2007 Ford Escape Hybrid

VEHICLE DISPLAYED "SERVICE EMISSIONS SYSTEM" WARNING IMMEDIATELY AFTER DRIVING OFF THE LOT. AFTER REPLACEMENT OF ALL EMISSIONS PARTS, VEHICLE STILL INTERMITTENTLY DISPLAYS THIS WARNING AND OCCASIONAL "STOP SAFELY NOW" MESSAGES CAUSING THE ENGINE TO SHUT DOWN. VEHICLE ALSO DISPLAYS "SERVICE BRAKE SYSTEM" WARNINGS DAILY DESPITE HAVING ENTIRE BREAKING SYSTEM REPLACED CAUSING FAILURE OF ABS BREAKING SYSTEM RESULTING IN BRAKE PEDAL GOING ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR AND TAKING A MUCH LONGER DISTANCE TO STOP WHILE DRIVING. VEHICLE SURGES FORWARD WHILE STOPPED AT TRAFFIC LIGHTS INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH. VEHICLE DISPLAYS "PASSENGER DOOR AJAR" WARNINGS ALTHOUGH DOOR IS SHUT. THIS RESULTS IN ALARM AND LIGHTS FLASHING CONSTANTLY RESULTING IN SEVERAL DRAINED BATTERIES SO VEHICLE DOES NOT START. TRANSFER CASE OR "POWER TAKE OFF UNIT" FAILED AT 125K MILES RESULTING IN NON-DRIVABLE CONDITION.

THE POWER TAKEOFF UNIT, ALSO KNOWN AS THE POWER TAKEOFF ASSEMBLY, AND OR THE TRANSFER CASE HAS GONE BAD . FORD SAYS THAT THE PART COST $3700.. WHILE TALKING WITH SEVERAL REPAIR SHOPS IN MY AREA, THEY STATE THAT THIS IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM WITH THIS TVEHICLE. IF IT IS TRUE THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM ,WHY HASN'T IT BEEN RECALLED RECALLED. IT SOUNDS LIKE A BUNCH OF MARBLES ARE ROLLING AROUND IN MY TRANSMISSION WHILE COASTING.

STARTED WITH OCCASIONAL CLUNKING WHEN IN REVERSE. SLOWLY DEVELOPED A SORT OF THUMPING LIKE WHEN DRIVING. LIKE FROM A BAD TIRE OR WHEEL BEARING. AS MY WIFE HAD A MEDICAL PROBLEM, I DROVE IT FOR ABOUT A WEEK BEFORE CHECKING OUT. I ROTATED AND INSPECTED THE TIRES AND BREAKS. I MANUALLY ROTATED EACH WHEEL BY HAND TO CHECK FOR SIGNS OF A WHEEL BEARING PROBLEM. NOTHING FOUND. THE NEXT COUPLE DAYS THE NOISE BECAME WORSE. I TOOK IT TO A REPUTABLE TRANSMISSION SHOP. WHEN THEY TEST DROVE IT, THEY WOULD NOT EVEN TAKE IT OFF THEIR LOT. THEIR COMMENT TO ME IS THAT THEY HOPE I HAD NOT BEEN DRIVING IT LONG LIKE THIS. THEY WERE SURE THAT SOMETHING IN THE TRANS AXLE WAS ABOUT TO LOCK UP. I AM SURE THEY WERE RIGHT. BY THIS TIME IT WAS QUITE BAD. THEY FOUND THAT MY TRANSFER CASE HAD FAILED AT 40,245 MILES. A LITTLE RESEARCH ON THE INTERNET SHOWS THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH AWD ESCAPES. I NOTICE THAT 2 WERE REPORTED TO THE NHTSA, ONE RESULTING IN INJURY. IF THIS UNIT LOCKS UP WHILE DRIVING, LOSS OF LIFE IS POSSIBLE. ONLY A SMALL PERCENTAGE OF ESCAPES ARE AWD AND HAVE TRANSFER CASES. IT APPEARS THAT A HIGH PERCENTAGE OF EARLY AWD ESCAPES ARE SUFFERING FROM THIS PROBLEM. ANY DRIVE TRAIN ISSUE IN ANY VEHICLE WHICH COULD RESULT IN THE VEHICLE LOCKING UP WHILE UNDER WAY SHOULD NOT HAPPEN. FORD HAS A RESPONSIBILITY TO FIX THIS ISSUE. I HAVE TO ADMIT THAT WHEN I DROVE THE CAR TO THE SHOP THAT MORNING IT SOUNDED SO BAD THAT I WAS A LITTLE SCARED TO DRIVE IT FASTER THAN AROUND 30 MPH. IT WOULD HAVE COMPLETELY FAILED WITHIN DAYS. I FEEL I WAS LUCKY TO GET IT REPAIRED WHEN I DID. IT COST ME $4,353.00 TO REPLACE THE TRANSFER CASE. NOW I AM NOT SURE I WANT TO KEEP THE VEHICLE. NOT SURE I SHOULD TRUST THEIR CVT EITHER.

WHILE TRAVELING ON A TURNPIKE WITH FEW EXIT RAMPS AND LIMITED SHOULDER CLEARANCE, THE VEHICLE SIMULTANEOUSLY LOST ALL POWER AND DISPLAYED THE WARNING TRIANGLE ("TRIANGLE OF DEATH") AND THE INFORMATION DISPLAY INDICATED "STOP SAFELY NOW". THE KEY WAS REMOVED FROM THE IGNITION AND MANUAL CONSULTED. THE MANUAL INDICATED THIS WAS A HYBRID SYSTEM FAULT/FAILURE AND ADVISED ON ATTEMPTING TO RESTART THE VEHICLE AND TAKING IT TO THE NEAREST DEALERSHIP. THE RESTART WAS SUCCESSFUL AND TRAVELING CONTINUED FOR ANOTHER 15 MILES BEFORE THE SAME EXACT SCENARIO REPEATED. THE FORD DEALERSHIP DIAGNOSED THIS PROBLEM AS A FAILURE OF THE MOTOR ELECTRONIC COOLING SYSTEM (MECS)--A WELL DOCUMENTED FAILURE (AND A DANGEROUS ONE) THAT PLAGUES MANY FORD ESCAPE HYBRIDS. *TR

I WAS DRIVING HOME FROM WORK WHEN THE DASHBOARD LIGHT THAT LOOKS LIKE A WRENCH CAME ON AS WELL AS THE DISPLAY SERVICE ENGINE SOON. I MADE IT HOME SAFELY AND THE NEXT TIME I DROVE THE CAR NO LIGHT AND SO FAR SEEMS OK. A SIMILAR OCCURRENCE HAPPENED ABOUT A MONTH AGO AT THAT TIME I LOST ALL POWER. FORTUNATELY I HAD JUST PULLED OUT OF MY DRIVEWAY. I SHUT THE CAR OFF AND BACK ON AND IT WAS FINE UNTIL THIS WEEK. IT LOOKS LIKE IT IS A DEFECTIVE THROTTLE BODY AND SENSOR AND WILL NEED TO BE REPLACED. *TR

WHILE BACKING OUT OF A PARKING SPACE, THE RIGHT FRONT WHEEL SEPARATED FROM THE VEHICLE. UPON CLOSER INSPECTION, IT APPEARED THAT THE BOLT SHEARED, DISLOCATING THE WHEEL FROM THE DRIVETRAIN. THIS WAS LATER CONFIRMED AT THE REPAIR CENTER--THE BOLT HAD SHEARED AND HAD TO BE DRILLED OUT. THE FRONT LOWER CONTROL ARM BOLTS (FORWARD BOLT) REMOVED AND THREADS HAD TO BE REPAIRED. THE RIGHT FRONT AXLE ALSO HAD TO BE REPLACED. THIS VEHICLE IS ONLY 6.5 YEARS OLD, AND IS NOT DRIVEN OFF ROAD. FORD DOES NOT ACKNOWLEDGE THIS AS AN ISSUE. AS NOTED ELSEWHERE ON THIS SITE, WE ALSO HAVE HAD ISSUES WITH BRAKE SQUEALING, AS WELL AS THE WATER PUMP ISSUE. *TR

AFTER DRIVING APPROX 20 MIN ON THE FREEWAY, MY 2007 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID SHUT OFF. WARNING LIGHT CAME ON DISPLAYING: MOTOR TEMP HIGH. THEN, STOP SAFELY. CONSIDERING I WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FREEWAY IN PHOENIX AZ, THE 2ND WARNING STATEMENT WAS QUITE UN-NERVING. WHEN I FINALLY MADE IT TO THE SHOULDER OF THE FREEWAY, I OPENED THE HOOD, NOTHING WAS OVERHEATING, NO STEAM, COOLANT LEVELS NORMAL. THE VEHICLE STARTED AGAIN WITHOUT ISSUE. I PROCEEDED APPROX 5 MINUTES DOWN THE FREEWAY AND EXITED. WHEN ATTEMPTING TO CROSS THE STREET AT THE END OF THE EXIT RAMP, THE VEHICLE SHUT DOWN AGAIN, DISPLAYING THE SAME MESSAGES. THIS INCIDENT LEFT ME IN THE MIDDLE OF A BUSY ROAD. WHEN I FINALLY ARRIVED HOME, I CONTACTED A FRIEND WHO IS MORE KNOWLEDGEABLE THAN I REGARDING MECHANICAL ISSUES. HE SAID HE HAD HEARD OF THIS AND SUGGESTED I LOOK ON THE INTERNET. I AM APPALLED AT THE # OF OCCURRENCES OF THE SAME ISSUE THAT HAVE BEEN REPORTED. YET NO ONE, NOT THE MANUFACTURER OR THE DEALERSHIPS HAVE NOTIFIED THE CONSUMER OF THIS VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION. MY FATHER HAS PURCHASED FORDS FOR YEARS. THIS IRRESPONSIBLE ACTION, OF FAILURE TO NOTIFY THE CONSUMER OF POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS MALFUNCTIONS, DOES NOT FIT THE RESPONSIBLE COMPANY THAT HE HAS ALWAYS DESCRIBED. *TR

I WAS DRIVING AT FREEWAY SPEED AND THE CAR SUDDENLY GAVE THE SIGNAL "STOP CAR SAFELY NOW." I IMMEDIATELY BEGAN TO LOSE POWER AND BARELY HAD TIME TO PULL OVER TO THE LEFT-HAND SHOULDER TO GET OUT OF THE WAY OF TRAFFIC. NO PREVIOUS SIGNAL (E.G. WRENCH LIGHT OR WARNING TRIANGLE) HAD APPEARED TO GIVE ME ADVANCE WARNING. THIS HAD HAPPENED BEFORE (SEE 2/1/13 COMPLAINT), BUT WHEN WE TOOK THE CAR TO THE SHOP AFTER THAT FIRST OCCURRENCE, THEY WERE UNABLE TO IDENTIFY ANY PROBLEMS, SO I HAD DRIVEN IT AGAIN. BOTH TIMES THE PROBLEM OCCURRED AFTER SUSTAINED (2 HRS) FREEWAY SPEED (70 MPH) DRIVING. THIS TIME I WAS TOWED TO A FORD DEALERSHIP WHERE THEY IDENTIFIED THAT THE HYBRID BATTERY SYSTEM HAD OVERHEATED AND NUMEROUS PARTS NEEDED REPLACEMENT. *TR