2008 Ford Escape Hybrid

THIS WEEK THE NEWS HAD STORIES ABOUT GENERAL MOTORS RECALLING SEVERAL CARS BECAUSE THE IGNITION CAN SUDDENLY TURN OFF CAUSING THE CAR TO LOSE POWER WHILE DRIVING. THERE WERE EVEN DEATHS DUE TO BAD ACCIDENTS AS A RESULT OF THE IGNITION FAILURE AND CAR LOSING POWER. THIS REMINDED ME OF AN INCIDENT THAT HAPPENED TO ME WHICH WAS SIMILAR. I WAS DRIVING MY 2008 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID LAST DECEMBER, ON I-280 IN SAN FRANCISCO DURING RUSH HOUR AT 65 MPH, WHEN SUDDENLY THE DASH BEEPED AT ME, FLASHED THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT, DISPLAYED A MESSAGE TO PULL OVER SAFELY, AND THE ENGINE HAD NO POWER! I SUDDENLY FOUND MYSELF IN HEAVY TRAFFIC, MIDDLE LANE OF THE FREEWAY AND NO POWER TO SAFELY PULL OVER. I WAS LOSING SPEED AND SLOWED TO WHERE I CUT BETWEEN OTHER CARS AND OVER TO THE SHOULDER. I'M SURE I CUT SOMEONE OFF IN THE PROCESS. LUCKILY THERE WAS NOT A HORRIBLE ACCIDENT. THERE COULD HAVE EASILY BEEN AN ACCIDENT. THE SAME THING HAPPENED THREE MORE TIMES IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS BEFORE I TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALER TO BE FIXED. THEY INDICATED THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM OF WHICH THEY ARE AWARE. THE FORD DEALER DIAGNOSED IT WITH CODE P1A0D, WHICH WAS A BAD COOLANT PUMP FOR THE ELECTRIC GENERATOR. I DID SOME RESEARCH AND FOUND THAT MANY OTHER FORD ESCAPE OWNERS HAVE EXPERIENCED THE SAME SITUATION AS I DID WHERE THE VEHICLE LOST POWER WHILE AT HIGH SPEED AND PUT THEM INTO A DANGEROUS SITUATION. A SIMPLE GOOGLE SEARCH ON THIS FINDS SEVERAL BLOG REPORTS OF PEOPLE WITH SIMILAR SITUATIONS. FORD HAS YET TO ISSUE A RECALL ON THIS, BUT I HAVE FOUND THAT THERE IS A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT AGAINST FORD: MACDONALD V. FORD, CASE NO. 3:13-CV-02988, IN THE US DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA. *TR

WHILE DRIVING 65 MILES PER HOUR AN ALARM SOUNDED AND THE ODOMETER READ "STOP SAFELY NOW." I LOST ALL POWER TO THE VEHICLE AND WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER SAFELY. I WAS ABLE TO RESTART THE VEHICLE WITH NO PROBLEM AND CONTINUED ON MY WAY. WHEN I REACHED 60 MILES PER HOUR THE SAME THING HAPPENED. THIS CONTINUED TO HAPPEN 6 TIMES AND THEN THE ODOMETER READ "HIGH ENGINE TEMP" AND THE VEHICLE THEN DIED AND MADE A "WHIRLING" SOUND. I HAD THE VEHICLE TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP AND WHEN I GOT THERE THEY TOLD ME "I WAS ABLE TO START IT RIGHT UP." THE DEALERSHIP FOUND IT TO BE TSB 8-24-5. THE COOLANT PUMP WAS NOT WORKING AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. FORD IS WELL AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM AND STILL HAVE NOT PLACED A RECALL ON THIS!! WHAT WILL IT TAKE, PEOPLE TO DIE WHEN THIS HAPPENS? FOR ME, THIS WAS THE LAST STRAW. I TRADED IN MY 2008 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID AS I NO LONGER FELT SAFE IN THIS VEHICLE!!

STEERING WHEEL DEVELOPED EXCESS PLAY AND NOW PULSES AND VIBRATES WITH MINIMAL PRESSURE ON THE STEERING WHEEL. STEERING HAS NOT YET FAILED BUT TAKING CAR INTO THE DEALERSHIP TOMORROW. AFTER READING ABOUT SIMILAR PROBLEMS WITH FORD'S ELECTRONIC POWER ASSIST STEERING I'M NOW AFRAID TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE. OTHER PROBLEMS SEEM TO BE REPORTED AT SIMILAR MILEAGE TO OUR VEHICLE'S. *TR

I HAVE A 2008 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID IN EXCELLENT CONDITION WITH APPROXIMATELY 34,000 MILES ON IT WITH A HISTORY OF NO ACCIDENTS AND WELL KEPT MAINTENANCE. HOWEVER, THIS MORNING WITH NO NOTICE THE BRAKE ABS INDICATOR LITE UP WITH A WARNING "REGEN BRAKED DISABLE" AND "CHECK BRAKE SYSTEM MESSAGE CENTER" FOR WHICH I DROVE IT DIRECTLY TO THE FORD DEALERSHIP. ONE HOUR LATER AND TWO CODES I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF C-1475 AND C-1312 AND AN ESTIMATE OF $5400 FOR THE REPAIR LEFT ME IN SHOCK. NOT UNDER WARRANTY. I DON'T UNDERSTAND A CAR BARELY USED IN 5 AND A HALF YEARS COULD HAVE SUCH A MAJOR CATASTROPHIC PROBLEM IF IT COULD NOT BE LINKED TO A PROBLEM WITH THE MANUFACTURER? I AM LUCKY I WAS NOT ON THE FREEWAY, AS THE BREAKS BECAME DIFFICULT TO USE ON THE WAY TO THE DEALERSHIP. FORD NEEDS TO OWN UP TO THIS PROBLEM, AS THERE HAVE BEEN MANY COMPLAINTS BEGINNING AS EARLY AS 2005 MODELS. I UNDERSTAND WEAR AND TEAR ON A CAR IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE OWNER, HOWEVER, IF IT IS MAINTAINED WELL AND EVEN THE MECHANIC HAS NEVER SEEN THE HCU AND ECU GO OUT AT THE SAME TIME, FORD NEEDS TO OWN UP TO THEIR MISTAKE. *TR

WHILE DRIVING THE CAR I CAME TO A STOP SIGN AND THE STEERING WHEEL STARTED TO VIBRATE AND JERK WHEN THE CAR WAS STOPPED. THIS CONTINUED FOR THE DRIVE TO WORK, AT EACH STOP THE STEERING WHEEL WAS MOVING. WHEN LEAVING WORK, AFTER STARTING THE CAR, FOUND THAT THERE WAS NO POWER STEERING. TURNED OFF THE CAR AND RE-STARTED IT, THE POWER STEERING CAME BACK. SINCE THAT TIME THE PROBLEM HAS BECOME MORE FREQUENT. SOMETIMES I HAVE TO RESTART THE CAR A FEW TIMES BEFORE THE STEERING ACTIVATES. WE JUST DROPPED IT OFF AT A DEALERSHIP FOR INSPECTION, OUR LOCAL GARAGE COULD GET NO HELP FROM FORD ON WHAT WAS REQUIRED FOR THE REPAIR OR WHAT THE COMPUTER CODES MEANT, OTHER THAN THEY WERE RELATED TO THE STEERING COLUMN. SO NOW WE ARE BEING TOLD BY FORD THAT THE REPAIR CAN RANGE FROM $600 TO $1,500.00 TO FIX THE PROBLEM, BUT THEY ARE NOT SURE WHAT IT IS, AND THAT THEY DO NOT BELIEVE WHAT WAS REPORTED ON THE INTERNET IS THE CAUSE. IF ALL OF THE SYMPTOMS MATCH THE OTHERS LISTED HOW CAN THE PROBLEM BE SOMETHING ELSE? *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

PULLING AWAY FROM COMPLETE STOP AT STOP SIGN THE ENTIRE CAR SHUT DOWN SUDDENLY LEAVING DRIVER WITHOUT ANY POWER TO PULL TO CURB OR TO SAFELY LEAVE ROADWAY. MESSAGE ON DASH READ "STOP SAFELY NOW". CAR TOTALLY DISABLED. RESTARTED AFTER SEVERAL MINUTES. STAR FORD OF GLENDALE HAD CAR FOR A COMPLETE DAY TO DETERMINE NATURE OF PROBLEM - AT END OF DAY HAD NO REASON FOR COMPLETE AND SUDDEN LOSS OF POWER. DRIVER AFRAID TO TAKE CAR ON FREEWAY FOR FEAR CAR WILL LOSE POWER ON FREEWAY AT HIGH SPEED. *TR

STOPPED AT INTERSECTION WAITING TO TURN LEFT. TURNED THE WHEEL LEFT TO MAKE THE TURN WHILE APPLYING THE ACCELERATOR. THE POWER STEERING SUPPORT WENT OUT, MAKING IT ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO TURN THE VEHICLE. THE WHEEL WAS PARTIALLY TURNED AND WOULD ESSENTIALLY NOT TURN ANY FURTHER. AT THE SAME TIME IT FELT LIKE THE BRAKES WERE NOT AS EFFECTIVE EITHER. AFTER APPROXIMATELY TWO SECONDS, POWER WAS RESTORED TO THE STEERING AND I WAS ABLE TO RECOVER AND COMPLETE THE TURN. THIS HAS HAPPENED THREE TIMES, ALL IN LEFT TURNS FROM A STOP WHILE ATTEMPTING TO BEGIN THE TURN. AFTER THE THIRD TIME I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER. THE FORD DEALER REPLACED COMPONENTS OF THE STEERING COLUMN IN AN ATTEMPT TO FIX THIS, AND SO FAR IT HAS NOT RETURNED.

WE WERE DRIVING ON HIGHWAY 80 GOING ABOUT 70 MPH WHEN THE ENGINE SUDDENLY SHUDDERED AND QUIT. A RED TRIANGLE WITH AN EXCLAMATION POINT IN THE CENTER APPEARED ON THE DASH WITH THE MESSAGE "STOP SAFELY NOW". FORTUNATELY, THERE WAS A SHOULDER AND NO TRAFFIC IN THE RIGHT LANE, SO WE PULLED OFF. WE SHUT THE ENGINE OFF AND RESTARTED IT A FEW MINUTES LATER. WE PROCEEDED, STAYING IN THE RIGHT LANE AND THE SAME THING HAPPENED. THIS OCCURRED 5 TIMES INCLUDING ONCE ON THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY BRIDGE. IN RESEARCHING THIS, I FOUND THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH FORD ESCAPE HYBRIDS AND THAT IT IS A FAULTY MOTOR ELECTRONICS COOLANT PUMP. FORD HAS ISSUED A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN ABOUT THIS PROBLEM (TSB08-24-5), BUT HAS NOT YET ISSUED A RECALL. SINCE THIS IS A POTENTIALLY SERIOUS PROBLEM THAT COULD LEAD TO INJURY OR DEATH, I STRONGLY URGE YOU TO FORCE FORD TO ISSUE A RECALL. *TR

THE FIRST TIME THIS OCCURRED WAS APPROXIMATELY 5 MONTHS AGO (EST. 132K MILES) WHILE DRIVING IN CITY TRAFFIC, I SWERVED AND BRAKE QUICKLY TO AVOID A ROAD HAZARD (LARGE POTHOLE) ESTIMATED SPEED WAS UNDER 20 MPH. THE POWER STEERING FAILED AND THE VEHICLE CONTINUED TO RUN IN ELECTRIC (HYBRID) MODE AND WAS ABLE TO MUSCLE IT OFF TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. RESTARTING THE ENGINE RESOLVED THE ISSUE AND THE CAR HAS BEEN FINE UNTIL TWO WEEKS AGO. THE SECOND TIME WAS IN LATE NOVEMBER, MILEAGE 135K, WAS SLOWLY TURNING INTO A TRAFFIC CIRCLE AT APPROX. 10 MPH, WITHOUT WARNING POWER STEERING FAILED THE SAME AS THE PREVIOUS TIME. I WAS ABLE TO STOP AND RESTART THE CAR WHICH RESTORED THE POWER STEERING. AFTER THE SECOND EXPERIENCE I DID SOME RESEARCH ONLINE AND AM SEEING THAT THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE AND HAS BEEN REPORTED TO YOUR AGENCY (THREE DIFFERENT WEB SITES WITH MULTIPLE COMPLAINTS). I FIND IT HARD TO BELIEVE THAT A RECALL HAS NOT REQUIRED - SOMEONE WILL GET HURT IF THIS HAPPENS AT HIGHWAY SPEED TO AN INEXPERIENCED DRIVER. I HAVE WORKED AS A PROFESSIONAL MECHANIC AND HAVE A DECENT COMPREHENSION OF VEHICLE SYSTEMS (1974 - 1995), MY COMMENTS ARE BASED ON YEARS OF EXPERIENCE. I HAVE NOT VERIFIED THIS, BUT ONE OF THE WEB POSTS STATES THAT TOYOTA EXPERIENCED THE SAME ISSUE AND DID A RECALL. HTTP://WWW.ESCAPE-CITY.COM/VIEWTOPIC.PHP?F=38&T=21918&P=316290&HILIT=STEERING+FAILURE#P316290 HTTP://WWW.GREENHYBRID.COM/DISCUSS/F26/LOSS-POWER-LEFT-TURN-29211/ HTTP://WWW.HYBRIDCARS.COM/FORUMS/SHOWTHREAD.PHP?100317-POWER-STEERING-FAILURE/PAGE5 I WILL APPRECIATE YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS SO THAT FORD WILL TAKE STEPS TO RECTIFY THIS DANGEROUS CONDITION. I HAVE NOT HAD ANY OTHER SAFETY CONCERNS WITH THIS VEHICLE SINCE WE PURCHASED IT NEW IN 2008. I PLAN TO REPORT THIS TO MY SENATOR, AND STATE OFFICIALS. PLEASE ADVISE THE BEST WAY TO MOVE FORWARD. *TR