2008 Ford Escape Hybrid

BRAKE FAILURE. DURING NORMAL DRIVING I WAS COMING TO AN INTERSECTION TO STOP. I APPLIED THE BRAKES AND THE PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOOR, BRAKE EFFECTIVENESS WAS ALMOST NON EXISTENT. THE ABS LIGHT AND A MESSAGE INDICATING 'REGEN SYSTEM DISABLED' CAME ON. FORD HAS DESIGNED A BRAKING SYSTEM THAT CAN SIMPLY "DISABLE" ITSELF AND LEAVE A PERSON WITHOUT EFFECTIVE STOPPING POWER. I HAD TO VEER OFF THE ROADWAY TO AVOID HITTING CARS IN FRONT OF ME, RESULTING IN MINOR DAMAGE TO MY FRONT BUMPER AND UNDERCARRIAGE. THIS SHOULD BE A RECALL DUE TO SAFETY CONCERNS.

REGENERATIVE HYBRID BRAKES DISABLED.. VEHICLE BRAKES IN "FAILSAFE" MODE, WHICH REQUIRES YOU TO SLAM THE BRAKES ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR JUST TO SLOW DOWN. RAN THROUGH THREE RED LIGHTS UNWILLINGLY. THE FORD ESCAPE HYBRID HAS MANY REPORTED ISSUES WITH THE ABS AND REGENERATIVE SYSTEM FAILING (A QUOTED $5000 FIX). THESE VEHICLES ARE SO RARE, AND PROBABLY EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM ARE NO LONGER DRIVEN AND INSTEAD ON THE FORUMS WITH A LAUNDRY LIST OF COMPLAINTS AROUND THIS ISSUE.

ABS LIGHTS CAME ON WENT AND GOT IT CHECKED AND ITS THE BREAK SYSTEM. I WAS TOLD BY THE DEALERSHIP THAT IT WAS GOING TO BE OVER $5,000 AND THAT EVEN IF THEY FIXED IT I DONT GET A WARRANTY FOR THE FIXED SYSTEM AND THAT IT COULD REOCCUR. THIS IS AN ISSUE WITH THIS CAR A LOT. CAN WE PLEASE GET THIS ISSUE CHECKED INTO. $5,000 IS A LOT OF MONEY TO FIX A CAR AND IT NOT BE 100 PERCENT FIXED

WHILE DRIVING UNDER NORMAL CONDITIONS, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED YELLOW, THE ABS LIGHT ILLUMINATED, AND THE RED BRAKE LIGHT ILLUMINATED SIMULTANEOUSLY. A MESSAGE ON THE DASH SAID "REGEN BRAKES DISABLED". THE NORMAL BRAKING SYSTEM FAILED TO WORK. THE MANUAL (FAIL SAFE) BRAKING SYSTEM WAS INADEQUATE TO STOP PROPERLY. I HAD TO PUT THE BRAKE PEDAL TO THE FLOOR AS HARD AS POSSIBLE AND THE CAR STILL DID NOT BRAKE PROPERLY. AFTER MUCH ROLLING, THE CAR FINALLY CAME TO A STOP, BUT HIT A POLE IN THE PROCESS CAUSING A CRACK IN THE FRONT BUMPER. DUE TO THE LONG STOPPING PROCESS, THE POLE WAS UNAVOIDABLE. IT WAS THE POLE, THE DITCH, OR ANOTHER CAR, SO I HAD TO CHOOSE TO BUMP INTO THE POLE FOR THE LEAST AMOUNT OF DAMAGE AND TO BE SURE NOT TO HURT ANYONE ELSE. TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCE FOR ME AND MY YOUNG GRANDCHILDREN!

I WAS IN A BUSY SHOPPING PLAZA AND CAME UP TO A 4 WAY STOP. WHEN I PRESSED THE BRAKES, THE CAR DIDN'T STOP! A MESSAGE READING "REGEN BRAKES DISABLED" CAME UP ON THE SCREEN, FOLLOWED BY "CHECK BRAKE SYSTEM". BOTH THE ABS AND BRAKE WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON ON THE DASH. I TRIED TURNING THE VEHICLE OFF AND THEN ON AGAIN AS SOMETIMES WHEN IT HAS AN ELECTRICAL HICCUP THAT WILL RESOLVE THE ISSUE. THE SAME MESSAGE REAPPEARED AND I DROVE STRAIGHT TO A LOCAL GARAGE. THEY WERE UNABLE TO DEFINITIVELY DETERMINE THE ISSUE AND REFERRED ME TO THE FORD DEALERSHIP. A FEW DAYS LATER, FORD ADVISED ME THAT IT WAS A FAILURE OF THE HYDRAULIC CONTROL UNIT WHICH WILL NEED TO BE REPLACED. THIS IS DEFINITELY A SAFETY ISSUE. ALL OF THE PIECES WITHIN THE BRAKE SYSTEM ARE IN TACT, EVERYTHING THAT CAN BE INSPECTED DURING ROUTINE TUNE UPS LOOKS FINE, BUT SUDDENLY WHEN YOU ARE DRIVING THE BRAIN OF THE CAR CAN'T REMEMBER HOW TO MAKE IT STOP.

THE REGEN BREAKS DISABLED LIGHT IS ALWAYS ON. THE BREAKS DO NOT WORK PROPERLY, IF AT ALL. NUMEROUS TIMES I HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO STOP ALMOST CAUSING AN ACCIDENT. THE BREAKS SOMETIMES LOCK ON AND THE VEHICLE WON'T MOVE AT ALL. UNABLE TO GO MORE THAN 40 MPH. IF YOU ATTEMPT, THE VEHICLE SHAKES AND THE BREAKS SMOKE. I TOOK IT TO FORD FOR DIAGNOSTIC AND THEY INFORMED ME IT IS A COMMON PROBLEM DUE TO THE THE BEAK SYSTEM AND THE HYBRID SYSTEM BEING INTEGRATED. THE PART BY ITSELF IS $4200 AND THE VEHICLE BLUE BOOKS FOR ABOUT $3000 AT THE MOST. THE VEHICLE WON'T START OR EVEN TURN OVER. THE BATTERY IS GOOD.