2007 Ford Escape Hybrid: sudden loss of power

Filed Jul 11, 2018 · Electrical · 177,000 miles · CA

On 7/10/18, while waiting at a stop light to enter a highway, car stalled/lost power without warning. Two months earlier in may 2018, the car issued a "stop safely now" warning while moving at 65mph. Driver was able to get to the side of the road in time before losing power. Both instances resulted in restarting the car with no issues after a period of rest. Mechanic on both occasions could not find an issue with battery or electrical connections. Water pump (recall) was already repaired several years ago in 2012 and had no issues with stalling until 2018.

Filed May 12, 2015 · Fuel system · 117,000 miles · CA

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 ford escape hybrid. While driving at 45 MPH, the vehicle independently engaged into electric mode. The vehicle started to lose power when the failure occurred. The failure recurred and the contact would have to shut off the engine and restart it to initiate back into fuel mode. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and it was determined that the vent door that cools the main battery failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 117,000.

Filed Jan 29, 2015 · Fuel system · VA

2007 ford escape hybrid consumer is seeking reimbursement *cn that consumer stated she lost power while driving on the freeway. The consumer received a recall notice in the mail. She called her local dealer, where she was informed part of the service she had done on her vehicle in october 2011, was in fact covered. The consumer stated there was an issue with the hybrid system.

Filed Aug 22, 2014 · Engine, Fuel system · 87,000 miles · OH

On a trip from cincinnati oh to bloomington in, roughly 140 miles, the check engine light came on several times with no apparent driveability issues. The return trip a few hours later, however, on a busy highway at 75 MPH the vehicle suddenly lost power showing the message "pull over safely immediately". It was difficult to navigate to the shoulder without power, and very frightening. After a few minutes I was able to start and run the vehicle again for about 10 minutes before experiencing the power loss again. After a tow and oil change I was sent on my way only to have the same issue again several times before getting another tow all the way home. This has happened several times since, only at highway speeds, always dangerous and scary. The dealer is replacing the merc pump and a couple other items for a cost of over 1200.00. This should be a recall issue--so many complaints already lodged and such a dangerous situation.

Filed Aug 9, 2014 · Electrical, Engine · 102,227 miles · CA

After driving approximately 10 minutes on the freeway, a "stop safely now" message came up (without any other warning) and our car started to lose power and speed immediately. I was in the carpool lane and the flow of traffic on the 210 freeway was around 70 MPH. I had to cut across 4 lanes of traffic and was barely able to make it before my car lost power completely. This is the third time this has happened to my husband or I in the past year. (each situation was similar to this one?and equally dangerous especially because there is zero warning). The car started up again immediately and I was able to exit the freeway before it happened again a few minutes later on side streets. I believe this is related to the hybrid coolant pump defect that I have seen others writing about online?all of the descriptions of the engine failure are similar. This needs to be recalled before someone is killed. Ford needs to step up and take responsibility!

Filed Jun 21, 2014 · Engine · 104,000 miles · CA

While driving down the freeway, the car abruptly lost power and a stop safely now light came on. The car was coasting on the freeway in the middle of traffic. It was as if it was suddenly in neutral. I restarted the vehicle when I reached the edge of the road and had acceleration again. I was stranded with my children so I attempted to go at a very safe speed in the slow lane. The problem occurred another 3 times before reaching home. Upon research, this is a very common occurrence with escape hybrids. I called ford cust. Service and after reporting my issue, the representative said he had no knowledge of such problems and was actually rude to me. I called the local dealer and he said the common issue would not be covered under warranty. Now, I have an extremely unsafe car with a very common problem and appear to be getting no assistance.

Filed Apr 23, 2014 · Transmission · 71,000 miles · OK

While traveling on a turnpike with few exit ramps and limited shoulder clearance, the vehicle simultaneously lost all power and displayed the warning triangle ("triangle of death") and the information display indicated "stop safely now". The key was removed from the ignition and manual consulted. The manual indicated this was a hybrid system fault/failure and advised on attempting to restart the vehicle and taking it to the nearest dealership. The restart was successful and traveling continued for another 15 miles before the same exact scenario repeated. The ford dealership diagnosed this problem as a failure of the motor electronic cooling system (mecs)--a well documented failure (and a dangerous one) that plagues many ford escape hybrids.

Filed Apr 15, 2014 · Engine · 70,000 miles · UT

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 ford escort. The contact stated that his vehicle would lose power when driving 70 MPH. The vehicle was not inspected or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. No repairs have been made to the vehicle. The failure mileage was 70,000 and the current mileage 76,000. The VIN was not available.

Filed Feb 20, 2014 · Electrical, Transmission · 88,000 miles · MA

I was driving home from work when the dashboard light that looks like a wrench came on as well as the display service engine soon. I made it home safely and the next time I drove the car no light and so far seems ok. A similar occurrence happened about a month ago at that time I lost all power. Fortunately I had just pulled out of my driveway. I shut the car off and back on and it was fine until this week. It looks like it is a defective throttle body and sensor and will need to be replaced.

Filed Feb 17, 2014 · Acceleration, Engine · 89,000 miles · VA

While traveling on an interstate highway, the vehicle displayed "stop safely now" message along with an audible chime and a red triangle with exclamation point symbol. The gas engine shut down and the vehicle lost power coasting from highway speed to around 35 MPH. The vehicle remained under hybrid electric power allowing me to move to the side of the road. My vehicle is around 7.5 years old and has 89,000 miles. I researched this issue and it appears to have occurred with several of these type vehicles. The dealership reported that they retrieved error codes p1aod, p0a3e, b139. The dealership says that it requires replacement of the hybrid drive train motor electronics cooling system (mecs) water pump (part# 5m6z8c419a) and (part# al8z19e66f). There is a technical service bulletin (tsb) 08-24-5 that seems to relate to similar problems. The problem is not covered by the manufacturer 8 year /100,000 mile hybrid warranty according to ford customer relations despite both parts being part of the hybrid drive system.

Filed Jul 10, 2013 · Engine · 36,989 miles · SC

While traveling on the interstate, a "stop safely now" message appeared on the instrument panel. The message was immediately preceded by a chime, and the vehicle lost engine power as soon as the message appeared. There was no warning that would have allowed a safe movement from the roadway, and this problem has repeatedly put me and my family in the most dangerous situations we have ever experienced in a car. The car is in the dealership for the second time for the same problem, and we had it in a year before the first incident for a replaced coil and plug (at 29,000 miles). I just got a call from the service manager telling me that there is nothing he can do on prices for the repair. I will be calling ford customer service, directly, after filing this complaint, since this is obviously a recall situation. We purchased an extended warranty for $1300. It was for 5 years or 60,000 miles. This was a waste of money. The only thing we got covered under that warranty was a window motor that broke. Including the warranty for which we paid, we have paid over $2500 in service fees to our dealership. The current mileage is just over 42,000. We purchased the car, new, for $28,000.

Filed Apr 8, 2013 · Transmission · CA

I was driving at freeway speed and the car suddenly showed the signal: "stop safely now," and I immediately began to lose power. I barely had time to pull to the shoulder to get out of the way of 70-MPH traffic. No previous signal showed on the dash (e.g., the wrench signal) to give me any advance warning.