2005 Ford Escape Hybrid

OVER THE PAST 3 YEARS I HAVE HAD THE ISSUE OF 'STOP SAFELY NOW' ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS. THESE ISSUES DIDN'T START UNTIL THE MEC PUMP WAS REPLACED UNDER A RECALL. AFTER THAT MY 2005 ESCAPE HYBRID WILL SHUT DOWN WHILE DRIVING OR NOT START OR CUT OUT THE HYBRID POWER AND RUN ON ENGINE ONLY. I TOOK IT TO THE LOCAL FORD DEALERSHIP WHERE WE HAVE GOTTEN ALL OTHER SERVICE DONE THREE TIMES FOR THESE ISSUES. THEY HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO TELL ME ANYTHING, STATING ONLY THAT THERE ARE NO CODES, SO NO IDEA WHERE TO LOOK. I COULDN'T UNDERSTAND HOW THE COMPUTER CAN KNOW TO TELL ME TO STOP DRIVING THE CAR, YET NOT RECORD A DTC. IT HAPPENED AGAIN ON THE FIRST WARM DAY OF THE SUMMER - DROVE ACROSS TOWN, PARKED IT, CAME BACK 20 MINUTES LATER AND IT WOULDN'T START, SHOWING 'STOP SAFELY NOW'. I LEFT IT UNTIL THE NEXT MORNING AND IT STARTED RIGHT UP AND I DROVE IT HOME. I WENT OUT AND BOUGHT SCANXL AND USED MY LAPTOP TO SCAN THE CAR. I FOUND P1A10, P1A14, P0A0A, AND P0A95. IF I CAN BUY SOME CONSUMER PROGRAM AND FIND THIS INFO, WAY IS FORD TELLING THERE ARE NO CODES? FORD ALSO REPLACED THE BATTERY FANS TWO YEARS AGO, STATING THEY WERE COVERED UNDER SOME RECALL OR WARRANTY. SEARCHING THE INTERNET GETS ME 100'S OF COMMENTS ON THIS STOP SAFELY ISSUE WITH DOZENS OF POSSIBLE CAUSES DEPENDING ON THE YEAR AND MODEL. MY SCAN TOOL SHOWS A BATTERY VOLTAGE OF 665 VOLTS, THOUGH IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE A 300 VOLT BATTERY. THE HYBRID EVAPORATOR TEMP CAN RANGE BETWEEN 220 AND 310 DEGREES F WHEN IT'S RUNNING OK. THAT CAN'T BE NORMAL. I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT'S GOING ON AND CAN'T GET ANY HELP FROM THE FORD DEALER.

THE CAR HAS TWICE LOST POWER WHILE I WAS DRIVING IT. THE RED WARNING LIGHT COMES ON THE CAR LOSES POWER BUT THE POWER STEERING AND BRAKES REMAIN FUNCTIONAL. THE CAR WAS ON RECALL FOR THIS EXACT THING AND I TOOK THE CAR IN. THE DEALER TELLS ME I HAVE THE BRUSHLESS COOLANT PUMP SO IT'S NOT DUE TO THE DEFECTIVE MOTOR ELECTRONICS COOLANT PUMP AND HE'S NOT REPLACING IT. BUT IT'S STILL DOING IT AND NOTHING ELSE IS WRONG WITH THE CAR. THIS IS DANGEROUS BECAUSE THE SECOND TIME IT HAPPENED I WAS ON THE INTERSTATE GOING 70 MILES AN HOUR.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING ON THREE DIFFERENT OCCASIONS. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED ON ALL THREE OCCASIONS. FRONTIER FORD IN SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA (3701 STEVENS CREEK BLVD, 95051) WAS MADE AWARE OF THE SERIES OF FAILURES AND STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 14V526000 (HYBRID PROPULSION SYSTEM). THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE AND STATED THAT THE RECALL WAS ALREADY PERFORMED ON APRIL 1, 2015. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 125,000.

RE: 2005 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID DEFECT IN THROTTLE BODY ELECTRONIC THROTTLE BODY MALFUNCTION NHTSA ACTION NUMBER: DP12006 OPENED 10/2/2012 DEAR NHTSA, AROUND 4 MONTHS AGO, WE PURCHASED A USED 2005 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID IN NORTH CAROLINA. WE HAVE HAD NUMEROUS ISSUES WITH THIS AND OUR OTHER 2006 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID INCLUDING HAVING TO REPLACE CV AXLE'S IN BOTH VEHICLES, ENGINE ALERTS IN A LIMP HOME OPERATION OR COMPLETELY DYING OR STALLING WHILE DRIVING AND: REAR RIGHT DOOR ALARM HAS BEEN COMING ON CONSISTENTLY IN HOT WEATHER SERVICE EMISSIONS WARNING CAME ON AND THESE CODES CAME UP: C1524 ' BRAKE PEDAL TRAVEL SENSOR CALIBRATION NOT COMPLETE C1218 ' LAMB ANTILOCK BRAKE SYSTEM WARNING OUTPUT CIRCUIT MALFUNCTION (THIS CODE CAME UP IN 4/2016 AS WELL SOMEONE SAYS IT COULD BE A BULB BURNED OUT P0126 ' COOLANT THERMOSTAT TEMPERATURE BELOW THERMOSTAT REGULATING (TWICE) P0685 ' ENGINE CONTROL MODULE POWERTRAIN CONT. POWER RELAY CIRCUIT /OPEN WHILE DRIVING, BOTH CARS HAVE FAILED AND MANY TIMES FORD SERVICE WOULD SPEND OVER 3 WEEKS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WAS WRONG WITH OUR VEHICLES. AFTER AROUND 3 WEEKS, FAIRWAY FORD OF KINGSPORT, TN'S MECHANIC, BOB, NOTIFIED ME THAT IT WAS THE THROTTLE BODY AND A P1A0C CODE, WHICH COSTS ALMOST $1,000 TO REPLACE. DESPITE THIS RECALL, WHEN I ASKED FORD SERVICE AT TWO DIFFERENT LOCATIONS IF THERE WERE ANY RECALLS THEY SAID NO BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T WANT TO FIX THE PROBLEM. IN FACT, AT ONE DEALERSHIP, I RECEIVED THE CAR BACK WITH A DAMAGED WINDOW AND THEY REFUSED TO REPAIR IT AS WELL. I'M ASKING FOR AN INVESTIGATION INTO THIS DEFECT, A RECALL TO BE ISSUED AND FOR FORD TO PAY FOR THE REPAIR SINCE THIS HAS BEEN AN ISSUE IN THESE VEHICLES.

EARLY SEPT 2014 - BEGAN TO EXPERIENCE INTERMITTENT ISSUES OF "LIMP HOME" MODE. ORIGINALLY, ISSUE BEGAN WITH SMALL "SURGES" IN ACCELERATION THAT I BELIEVED WERE SIMPLY RELATED TO THE HYBRID ENGINE KICKING INTO GEAR. THEN EXPERIENCED MULTIPLE BUT RANDOM "LIMP HOME MODE" EVENTS, PARTICULARLY WHEN STOPPING AT LIGHTS OR ACCELERATING (LIGHT-MOD PRESSURE) FROM A FULL STOP. CAR WOULD FLASH "SERVICE ENGINE SOON" AND NOT GO ABOVE 20MPH AND SOMETIMES NOT THAT. WOULD PULL OFF IF ABLE, OTHERWISE, WOULD HAVE TO STOP WITH FLASHERS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD, TURN OFF THE ENGINE, WAIT A MINUTE, AND THEN RESTART (REBOOTING CAR). THIS WOULD CLEAR THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT AND CAR WOULD RESUME NORMAL OPERATION - OF NOTE: CODES WOULD NOT STAY IN THE HISTORY OF THE COMPUTER. AFTER SEVERAL OCCURRENCES, MANAGED TO "LIMP HOME" TO A MECHANIC WHILE THE LIGHT WAS ON AND PULL CODES BETWEEN 2009-2012 AND WAS ADVISED TO HAVE THE COMPUTER REPROGRAMMED BY FORD SERVICE. CAR BEGAN LIMPING HOME DURING FULL TRAFFIC AND FULL ACCELERATION (NOT STOPPED OR SLOWING), CAUSING A MASSIVE SAFETY CONCERN. NOTED MULTIPLE INVESTIGATIVE MENTIONS ON INTERNET REGARDING 2005-2012 ETB ISSUES, BUT ALSO NOTED THIS WAS THEN ONLY "REPLACED" FOR 2009-2012. APPARENTLY, ANYTHING OLDER THAN 09 IS A LOST CAUSE. 10/23/14 - HAVE CAR IN FORD SERVICE AND RECALL (14S19) HAS BEEN NOTED REGARDING MOTOR ELECTRONICS COOLANT PUMP CAUSING "A FAILURE MODE EFFECTS MANAGEMENT STRATEGY THAT CAN RESULT IN A SUDDEN PARTIAL OR FULL LOSS OF MOTIVE POWER" TO PROTECT VEHICLE POWERTRAIN. BEING CHARGED FOR DIAGNOSTIC EVEN THOUGH THERE IS A RECALL ON THE PART THAT IS LIKELY CAUSING THE PROBLEM. *TR

THE "WRENCH" LIGHT AND "ENGINE" LIGHT ILLUMINATED ON THE DASH. THE INFORMATION SYSTEM FLASHED "SERVICE NOW" AND "SERVICE EMISSION SYSTEM." THE CAR SUDDENLY SEEMED TO BOG DOWN AND SLOWED TO AROUND 15 MPH. FROM THERE IT WOULD NOT ACCELERATE BEYOND 30 MPH. THE ACCELERATOR WAS UNRESPONSIVE AND SEEMED MUSHY. ONCE AT 30 MPH THE CAR WOULD HESITATE AND JERK. IT ALSO STALLED WHEN SLOWING. THESE ARE THE SAME EXACT SYMPTOMS THAT OTHER ESCAPE OWNERS HAVE EXPERIENCED AND WHICH FORD HAS RECOGNIZED AS A MANUFACTURING DEFECT UNDER CUSTOMER SATISFACTION # 13N03 FOR ESCAPE MODELS 2009-2012. THE FORD DEALER SAYS THE ELECTRONIC THROTTLE BODY NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. HOWEVER, AS OF THIS WRITING FORD IS NOT COVERING THE REPAIR FOR EARLIER MODELS EVEN THOUGH THEY HAVE THE SAME ENGINE, SAME SYMPTOMS, SAME REPAIR NECESSARY. COME ON FORD, DO THE RIGHT THING! *TR

THIS VEHICLE WILL GO INTO "FAIL-SAFE" MODE, WHICH SHUTS THE IC ENGINE OFF WHILE YOU'RE DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. IT HAPPENS VERY INTERMITTENTLY AND NOT IN ANY CONSISTENT PATTERN. ONCE IT HAPPENS, IT CONTINUES TO OCCUR UNLESS THE CAR COOLS OFF COMPLETELY. HAPPENS ONLY WHEN CAR IS USED FOR LONG TRIPS. MULTIPLE FAULT CODES SHOW UP ON THE COMPUTER, AND BASED ON THOSE FAULT CODES, I'VE HAD THE HYBRID COOLANT PUMP REPLACED, THE AIR FILTER FOR THE BATTERIES REPLACED, AND THE FANS THAT COOL THE BATTERY REPLACED. I'VE HAD MULTIPLE TRIPS TO BOTH FORD DEALERSHIP SERVICE AND EXCELLENT INDEPENDENT MECHANICS (WHO WERE BLOCKED ON THE FORD TECHNICAL WEBSITE, EVEN THOUGH THESE INDEPENDENT MECHANICS SUBSCRIBE, FROM FINISHING THEIR RESEARCH INTO REPAIR OPTIONS) WITH THE FINAL RESULTS THAT THEY CAN'T DO ANYTHING TO REPAIR IT. OTHER THAN THIS PROBLEM, IT'S A VERY NICE VEHICLE....... BUT, I'M VERY NERVOUS THAT THIS SHUT-DOWN WILL OCCUR IN FAST, HEAVY TRAFFIC WHERE I CANNOT GET TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD SAFELY AND CAUSE A HORRIBLE ACCIDENT AND LOSS OF LIFE...... INCLUDING MY OWN OR MY FAMILY. I CANNOT KEEP THIS VEHICLE LONGER...... BUT, IF I TRADE IT OFF.... IT'S ONLY GOING TO BE SOMEONE ELSE'S PROBLEM. THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN A RECALL ISSUE FOR FORD. GO ONLINE, AND YOU CAN FIND MANY PEOPLE WITH THE SAME PROBLEM, SEVERAL OF WHICH HAVE HAD TERRIFYING EXPERIENCES WITH THIS PROBLEM. FORTUNATELY, MOST OF MY DRIVING WITH THIS VEHICLE IS ON 2-LANE STATE HIGHWAYS WHERE I CAN PULL OFF WHEN THIS HAPPENS. IN THE MIDDLE OF 80-MPH LA TRAFFIC ON A 6 LANE FREEWAY..... IN THE MIDDLE LANE...... I SHUDDER TO THINK. I BOUGHT THIS VEHICLE IN DECEMBER, 2011, AND WILL BE GIVING SOMEONE ELSE THE PROBLEM SOON, AS I CANNOT CONTINUE TO SPEND MONEY ON A VEHICLE THAT NO ONE IS CAPABLE OF FIXING, AND I CANNOT KEEP IT WITH THIS PROBLEM. *TR