2008 Ford Escape Hybrid

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID. WHILE DRIVING 65 MPH, THE ENGINE STALLED AND WAS ABLE TO RESTART. THE VEHICLE WAS DRIVEN TO A DEALER WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE ELECTRONIC COOLANT PUMP NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 127,405...UPDATED 10/30/14 *BF..UPDATED 12/04/14 *BF UPDATED 7/9/2015*JS

WHEN DRIVING AT HIGHER SPEEDS (APPROXIMATELY OVER 50 MPH), THE CAR WOULD SUDDENLY LOSE ENGINE POWER AND THE "STOP SAFELY NOW" MESSAGE WOULD COME ON. THE CAR WOULD GO INTO LIMP-HOME MODE AND ALLOW ME TO PULL OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. TURNING OFF THE CAR AND RESTARTING IT WOULD ALLEVIATE THE PROBLEM FOR A FEW MORE MINUTES OF DRIVING. THIS HAPPENED ABOUT 15 TIMES ON A 60 MILE TRIP HOME, ALLOWING ME TO DRIVE ANYWHERE FROM ONE TO 10 MILES AT A TIME BEFORE THE ENGINE SHUT OFF. THIS WAS ACCOMPANIED AT TIMES WITH AN ENGINE OVERHEATING MESSAGE. I TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALER FOR A REPAIR. THEY CLAIMED IT WAS A MALFUNCTIONING ELECTRONIC THROTTLE BODY AND REPLACED IT FOR ABOUT $1000. A WEEK LATER, THE SAME THING HAPPENED TWICE ON A 30-MILE HIGHWAY TRIP WHEN DRIVING AT HIGHER SPEEDS, BUT HAS NOT HAPPENED SINCE THEN. *TR

I HAD MY 2008 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID SERVICED AT KOONS FORD AFTER RECEIVING SAFETY RECALL 14S05 FROM FORD MOTOR COMPANY. THE RECALL IS TO REPAIR A POTENTIAL SAFETY ISSUE RELATED TO THE ELECTRIC POWER STEERING SYSTEM. AFTER RECEIVING THE REPAIR TO CORRECT THE ISSUE IN SAFETY RECALL NOTICE 14SO5, MY VEHICLE DEVELOPED STEERING / SUSPENSION PROBLEMS. AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS THE STEERING ON THE FORD ESCAPE IS NOW VERY SENSITIVE CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO FEEL UNSTEADY AT TIMES. (IF FEELS LIKE IT IS SWAYING SLIGHTLY FROM SIDE TO SIDE.) WE FIRST NOTICED THE ISSUE WITHIN A WEEK OF HAVING THE REPAIR DONE. AS WE CARAVANNED TO OUR SUMMER VACATION, MY WIFE WAS DRIVING BEHIND ME ON THE HIGHWAY. AT A REST STOP SHE ASKED IF I WAS TIRED AND HAVING TROUBLE DRIVING. SHE INFORMED THAT FROM HER VANTAGE POINT IT LOOKED LIKE THE CAR WAS SWERVING. I WAS WELL RESTED AND SHARED WITH HER THAT IT ALSO FELT AS THOUGH THE STEERING / SUSPENSION WAS LOOSE. WE HAVE ALSO NOTICED, AT LOW SPEEDS, THAT THE STEERING WHEEL HAS MORE PLAY TO IT NOW. *TR

AFTER BEING PARKED FOR SEVERAL HOURS AND UPON RETURNING TO AND STARTING THE VEHICLE, I FOUND SEVERAL LIGHTS ON THE DASH ILLUMINATED, INCLUDING THE ABS LIGHT, TRACTION CONTROL LIGHT, THE SERVICE WRENCH & CHECK BRAKES. I WAS ALSO RECEIVING A MESSAGE ADVISING THE REGEN BRAKES WERE INACTIVE & TO CHECK BRAKE SYSTEM. I HAD THE VEHICLE TOWED TO OUR LOCAL MECHANIC AND FOLLOWING HIS CHECK HE ADVISED THE HE COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG WITH THEM & DUE TO THE HYBRID NATURE OF THE VEHICLE, HE WAS UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM. I THEN CAREFULLY DROVE THE VEHICLE HOME AND TOOK IT TO A LOCAL FORD DEALERSHIP YESTERDAY. I WAS JUST INFORMED BY THE DEALER THAT THE HCU ON THE VEHICLE HAD GONE BAD AND REPAIRS WERE GOING TO BE $5,000. AS YOU MIGHT IMAGINE, THIS IS AN EXTRAVAGANT AMOUNT OF MONEY TO HAVE TO PUT INTO A SEVEN YEAR OLD VEHICLE THAT ONLY COST $34,000 BRAND NEW. THE PART ALONE IS $4,000 ACCORDING TO THE DEALER. I AM NOW FORCED TO EITHER HAVE THIS REPAIR DONE OR TRADE THE VEHICLE IN ON ANOTHER FORD. BASED ON MY EXPERIENCE WITH THIS CURRENT VEHICLE, I AM NOT OVERJOYED AT THE PROSPECT OF OWNING ANOTHER FORD PRODUCT. I RESEARCHED THE INTERNET AND FOUND HUNDREDS OF CASES WHERE THIS PART HAS GONE BAD AND I FEEL IT IS TIME THESE VEHICLES GET RECALLED BEFORE SOMEBODY GETS SEVERELY INJURED OR KILLED. THIS IS OBVIOUSLY A SAFETY ISSUE AND WHILE WE WERE LUCKY ENOUGH TO HAVE IT HAPPEN WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED, THIS DEFECTIVE PART HAS OR WILL LIKELY CAUSE SOMEONE SERIOUS INJURY OR LOSS OF LIFE. NHTSA NEEDS TO ADDRESS THIS AND FORD NEEDS TO ADMIT THEIR ERROR AND DEFECT. *TR

I WAS STOPPED AT A SIGNAL. WHEN THE LIGHT TURNED, I PRESSED DOWN ON THE ACCELERATOR AND THE CAR STARTED TO MOVE AS NORMAL. JUST PAST THE INTERSECTION, THE GAS ENGINE SHUT DOWN, A RED LIGHT CAME ON AND THE CAR LOST ALL POWER. THE CAR BEHIND ME STRUCK US. UPON GOING TO THE DEALERSHIP, THEY KNEW THAT THE ELECTRONIC COOLING PUMP HAD FAILED. THERE WAS NOT MANY QUESTIONS, AS THEY DESCRIBED WHAT THE SYMPTOMS WERE. UPON LOOKING AT THE INTERNET, IT WOULD SEEM THAT THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE WITH FORD, AND THAT THE NEW ECP WAS REDESIGNED TO PREVENT THE ISSUE. THERE ARE LITERALLY HUNDREDS OF COMPLAINTS ABOUT VEHICLES LOSING POWER TO THIS SAME PROBLEM. IN SOME CASES, AS WAS MINE, ELECTRICAL POWER IS LOST AS WELL, CAUSING LOSS OF POWER STEERING AND BRAKES. *TR

ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS VEHICLE LOSES POWER, RED TRIANGLE (WARNING) LIGHT ON AND (STOP SAFELY NOW) ON MESSAGE CENTER WITH WRENCH LIGHT (SERVICE ENGINE LIGHT). VEHICLE CAN NO LONGER BE DRIVEN AND MUST BE PULLED TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD (IF POSSIBLE) PLACED IN PARK AND THE IGNITION TURNED OFF. THIS WILL RESET THE RED TRIANGLE LIGHT AND STOP SAFELY NOW MESSAGE USUALLY ON THE FIRST KEY CYCLE, SOMETIME IT REQUIRES A SECOND OFF/ ON CYCLE OF THE IGNITION. THE WRENCH LIGHT (SES) MAY OR MAY NOT RESET, BUT WILL EVENTUALLY GO OFF. THIS HAS HAPPENED 8-10 TIMES IN THE LAST YEAR, SO FAR AT SPEEDS OF 35 MPH OR LESS IN CITY TRAFFIC. NOT LOOKING FORWARD TO THE DAY OR NIGHT THAT THIS HAPPENS ON A BUSY FREEWAY, IT IS HARD ENOUGH TO GET TO THE CURB IN CITY TRAFFIC. THIS COULD CAUSE SOME REAL PROBLEMS ON THE FREEWAY. *TR

WHILE DRIVING, BOTH THE "ABS" AND "PARKING BRAKE" LIGHTS CAME ON. AS I CAME TO A STOP, I NOTICED THE BRAKING BECAME MORE DIFFICULT AND I HAD TO PUSH HARDER TO STOP COMPLETELY. AT THE SAME TIME THESE LIGHTS CAME ON, A MESSAGE CAME ON SAYING "CHECK BRAKE SYSTEM", FOLLOWED BY "REGEN BRAKES DISABLED". I BOUGHT THE VEHICLE USED ON MAY 25, 2014. SINCE THEN THIS HAS HAPPENED NUMEROUS TIMES. ALSO, MY BRAKES, SEEM TO LOCK UP SOMETIMES WHILE DRIVING, MAKING IT MORE DIFFICULT TO DRIVE. THEY DON'T FULLY LOCK UP, BECAUSE I AM STILL ALLOWED TO SPEED UP. IT LAST FOR MAYBE 20 SECONDS OR SO AND THEN RELEASES. I AM SURE ALL OF THIS IS RELATED SOMEHOW. I HAVE LOOKED ONLINE AT MANY FORUMS AND IT SEEMS AS THOUGH THIS HAS BEEN A PROBLEM ON MANY OF THE SAME VEHICLES WITH THE REGEN BRAKING SYSTEM. I AM SURPRISED THERE HASN'T BEEN MORE COMPLAINTS OR ANY INVESTIGATIONS. SINCE I HAVE HAD THE VEHICLE FOR ONLY A FEW MONTHS NOW, I AM NOT SURE IF THIS PROBLEM OCCURRED WITH THE PREVIOUS OWNER OR NOT. SOME OF THE FORUMS I READ, PEOPLE WERE SAYING THAT TRAINED TECHNICIANS COULDN'T EVEN FIGURE OUT WHAT THE PROBLEM IS. I LOVE MY HYBRID AND I CAN'T AFFORD TO GET RID OF IT ALREADY AND GET ANOTHER VEHICLE. I CAN'T EVEN REALLY AFFORD TO HAVE IT SENT IN TO A FORD DEALERSHIP TO HAVE IT LOOKED AT AND WORKED ON. WHAT ARE MY OPTIONS? CAN SOMEONE PLEASE LOOK INTO THIS? CAN FORD PAY FOR THIS? I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO. I AM AFRAID THAT SOMEDAY THE BRAKES WILL FAIL AND I COULD BE INJURED, AS WELL AS MY FAMILY. PLEASE HELP!!!! *TR

RECEIVED THE RED MASTER VEHICLE ELECTRICAL HAZARD WARNING LAMP, IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWED BY ENGINE SHUTTING DOWN WHILE ON HIGHWAY. CAUSE WAS A FAILURE OF THE MECS PUMP FORD PN 5M6Z-8C419-A. AFTER IT HAPPENED I RESEARCHED AND FOUND OTHER REPORTS ISSUED FOR SAME ISSUE. SEE 10597458,10604791,10596349,10592073,10588181,10588170,10568053,10567619,10567234,10566464,10565177,10560868,10557567,10554859,10548328,10547463,10537539,10533928,10531556,10525970,10523932,10523371,10521436,10521116,10516178,10514445,10513916,10511202,10505543,10504308,10500579,10500159,10461261,10462036,10462214,10463235,10468355,10474060,10475192,10476583,10477359,10485797,10490135,10460373,10459919,10459596,10459518,10458744,10457505,10457488,10456830,10456625,10455257,10455049,10454894,10453205,10448469,10448468,10409310,10409374,10410388,10411980,10412392,10416615,10419367,10430477,10326667,10329839,10348540,10349760,10352951,10360029,10361122,10393862,10393924,10399209. *TR

MECS COOLANT PUMP DEFECT CAUSES LOSS OF ENGINE POWER AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS RESULTING IN AN EXTREMELY UNSAFE CONDITION. FORD IS AWARE OF THE DEFECT IN THIS "HYBRID UNIQUE" COMPONENT BUT REFUSES TO COVER IT UNDER THEIR HYBRID COMPONENT WARRANTY. IN MY CASE I WAS DRIVING AT 55MPH ON A PUBLIC HIGHWAY WHEN THE DASH ILLUMINATED A RED TRIANGLE WITH THE MESSAGE "STOP SAFELY NOW". I HAD TO SCRAMBLE TO GET TO THE RIGHT SHOULDER AND CREATE A DANGEROUS CONDITION BY CUTTING OFF THE DRIVERS AROUND ME. I HAD TO PAY OUT OF POCKET FOR A REDESIGNED MECS PUMP REPLACEMENT AND HAVE NOT EXPERIENCED THE ISSUE SINCE. PENDING LAWSUIT, MACDONALD V. FORD MOTOR CO., CASE NUMBER 3:13-CV-02988, IN THE U.S. DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA. *TR