The vehicle was and has been driving normally until standard braking situation of coming to a stoplight. As the brakes were applied the ABS and brake light came on and all power assist to the brakes was gone. I had to crush the brake pedal to get any braking at all. Luckily I'm strong enough to manually bring the vehicle to a stop. This was the first time (december 2013) since I've had the vehicle that this happened. It's now april 2014 and the same issue has returned (twice in a week). A very dangerous potential situation. However, after braking to a stop the vehicle can be turned off and back on to correct the situation (ABS and brake light turn off) and the brakes return to normal. I purchased this vehicle at auction from a fleet of vehicles. The sticker did say brake problems, however, after driving it I found only normal braking and attributed the "brake problem" to worn brake pads etc. I can only say that the "brake problem" they mentioned on the sticker must have been the same situation I've run into - so the fleet personnel must have been experiencing the same thing. This situation seems to me to be a much deeper design flaw and after researching online and seeing so many other similar complaints - this obvious flaw should be exposed and corrected on a vehicle recall basis before there are fatalities. It seems to me only a matter of time......
2006 Ford Escape Hybrid brakes complaints
Page 3 of 4: complaints 41 to 70 of 87, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I was driving the vehicle and the red brake light came on with a message to check brake system. For the rest of the trip the brakes worked ok. I reached my destination and turned the car off. When I came back out and started the vehicle both the red brake light and the yellow ABS light were on. When I was pulling out of the parking lot I pressed the brake pedal but the car did not stop. I had to use the hand brake to stop the car from going into the oncoming traffic. I backed up and parked the car and called a tow truck. When the car was loaded onto the tow, about an hour later, the brakes worked again.
Coming to a stop to leave parking lot, I felt the brakes shutter as if was sliding. The skiing light came on for about 2 seconds, vehicle motion stopped, then the ABS light came on and got a message on dash the get bake system serviced. Abs light in on all the time and the ABS system does not work. Will be taking to repair shop today for evaluation and repair. This seems to be a known issue with this vehicle model. Recall????
My 2006 escape hybrid suddenly lost braking power, occurring as I attempted to slow to exit off of I-95 to my home. The ABS and warning light came on, at the same time,the brake pedal went to the floor board but there was just enough to get slowed down pushing as hard as I could and luckily the off ramp was up hill. I was going to pull off and get towed but decided being on the side of I-95 was too scary and instead drove ,despite the failure. I went 5mph and made it home . The next morning the brakes were miraculously working fine. Now I am too scared to drive the car and have read of others that spent tons of money without the car being fixed.
Bought the car from novato ford, now journey ford in 2008. A few days ago I had to brake hard, but as far as I could tell the antilock braking system (ABS) did not engage. The brakes worked and the car stopped/. The next day I noticed that as soon as I started the car the ABS and brake light were on. I took it to a local repair shop where they ran a diagnostic scan, which returned code c1475. The non-ford repair shop said they would need to follow ford's technical service bulletin and the repair would cost 3500 in parts and another $700 in labor. I am writing because it seems highly unusual to me and the service personnel who have reviewed this matter for this to occur. This is ford's service bulletin http://ww.w.autoelectricpro.com/purchased/images/076000/074720.pdf.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford escape hybrid. The contact stated that while driving approximately 40 MPH, the brake warning indicator illuminated intermittently. The failure recurred numerous times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer four times. The technician informed the contact that the electronic hydraulic brake system would need to be replaced. The vehicle was scheduled for repairs. The manufacturer was notified of the defect. The approximate failure mileage was 86,000. Updated 11/19/13
Feel for a moment like you are driving in ice(slippery). Then service brake system appear with the triangle with the admiration sign inside.
Part 1: I purchased this used vehicle from what is a well known dealership in my area of living on 3/21/13. As you can see from the date the first brake failure happened, it was 4 days after I drove the vehicle off the lot. The brake and ABS lights illuminated on the dash on my way home from work. Thankfully, besides being scared to death, I was ok. The dealership towed my vehicle and stated they "miraculously" (my sarcasm) had brakes when driving it from the tow truck into the shop. They had great difficulties figuring out what was wrong and had even talked with the ford company and came up with the hydraulics system being the issue which was then replaced by the dealership. At a later time with further occurrence, I was informed the modular had also at the first brake failure been replaced, although there is no proof of that on my service record (another issue). After replacing these items, the dealership continued to have difficulties trying to get the brake and ABS lights from illuminating on the dash and apparently had to unhook some vacuum pump to correct issue. Following this I was assured everything was fixed. Second brake failure was on 5/26/13. Thankfully,I was just coming to a stop at my residence when this occurred! Again vehicle was towed. An error code was found and reset and assured everything was ok. This is also when I did some digging and requested the previous owners name. To my amazement, this had happened once to the previous owner.....funny, the dealership and ford were involved and stated it could have been a modular or a "fluke" and nothing was done at that time and the vehicle was traded shortly after. Hmmm..I inherited a problem.
Driving along in traffic when all of a sudden the brakes wouldn't function at all, even with two feet pressing on the brake pedal with all of my strength. The brake loss seems to occur about once a month, and now occurred twice in august. After shutting the vehicle off and restarting it, the brakes work again.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford escape hybrid. The contact stated while driving approximately 25 MPH and depressing the brake pedal the ABS warning light illuminated and the warning chime was also activated. The brakes also failed to respond when they were applied. The contact continued to depress the brake pedal until they engaged. The failure occurred twice. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis where the technician stated the master cylinder booster assembly was leaking brake fluid and not engaging. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 78,000.
Driving about 35 and the ABS light and anti skid light came on, when at slow speed the car started doing a chugging and then it went on battery. It did this all the way home. I am luckier than most my man is a mechanic an put it on the computer and it stated where the problem was. I also looked online and see hundreds of people complaining about the tone ring. In 5 months my 16 year old will be driving this car full time and now I am real concerned for her safety. Some one recall this tone ring, people are loosing brakes!!!!
Driving about 35 and the ABS light and anti skid light came on, when at slow speed the car started doing a chugging and then it went on battery. It did this all the way home. I am luckier than most my man is a mechanic an put it on the computer and it stated where the problem was. I also looked online and see hundreds of people complaining about the tone ring. In 5 months my 16 year old will be driving this car full time and now I am real concerned for her safety. Some one recall this tone ring, people are loosing brakes!!!!
Driving up to a stop sign when I felt like I had no brake control to stop. I had to depress the pedal as far as I could and prayed that I would stop before the busy intersection. When I came to a stop, the service brake system code came on and chimed. The ABS light was lit, along with brake warning. Luckily we were only a few blocks from the house, that we were able to carefully make it back home. After taking the vehicle in for a brake system warning before where they diagnosed a faulty wiring harness and replaced at my expense. Now that we were able to get the vehicle to the dealership they have stated that the hydraulic control unit was a problem and possibility of the master cylinder. All this at a cost of $4500+ parts and labor. After just finishing paying off the vehicle loan we own a vehicle that doesn't stop. Had I crashed the vehicle I'd only be out my deductible. Thanks ford! I regret purchasing this vehicle after hearing of other owners experiencing the same issue, with no help from ford on repairing a device thats meant to provide safety.
Total brake failure while driving.
Multiple continued instances of complete brake failure. Since the initial occurrence, already documented on this site (odi id number : 10349431), it randomly recurred at least 10 times over the past 2 years, including 3 times in a single trip in june 2012 and two additional times in july 2012. The brake failures typically occurred during hot weather when running the air conditioner, but not always. Every time we thought we'd "figured out" a pattern to the failures, the brakes would go out at a different time than they ever had before -- at a higher speed, or while slowing for a stop light going uphill versus when we were trying to slow to a stop at the base of a steep hill with a marina in front of us. We finally sold the car fearing for the safety of our family, others on the roadways, and our finances. No wonder ford quit making these vehicles...
I was about to exit the parking lot of a grocery store when the brakes went into a non-power brake mode. I was rolling to the stop sign. I probably wasn't even going 15 MPH. As nothing happened when I touched the brakes, I hammered them and came to a sharp jerking halt. It was a little frightening as oncoming traffic was going 45-50 MPH. Then the ABS and brake system lighting came on. If I had not known how non-power brakes felt, I probably would have slid into oncoming traffic. This could have been fatal. I see online a lot of complaints with this same issue with the braking systems of the escape hybrids. I am not sure why it is not covered on the 100,000 mile/ 8 yr warranty and also, why there has been no recall. I see there is a recall for windshield wipers. I seriously think this is a little more of a safety issue.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford escape hybrid. The contact stated that while driving 15 MPH, the ABS warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact tried to apply the brakes but to no avail. The contact had to use the emergency brake in order to stop the vehicle. The vehicle was shut off and restarted however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for inspection or repairs. The manufacturer was not notified of the issue. The failure mileage was 80,000. The VIN was unavailable.
The check brake system message appears in message system on 2006 ford escape hybrid, with the accompanying brake warning symbol light coming on. The brake pedal seems to lose some pressure in the pedal and goes further to the floor. The brake fluid reservoir is full, so the brake fluid is not low. This has happened on and off now for the last few days. I had a brake job done on the rear brakes 2 months ago, and the dealership says the front brakes are fine. They recommend replacing the master cylinder for 1300 dollars, and then state that it might not solve the problem and they would then have to replace a control module for about 4500 to 5000 dollars. I noticed online that a lot of people seem to be having this same problem with the ford escape hybrid from 2005 to 2006, and they are incurring the same costly repair. Some of them complained about losing power to the braking system.
Tone ring failure on ABS system. Brake fade until computer noted sensor failure and indicates ABS failure light. Tone ring was broken $12.45 part labor $226.00 I am told it is a very common problem with the escapes where a plastic ring comes unglued and causes the ABS to engage when it is not necessary.
Abs light and brake light came on when I got into the car to go to work after driving it the previous day with no problems. Brake pedal became soft and braking was not smooth and when brake pedal was pressed it made a squealing noise. Dealer diagnosed it as a faulty ABS module replacement cost of $3000.
The brakes fail on a regular basis while slowing down from speeds between 10 and 35 MPH. It occurs as a sudden release of braking pressure while stepping on the brake pedal to slow down. At that time a momentary warning light comes on for several seconds and the system appears to go into a fail-safe mode that allows manual operation of the brakes. This causes a large increase in braking distance and I consider it very dangerous. This failure seems to be related to the hybrid braking system and may be common to other hybrid vehicles. After stopping the warning light goes away and the brakes will again function normally. The failure does not occur continuously but it does occur almost every day that it is driven. The car has been in a repair shop numerous times with many part replaced but the problem continues to evade our fleet mechanics. This is an inherent problem with this vehicle and commonly known where there are large fleets of hybrid vehicles. My co-worker drives the same type of escape hybrid and he has the same failure. Please investigate with ford and/or toyota. A similar problem has been seen with toyota prius in out fleet. *tr consumer stated at some period around 2014-15 the car was sent to the fleet dept again for braking problems and there was some breakthrough with repairs. Vehicle was transferred to different nycdep driver for a couple of years. Vin number not available but could inquire with consumer's transportation section. Updated 6/11/18
Brake light comes on, service brake system message on dash displays, and ABS light displays. Vehicles brakes fail and even when applying brake pedal completely vehicle does not stop completely without pumping brakes several times or using emergency brake. This happened a couple times last week (without warning lights) and took it to a local mechanic who inspected brakes and advised everything looks fine. Occurred again this evening with warning lights. Turned off vehicle & restarted and no lights and no problem braking. Researched online and there are numerous complaints of this in blogs, comments, etc.
While traveling home on an interstate at 70 MPH the red brake light came on after a light breaking situation. I did the system check available on the vehicle and the brake fluid was shown as ok. The brake pads were replaced not long ago so I was confused. A short time later the yellow ABS light came on. When I went to brake my foot went to the floorboard and the vehicle was not stopping. I swerved onto the shoulder of the interstate to avoid an accident. It took a great distance ( I would say more than 100 yards ) for the vehicle to stop. I was never so scared in my life. I drove home on side streets at 25 MPH with my warning lights flashing and virtually no brakes. After taking the vehicle to a ford dealership I researched the break failure issue and to my amazement found numerous other such incidents. After five days in the repair shop and three failed attempts by the technician to bleed the break lines I was told that I needed a $4200 computer control unit. I believe this is a serious design flaw in the electrically controlled break system of the hybrid vehicle and no person should have to go through the terror of attempting to stop from 70 MPH with the breaking system shut down. This is a timebomb waiting to go off in the form of a fatal accident.
*this is the second time that I have had a complete "brake failure" while driving my 2006 ford escape hybrid in traffic. This last time, I was driving on a freeway in bedford, texas and observed that traffic in the distance was stopping for construction. I applied my brakes but the peddle went to the floor. I had to exit the roadway onto the shoulder to avoid other vehicles. I put my vehicle in low gear from drive and applied my emerengy brake to stop my car. This is the "second" time I have had to take evasive action to avoid a collision with this bake problem. The "ABS" light came on, the red brake light came on, and there was a computer message on the dash that read "service brake system". The first time that I experienced this same problem, I took my car into the dealership in for warranty repair. They advised that since the "code lights" were not on at this very moment, they were not able to diagnosis the problem. I was instructed to drive the escape until the "code lights" came back on and then bring it back for service!!! I complied to this request and bought the truck back in with the "code lights" on and the message reading. Dealership worked on the vehicle for several days and the assist service manager drove it for a couple of days to check it out. The truck was returned to me with assurance that the "brake problem" was fixed. On july 9, 2011, I again had a "complete brake failure" with my truck(see above) on july 11, 2011, I took my escape hybrid back to the dealership and advised the assistant service manager, about the problem and what almost happened to me in traffic. I also showed him some of the other complaints about this same type of "brake failure" that has occurred on other ford escape hybrids. I have also called ford corporate to start a complaint! "does it take someone getting killed or injuried before something is done?" information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6) *tt
Brake failure resulting in the brake pedal going to the floor and a loss of hydraulic or power braking. Vehicle does stop after a hard pressing of brake pedal. This is sometimes followed by a yellow ABS light and red brake light warning. The problem is fixed by turning the car off and back on. I am not kidding. Its like rebooting the computer. This started about 2 years ago. I reported it to ford who said they do not know anything about it at the dealer and national level. I took the car in for an oil change at the dealership and mentioned the intermittent brake failure. After the oil service, the problem went away for a year. I thought ford had secretly fixed it while they were changing the oil. Then about a week ago the problem has returned and has happened 10 times. I think it is related to the car not having enough power because this happens while the ice (internal combustion engine) is off. Perhaps it is related to running the air conditioning since it stopped after the summer and returned again. The ice turns off while braking at speeds below 40mph so that is probably related.
Standard day driving. Get in the vehicle start as normal. Drive 25 feet down the road, small hesitation, resistance to go forward for a moment. Abs light illuminates, warning beep occurs. Vehicle drives odd, brakes are weaker than normal. Service ABS system illuminates on center panel. Moments later, service 4x4 system illuminates as another small hesitation resistance to roll occurs. Vehicle drives 'ok' but different. Drove it home safely from that moment.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford escape hybrid. The contact stated that the brake system failed with the illumination of the ABS warning lamp. The contact also mentioned that he was able to stop the vehicle by using the emergency brake. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure who did not offer any assistance since the vehicle was not included in recall associated with the federal safety agency campaign id number: 07v156000 (service brakes, hydraulic:antilock:control unit/module). The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 64,000.
I just bought a 2006 ford escape hybrid. The service break system light and message came on monday, the 2nd time I drove it, on the way to work. I stopped at a gas station but it turned off. Next morning, same thing so I checked fluids. It was off again the rest of that day. Lit up again wednesday. I made it that evening to a service station before they closed (very rural area). The warnings were not on and he could not see anything obvious on preliminary inspection but said to bring in in the morning if the warning was back. Thursday it acted funny on my driveway. The next curve I found out why, no breaking power even with the extremely stiff and difficult pedal to the floor. I finally got it to a stop way past the crazy ride around the curve. I stopped to calm myself and decide if it was possible to get to town. I decided the e-brake seemed to stop it if I kept it very slow. So I proceeded to town-not to a ford dealer because of some very scary big hills, but instead to the service station who I trust. He was booked a week and a half and he didn't know if his computer had the hybrid programming to check it. So I had to tow it 63m to the dealer I got it from, thinking they would stand by it or it would be covered by the "drivetrain plus" service agreement I purchased to cover any scary priced repairs that crop up on older cars. It was sold as-is, and iowa has no lemon law apparently, the plan I purchased sounds like it won't cover it, and they offered me a measly 10% off the bill that is about half again what I paid for the car. I got to drive my new used car 4 1/2 times. All I can do is thank my lucky stars my kids weren't in the car, there wasn't a car near me, I wasn't coming down one of the steep and curvy river bluffs on my way to or from work, or any number of other scary scenarios that could have been. Faliure of the brake system's hydraulic control unit hcu and master cylinder is extremely dangerous and a design flaw many have experienced.
In 12/2006, my ford escape hybrid began malfunctioning. I would get a "service brake system" message and the emergency brake light would appear. I brought it in to champion ford in boulder, co 3 times. The first 2 times they refused to acknowledge the problem. The 3rd time they acknowledged the problem after I gave them information from the internet and the tsb. With cooperation from ford service they performed a ground/harness replacement. Champion ford then went out of business. Over the next 4 years, I brought my car to sill-terhar ford in broomfield, co for the same issue and additional 6 times, where they performed the same service (replace ground/harness). Now, they are saying the fix requires a new ABS module ($4,000). Through my own research, I have discovered that this problem is rampant with other owners losing their brakes. I never lost my brakes, but after discussing this with my current ford service rep, he suggests that my problem could result in "improper" braking behavior, which means I've been driving an unsafe vehicle for 4 years based on ford's service recommendation for my problem. Ford is refusing to accept responsibility for my problem, even though when my problem started, I was under warranty.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford escape hybrid. The contact was traveling 50 MPH when the ABS warning light illuminated. The contact applied the brakes and there was a reduction of 80% braking power. The contact referenced technical service bulletin 10024326 (service brake: control unit module) and believed the failure to be the same. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 81,000. Updated 4/4/11 *cn the repair shop installed a master cylinder. Updated 05/23/11
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