2008 Ford Escape Hybrid

A WARNING CAME ON LETTING US KNOW THE BRAKE SYSTEM FAILED. THE CAR WAS DIFFICULT TO CONTROL AS THE PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOOR AND HAD TO BE PULLED UP AND DEPRESSED AGAIN TO FULLY STOP VEHICLE. WE WERE FORTUNATELY ONLY A FEW BLOCKS FROM THE DEALER AND WERE ABLE TO DRIVE THE CAR IN. WE ARE WAITING FOR THE FULL DIAGNOSIS. THE INITIAL REPORT WAS THAT THE HCU FAILED AND THE DEALER IS TRYING TO DETERMINE IF ANOTHER PART IS CONTRIBUTING TO THE ISSUE. THEY WANT TO BE SURE THAT THE HCU IS IN FACT THE ISSUE BEFORE THEY REPLACE A $5,000 PART UNDER WARRANTY. *TR

SUBMISSION TO MARK FIELDS RE 2008 FORD HYBRID ESCAPE DEFECTS. *SMD THE CONSUMER STATED ABOUT TWO WEEKS AGO, A RED MASTER VEHICLE ELECTRICAL HAZARD WARNING LAMP AND STOP SAFELY NOW MESSAGE APPEARED ON THE DASHBOARD, WHILE DRIVING AT 60 MPH. THE ENGINE IMMEDIATELY SHUT OFF. HE WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER SAFELY. HE TURNED OFF THE VEHICLE, WAITED 5-10 MINUTES BEFORE RE-STARTING IT AND DROVE A FEW MILES, BEFORE THE SITUATION REPEATED ITSELF, SEVERAL MORE TIMES, UNTIL HE ARRIVED HOME. AFTER DOING SOME RESEARCH, HE NARROWED THE PROBLEM DOWN TO WHAT HE BELIEVED TO BE THE (MECS) MOTOR ENGINE COOLING SYSTEM PUMP, WHICH FROM HIS UNDERSTANDING, WAS UNIQUE TO THE 2005-2008 FORD ESCAPE HYBRIDS. *JB

STARTING IN MAY OF 2014, MY CAR'S PERFORMANCE HAS BEEN UNTRUSTWORTHINESS. SOME DAYS THERE'S NO PROBLEM-- I PUSH ON THE GAS PEDAL AND THE CAR MOVES ACCORDINGLY. AT A STOP SIGN, I CAN GO. WHILE MOVING AT 50 MPH ON THE FREEWAY, I CAN EASILY ACCELERATE AND MOVE AROUND A MONSTER SIZE 18 WHEELER. BUT ON THE DAYS WHEN I PRESS THE GAS PEDAL AND THE CAR DOESN'T RESPOND, I SWEAT. HERE'S A DESCRIPTION: FOOT ON THE GAS PEDAL, NO RESPONSE... SO I PRESS DOWN FURTHER, WITHOUT ANY ACCELERATION OF THE CAR. FINALLY, NOW FREAKED OUT THAT THE CAR IS NOT MOVING (AND THAT ANOTHER CAR IS RIGHT ON MY TAIL) I PRESS THE PEDAL TO THE FLOOR-- WITH NO IMMEDIATE REACTION. THEN-- BAM-- SURPRISE! IT WORKS AND THE SUDDEN SURGE SENDS ME FLYING BEYOND INTENTION AND I MUST PRESS ON THE BRAKES TO SLOW. AT STOP SIGNS THIS HAPPENS AND PEOPLE BEHIND ME GET FRUSTRATED, PROBABLY THINKING I'M ON DRUGS OR SOMETHING. BUT REALLY, IT'S NOT ME; IT'S MY FORD ESCAPE HYBRID 2008. THE RATE OF INCIDENCE HAS GRADUALLY INCREASED FROM MAY TO THE CURRENT DATE OF JULY, AND CONSEQUENTLY, I AM AFRAID TO DRIVE THIS CAR. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 50 MPH, THE CHECK BRAKE SYSTEM AND THE ABS WARNING LIGHTS ILLUMINATED. WHEN THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS ENGAGED, IT BECAME STUCK TO THE FLOORBOARD. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO COAST OUT OF TRAFFIC BUT RAN A RED LIGHT WHILE TRYING TO STOP THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT HAD TO STEER THE VEHICLE INTO A CURB IN ORDER TO STOP. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN A LOCAL MECHANIC FOR FURTHER INSPECTION. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 70,000.

I WAS MAKING A CORNER AT APPROXIMATELY 40 MPH WHEN MY POWER STEERING GAVE OUT. IF I HAD NOT BEEN A WRESTLING COACH, I WOULD HAVE HAD AN ACCIDENT. IF MY WIFE HAD BEEN DRIVING, THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN AN ACCIDENT. I IMMEDIATELY GOT MYSELF TO THE DEALERSHIP, WHERE THEY HAD TO REPLACE THE ENTIRE STEERING COLUMN BECAUSE OF A BROKEN PART. I HAVE HAD TWO FRIENDS WHERE THIS HAS HAPPENED. I JUST RECENTLY RECEIVED A RECALL NOTICE 14S05/NHTSA RECALL 14V-284. I WENT TO THE DEALERSHIP AND FOUND OUT THE RECALL WHICH AFFECTS THE STEERING MECHANISM IS A COMPUTER PROGRAM THAT PRODUCES THE SAME EFFECT AND NOT A STRUCTURAL PROBLEM OF THE STEERING COLUMN. I AM HAVING THE REPAIR DONE TODAY, BUT I AM CONCERNED THAT THERE MAY BE OTHER DANGEROUS STRUCTURAL PROBLEMS OUT THERE WITH THE STEERING COLUMN. MY EXPERIENCE HAS NOT BEEN UNIQUE. *TR

12/26/2012 I WAS MAKING A U-TURN AND MY STEERING WHEEL LOCKED UP. ALMOST HIT THE LIGHT POST, ANOTHER CAR, ALMOST RAN UP ON THE CURB AND ALMOST HIT A ROCK/BOULDER SIGN. PROBLEM WENT AWAY ONCE I RESTARTED CAR. CAR SAT IN MECHANIC SHOP FOR WEEKS, DUE TO BACK ORDER, AND WAS FINALLY FIXED. A NEW STEERING COLUMN COST ME $1064.35 - I ALSO HAVE THE ORIGINAL PART. 10/26/13 I WAS DRIVING ON FREEWAY, AT MIDNIGHT, AND WAS TWO HOURS AWAY FROM MY HOUSE. MY CAR KEPT SLIPPING AND THE STEERING WHEEL WAS LOOSE. I ALMOST HIT THE FREEWAY MEDIAN MULTIPLE TIMES, ALMOST HIT MULTIPLE CARS, AND ALMOST SPUN OUT WHILE ON MY DRIVE HOME THAT NIGHT. I DID NOT HAVE A TOW TRUCK COME BECAUSE STATE FARMS COMPUTERS WERE DOWN AND I'D HAVE TO PAY $69 A MILE IF A TOW CAME- AND I WAS STILL TWO HOURS AWAY FROM HOME. I TOOK MY CAR TO MY MECHANIC THE NEXT DAY AND WAS TOLD, AGAIN, THAT I AM LUCKY TO BE ALIVE. MY U-JOIN WAS COMPLETELY BROKEN AND WAS TOLD THAT THIS IS ALSO RELATED FOR THE STEERING COLUMN. I PAID ANOTHER $287.06 AND HAD A NEW U-JOINT PLACED. I CONTACTED FORD ABOUT THIS STEERING PROBLEM, WHEN MY COLUMN HAD TO BE REPLACED, AND THEY TOLD ME THAT THEY HAVE NO DOCUMENTED REPORTS OF AN ISSUE AND THAT THERE IS NO RECALL. THE INTERNET STATES OTHERWISE, AND I READ THOUSANDS OF ACCOUNTS OF PEOPLE GETTING INTO ACCIDENTS DUE TO THEIR STEERING WHEEL LOCKING UP. *TR

AT APPROXIMATELY 8:00 AM ON THE ABOVE DATE, I WAS TRAVELING NORTH ON INTERSTATE 75 FROM CINCINNATI TOWARD TOLEDO AT AROUND 70 MPH. WITHOUT ANY WARNING WHATSOEVER, THE VEHICLE COMPLETELY SHUT DOWN AND THE COMPUTER ADVISED I SHOULD PULL OFF IMMEDIATELY TO SAFETY. WHEN THE ESCAPE CAME TO A STOP, I TURNED THE KEY OFF AND THEN WAS ABLE TO RESTART THE ENGINE. AFTER TRAVELING LESS THAN TWO MILES, THE SAME THING HAPPENED. THIS TIME I WAS ABLE TO LIMP OFF AN EXIT RAMP TO A SIDE STREET WHERE THE VEHICLE SEEMED TO BE ABLE TO RUN A BIT LONGER BEFORE CUTTING OFF HOWEVER, THE ENGINE DYING HAPPENED AT LEAST ANOTHER HALF DOZEN TIMES BEFORE I WAS ABLE TO MAKE IT TO AN ENTERPRISE RENTAL CAR LOCATION NORTH OF DAYTON. FROM THERE, I STOPPED BY THE NEAREST FORD DEALERSHIP (BEAU TOWNSEND FORD) AND THEY WERE ABLE TO RETRIEVE THE VEHICLE FROM THE ENTERPRISE PARKING LOT. THE DEALERSHIP WAS NOT ABLE TO LOOK AT THE VEHICLE UNTIL SEVERAL DAYS LATER ON 6/19/14 HOWEVER, AT THAT TIME THEY DIAGNOSED THE PROBLEM AS A DEFECTIVE / SHORTED-OUT MOTOR ELECTRIC COOLING SYSTEM PUMP. THE PART WAS ORDERED AND REPLACED THE FOLLOWING DAY HOWEVER, INCLUDING TOWING AND THE NECESSITY OF RENTING A VEHICLES (I WAS ON A BUSINESS TRIP), THE INCIDENT ENDED UP COSTING ME CLOSE TO $1,000. FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND, FORD WAS AWARE OF THIS DEFECTIVE PART AT THE TIME OF MANUFACTURING AND DID NOTHING TO PREVENT IT FROM BEING INSTALLED ON TENS OF THOUSANDS OF VEHICLES. THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF COMPLAINTS ON FILE REGARDING THIS PART AS WELL AS A CLASS ACTION LAW SUIT WHICH WAS FILED IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA. LET'S HOPE THAT FORD FINALLY STEPS UP TO THE PLATE AND ADMITS THEIR GRAVE ERROR IN JUDGMENT BEFORE SOMEBODY GETS KILLED BECAUSE OF THIS FAULTY PART. THOSE OF US WHO HAVE HAD TO INCUR EXPENSES DUE TO THE MALFUNCTION SHOULD BE FULL REIMBURSED BY FORD. *TR