BATTERY-ONLY (HYBRID VEHICLE). PULLED OVER, AND ENGINE SHUT OFF COMPLETELY. UNABLE TO RE-START ENGINE IMMEDIATELY AFTER. DEALERSHIP STATED "ENGINE/DRIVETRAIN FAULT" BUT FOUND NOTHING. THAT WAS ON FEBRUARY 14TH A 1,875 MILES ON THE ODOMETER, AND THE WARNING/LOSS OF POWER HAPPENED AGAIN ON MARCH 2, 2020 WITH 2,003 MILES ON THE ODOMETER. ALSO NOTE: THERE ARE ADDITIONAL 2020 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID OWNERS REPORTING THIS ISSUE ON FORDESCAPE.ORG UNDER THE "STOP SAFETY NOW" FORUM TOPIC.

WHILE STEADILY DRIVING AT 40 MPH ON A TWO-LANE HIGHWAY, I SUDDENLY LOST ENGINE POWER AND SIMULTANEOUSLY RECEIVED A WARNING MESSAGE ON THE DRIVER'S DISPLAY TO STOP VEHICLE SAFELY NOW. I WAS ABLE TO DRIVE TO WHERE ROAD HAD A SHOULDER, BUT THE CAR'S SPEED WAS LIMITED TO MAYBE 10 MPH EVEN WITH THE ACCELERATOR PRESSED. (THE CAR IS A HYBRID, BUT HAD ONLY VERY LIMITED PROPULSIVE POWER IN WHAT SEEMED TO BE AN ELECTRIC MODE.) THE GAS ENGINE DID NOT KICK IN EVEN WHEN THE ACCELERATOR WAS PRESSED. AFTER UNSUCCESSFULLY TRYING TO TROUBLESHOOT THE PROBLEM USING THE OWNER'S MANUAL, I PRESSED THE START/STOP BUTTON TO TURN OFF THE CAR, THEN PRESSED IT AGAIN TO RESTART. THE GAS ENGINE STARTED, I REGAINED THE ABILITY TO ACCELERATE, AND THE CAR APPEARED TO FUNCTION NORMALLY. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE CAR WAS TOWED TO TWO DEALERSHIPS TO DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM. THE MANUFACTURER HAS BEEN CONTACTED AND THE PROBLEM HAS BEEN "ESCALATED" AS EFFORTS CONTINUE TO FURTHER DIAGNOSE AND THEN CORRECT THE PROBLEM. AT THE TIME OF THE INCIDENT, THE CAR'S HEATER WAS ON, AS WERE THE DAYTIME RUNNING LIGHTS. THE RADIO WAS PROBABLY ON. THE NAVIGATION SCREEN WAS DISPLAYED BUT WE WERE NOT USING THE GPS TO NAVIGATE. MY CELL PHONE WAS NOT ON, BUT IT WAS LYING ON THE CONSOLE. (I BELIEVE THERE IS A LARGE CELL PHONE TOWER WITHIN SEVERAL HUNDRED YARDS OF WHERE THE INCIDENT OCCURRED.) THE CAR HAD LESS THAN 500 MILES ON IT. ONE OF THE DEALERSHIPS RECEIVED A DIAGNOSTIC CODE P1AOC WHEN TESTING THE CAR. I WAS TOLD THIS MEANS THAT A "SYSTEM OVERLOAD" WAS DETECTED. IN RESPONSE TO THE CODE, I WAS TOLD THAT THE SYSTEM WAS "RESET" AND THEN CHECKED FOR UPDATES. I AM AWAITING FURTHER NEWS FROM THE SECOND DEALERSHIP.