2005 Ford Escape Hybrid

AT HIGHWAY SPEED, THE ENGINE SUDDENLY SHUT ITSELF OFF. AT THE SAME TIME, A DASHBOARD READOUT DISPLAYED THE MESSAGE "STOP SAFELY NOW." IN ORDER TO GET TO THE SHOULDER OF THE ROAD I WAS FORCED TO CUT ACROSS A LANE OF TRAFFIC WITHOUT WARNING AND WITHOUT POWER. NO OTHER WARNING LIGHTS OR SIGNALS DISPLAYED. HAD THERE BEEN NO SHOULDER, I COULD EASILY HAVE BEEN A HIGH-SPEED CRASH. THE ENGINE STARTED AGAIN AS SOON I TURNED THE KEY AFTER STOPPING THE VEHICLE, BUT STILL NO WARNING LIGHTS OR EXPLANATIONS DISPLAYED. THIS HAPPENED THREE TIMES DURING A 3-HOUR TRIP ACROSS MARYLAND, AND IT HAPPENED AGAIN ONCE ON THE RETURN TRIP TWO DAYS LATER. AN INTERNET SEARCH REVEALS THAT THIS IS NOT AN UNCOMMON PROBLEM WITH FORD HYBRIDS, YET NO RECALL HAS BEEN ISSUED TO REMEDY THIS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS DEFECT. *TR

THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED AND WOULD NOT START. I RECEIVED WARNINGS ON THE DASH AND THE INFORMATION PANEL STATING TO SLOW TO A STOP AND SERVICE THE BRAKES. I WAS ABLE TO START THE VEHICLE AFTER DISCONNECTING THE BATTERY AND EVERYTHING OPERATED NORMALLY. AFTER GETTING HOME AND RUNNING DIAGNOSTICS EVERYTHING CAME BACK NORMAL. LATER THAT DAY THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT START AGAIN WITH THE SAME WARNINGS AND IT WAS MORE AND MORE DIFFICULT TO GET THE VEHICLE WORKING AGAIN. I ALSO NOTICED THAT THE 12V BATTERY SEEMED TO BE LEAKING SO I INSPECTED AND CLEANED IT. THE NEXT DAY (MONDAY) I BROUGHT THE VEHICLE TO THE FORD DEALER AND EXPLAINED THE PROBLEMS INCLUDING THE LEAKING BATTERY. THE DEALER REPLACED THE 12 V BATTERY UNDER WARRANTY AND SAID MY PROBLEMS SHOULD BE FIXED BUT THEY WOULD CHECK FOR FAULT CODES. THE DEALER FOUND ADDITIONAL PROBLEMS WITH THE ABS BRAKE SYSTEM BUT COULD NOT IMMEDIATELY DIAGNOSE THE CAUSE. THE CAR WAS LEFT FOR ANOTHER DAY AND EVENTUALLY I WAS TOLD THAT IT WAS MOST LIKELY THE HYDRAULIC CONTROL UNIT (HCU) WITH WAS APPROXIMATELY A $4500 PART. I HAVE READ STORIES ONLINE THAT THIS IS A FAIRLY COMMON PROBLEM WITH THIS MODEL YEAR ESCAPE HYBRID AND FORD IS AWARE OF THE ISSUE BUT NOT DOING ANYTHING TO CORRECT IT OTHER THAN MAKING THE OWNERS BUY $4500 REPLACEMENT PARTS. *TT

ON 3/17/2009, AFTER WASHING THE VEHICLE AT A CAR WASH, THE SERVICE ENGINE SOON LIGHT CAME ON. THE VEHICLE LATER STOPPED RUNNING AND WAS TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP. THEY HAD IT FOR 3 DAYS AND SAID THEY COULDN'T FIND ANYTHING WRONG WITH IT. WE WERE CHARGED WITHOUT PRIOR NOTIFICATION. ON 9/01/2010, THE FUEL FILTER WAS REPLACED AT THE SAME DEALERSHIP. ON THE WAY HOME, THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO OVERHEAT. IT STOPPED RUNNING IN TRAFFIC AND WE WERE ALMOST HIT. IT WAS TAKEN TO THE LOCAL FORD DEALER ON 9/07/2010 TO BE LOOKED AT AT THE ADVICE OF FORD. THEY FOUND A FAULTY WATER PUMP, REPLACED IT AND A FILTER, AND WE WERE TOLD THE PROBLEM WAS FIXED. ON 9/09/2010, THE VEHICLE ONCE AGAIN OVERHEATED, STRANDING US AGAIN. IT WAS RETURNED TO THE DEALER, WHERE THEY RESET THE COMPUTER AND AGAIN TOLD US IT WAS FIXED. ON 11/23/2010, IT WAS RAINING AND AGAIN THE VEHICLE STALLED, BUT WE WERE ABLE TO RETURN HOME. ON 12/17/2010, THE REPAIR ENGINE SOON LIGHT CAME ON, AND WE HAVEN'T DRIVEN IT SINCE.

I WAS DRIVING MY 2005 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID APRIL 1, 2010, WEST BOUND ON I-90 IN MASSACHUSETTS BETWEEN STURBRIDGE AND CHICOPEE WHEN THE FIRST INCIDENT HAPPENED. THE "CONTROL MODULE" DISPLAYED A "STOP SAFELY NOW" MESSAGE AND THEN PROCEEDED TO SHUT DOWN THE VEHICLE. I WAS FORCED, WITHOUT POWER, TO TRAVERSE 3 LANES OF HIGH SPEED, HIGH VOLUME TRAFFIC, TO THE SHOULDER. I WAS FRIGHTENED FOR MY LIFE AT THE TIME. SINCE THE FIRST OCCURRENCE, THE SAME "STOP SAFELY NOW" MESSAGE AND VEHICLE SHUT-DOWN REPEATED SEVERAL MORE TIMES, BEFORE I TOOK IT IN TO THE FORD DEALERSHIP WHERE I BOUGHT IT - SUNNYSIDE FORD, IN HOLDEN MA. THEY HAVE HAD IT NOW SINCE APRIL 14TH 2010 AND ARE UNABLE TO REPAIR. AFTER FIRST REPLACING A MOTOR ELECTRONICS (MEC) PUMP, THE PROBLEM HAS GOTTEN WORSE - INDEED, THE VEHICLE WILL NOT DRIVE AT ALL BEFORE RECEIVING THE "STOP SAFELY NOW" AND VEHICLE SHUTDOWN MESSAGE. MY INDEPENDENT ONLINE RESEARCH HAS PROVIDED MUCH INFORMATION FROM OWNERS OF THE SAME FORD ESCAPE HYBRID, WHO HAVE HAD THE SAME OR CLOSE TO THE SAME SET OF PROBLEMS. ON APRIL 30TH 2010, I WROTE A LETTER TO SUNNYSIDE FORD'S SERVICE MANAGER, OUTLINING MY FINDINGS AND ASKING FOR A FORD CERTIFIED HYBRID ENGINEER TO INTERVENE IN MY VEHICLE'S REPAIR. THERE HAVE BEEN MANY, NOW INCLUDING MYSELF, WHO FEEL THE UNDERLYING PROBLEM IS A DESIGN ISSUE. I HAVE ONLY 23,250 MILES ON IT, WAY TOO EARLY FOR THE CAR TO BE HAVING MECHANICAL FAILURE DUE TO USAGE ALONE. ITS THE FACT THAT WHEN THE PROBLEM ARISES, THAT THE CONTROL MODULE (PCM) SHUTS DOWN THE VEHICLE THAT MAKES THIS A SAFETY ISSUE. ITS JUST A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE SOMEONE IS IN OR CAUSES A SERIOUS ACCIDENT, IF IT HAS NOT ALREADY HAPPENED. THE FORD ESCAPE HYBRID SHOULD UNDERGO A FORD RECALL AND RE-DESIGN ON THE ENTIRE ELECTRONICS OVERLAY, TO PERMANENTLY FIX THE ISSUE. *TR