2008 Ford Escape Hybrid

FOR THE PAST TWO OR THREE WEEKS I HAVE NOTICED A PROGRESSIVELY WORSE SHAKING AND VIBRATING IN THE STEERING COLUMN, ESPECIALLY WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS COMING TO A STOP OR RESTING. ON THE 27TH OF MARCH, 2013 I STARTED THE VEHICLE AND THE STEERING WAS REALLY DIFFICULT, AS IN THE POWER ASSIST WASN'T HELPING. THE BRAKES WERE STILL WORKING FINE. WHEN I SHUT THE VEHILCE OFF AND RESTARTED IT, THE STEERING WAS BEING ASSISTED BY THE EPS AGAIN. THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME IT HAPPENED, BUT RESEARCHING THE PROBLEM IT SEEMS LIKE IT WILL GET PROGRESSIVELY WORSE. *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

I WAS DRIVING FROM LA TO PASADENA AND ALL OF SUDDEN MY SUV SLOWS DOWN AND THERE'S A TRIANGLE WARNING SIGN. WE WERE FORTUNATE THAT THE FREEWAY WAS NOT CROWDED AND EASILY PULLED OVER. MY FRIEND IS HEARING AND WAS ABLE TO CALL A TOW FOR ME. WE HAD TO TOW THE SUV BACK TO THE FORD DEALERSHIP IN SANTA MONICA. THEY DID A GREAT JOB AND SAID IT WAS THE COOLANT OR WATER PUMP THAT WAS DEFECTIVE. THEY REPLACED IT. IT SEEMS TO OCCUR ONLY ON ROAD TRIPS. I HAD AN ENGINE LIGHT COME ON WHEN I WAS DRIVING FROM BAY AREA TO LA. I WAS FORTUNATE THAT I MADE IT TO THE SAME SM DEALERSHIP/REPAIR SHOP AND THEY WERE ABLE TO DIAGNOSE IT. THEY SAID THEY HAD TO MAKE SOME ADJUSTMENT AND THE LIGHT WENT OFF. I KNOW IT AFFECTED THE GAS BECAUSE I HAD TO REFUEL THREE OR FOUR TIME WHEN I NORMALLY HAVE TO DO ONE AND HALF TIME! AS A DEAF PERSON, IT IS SCARY TO BE HAVING THESE ISSUES ESPECIALLY ON THE FREEWAYS. *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

STEERING WHEEL HAS BEEN SHAKING WHEN CAR IS STOPPED AND AT LOW SPEEDS. POWER STEERING DOES NOT WORK AT TIMES WHEN CAR IS STARTED, I TURN IT OFF AND RESTART THE CAR AND IT WORKS. WHILE COMING TO A STOP AT AROUND 35 MPH THE POWER STEERING FAILED, SHUT OFF THE CAR AND TURN IT BACK ON AND IT STILL DID NOT WORK. STEERING WHEEL SHAKES LEFT AND RIGHT AND MAKES A BAD NOISE WHILE IN PARK AND AT LOW SPEEDS. HAVE NOT TAKEN CAR TO BE SERVICED YET. *TR

POWER STEERING QUITS WORKING WHILE DRIVING. CAN HAPPEN AT LOW SPEEDS OR NORMAL DRIVING SPEED. MALFUNCTION WAS INTERMITTENT. POWER STEERING WOULD START WORKING PROPERLY AFTER SHUTTING ENGINE OFF AND RESTARTING ENGINE. PROBLEM HAS BECOME MORE FREQUENT AND GETTING POWER STEERING TO COME BACK IN OPERATION AFTER RESTARTING HAS BECOME LESS FREQUENT. STEERING THIS VEHICLE IS VERY HARD WITHOUT POWER STEERING, MAKING IT VERY UN-SAFE TO DRIVE. *TR