2008 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID Complaints

WHILE COMING TO A STOP I FELT THE STEERING WHEEL GET TIGHT AND I NOTICED THAT THE VEHICLE HAD LOST IT'S POWER STEERING. I THEN NOTICED THE WRENCH LIGHT HAD ILLUMINATED. THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS DEFECT IF THIS WERE TO HAPPEN GOING AROUND A CURVE OR MAKING A TURN IF COULD CAUSE AN ACCIDENT. *TR

I WAS DRIVING ALONG AND LOSS ALL POWER STEERING IT WAS VERY HARD TO TURN AROUND A CORNER AND IF I WAS GOING ANY FASTER I PROBABLY WOULD HAVE NOT MADE IT. I HAVE BEEN READING ONLINE THAT THIS IS NOT A RANDOM OCCURRENCE SEVERAL ESCAPE OWNERS HAVE HAD LOSS OF STEERING. *TR

2008 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO ABS MODULE FAILURE AND SEEKS REIMBURSEMENT FOR REPAIRS. *SMD THE CONSUMER STATED SHE EXPERIENCED BRAKE FAILURE ON TWO OCCASIONS, BEFORE IT WAS DETERMINED WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS.

DRIVING VEHICLE ON INTERSTATE HIGHWAY @ HIGHWAY SPEEDS. WHILE MERGING INTO TRAFFIC, EXPERIENCED ABRUPT LOSS OF POWER. AMBER WRENCH WARNING LIGHT CAME ON. MOVED TO SHOULDER OF ROAD IN HEAVY TRAFFIC, STOPPED VEHICLE, TURNED OFF IGNITION & AFTER ABOUT 30 - 40 SECONDS RESTARTED VEHICLE, POWER RESTORED & VEHICLE CONTINUED TO DRIVE NORMALLY (WRENCH LIGHT OFF). TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALER, WHERE THROTTLE BODY WAS REPLACED, NOT UNDER WARRANTY (DESPITE TSB 09-19-12). ON FEB. 3, 2012, EXPERIENCED SIMILAR LOSS OF POWER PROBLEM, AND THE AMBER WRENCH LIGHT AND MASTER VEHICLE ELECTRICAL HAZARD WARNING LIGHT CAME ON, AND VEHICLE COMPLETELY SHUT DOWN (MILEAGE AT THIS POINT: 45,500 MILES). AFTER SHUTTING OFF THE IGNITION & RESTARTING, THE VEHICLE WOULD RUN NORMALLY FOR 45-60 SECONDS, THEN WOULD FAULT & SHUT DOWN. I WAS CLOSE TO MY WORKPLACE, SO I LIMPED IT BACK TO WORK. CALLED DEALER, WHO RECOMMENDED CALLING FORD'S ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE. VEHICLE WAS TRANSPORTED TO HYBRID CERTIFIED DEALER, WHERE THE THROTTLE BODY WAS REPLACED (UNDER WARRANTY THIS TIME) AND THE PCM WAS REPROGRAMMED. WHEN I CAME TO PICK THE VEHICLE UP, I EXPERIENCED THE SAME LOSS OF POWER & WARNING LIGHTS (OPEN WRENCH LIGHT). DEALER NOW CLAIMS A SENSOR IN THE SHIFT ASSEMBLY IS BAD & IS CAUSING THE PROBLEM (CLAIMING THIS IS NOT COVERED BY WARRANTY). VEHICLE IS STILL AT DEALER AT THE TIME OF THIS POST. *TR

STEERING WHEEL HAS BEEN SHAKING WHEN CAR IS STOPPED AND AT LOW SPEEDS. POWER STEERING DOES NOT WORK AT TIMES WHEN CAR IS STARTED, I TURN IT OFF AND RESTART THE CAR AND IT WORKS. WHILE COMING TO A STOP AT AROUND 35 MPH THE POWER STEERING FAILED, SHUT OFF THE CAR AND TURN IT BACK ON AND IT STILL DID NOT WORK. STEERING WHEEL SHAKES LEFT AND RIGHT AND MAKES A BAD NOISE WHILE IN PARK AND AT LOW SPEEDS. HAVE NOT TAKEN CAR TO BE SERVICED YET. *TR

POWER STEERING QUITS WORKING WHILE DRIVING. CAN HAPPEN AT LOW SPEEDS OR NORMAL DRIVING SPEED. MALFUNCTION WAS INTERMITTENT. POWER STEERING WOULD START WORKING PROPERLY AFTER SHUTTING ENGINE OFF AND RESTARTING ENGINE. PROBLEM HAS BECOME MORE FREQUENT AND GETTING POWER STEERING TO COME BACK IN OPERATION AFTER RESTARTING HAS BECOME LESS FREQUENT. STEERING THIS VEHICLE IS VERY HARD WITHOUT POWER STEERING, MAKING IT VERY UN-SAFE TO DRIVE. *TR

APPROXIMATELY ONE WEEK AGO WHEN DRIVING I APPLIED THE BRAKES AND HAD VERY LITTLE EFFECTIVENESS DURING A STOP IN SLOW SPEED TRAFFIC. INSTINCTIVELY I KEPT PRESSING THE PEDAL DOWN HARDER WITH NO IMPROVEMENT. DID NOT HIT ANYTHING BUT WAS SHAKEN UP. I BLEW IT OFF THINKING I BRAKED TOO LATE. ON 1/26/2013 WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY DURING LOW SPEED TRAFFIC AGAIN SAME INCIDENT OCCURRED. TRAFFIC WAS HEAVY AND WE WERE ROLLING ABOUT 15 MPH. BRAKES DID NOT RESPOND EFFECTIVELY, CAUGHT MY ATTENTION AND PUSHED VERY HARD. PLENTY OF ROOM IN FRONT THOUGH TO SOMEWHAT COAST-BRAKE TO A STOP. LESS THEN 30 SECONDS LATER, TRAFFIC STILL STOP AND GO, WITH PLENTY OF ROOM TO BRAKE I PUSHED ON BRAKE PEDAL WITH NO BRAKING. PUSHED THE PEDAL AS HARD AS POSSIBLE- NOTHING- AND COASTED INTO THE REAR END OF CAR IN FRONT OF ME. LOW SPEED IMPACT WITH MINOR DAMAGE TO CAR IN FRONT. FRONT BUMPER, GRILL AND RADIATOR DAMAGE TO MY CAR. THANKFUL IT WAS NOT DURING HIGH SPEED DRIVING. DID SOME RESEARCH ON INTERNET TO FIND IT HAS BEEN HAPPENING IN THE HYBRID VEHICLES WITH THE "HYDRAULIC CONTROL UNIT" SOMETIMES NOT FUNCTIONING. TAKING CAR TO DEALERS TO DROP IT OFF FOR COLLISION ESTIMATE AND HAVE THEM LOOK INTO BRAKING SYSTEM. APPROXIMATE COST REPAIR ACCORDING TO OTHER REPORTS ABOUT THIS PROBLEM IS $4,000.I FEEL VERY UNSURE ABOUT DRIVING THIS VEHICLE AGAIN ONCE IT IS FIXED AND IF PROBLEM CAN BE IDENTIFIED. AND IF FORD CAN NOT FIND THE PROBLEM WHERE DO I GO WITH IT? NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS FROM OWNERS IN REPORTS I READ LAST NIGHT WHERE FORD COULD NOT FIND PROBLEM ONLY TO HAVE IT HAPPEN TO OWNER AGAIN. I AM NOW IN THAT SAME BOAT. *TR

THE AUTO HAD JUST HAD THE PUMP THAT COOLS THE HYBRID ENGINE REPLACED AT A COST OF $590 WHEN WE NOTICED THAT THERE WAS A JERKING IN THE STEERING WHEEL WHEN STOPPED. THE WHEEL WOULD JERK TO THE RIGHT AND LEFT AND MAKE A "CLUCKING" NOISE. ONCE THE CAR WAS MOVING THE JERKING SEEMED TO STOP. BUT THEN WE FOUND THAT WHEN WE STARTED THE CAR THERE MIGHT BE NO POWER STEERING OR POWER FORWARD. THE CAR WOULD HAVE TO BE FORCIBLY STEERED TO THE SIDE AND THE ENGINE TURNED OFF. STARTING THE ENGINE AGAIN, THE CAR HAD POWER STEERING AND ENGINE POWER. THIS BEGAN TO HAPPEN NEARLY EVERY TIME THE CAR WAS STARTED, AND THE JERKING OF THE WHEEL EVERY TIME THE CAR WAS STOPPED AT A TRAFFIC SIGNAL OR STOP. WHILE THE PROBLEM HAS YET TO CAUSE A DANGEROUS SITUATION THE POTENTIAL IS CERTAINLY THERE SHOULD THE SAME CIRCUMSTANCES OCCUR WHILE DRIVING. HAVING REVIEWED THE WEB SITES FOR PROBLEMS WITH THE 2008 ESCAPE THERE ARE LITERALLY DOZENS OF SIMILAR COMPLAINTS. ONE SITE LISTS NEARLY ONE HUNDRED COMPLAINTS EXACTLY LIKE MINE AND IN SOME THERE HAVE BEEN ACCIDENTS AND POTENTIAL INJURY. FORD IS STONEWALLING EVERYONE ON THIS EVEN WHEN THE MILEAGE IS LESS THAN 50, 000 MILES. OFTEN THEY SAY THEY KNOW NOTHING OF THE PROBLEM AND REFUSE TO OFFER ASSISTANCE IN MEETING CHARGES THAT RANGE UPWARD TO $1700. GIVEN THE INFORMATION THAT I NOW HAVE I CONSIDER THIS TO BE VERY DANGEROUS AND AM HESITANT TO DRIVE THE CAR. THE LACK OF CONCERN BY FORD SEEMS TO ME TO BE A SERIOUS MATTER AND ONE THAT SHOULD CONCERN NHTSA. *TR

CAR STARTED AND AFTER BACKING OUT AND MOVING FORWARD, STOP ENGINE NOW MESSAGE CAME ON WITH A RED TRIANGLE ON DASH. SLOWLY MOVED TO A PARKING SPACE. TURNED ENGINE OFF AND WAITED FOR ONE MINUTE AND RESTARTED. MESSAGE WAS GONE AND CAR DRIVEN HOME. BROUGHT TO DEALER FOLLOWING WEEK WITH DESCRIPTION OF PROBLEM. THEY DIAGNOSED AS A FAILURE OF THE THROTTLE BODY AND REPLACED THE THROTTLE BODY AND ASSEMBLY AT COST OF $629. READ IN OTHER COMPLAINTS THAT PROBLEM RESURFACES LATER. HAPPY THAT I WAS NOT TRAVELING ON FREEWAY WHEN THE PROBLEM OCCURRED. CONSIDERING FREQUENCY OF THIS AND OTHER PROBLEMS RELATED TO SHUTDOWN AND HYBRID, SHOULD A RECALL BE ISSUED? *TR

STOP SAFELY NOW-LIGHTS UP AND ENGINE KILLS/QUITS. WILL RESTART AFTER STOPPING AND RESTARTING VEHICLE ENGINE KILLS CREATING A DANGEROUS SITUATION. *TR