2008 Ford Escape Hybrid

I WAS DRIVING MY 2008 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID AT ABOUT 65MPH IN THE LEFTMOST LANE SHORTLY AFTER MERGING FROM I83 SOUTH ONTO I395 (BALTIMORE BELTWAY) WHEN, WITH NO ADVANCE WARNING WHATSOEVER, THE GAS PEDAL STOPPED RESPONDING AT THE SAME TIME AS THE TRIANGLE WITH AN EXCLAMATION POINT AND THE "STOP SAFELY NOW" (AS IF I HAD ANY CHOICE) MESSAGE APPEARED. BY THE GRACE OF GOD I WAS ABLE TO COAST ACROSS 5 LANES OF TRAFFIC TO THE BREAKDOWN LANE. I WAS ANXIOUS TO GET HOME TO FEED THE DOGS, AND MY HUSBAND WAS OUT OF TOWN, SO RATHER THAN CALL A TOW TRUCK I RESTARTED THE CAR AND KEPT GOING IN THE RIGHT-HAND LANE FOR ANOTHER 3 OR 4 MILES UNTIL THE SAME THING HAPPENED AGAIN. IT TOOK ANOTHER 2 HOURS (WITH AN 15-20 ADDITIONAL STALLING EPISODES) UNTIL BEFORE I WAS ABLE TO MAKE IT HOME TO ANNAPOLIS. THROUGH THE INTERNET (AND MY HUSBAND CRAWLING UNDER THE CAR) WE HAVE CONFIRMED THAT THE SOURCE OF THE PROBLEM IS A WELL-DOCUMENTED FAULTY OEM HYBRID DRIVE TRAIN MECS COOLANT WATER PUMP. SEEMS TO ME THAT THIS IS A CATASTROPHIC FAILURE THAT IS EVERY BIT AS SERIOUS AS THE GM IGNITION SWITCH PROBLEM, AND A FATAL ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN. IT IS UNCONSCIONABLE THAT FORD HAS NOT ISSUED A RECALL ON THIS ISSUE, AND UNCONSCIONABLE THAT NHTSA HAS NOT FORCED FORD TO DO SO. *TR

CAR GOES LIMP. FORD HAS TSB 08-24-05. MECP FAILS. POOR DESIGN. HAS GONE LIMP ON ME ~8 TIMES. EACH TIME CAR DRIFTS TO A STOP REGARDLESS OF LOCATION, SPEED, ETC...(EG, CAN BE GOING 75MPH ON HIGHWAY) AND IT GOES LIMP. CANNOT MOVE AFTERWARDS FOR MINUTES. MANY CASES OF THIS HAPPENING HAVE BEEN REPORTED. 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. CODES P1A0E, P1A0F, P0A3C, P0A3E, P0A7A, P0A7C AND P1A0D MAY ALSO BE SET. *TR

WHILE TRAVELING AT INTERSTATE SPEEDS (65 -70 MPH) IN THE MIDDLE LANE, MY 2008 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID HAD A SUDDEN LOSS OF POWER WITH A RED TRIANGLE EXCLAMATION MARK INDICATOR LIGHT IN THE DRIVER MESSAGE CENTER READING 'STOP VEHICLE SAFELY', HAD TO COAST TO THE SIDE OF THE INTERSTATE WHICH WAS VERY DANGEROUS, THIS SUDDEN LOSS OF POWER INCIDENT ALMOST ENDED IN ME BEING REAR ENDED AND THEN IN A COLLISION AS I TRIED TO CROSS OVER TO THE EMERGENCY LANE. COULD YOU PLEASE INVESTIGATE THIS. I WILL BE TAKING MY CAR INTO THE SHOP TOMORROW TO SEE WHAT THEY SAY. I SEE ON THE INTERNET THAT MANY OTHER FORD ESCAPE OWNERS HAVE HAD THIS SAME THING HAPPEN TO THEM. *TR

WHILE TRAVELING AT HIGHWAY SPEED, THE CAR SUDDENLY LOSES ALL POWER AND THE STOP SAFELY NOW LIGHT COMES ON IN THE DASH. I HAD TO PULL OVER QUICKLY WHILE AVOIDING BEING KILLED BY HIGHWAY TRAFFIC. NO WARNING AT ALL. DURING MY ROAD TRIP, THIS HAPPENED 3 TIMES ON THE HIGHWAY. DURING MY RETURN TRIP, IT HAPPENED 3 MORE TIMES. PROBLEM WILL ONLY OCCUR AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS AND DURING LONG ROAD TRIPS. MY 20-MIN DRIVE TO WORK HAS NO ISSUES. THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY PROBLEM AND A FLAWED DESIGN ON FORD'S PART. MY FAMILY AND I COULD HAVE BEEN SERIOUSLY INJURED OR KILLED DURING ANY ONE OF THE SIX TIMES THE CAR MYSTERIOUSLY DIED ON THE HIGHWAY. FROM MY RESEARCH, THIS PROBLEM CAN BE CAUSED BY SEVERAL COMPONENTS AND IS DIFFICULT TO DIAGNOSE IN THE SHOP. FOR OLDER MODELS, THERE HAS BEEN TSB'S ISSUED, BUT NOT FOR 2008 AND LATER MODELS. I HAVE KNOWN SEVERAL 2008 MODELS THAT EXPERIENCED THE SAME PROBLEM AROUND 60,000 - 70,000 MILES. BROWSING THOUGH THIS WEBSITE SHOWS MANY HAVE COMPLAINED ABOUT THIS ISSUE. FORD NEEDS TO ADDRESS THIS ASAP BEFORE SOMEONE GETS KILLED OR INJURED ON THE HIGHWAY. *TR

RECENTLY WHILE DRIVING, MY DASHBOARD SUDDENLY DISPLAYS A RED TRIANGLE WITH AN EXCLAMATION POINT IN IT AND ADVISES ME TO "STOP SAFELY NOW." REGARDLESS OF WHETHER I CAN STOP SAFELY OR NOT, I LOSE POWER SUDDENLY. THIS HAS HAPPENED MANY TIMES, AND I HAVE BEEN INFORMED THAT THIS IS A GENERIC WARNING THAT COVERS NUMEROUS CAR PROBLEMS. UNFORTUNATELY, I DO MANY MILES ON THE HIGHWAY AT HIGHER SPEEDS. IGNORING THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS WHEN THIS HAS HAPPENED, AND I MADE COMPLAINTS TO THIS SITE THEN, THE MOST CURRENT BOUTS HAVE OCCURRED WHEN I WAS IN VERY HEAVY COMMUTER VOLUME ON THE SAME HIGHWAY THAT IS CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION WITH NO SHOULDERS. I LOSE POWER, WITHOUT EVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO AT LEAST GET OUT OF THE MIDDLE LANE. THIS SEVERELY DISRUPTS TRAFFIC, AND I HAVE ALMOST BEEN REAR-ENDED NUMEROUS TIMES. WHAT'S WORSE IS, I HAVE TAKEN IT TO A FORD DEALERSHIP AND THEY HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM. I HAVE HAD NUMEROUS THINGS FIXED, BUT I STILL HAVE THIS PROBLEM. THIS IS NOT SAFE, AND MOST LIKELY, ONE DAY I WILL BE INJURED BECAUSE OF IT. I WOULD RATHER HAVE THE OPTION OF RUINING MY VEHICLE BY DRIVING IT WHEN I SHOULDN'T THEN TO NOT HAVE THE OPTION OF GETTING OUT OF HARMS WAY. I UNDERSTAND THAT OTHER YEARS OF ESCAPES WERE RECALLED FOR THIS PROBLEM, SO WHY NOT MINE? THANK YOU. *TR

CAR STARTED AND AFTER BACKING OUT AND MOVING FORWARD, STOP ENGINE NOW MESSAGE CAME ON WITH A RED TRIANGLE ON DASH. SLOWLY MOVED TO A PARKING SPACE. TURNED ENGINE OFF AND WAITED FOR ONE MINUTE AND RESTARTED. MESSAGE WAS GONE AND CAR DRIVEN HOME. BROUGHT TO DEALER FOLLOWING WEEK WITH DESCRIPTION OF PROBLEM. THEY DIAGNOSED AS A FAILURE OF THE THROTTLE BODY AND REPLACED THE THROTTLE BODY AND ASSEMBLY AT COST OF $629. READ IN OTHER COMPLAINTS THAT PROBLEM RESURFACES LATER. HAPPY THAT I WAS NOT TRAVELING ON FREEWAY WHEN THE PROBLEM OCCURRED. CONSIDERING FREQUENCY OF THIS AND OTHER PROBLEMS RELATED TO SHUTDOWN AND HYBRID, SHOULD A RECALL BE ISSUED? *TR

I HAVE RECEIVED A "STOP SAFELY NOW" MESSAGE FROM MY HEV ON TWO SEPARATE OCCASIONS. BOTH TIMES WHILE TRAVELING ON THE INTERSTATE AT SPEEDS OF 65 - 75 MPH. ON BOTH OCCASIONS, THE MESSAGE OCCURRED AFTER A COUPLE OF HOURS OF TRAVEL. LUCKILY, THE FIRST TIME IT HAPPENED WE WERE ON A ONE LANE HIGHWAY, BUT THE SECOND TIME WE WERE TRAVELING IN THE HIGH SPEED LANE AND HAD TO TRY TO CROSS THREE LANES OF TRAFFIC TO PULL OVER. WHEN THE MESSAGE OCCURS THE SUV LOSES ACCELERATION. IT IMMEDIATELY DROPS YOUR SPEED TO 60 MPH AND CONTINUES TO DECELERATE AND YOU CAN'T SPEED UP IF YOU TRY. TRY CROSSING A FOUR LANE HIGHWAY WITH A SPEED LIMIT OF 70 MPH WHEN YOU CAN'T EVEN DO 60 MPH. THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE AND FORD SHOULD RECALL THE VEHICLES IMMEDIATELY AND REPLACE WHATEVER SUSPECTED PART IS CAUING THE PROBLEM. THE MESSAGE BOARDS ARE FULL OF THE SAME STORIES. IT'S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME AND SOMEONE WILL GET REAR ENDED TRYING TO CROSS THE HIGHWAY TO STOP SAFELY NOW AND WHEN THEY SAY NOW, THEY MEAN IT. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE STOP SAFELY NOW WARNING MESSAGE ILLUMINATED ON THE DASHBOARD. THE VEHICLE THEN BEGAN TO DECELERATE INDEPENDENTLY AND STALLED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHERE THEY REPLACED THE THROTTLE BODY. THE CONTACT FAILURE RECURRED EIGHT MONTHS AFTER THE THROTTLE BODY REPLACEMENT. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 96,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 107,800.

I WAS ON A ROAD TRIP WITH A PASSENGER IN MY VEHICLE. WE STOPPED IN BARSTOW, CA FOR LUNCH. WHILE PULLING INTO A PARKING SPACE, MY VEHICLE SUDDENLY ACCELERATED JUMPING THE PARKING BLOCK AND THE CURB. I WAS ABLE TO STOP THE VEHICLE FROM GOING INTO THE BUILDING BUT NOT BEFORE HITTING SOME NEWSPAPER VENDING MACHINES. THE FRONT BUMPER SUSTAINED MINOR DAMAGE. I HAVE BEEN DRIVING FOR MANY YEARS AND HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED ANYTHING LIKE THIS. BOTH MY PASSENGER AND MYSELF WERE PRETTY SHOOK UP AFTERWARDS. THE PERSON SITTING IN THE CAR NEXT TO US WHO WITNESSED THIS EVENT SAID THAT THERE WAS AN OLDER MAN STANDING RIGHT WHERE WE JUMPED THE CURB A FEW MOMENTS EARLIER. FORTUNATELY, HE HAD LEFT OR THIS INCIDENT WOULD HAVE BEEN MUCH WORSE. *TR

THIS IS THE SECOND OF TWO INCIDENTS WHERE POWER WAS LOST AND THE CAR BECAME UNRESPONSIVE. FIRST, WAS ONE WEEK PRIOR DRIVING FROM LA TO SAN DIEGO AT 5PM. WE GOT A FLAT ON THE HIGHWAY IN IRVINE CA. WE PULLED OVER AND CHANGED THE TIRE BUT WHEN WE STARTED THE ENGINE IT WOULD NOT START. THE LIGHTS CAME ON BUT WITH A WARNING LIGHT TO "STOP SAFELY NOW". I THOUGHT THIS WAS FROM THE TIRE AND PRESSED THE RESET BUTTON BUT THE WARNING WOULD NOT CLEAR. WE JUMPED THE CAR ONCE AND WERE UNSUCCESSFUL, WE JUMPED IT AGAIN AND AGAIN NOTHING, WE TOWED THE VEHICLE TO A MECHANIC AND THE TOW TRUCK TRIED TO JUMP IT AGAIN AND THIS TIME THE LIGHTS WOULD NOT COME ON. WE JUMPED WHILE HOLDING THE BUTTON FOR THE HIGH VOLTAGE BATTERY WHICH WE FOUND OUT ABOUT IN THE MANUAL BUT THE CAR WOULD NOT START. WE PAID THE TOW AND CALLED FOR A RIDE HOME. I MISSED WORK AND MY MOTHER TOOK ME BACK TO LA TO WAIT FOR THE CAR. THE MECHANIC REPLACED THE BATTERY. I WAITED 8 HOURS FOR THE MECHANIC TO SAY THAT THE CAR NEEDED TO BE TAKEN OUT OF A SAFETY MODE AND THAT THIS CAN'T BE DONE MANUALLY IN THE EVENT IT HAPPENED AGAIN. THE NEXT WEEK, AFTER PULLING OUT OF THE DRIVEWAY TO GO HOME SUNDAY NIGHT THE RED TRIANGLE LIGHT CAME ON AND WARNED ME TO "STOP SAFELY NOW" AND THEN I COULD NOT ACCELERATE PAST 20MPH AND THEN 10MPH AS I SLOWED TO PULL OVER. I KILLED THE ENGINE, WAITED TEN MIN. AND RESTARTED BUT THE CAR WOULD NOT ACCELERATE AND THE LIGHT CAME ON AGAIN. I WAITED UNTIL MIDNIGHT TO BE TOWED TO THE DEALER, GOT A RIDE, AND I AM NOW ON THE BUS UNTIL SOMETHING CAN BE DONE. AFTER RESEARCHING OTHER COMPLAINTS I AM SAD TO FIND THAT THIS PROBLEM IS COMMON, IT IS UNRESOLVED, IT IS DANGEROUS FOR A SAFETY MECHANISM TO CAUSE THE DRIVER TO SUDDENLY LOSE POWER, AND IT IS INCONVENIENT TO BE STRANDED AND UNABLE TO TROUBLESHOOT THE CAR IF THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE ENGINE AND IT IS A COMPUTER MALFUNCTION. *TR