2006 Ford Escape Hybrid

WE NOTICED BANGING COMING FROM THE RIGHT REAR WHEEL WELL. AFTER INVESTIGATING, WE FOUND A NUMBER OF SMALL RUSTED OUT HOLES INTO THE TRUNK FROM JUST THAT WHEEL WELL. THE BANGING WAS THE SHOCK MOUNT AND THE SHOCK ABSORBER HITTING THE WELL. THE RUSTED OUT AREA HAS GROWN. THERE IS NO OTHER INDICATION OF SIGNIFICANT RUST ON THE UNDERCARRIAGE. WE'VE BEEN TOLD THAT THIS IS THE RESULT OF A LEAK FROM THE HYBRID BATTERY; OTHERS, VIA MESSAGE BOARDS AND THE LIKE, HAVE REPORTED THE SAME PROBLEM. WE WERE AFRAID THAT THE SHOCK ABSORBER WOULD HIT THE WHEEL AND CAUSE AN ACCIDENT SO WE TOOK IT OFF THE ROAD. GIVEN WE NEED THE VEHICLE AND DON'T WANT TO SELL AN OTHERWISE SERVICEABLE SUV FOR SCRAP, WE HOPE YOU CAN PERSUADE FORD TO RECALL THIS MODEL AND FIX THIS DANGEROUS PROBLEM AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. *TR

ERROR CODE IS "STOP SAFELY NOW". I WAS DRIVING, AND ALL IN THE SUDDEN - AN ERROR MESSAGE CAME UP ON DASH DISPLAY "STOP SAFELY NOW". IMMEDIATELY, THE CAR WAS TOTALLY SHUT DOWN RIGHT AFTER, LOST THE ABILITY TO STOP, AND I HAVE NO CONTROLS OF ANY THING. I WAS LUCKY THAT I'M IN A MIDDLE OF A PARKING LOT. I ALMOST GOT HIT WITH THE CAR DROVE RIGHT BEHIND ME. WHAT IF THIS INCIDENT OCCURS ON A FREEWAY AT A HIGH SPEED. MY CAR IS FULLY WELL MAINTENANCE WITH SUCH LOW MILES FOR 2006. *TR

WHILE DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY MY CAR LOST ALL POWER AND SAID STOP SAFELY NOW. I PULLED TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND 10 MINUTES LATER THE CAR STARTED UP AND I WAS ABLE TO DRIVE HOME. THE CAR DID NOT DO THIS AGAIN FOR OVER A YEAR. AT THAT TIME I WAS DRIVING IN TUCSON AZ AND IT LOST ALL POWER IN THE MIDDLE OF AN INTERSECTION.FORTUNATLY IT STARTED RIGHT AWAY AND I WAS ABLE TO GET TO A PARKING LOT.AFTER A LOT OF RESEARCH WE REPLACED THE ELECTRIC COOLING MOTOR ONLY TO HAVE IT CONTINUE TO SHUT DOWN WITH THE STOP SAFELY NOW DISPLAYED. AFTER MORE RESEARCH WE REPLACED THE BLEND DOOR ACTUATOR WITH NO RESULTS. FORD REALLY NEEDS TO DO A RECALL AND FIX THIS PROBLEM BEFORE PEOPLE DIE. THE CAR SHUTS DOWN WITH NO WARNING AND IT HAPPENS SO FAST. IF THERE IS NO WHERE TO PULL OVER YOU ARE STUCK IN THE ROAD AND A TARGET FOR OTHER VEHICLES TO RUN INTO. *TR

AT APPROXIMATELY 1:30PM, I WAS DRIVING IN SACRAMENTO MAKING A RIGHT TURN MERGING INTO TRAFFIC WITH MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE PEDAL WHEN ALL OF A SUDDEN THE PETAL DROPPED TO THE FLOOR WITH NO HYDRAULIC PRESSURE IN IT. THE ABS LIGHT CAME ON, THE BRAKE LIGHT CAME ON, AND THE PANEL SAID "SERVICE BRAKE SYSTEM." I HAD MY SON IN THE CAR WITH ME AND I PULLED OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD PRESSING EXTREMELY HARD ON THE BRAKE PEDAL TO GET IT TO STOP. I IMMEDIATELY WENT TO PEP BOYS AROUND THE CORNER WITHOUT BRAKES (EXCEPT WHEN I PRESSED HARD ON THE BRAKE PEDAL ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR). PEP BOYS LOOKED AT IT AND SAID IT MIGHT BE THE MASTER CYLINDER BUT THEY WERE NOT WILLING TO SELL ME ONE UNTIL I HAD A FORD DEALER LOOK AT THE VEHICLE. WHEN I TURNED THE CAR BACK ON, THE ABS LIGHT WAS OFF, THE BRAKE WARNING LIGHT WAS OFF, AND THE SERVICE WARNING WAS OFF. FORD DEALER LOOKED AT THE VEHICLE, DROVE IT AROUND FOR 22 MILES AND NOTHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY HAPPENED. I ADVISED FORD THAT PEP BOYS HAD ADVISED ME THERE WAS A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN (TSB) ON INTERMITTENT BRAKE LOSS FOR 2006 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID. THE FORD REPRESENTATIVE IMMEDIATELY SNAPPED BACK AT ME "THAT DOESN'T MEAN ITS COVERED UNDER WARRANTY?" I THEN SAID, I CARE ABOUT MY SAFETY AND WANT TO KNOW WHY OUT OF THE BLUE MY BRAKES FAILED. WHEN I WENT BACK TO SEE IF THEY FOUND A PROBLEM, THEY STATED EVERYTHING WAS IN NORMAL WORKING ORDER AND THERE WERE NO CODES IN THE SYSTEM TO INDICATE BRAKE FAILURE. *TR

TIME OF DAY: 1800, TEMPERATURE ABOUT 80F. "STOP SAFELY NOW" MESSAGE APPEARED ON CONSOLE. VEHICLE SLOWED DOWN WHILE TRAVELING AT 65MPH ON AN INTERSTATE HIGHWAY DURING A HEAVY RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC. FORTUNATELY, I WAS TRAVELING ON THE LEFT LANE AND SAFELY MOVED TO THE LEFT CURB AND WITHIN SECONDS THE ENGINE DIED. I KEPT TRYING TO START BUT NO SUCCESS. WHILE ON THE PHONE WITH THE INSURANCE COMPANY FOR A TOW TRUCK, I TRIED AGAIN, AND THE ENGINE RESTARTED. I WAS ABLE TO CONTINUE DRIVING HOME FOR ABOUT 25 MINUTES, APPROXIMATELY 15 MILES. WHILE APPROACHING A TRAFFIC LIGHT, THE "STOP SAFELY NOW" MESSAGE APPEARED AND THIS TIME THE CAR DIED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET. THIS TIME, IT DIED WITHIN 3 SECONDS AFTER THE MESSAGE APPEARED. IT WAS A MAJOR SAFETY HAZARD WHEN OTHER CARS WERE APPROACHING AND WITH VERY LITTLE ROOM TO STOP AND REACT. THIS WAS IN A 35 MPH RESIDENTIAL ZONE. I HAD TO CALL A LOCAL POLICE DEPARTMENT TO ASSIST MANAGING THE TRAFFIC. AFTER ABOUT 15 MINUTES, I WAS ABLE TO START THE CAR AGAIN AND CONTINUED THE LAST 2 BLOCKS TO MY RESIDENT. THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE THAT COULD HAVE RESULTED IN MULTI CARS ACCIDENT HAD I NOT HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO DRIVE TO THE CURB BEFORE IT STOPPED. *TR

THE VEHICLE WAS AND HAS BEEN DRIVING NORMALLY UNTIL STANDARD BRAKING SITUATION OF COMING TO A STOPLIGHT. AS THE BRAKES WERE APPLIED THE ABS AND BRAKE LIGHT CAME ON AND ALL POWER ASSIST TO THE BRAKES WAS GONE. I HAD TO CRUSH THE BRAKE PEDAL TO GET ANY BRAKING AT ALL. LUCKILY I'M STRONG ENOUGH TO MANUALLY BRING THE VEHICLE TO A STOP. THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME (DECEMBER 2013) SINCE I'VE HAD THE VEHICLE THAT THIS HAPPENED. IT'S NOW APRIL 2014 AND THE SAME ISSUE HAS RETURNED (TWICE IN A WEEK). A VERY DANGEROUS POTENTIAL SITUATION. HOWEVER, AFTER BRAKING TO A STOP THE VEHICLE CAN BE TURNED OFF AND BACK ON TO CORRECT THE SITUATION (ABS AND BRAKE LIGHT TURN OFF) AND THE BRAKES RETURN TO NORMAL. I PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE AT AUCTION FROM A FLEET OF VEHICLES. THE STICKER DID SAY BRAKE PROBLEMS, HOWEVER, AFTER DRIVING IT I FOUND ONLY NORMAL BRAKING AND ATTRIBUTED THE "BRAKE PROBLEM" TO WORN BRAKE PADS ETC. I CAN ONLY SAY THAT THE "BRAKE PROBLEM" THEY MENTIONED ON THE STICKER MUST HAVE BEEN THE SAME SITUATION I'VE RUN INTO - SO THE FLEET PERSONNEL MUST HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCING THE SAME THING. THIS SITUATION SEEMS TO ME TO BE A MUCH DEEPER DESIGN FLAW AND AFTER RESEARCHING ONLINE AND SEEING SO MANY OTHER SIMILAR COMPLAINTS - THIS OBVIOUS FLAW SHOULD BE EXPOSED AND CORRECTED ON A VEHICLE RECALL BASIS BEFORE THERE ARE FATALITIES. IT SEEMS TO ME ONLY A MATTER OF TIME...... *TR

MY 2006 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID SPORATICALLY LOOSES POWER STEERING WITHOUT ANY WARNING OR CLEAR INDICATION OF ROOT CAUSE. IT HAS HAPPENED WHILE MAKING TURNS ON RESIDENT STREETS AND WHILE TRAVELING AT HIGH VELOCITY ON MAJOR HIGHWAYS. THE MANUFACTURER HAS REPLACED PARTS AT A COMBINED COST OF ~3500 AND THE CAR CONTINUES TO HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM. I BELIEVE FORD DOES NOT UNDERSTAND THE PROBLEM NOR HAVE THEY ADEQUATELY EVALUATED THE RISK OF THE ISSUE. I WOULD NOT EVEN CONSIDER LETTING MY WIFE DRIVE THIS CAR DUE TO THE AMOUT OF FORCE IT TAKES TO CONTROL THE CAR ONCE THE STEERING GOES OUT. *TT

I WAS DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY IN THE CARPOOL LANE, ABOUT 65MPH. HEARD A NOISE (SOUNDED LIKE THE ENGINE LOSING POWER) AND SAW THE WARNING LIGHT TO "STOP SAFELY NOW". HAD TO PULL TO LEFT IMMEDIATELY, WITH VERY LITTLE ROOM IN THE SHOULDER ON A VERY BUSY FREEWAY. THIS WAS A VERY HAZARDOUS AND STRESSFUL SITUATION, PARTICULARLY BECAUSE I HAD A TODDLER IN THE CAR WITH ME. CAR WAS TOWED TO THE NEAREST FORD DEALER. I WAS TOLD BY THE DEALER THAT THE PROBLEM WAS FAILURE OF THE MECS (MOTOR ELECTRIC COOLING SYSTEM). HOWEVER, THIS IS NOT UNDER WARRANTY OR RECALL. THIS PART SHOULD BE CONSIDERED FOR RECALL BECAUSE OF THE SERIOUS SAFETY HAZARD IT POSES WHEN IT FAILS. *TR