2005 Ford Escape Hybrid

2005 ESCAPE HYBRID BRAKE FAILURE. I TRIED TO STOP AND BRAKES ONLY WENT HALF WAY DOWN. I RELEASED AND PUSHED AGAIN, HAD TO USE EMERGENCY BRAKE TO STOP OTHERWISE I WOULD HAVE GONE THROUGH A STORE FRONT WINDOW. TOOK TO FORD DEALER AND FOUND OUT IT WAS THE MASTER CYLINDER/SOLENOID. PER FORD'S TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN 0585 ISSUED 8/5/05, THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE CORRECTED BY INSTALLING A REVISED MASTER CYLINDER. THIS COULD HAVE KILLED ME AND THE PEOPLE INSIDE THE BUSINESS. IF THIS IS A KNOWN, VERY DANGEROUS PROBLEM, THERE SHOULD BE A RECALL. *TR

2005 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID - THE CAR WOULD BEGIN TO SKID AND SLIDE WHEN APPROACHING A STOP REGARDLESS OF THE VEHICLE SPEED OR ROAD CONDITIONS. THE ABS WOULD KICK IN AND THE INDICATOR WOULD COME ON TELLING THE DRIVER THAT THE CAR WAS SLIDING. THIS IS A DANGEROUS CONDITION AS THE CAR WOULD NOT STOP WHEN THE BRAKES ARE PRESSED. AFTER INVESTIGATING ONLINE, I DISCOVERED THAT THIS IS A KNOWN PROBLEM WITH THIS MAKE AND MODEL OF HYBRID VEHICLE. MANY OTHER DRIVERS HAVE EXPERIENCED THE SAME THING. THE SUGGESTION WAS THAT THE TONE RINGS WERE CRACKED OR BROKEN. MY REPAIR SHOP DISCOVERED THAT BOTH OF MINE WERE BROKEN AND ONE AXLE NEEDED REPLACED. INTERESTINGLY, WHEN THE MECHANICS TOOK THE CAR ON A TEST DRIVE TO DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM, THE CAR WOULD REV BEYOND 4 RPMS, THEN THE ENGINE QUIT AND THE DASHBOARD READOUT STATED TO PULL OVER AND STOP THE CAR IMMEDIATELY. THE GAS ENGINE QUIT AND THE CAR WOULD NOT GO OVER 20 MPH. AFTER TURNING THE CAR OFF AND WAITING A FEW SECONDS, THE CAR WAS RESTARTED AND THE COMPUTER/CAR RESET ITSELF AND WOULD RUN AGAIN. THE SAME THING HAPPENED ON AN OPEN HIGHWAY GOING 60 MPH. THE INDICATOR LIGHTS WENT OFF AND THE WARNINGS TO PULL OVER AND STOP THE CAR IMMEDIATELY DISPLAYED. THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE BY FORD AS THEY HAVE ISSUED DTC C1526. THIS PARTICULAR BLOG (HTTP://BLOG.YAGELSKI.COM/2010/01/MY-FORD-ESCAPE-HYBRID-BRAKE-REPAIR.HTML) EXPLAINS THE PROBLEM AS WELL AS THOSE OF MANY OTHERS WHO ARE ALSO EXPERIENCING THIS ISSUE, WITH GREATER DETAIL AND ACCURACY THAN I CAN. PLEASE DO WHATEVER YOU CAN TO FORCE FORD TO ISSUE A RECALL ON THIS INCREDIBLE IMPORTANT AND EXPENSIVE SAFETY MATTER. THANK YOU. *TR

WE HAVE EXPERIENCED AN UNUSUAL PROBLEM WITH THE BRAKING SYSTEM IN OUT 2005 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID. THERE HAVE BEEN MAY EPISODES OF THE YELLOW ABS AND THE RED BRAKE WARNING LAMP LIGHTING UP AND THE ALARM SOUNDING OVER THE PAST YEAR. THIS WOULD HAPPEN FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS AND THEN AFTER SHUTTING-OFF THE VEHICLE AND RESTARTING, THE BRAKES RETURNED TO NORMAL OPERATION. WE SPOKE WITH THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT AT OUR DEALERSHIP ABOUT THIS AND BECAUSE THE WARNING LIGHT WASN'T ON AT THE TIME, THEY SAID THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO TO DETECT THE PROBLEM. THE LAST TIME THIS HAPPENED THE BRAKES REVERTED TO FAIL SAFE MODE REQUIRING A "PEDAL TO THE FLOOR" EFFORT TO SLOW THE VEHICLE TO A SAFE STOP LUCKILY WHILE PULLING INTO OUR DRIVEWAY . AFTER THIS WE HAD THE CAR TOWED TO THE DEALER AND WERE TOLD WE NEEDED A NEW "HCU" UNIT AND MASTER CYLINDER WITH A TOTAL REPAIR COST OF $4K+. I DECIDED TO DO SOME RESEARCH AND DISCOVERED MANY CASES OF THE EXACT SAME THING HAPPENING WITH THE SAME YEAR AND MODEL ESCAPE. WE ARE GOING TO WAIT A FEW DAYS TO THINK BEFORE MOVING FORWARD WITH THE REPAIR. *TR

FORD HYBRID ESCAPE BRAKE LIGHT KEEPS COMING ON. I HAVE TO TURN IT OFF AND THEN BACK ON TO GET THE LIGHT OUT. DEALER SAYS IT'S A GROUND FAULT AND FORD HAS A NEW WIRING HARNESS, BUT I AM REQUIRED TO PAY FOR IT, IT'S AN '05 WITH LESS THAN 8,000 MILES ON IT, YET I AM TO PAY AND FIX FORD'S PROBLEM, AND WE ARE TALKING BRAKES HERE, THAT FORD KNOWS ABOUT AND HAS ALREADY IDENTIFIED AND HAS A FIX FOR. IT NEEDS A RECALL. THE ELECTRIC STEERING HAS ALREADY FAILED ONCE AND HAD TO HAVE A NEW COMPUTER FOR THIS. FORD IS HIDING PROBLEMS WITH THE CAR. *TR

2005 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID. PROBLEM IS FAILURE OF HYBRID REGENERATIVE BRAKE SYSTEM AS DESCRIBED IN FORD'S TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN, TSB 05-8-5 (AUGUST 5, 2005) (NHTSA ID #10017553). PROBLEM HAD OCCURRED SPORADICALLY AFTER THE WARRANTY PERIOD, BUT WITHOUT ANY KNOWN INCIDENT TO HAVE TRIGGERED THE PROBLEM. REPAIR HAS REQUIRED REPLACEMENT OF THE MASTER CYLINDER AND THE BRAKE SYSTEM'S HYDRAULIC CONTROL UNIT ("HCU"). TOTAL COST HAS BEEN ABOUT $7,000. TO SUMMARIZE MY CORRESPONDENCE FROM FORD... "SINCE THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION ("NHTSA") IS NOT CONCERNED (I.E. NOBODY HAS GOTTEN KILLED BY THESE DEFECTIVE BRAKES) THERE IS NO NEED FOR A RECALL. THEREFORE, FORD HAS NO RESPONSIBILITY TO PAY FOR OR DEAL WITH MY PROBLEM." MY STORY IN MORE DETAIL AT HTTP://BLOG.YAGELSKI.COM/2010/01/MY-FORD-ESCAPE-HYBRID-BRAKE-REPAIR.HTML. *TR

BRAKE SYSTEM FAILURE ON 2005 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID: HIGHWAY DRIVING, NO BRAKING DURING FAILURE - ABS LIGHT COMES ON WITH "SERVICE BRAKE SYSTEM" MESSAGE ON CONSOLE. TOOK TO DEALER WHERE THEY "DIAGNOSED" MASTER CYLINDER FAILURE. REPLACED MASTER CYLINDER. 06 JULY 09 BRAKE SYSTEM FAILURE ON 2005 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID: NORMAL CITY DRIVING UNDER 35MPH ABS LIGHT COMES ON WITH "SERVICE BRAKE SYSTEM" MESSAGE ON CONSOLE. *TR

HAVE HAD THE "SERVICE BRAKE SYSTEM" MESSAGE AND THE DASH "BRAKE" INDICATOR LIGHT GO ON RANDOMLY WITHOUT BRAKING FOR A COUPLE OF MONTHS (BEGAN IN MAY 2008) IT HAS BEEN TO THE DEALER TWICE (IN JUNE 2008) AND IS NOW DOING IT AGAIN. THE DEALER REPLACED AN ELECTRICAL HARNESS THIS FIRST TIME AND CLEANED CONTACTS ACCORDING TO A FORD SERVICE ALERT THE SECOND. I ALSO HAD A SIMILAR PROBLEM IN THE FALL OF 2007. THE "SERVICE BRAKE SYSTEM MESSAGE" APPEARED AND THE DASH "BRAKE" INDICATOR LIGHT CAME ON OVER A THREE WEEK PERIOD FOLLOWED BY THE 4X4 SYSTEM AND ABS SYSTEM MAKING NOISE, JERKING THE CAR SEVERAL TIMES AND THEN SHUTTING DOWN WHILE I WAS DRIVING (NOVEMBER 2007). THIS WAS FIXED BY THE DEALER BUT NOW THE CAR'S INDICATOR LIGHTS ARE TURNING ON AGAIN AND THE PROBLEM DOES NOT SEEM TO ABLE TO FIXED. I AM WORRIED THE BRAKE SYSTEM WILL FAIL AGAIN. *TR

COMPLETE BRAKE FAILURE. FIRST TIME IT OCCURRED WAS ON THE INTERSTATE - 65 MILES AN HOUR AND THE BRAKE LIGHT AND THE ABS LIGHT CAME ON AND THERE WAS A BEEP. THERE WERE THEN NO BRAKES AT ALL. LUCKILY, I WAS ABLE TO GET TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND COAST TO A STOP. TURNED OFF THE TRUCK AND STARTED IT AGAIN AND IT HAD BRAKES. ON THIS LAST INCIDENT, THE SAME THING IN THE SAME ORDER HAPPENED. THANKFULLY, MY WIFE WAS ABLE TO GET THE VEHICLE TO COAST TO A STOP WITHOUT HITTING ANYONE OR ANYTHING. THIS PROBLEM IS VERY DANGEROUS. IT IS INTERMITTENT THUS MAKING IT HARD TO DIAGNOSE. *JB CONSUMER STATED VEHICLE WAS TRADED IN 2015. UPDATED 6/8/18*JB