2008 Ford Escape Hybrid

MY FORD ESCAPE HYBRID 2008 BRAKES FAILED ON MAY 14, 2018 NEARLY CAUSING A HEAD-ON COLLISION. THE PEDAL WENT COMPLETELY TO THE FLOOR AFTER MY ABS LIGHT & PARKING BRAKE LIGHTS WERE ILLUMINATED ON THE DASH, IT ALSO DISPLAYED "CHECK BRAKE SYSTEM" AS WELL AS "REGEN BRAKES DISENGAGED". I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE IN NOVEMBER OF 2017 FROM A USED CAR DEALER. IT WAS IMMEDIATELY BROUGHT TO THEM WHERE THEY ATTEMPTED TO SCAN FOR ANY CODES BUT INSTRUCTED ME TO TAKE TO FORD WHERE IT COULD BE PROPERLY SCANNED. I HAD AN APPOINTMENT ON 5/17 FOR THE ABS CODES TO BE SCANNED WHERE THEY FOUND TWO CODES: LEFT FRONT BRAKE PRESSURE & A FAULTY HYDRAULIC CONTROL UNIT. THEY STATED THAT THIS PART HAS BEEN FAILING AMONG THE HYBRID VEHICLES AND FORD HAS ISSUED A 'SPECIAL SERVICE MESSAGE' REGARDING THESE PARTS AS IT IS NEARLY $6,000 TO REPLACE WITH NO GUARANTEE OF IT WORKING. THE FACT THAT FORD HAS NOT ISSUED A RECALL FOR THIS DANGEROUS FAULTY PART WITH EVIDENCE ALL ACROSS THE INTERNET AND VARIOUS OTHER SOURCES I HAVE RESEARCHED. I HAVE MADE MY STATE'S ATTORNEY GENERAL (CT),THE FORD MOTOR COMPANY, LOCAL NEWS STATIONS, BBB ALL AWARE OF THE ISSUE IN HOPES THAT SOMETHING WILL CHANGE FORD MOTOR COMPANIES MIND IN AVOIDING ANY OTHER NEAR ACCIDENTS OR EVEN DEATHS TO OCCUR. PLEASE CONTACT ME IF ANY OTHER MATERIALS ARE NEEDED. I WILL PURSUE ALL APPROPRIATE AVENUES UNTIL FORD INITIATES A RECALL. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. *TT *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID. WHILE OPERATING THE VEHICLE ,THE "CHECK BRAKE SYSTEM AND RE-GEN BRAKE DISABLE" MESSAGE DISPLAYED. IN ADDITION, A GRINDING NOISE WAS HEARD WHEN DEPRESSING THE BRAKE PEDAL, AND THE BRAKING DISTANCE WAS EXTENDED WHEN ATTEMPTING TO STOP. THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURES WAS NOT DIAGNOSED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE DEALER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURES. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 135,823.

I RECENTLY PURCHASED A USED 2008 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID WITH 112K MILES FROM A LARGE DEALERSHIP. THE VEHICLE HAD AN INSPECTION DONE AT THE DEALERSHIP AND ONE DONE BY AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC. NO CODES OR SIGNS OF BRAKE FAILURE WERE APPARENT. WITHIN THE FIRST WEEK, WITH LESS THAN 25 ADDITIONAL MILES ON THE VEHICLE, WHILE DRIVING ON A CITY STREET IN NORMAL CONDITIONS, THE 'BRAKING SYSTEM FAILURE' LIGHT CAME ON AND THE BRAKES FAILED TO STOP THE VEHICLE. THE "REGENERATIVE BRAKING SYSTEM FAILURE" LIGHT CAME ON, THE ABS BRAKE LIGHT CAME ON. FORTUNATELY THERE WAS NO SERIOUS ACCIDENT AND NO COLLISIONS, WE WERE ABLE TO SLOWLY GET THE CAR TO OUR HOME. THE NEXT DAY THE BRAKES THEN FUNCTIONED PROPERLY AND NO LIGHT WAS BEING DISPLAYED. I CALLED THE DEALERSHIP REGARDING PAPERWORK AND INFORMED THE SALESMAN OF THE SITUATION AND TOLD HIM IF IT HAPPENED AGAIN I WOULD TAKE IT IN AND HAVE IT CHECKED. WELL ' IT HAPPENED AGAIN ON APRIL 26TH, WHILE DRIVING DOWN A CITY STREET. THIS TIME WE WERE BARELY ABLE TO COME TO A STOP BEFORE RUNNING THROUGH A STOP SIGN. NO ACCIDENTS OCCURRED. I BROUGHT IT INTO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC AND THEY DIAGNOSED IT AS A FULL HYDRAULIC BRAKE SYSTEM FAILURE (THE HYDRAULIC CONTROL UNIT) ' FOR AN ESTIMATED REPAIR COST OF $5800.00. IT IS OBVIOUSLY A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE IF THE BRAKES RANDOMLY STOP WORKING. I GUESS IT WILL TAKE A LOSS OF LIFE AND LAWSUIT BEFORE THE NHTSA WILL DO SOMETHING. BY THE NHTSA'S OWN WORDS : A RECALL IS ISSUED WHEN A MANUFACTURER OR NHTSA DETERMINES THAT A VEHICLE, EQUIPMENT, CAR SEAT, OR TIRE CREATES AN UNREASONABLE SAFETY RISK OR FAILS TO MEET MINIMUM SAFETY STANDARDS. MOST DECISIONS TO CONDUCT A RECALL AND REMEDY A SAFETY DEFECT ARE MADE VOLUNTARILY BY MANUFACTURERS PRIOR TO ANY INVOLVEMENT BY NHTSA.". LEGALLY, WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH THIS VEHICLE MEETS YOUR OWN STATEMENT.

WHILE DRIVING, THE BRAKE LIGHT AND THE ABS LIGHT CAME ON ALONG WITH TWO MESSAGES "REGEN BRAKES DISABLED" AND "CHECK BRAKE SYSTEM". CAR BRAKES VERY HESITANTLY WHICH I CONSIDER TO BE EXTREMLY DANGEROUS. TOOK IT TO LOCAL FORD DEALER. HE READ CODES 1478, 1480 AND U2023. QUOTED ME THAT I NEED THE ABS MODULE REPLACED AT USD 5,537.00 PLUS TAX. THIS IS ABOVE THE KBB VALUE OF THE CAR. INVESTIGATING ON THE NET THERE IS EASILY HUNDREDS OF THE SAMECOMPLAINT OF PEOPLE LOOSING THEIR CAR AS IT IS BEYOND ECONOMICAL REPAIR. ON TOP, I THINK I ONLY GOT LUCKY THAT THE FAILURE DID NOT HAPPEN WHILE DRIVING AND NEEDING BRAKES IN AN EMERGENCY SITUATION. PLEASE LOOK INTO THIS SAFETY ISSUE. THANKS.

VEHICLE ABS REG/BRAKE WARNING LIGHT CAME ON WITH 100,000 MILES ON IT. VEHICLE'S BRAKES WERE WORKING ON A LIMITED BASIS, UNSAFE TO DRIVE. THE VEHICLE'S BRAKING ABILITY WAS ERATIC AND DID NOT STOP AT MULTIPLE INTERSECTIONS. THE PART THAT FAILED ACCORDING TO CODES WAS A HYDRAULIC BRAKE CONTROL UNIT THAT COST ABOUT $5000 IF USING A NEW OEM PART. HAD CAR REPAIRED AT DEALERSHIP USING A PART WITH ALL MATCHING NUMBERS THAT WAS REBUILT, BUT THE DEALERSHIP WOULD NOT WARRANTY THE REPAIR. PROCEEDED ANYWAY, BRAKES FUNCTIONED PROPERLY FOR ABOUT ONE WEEK. THIS ISSUE HAS RETURNED AND THE CODES INDICATE IT NEEDS A NEW HCU, AGAIN. THE CAR FAILED TO STOP AT A RED LIGHT BUT AVOIDED AN ACCIDENT. THE CAR CAN NOT BE DRIVEN AT THIS TIME. RESEARCH SHOWS THIS IS A COMMON FAILURE OF THIS MAKE AND MODEL.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED, BUT FAILED TO ENGAGE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE REGENERATIVE BRAKING SYSTEM DISABLED WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE HYDRAULIC CONTROL UNIT WAS DEFECTIVE AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE DEALER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE AND DID NOT ASSIST BECAUSE THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN A RECALL. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 180,000.