2008 Ford Escape Hybrid

WAS DRIVING ON A HWY ON A SUMMER NIGHT, GOING 60 MPH, WHEN A LIGHT CAME ON MY 2008 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID'S DASHBOARD THAT SAID "STOP SAFELY NOW" AND THE ENGINE LOST POWER/TURNED OFF. I COASTED TO A SHOULDER AND SHUT THE VEHICLE OFF AND RESTARTED, AND THE WARNING LIGHT WAS GONE, SO I DROVE ON. NOTICED ENGINE WAS RUNNING LOUDER THAN NORMAL AND TRANSITION BETWEEN GAS AND ELECTRIC MODES SEEMED CLUNKY. GOOGLED THE PROBLEM WHEN I GOT HOME AND FOUND DOZENS OF CONSUMER COMPLAINTS - SAYING IT WAS A FAULTY COOLING PUMP (PART NUMBER 5M6Z-8C419-A) CAUSING THIS PROBLEM. TOOK VEHICLE TO THE FORD DEALER AND THEY CONFIRMED THIS WAS WHAT WAS WRONG WITH MY VEHICLE. REPAIR COST $632.00. NOT COVERED UNDER THE HYBRID WARRANTY. (WE WERE TOLD IT'S NECESSARY FOR THE HYBRID ENGINE TO FUNCTION, BUT IT'S NOT CONSIDERED A HYBRID PART.) DUG FURTHER, SAW THAT FORD HAD ISSUED A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN (NOV. 20, 2008) TO DEALERSHIPS: "TSB 08-24-5 STATES THAT SOME 2005-2008 ESCAPE HYBRID AND 2006-2008 MARINER HYBRID VEHICLES MAY EXHIBIT A RED TRIANGLE LIGHT AND CODES INDICATING A TRANSAXLE OVERTEMP. THIS CONDITION MAY RESULT IN REDUCED POWER AS THE SYSTEM ACTIVATES FAIL SAFE OPERATION." FORD KNOWS ABOUT THIS PROBLEM. THIS IS CLEARLY HAPPENING TO A LOT OF PEOPLE. FORD NEEDS TO BE MADE ACCOUNTABLE AND DO THE RIGHT THING AND ISSUE A RECALL. IF THIS PROBLEM HAPPENS WHEN SOMEONE IS IN THE MIDDLE OF A BUSY EXPRESSWAY, OR IF SOMEONE IS BEING TAILGATED, ETC. WHEN THE ENGINE SHUTS OFF, PEOPLE WILL GET KILLED, IF SOME HAVEN'T BEEN ALREADY. WE CALLED THE FORD OWNER RELATIONS NUMBER AND WERE TOLD THAT THE BEST WAY TO GET A RECALL ISSUED IS TO SUBMIT THESE COMPLAINTS. HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE TO BE INJURED OR DIE BEFORE THIS IS TAKEN CARE OF? FORD MOTOR COMPANY - IF YOU'RE WORRIED ABOUT PROFITS AND THE BOTTOM LINE - HOW MUCH REPEAT BUSINESS WILL YOU GET ONCE YOU KILL OFF YOUR CUSTOMER BASE? *TR

ON 4 SEPARATE OCCASIONS, ALL OCCURRING AT HIGHWAY SPEED AFTER AT LEAST 40 MINUTES OF DRIVING ON A HOT DAY, THE CAR'S ENGINE SUDDENLY CUT OFF, CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO LOSE SPEED RAPIDLY. A RED TRIANGLE WARNING LIGHT APPEARED ON THE DASHBOARD WITH THE FOLLOWING WORDS: "PULL OVER SAFELY NOW AND TURN OFF ENGINE". ALL 4 TIMES I WAS DRIVING AROUND 65 MPH ON AN INTERSTATE. ALL 4 TIMES THE CAR STARTED AGAIN NORMALLY AFTER A FEW MINUTES. AFTER THE 3RD INCIDENT, I STARTED THE CAR AGAIN SOON, AND IT STALLED AGAIN AFTER 10 MORE MINUTES OF HIGHWAY DRIVING. FIRST INCIDENT LATE JULY 2012, THEN LATE AUGUST 2012, AND TWICE ON JUNE 19, 2013. THIS IS A TERRIFYING EXPERIENCE, AND I WAS EXTREMELY LUCKY NOT TO BE REAR ENDED. THE DEALER CLAIMS IT CANNOT DUPLICATE PROBLEM OR SEE ANY CODES IN DIAGNOSTIC COMPUTER, REFUSES TO PURSUE. HELP!!!! *TR

FORD ESCAPE HYBRID (FEH) "STOP VEHICLE SAFELY" RED TRIANGLE WARNING AND IMMEDIATE ENGINE SHUTDOWN DUE TO THE WELL-KNOWN DEFECT IN THE BOSCH OEM MOTOR ELECTRONICS COOLING SYSTEM (MECS) PUMP IN THE 2005-2008 MODEL YEARS. SEE FORD TSB 08-24-5. IF THE NHTSA DID EVEN A CURSORY SEARCH ON THE INTERNET THEY WOULD SEE MANY, MANY HUNDREDS OF POSTINGS AND RELATED ACCIDENTS OR NEAR-MISSES. THIS IS A VERY SERIOUS SAFETY PROBLEM BECAUSE FAILURE IS ONLY TRIGGERED BY DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS OR DRIVING UP STEEP HILLS AND THE SHUTDOWN IS IMMEDIATE (NO PRIOR WARNING), CAUSING SUDDEN AND SIGNIFICANT DROP IN SPEED AND FRANTIC ACTIONS BY THE DRIVER TO ABRUPTLY STEER THE UNPOWERED CAR TO THE SHOULDER. THERE ARE NO EXTERNAL INDICATORS TO WARN OTHER VEHICLES OF THE SUDDEN SLOWDOWN AND LANE CHANGE AND THE DRIVER DARE NOT USE THE BRAKES TO SIGNAL OTHERS BECAUSE TO HIT THE BRAKES WITH THE ENGINE SHUT DOWN AND THE VEHICLE ALREADY QUICKLY SLOWING TO A STOP WOULD CAUSE THE FEH TO ABRUPTLY STOP IN THE MIDDLE OF HIGHWAY. ALTHOUGH THIS PART IS UNIQUE TO THE HYBRID VERSIONS OF ESCAPES, FORD REFUSES TO CLASSIFY IT AS A UNIQUE HYBRID COMPONENT (WHICH WOULD BE COVERED BY THE 8 YR 100,000 MI WARRANTY) AND ROUTINELY CHARGES $800 TO REPLACE IT. IN MY CASE FAILURES HAPPENED FOUR TIMES IN THE LAST YEAR, ALWAYS ON INTERSTATE HIGHWAYS. TWO OF THE FAILURES NEARLY CAUSED MULTIPLE CAR PILEUPS BECAUSE THE INTERSTATE WAS FULL OF CARS AND SEMIS WHEN THE ENGINE CUT OUT. I AM FRANKLY SHOCKED THAT THE NHTSA DIDN'T REQUIRE A RECALL YEARS AGO FOR A WELL-KNOWN AND COMMON DEFECT THAT WITHOUT WARNING CAUSES FEH'S TO ABRUPTLY AND SIGNIFICANTLY SLOW DOWN SPECIFICALLY AT HIGH SPEEDS OR STEEP HILL CLIMBS, FORCING THE DRIVER TO ABRUPTLY CHANGE LANES TO GET TO THE SHOULDER. SEVERAL CLASS ACTION LAWSUITS ARE BEING PREPARED. ISN'T IT TIME THE NHTSA ADDRESSED THIS VERY SERIOUS DEFECT? *TR

MY 17 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER WAS DRIVING HOME APPROX 5:30 PM ON A BUSY FOUR LANE ROAD FROM AN ERRAND AND THE "STOP SAFELY NOW" LIGHT CAME ON. AT THAT POINT SHE COULD NOT GET OVER DUE TO TRAFFIC AND THE ENGINE SHUT OFF IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. SHE WAS ABLE TO COAST DOWN A HILL INTO A TURN LANE NEARLY HITTING AN ONCOMING CAR AND STOP THE CAR. WE ARRIVED ON THE SCENE AND WAS ABLE TO RESTART THE CAR AND BRING IT HOME. WE TOOK IT TO THE DEALER WHERE THEY WANTED TO REPLACE THE COOLANT MOTOR TO THE BATTERY WHICH WAS DEFECTIVE AND CAUSING THE HYBRID BATTERY TO OVERHEAT THEREBY SHUTTING DOWN THE ENGINE COMPLETELY. THIS IS TO PREVENT THE HYBRID BATTERY FROM OVERHEATING. I DO UNDERSTAND THE NEED FOR THIS TO ELIMINATE THE POSSIBILITY OF A FIRE, BUT THESE SHOULD BE REPLACED EVERY 50,000 MILES TO STOP THE ENGINE FROM SHUTTING OFF . WE WERE GETTING READY TO DRIVE ON A 600 MILE TRIP IN THIS CAR AND WOULD HAVE BEEN STRANDED ON THE HIGHWAY. THE WAY THE WARRANTY IS WRITTEN, IT IS NOT COVERED. AFTER RESEARCHING THE PROBLEM, THIS HAPPENS MORE FREQUENTLY ESPECIALLY AFTER 50,000 MILES. PLEASE INVESTIGATE AND PROVIDE A RECALL AND/OR FIX TO THIS PROBLEM ON THESE CARS. *TR

DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY, ENGINE DECELERATED, RED TRIANGLE WARNING LIGHT APPEARED ON DASH, WITH DIRECTION TO GET OFF OF THE ROAD. I DID SO, TURNED OFF ENGINE AND WAITED A FEW MINUTES. ENGINE THEN RESTARTED WITHOUT WARNING LIGHT COMING ON. BETWEEN THAT EVENT AND ARRIVING HOME (APPROXIMATELY 10 MILES), THIS OCCURRED 5 MORE TIMES. THIS HAD NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE. RESEARCHING THIS ONLINE, THERE APPEAR TO BE HUNDREDS IF NOT THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WITH THE SAME EXPERIENCE. THIS NEEDS TO BE INVESTIGATED AND FORD NEEDS TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR RESOLVING THIS ISSUE. *TR

DRIVING ALONG, MY WIFE SUDDENLY NOTICED THAT BRAKING WAS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT. DASHBOARD STATES ABS SYSTEM FAILURE, AND REGEN SYSTEM FAILURE. SHE PULLED OVER AND TURNED CAR OFF. RESTARTING, FAILURE LIGHTS STILL COME UP, BRAKING STILL EXTREMELY DIFFICULT. A LOOK UNDER THE HOOD, AND THE BRAKE FLUID IS ALMOST COMPLETELY GONE! IT'D BEEN FILLED AT LAST OIL CHANGE (LESS THAN 1500 MILES AGO) TOOK CAR TO FORD DEALERSHIP. AFTER 2 DAYS, THEY DETERMINED THAT THE MASTER CYLINDER AND HCU NEEDED TO BE REPLACED, THAT THEY WOULD BE SPECIAL ORDER PARTS AND THAT IT'D COST EXTRA $ FOR REPAIRS DUE TO THE COMPLEXITY OF THE REPAIR. (I'D TOLD THE DEALERSHIP THAT I'D RESEARCHED AND THIS IS A VERY COMMON ISSUE, FORD HAS MANY TSBS OUT FOR THIS, CALLS INTO QUESTION THE TRAINING OR THE ABILITY OF THIS DEALERSHIP TO PROPERLY DO THE REPAIR) FORD IS THE ONLY SUPPLIER FOR PARTS FOR THIS PARTICULAR REPAIR, AND THEY CHARGE A PREMIUM PRICE FOR THEM! $7000 FOR PARTS AND LABOR TO REPAIR A SAFETY RELATED PROBLEM THAT FORD SHOULD BE VOLUNTARILY RECALLING. IF THEY'RE NOT GOING TO ISSUE A SAFETY RECALL, THEY SHOULD AT LEAST MAKE THE PARTS AVAILABLE FOR A LOT LESS MONEY! *TR CONSUMER TRADED THE VEHICLE IN JULY 2014 TO MARK MILLER TOYOTA IN SALT LAKE CITY, UT. UPDATED 6/8/18*JB

WHILE DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY, THE "STOP SAFELY NOW" LIT UP AFTER I FELT A JOLT TO THE CAR, WHICH THEN SLOWED DOWN. I REACHED THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND TURNED THE CAR OFF FOR A FEW MINUTES. UPON RESTARTING THE CAR THE RED SSN LIGHT WAS OFF AND I WAS ABLE TO REACH A QUALIFIED AUTO REPAIR. THEY RAN THE DIAGNOSTICS BUT WERE UNABLE TO SEE A PROBLEM AFTER GOING THROUGH THEIR CODE PROCESS, NOR RECREATE THE SSN ALERT. THIS FIRST HAPPENED ON FEBRUARY 27TH 2013. AGAIN, HAVING THREE CHILDREN IN THE CAR WITH ME AND TO HAVE THIS HAPPEN ON THE FREEWAY WAS (ON THE WAY TO DISNEYLAND) QUITE FRIGHTENING AND HAZARDOUS! I HAVE READ MANY MANY STORIES OF FEH OWNERS WITH THE SAME ISSUE! THIS IS A DEFECT TO THE CAR, AND NOT DUE TO NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR. IT IS A HUGE SAFETY CONCERN AND WHILE I WAS NOT INJURED, THE FACT THAT I HAD TO SUDDENLY SLOW DOWN AND PULL OVER COULD HAVE RESULTED IN OTHER CAR OWNERS ON THE FREEWAY BEING IN AN ACCIDENT. SERIOUSLY. *TR

WHILE DRIVING AT A NORMAL SPEED, THE ELECTRICAL PANEL HAS STARTED DISPLAYING "STOP SAFELY NOW" AND THE ENGINE SHUTS DOWN. THIS WAS HAPPENING SPORADICALLY BUT HAS SINCE STARTED HAPPENING MORE CONSISTENTLY. IT HAPPENED WHILE TRAVELING ON THE HIGHWAY ON 3/22/2013, WHICH IS A VERY SERIOUS SAFETY CONCERN WHEN A VEHICLE SHUTS DOWN IN THE MIDDLE OF A BUSY HIGHWAY. ONCE I PULL OVER AND RESTART THE CAR, EVERYTHING APPEARS NORMAL UNTIL THE NEXT TIME IT HAPPENS. ON 3/23/2013 IT HAPPENED TWICE IN LESS THAN 5 MILES. *TR

WHILE COMMUTING TO WORK TRAVELING AT INTERSTATE SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE INDICATED A RED TRIANGLE WITH EXCLAMATION MARK ENCLOSED, A MESSAGE IN THE DRIVER MESSAGE CENTER READING 'STOP VEHICLE SAFELY', AND AN IMMEDIATE LOSS OF POWER ON BOTH FOSSIL FUEL ENGINE AND ELECTRICAL MOTOR DRIVE COMPONENTS. COASTING TO THE SIDE OF THE INTERSTATE WAS STRESSFUL AND EXCEEDINGLY DANGEROUS DURING RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC AT SPEEDS IN EXCESS OF 70 MPH. WITHOUT EXTENSIVE DRIVER EXPERIENCE, THIS INCIDENT COULD HAVE BECOME A FATALITY. THIS POWERLESS ACTION SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED DUE TO ITS VERY POTENTIAL OF FATALITY. *TR

DRIVING VEHICLE ON INTERSTATE HIGHWAY @ HIGHWAY SPEEDS. WHILE MERGING INTO TRAFFIC, EXPERIENCED ABRUPT LOSS OF POWER. AMBER WRENCH WARNING LIGHT CAME ON. MOVED TO SHOULDER OF ROAD IN HEAVY TRAFFIC, STOPPED VEHICLE, TURNED OFF IGNITION & AFTER ABOUT 30 - 40 SECONDS RESTARTED VEHICLE, POWER RESTORED & VEHICLE CONTINUED TO DRIVE NORMALLY (WRENCH LIGHT OFF). TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALER, WHERE THROTTLE BODY WAS REPLACED, NOT UNDER WARRANTY (DESPITE TSB 09-19-12). ON FEB. 3, 2012, EXPERIENCED SIMILAR LOSS OF POWER PROBLEM, AND THE AMBER WRENCH LIGHT AND MASTER VEHICLE ELECTRICAL HAZARD WARNING LIGHT CAME ON, AND VEHICLE COMPLETELY SHUT DOWN (MILEAGE AT THIS POINT: 45,500 MILES). AFTER SHUTTING OFF THE IGNITION & RESTARTING, THE VEHICLE WOULD RUN NORMALLY FOR 45-60 SECONDS, THEN WOULD FAULT & SHUT DOWN. I WAS CLOSE TO MY WORKPLACE, SO I LIMPED IT BACK TO WORK. CALLED DEALER, WHO RECOMMENDED CALLING FORD'S ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE. VEHICLE WAS TRANSPORTED TO HYBRID CERTIFIED DEALER, WHERE THE THROTTLE BODY WAS REPLACED (UNDER WARRANTY THIS TIME) AND THE PCM WAS REPROGRAMMED. WHEN I CAME TO PICK THE VEHICLE UP, I EXPERIENCED THE SAME LOSS OF POWER & WARNING LIGHTS (OPEN WRENCH LIGHT). DEALER NOW CLAIMS A SENSOR IN THE SHIFT ASSEMBLY IS BAD & IS CAUSING THE PROBLEM (CLAIMING THIS IS NOT COVERED BY WARRANTY). VEHICLE IS STILL AT DEALER AT THE TIME OF THIS POST. *TR