2008 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID Complaints

MY 17 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER WAS DRIVING HOME APPROX 5:30 PM ON A BUSY FOUR LANE ROAD FROM AN ERRAND AND THE "STOP SAFELY NOW" LIGHT CAME ON. AT THAT POINT SHE COULD NOT GET OVER DUE TO TRAFFIC AND THE ENGINE SHUT OFF IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. SHE WAS ABLE TO COAST DOWN A HILL INTO A TURN LANE NEARLY HITTING AN ONCOMING CAR AND STOP THE CAR. WE ARRIVED ON THE SCENE AND WAS ABLE TO RESTART THE CAR AND BRING IT HOME. WE TOOK IT TO THE DEALER WHERE THEY WANTED TO REPLACE THE COOLANT MOTOR TO THE BATTERY WHICH WAS DEFECTIVE AND CAUSING THE HYBRID BATTERY TO OVERHEAT THEREBY SHUTTING DOWN THE ENGINE COMPLETELY. THIS IS TO PREVENT THE HYBRID BATTERY FROM OVERHEATING. I DO UNDERSTAND THE NEED FOR THIS TO ELIMINATE THE POSSIBILITY OF A FIRE, BUT THESE SHOULD BE REPLACED EVERY 50,000 MILES TO STOP THE ENGINE FROM SHUTTING OFF . WE WERE GETTING READY TO DRIVE ON A 600 MILE TRIP IN THIS CAR AND WOULD HAVE BEEN STRANDED ON THE HIGHWAY. THE WAY THE WARRANTY IS WRITTEN, IT IS NOT COVERED. AFTER RESEARCHING THE PROBLEM, THIS HAPPENS MORE FREQUENTLY ESPECIALLY AFTER 50,000 MILES. PLEASE INVESTIGATE AND PROVIDE A RECALL AND/OR FIX TO THIS PROBLEM ON THESE CARS. *TR

DURING A 300 MILE TRIP, THE FEH "STOP SAFELY NOW" WARNING CAME ON AND CAR SHUT DOWN. WE WERE ON A BUSY LA HIGHWAY AT THE TIME. WE WERE ABLE TO GET IT OFF THE HIGHWAY, READ UP ON THAT WARNING SYMBOL AND RESTARTED CAR WITHOUT ANOTHER INCIDENT THEN. 25 DAYS LATER, DRIVING THE CAR ON 45 MINUTE TRIP, 'STOP SAFELY NOW' LIGHT CAME ON REPEATEDLY. HAD TO PULL OVER SEVERAL TIMES, WAIT A FEW MINUTES AND RESTART CAR. AGAIN THIS WAS HIGHWAY DRIVING IN HEAVY TRAFFIC. THIS WAS VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION AND NO CAR SHOULD JUST SHUT DOWN WHILE YOU'RE DRIVING. *TR

DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY, ENGINE DECELERATED, RED TRIANGLE WARNING LIGHT APPEARED ON DASH, WITH DIRECTION TO GET OFF OF THE ROAD. I DID SO, TURNED OFF ENGINE AND WAITED A FEW MINUTES. ENGINE THEN RESTARTED WITHOUT WARNING LIGHT COMING ON. BETWEEN THAT EVENT AND ARRIVING HOME (APPROXIMATELY 10 MILES), THIS OCCURRED 5 MORE TIMES. THIS HAD NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE. RESEARCHING THIS ONLINE, THERE APPEAR TO BE HUNDREDS IF NOT THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WITH THE SAME EXPERIENCE. THIS NEEDS TO BE INVESTIGATED AND FORD NEEDS TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR RESOLVING THIS ISSUE. *TR

DRIVING ALONG, MY WIFE SUDDENLY NOTICED THAT BRAKING WAS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT. DASHBOARD STATES ABS SYSTEM FAILURE, AND REGEN SYSTEM FAILURE. SHE PULLED OVER AND TURNED CAR OFF. RESTARTING, FAILURE LIGHTS STILL COME UP, BRAKING STILL EXTREMELY DIFFICULT. A LOOK UNDER THE HOOD, AND THE BRAKE FLUID IS ALMOST COMPLETELY GONE! IT'D BEEN FILLED AT LAST OIL CHANGE (LESS THAN 1500 MILES AGO) TOOK CAR TO FORD DEALERSHIP. AFTER 2 DAYS, THEY DETERMINED THAT THE MASTER CYLINDER AND HCU NEEDED TO BE REPLACED, THAT THEY WOULD BE SPECIAL ORDER PARTS AND THAT IT'D COST EXTRA $ FOR REPAIRS DUE TO THE COMPLEXITY OF THE REPAIR. (I'D TOLD THE DEALERSHIP THAT I'D RESEARCHED AND THIS IS A VERY COMMON ISSUE, FORD HAS MANY TSBS OUT FOR THIS, CALLS INTO QUESTION THE TRAINING OR THE ABILITY OF THIS DEALERSHIP TO PROPERLY DO THE REPAIR) FORD IS THE ONLY SUPPLIER FOR PARTS FOR THIS PARTICULAR REPAIR, AND THEY CHARGE A PREMIUM PRICE FOR THEM! $7000 FOR PARTS AND LABOR TO REPAIR A SAFETY RELATED PROBLEM THAT FORD SHOULD BE VOLUNTARILY RECALLING. IF THEY'RE NOT GOING TO ISSUE A SAFETY RECALL, THEY SHOULD AT LEAST MAKE THE PARTS AVAILABLE FOR A LOT LESS MONEY! *TR CONSUMER TRADED THE VEHICLE IN JULY 2014 TO MARK MILLER TOYOTA IN SALT LAKE CITY, UT. UPDATED 6/8/18*JB

WHILE DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY, THE "STOP SAFELY NOW" LIT UP AFTER I FELT A JOLT TO THE CAR, WHICH THEN SLOWED DOWN. I REACHED THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND TURNED THE CAR OFF FOR A FEW MINUTES. UPON RESTARTING THE CAR THE RED SSN LIGHT WAS OFF AND I WAS ABLE TO REACH A QUALIFIED AUTO REPAIR. THEY RAN THE DIAGNOSTICS BUT WERE UNABLE TO SEE A PROBLEM AFTER GOING THROUGH THEIR CODE PROCESS, NOR RECREATE THE SSN ALERT. THIS FIRST HAPPENED ON FEBRUARY 27TH 2013. AGAIN, HAVING THREE CHILDREN IN THE CAR WITH ME AND TO HAVE THIS HAPPEN ON THE FREEWAY WAS (ON THE WAY TO DISNEYLAND) QUITE FRIGHTENING AND HAZARDOUS! I HAVE READ MANY MANY STORIES OF FEH OWNERS WITH THE SAME ISSUE! THIS IS A DEFECT TO THE CAR, AND NOT DUE TO NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR. IT IS A HUGE SAFETY CONCERN AND WHILE I WAS NOT INJURED, THE FACT THAT I HAD TO SUDDENLY SLOW DOWN AND PULL OVER COULD HAVE RESULTED IN OTHER CAR OWNERS ON THE FREEWAY BEING IN AN ACCIDENT. SERIOUSLY. *TR

I WAS DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY AT APPROXIMATELY 60 MPH WHEN ALL OF A SUDDEN MY STEERING WHEEL TIGHTENED UP WHERE IT MADE IT VERY DIFFICULT TO MANEUVER. FORTUNATELY, IT WASN'T A BUSY DAY AND I WAS ABLE TO GET OFF TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. I'M CONFUSED WHY FORD HAS NOT ISSUED ANY RECALL ON THIS ISSUES BEFORE SOMEONE GETS KILLED. I UNDERSTAND MY VEHICLE HAS A LOT OF MILES, BUT 85 PERCENT OF MY MILES ARE FREEWAY MILES. MY RESOLUTION WAS TO SPEND $2,000.00 OUT OF POCKET AND HAVE THE ISSUE REPAIRED. *TR

FOR THE PAST TWO OR THREE WEEKS I HAVE NOTICED A PROGRESSIVELY WORSE SHAKING AND VIBRATING IN THE STEERING COLUMN, ESPECIALLY WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS COMING TO A STOP OR RESTING. ON THE 27TH OF MARCH, 2013 I STARTED THE VEHICLE AND THE STEERING WAS REALLY DIFFICULT, AS IN THE POWER ASSIST WASN'T HELPING. THE BRAKES WERE STILL WORKING FINE. WHEN I SHUT THE VEHILCE OFF AND RESTARTED IT, THE STEERING WAS BEING ASSISTED BY THE EPS AGAIN. THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME IT HAPPENED, BUT RESEARCHING THE PROBLEM IT SEEMS LIKE IT WILL GET PROGRESSIVELY WORSE. *TR

WHILE DRIVING AT A NORMAL SPEED, THE ELECTRICAL PANEL HAS STARTED DISPLAYING "STOP SAFELY NOW" AND THE ENGINE SHUTS DOWN. THIS WAS HAPPENING SPORADICALLY BUT HAS SINCE STARTED HAPPENING MORE CONSISTENTLY. IT HAPPENED WHILE TRAVELING ON THE HIGHWAY ON 3/22/2013, WHICH IS A VERY SERIOUS SAFETY CONCERN WHEN A VEHICLE SHUTS DOWN IN THE MIDDLE OF A BUSY HIGHWAY. ONCE I PULL OVER AND RESTART THE CAR, EVERYTHING APPEARS NORMAL UNTIL THE NEXT TIME IT HAPPENS. ON 3/23/2013 IT HAPPENED TWICE IN LESS THAN 5 MILES. *TR

I WAS DRIVING FROM LA TO PASADENA AND ALL OF SUDDEN MY SUV SLOWS DOWN AND THERE'S A TRIANGLE WARNING SIGN. WE WERE FORTUNATE THAT THE FREEWAY WAS NOT CROWDED AND EASILY PULLED OVER. MY FRIEND IS HEARING AND WAS ABLE TO CALL A TOW FOR ME. WE HAD TO TOW THE SUV BACK TO THE FORD DEALERSHIP IN SANTA MONICA. THEY DID A GREAT JOB AND SAID IT WAS THE COOLANT OR WATER PUMP THAT WAS DEFECTIVE. THEY REPLACED IT. IT SEEMS TO OCCUR ONLY ON ROAD TRIPS. I HAD AN ENGINE LIGHT COME ON WHEN I WAS DRIVING FROM BAY AREA TO LA. I WAS FORTUNATE THAT I MADE IT TO THE SAME SM DEALERSHIP/REPAIR SHOP AND THEY WERE ABLE TO DIAGNOSE IT. THEY SAID THEY HAD TO MAKE SOME ADJUSTMENT AND THE LIGHT WENT OFF. I KNOW IT AFFECTED THE GAS BECAUSE I HAD TO REFUEL THREE OR FOUR TIME WHEN I NORMALLY HAVE TO DO ONE AND HALF TIME! AS A DEAF PERSON, IT IS SCARY TO BE HAVING THESE ISSUES ESPECIALLY ON THE FREEWAYS. *TR

WHILE COMMUTING TO WORK TRAVELING AT INTERSTATE SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE INDICATED A RED TRIANGLE WITH EXCLAMATION MARK ENCLOSED, A MESSAGE IN THE DRIVER MESSAGE CENTER READING 'STOP VEHICLE SAFELY', AND AN IMMEDIATE LOSS OF POWER ON BOTH FOSSIL FUEL ENGINE AND ELECTRICAL MOTOR DRIVE COMPONENTS. COASTING TO THE SIDE OF THE INTERSTATE WAS STRESSFUL AND EXCEEDINGLY DANGEROUS DURING RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC AT SPEEDS IN EXCESS OF 70 MPH. WITHOUT EXTENSIVE DRIVER EXPERIENCE, THIS INCIDENT COULD HAVE BECOME A FATALITY. THIS POWERLESS ACTION SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED DUE TO ITS VERY POTENTIAL OF FATALITY. *TR