2009 Ford Escape Hybrid: ABS light or ABS activating

Filed Aug 31, 2020 · Brakes · 101,000 miles · OH

Tl* the contact owns a 2009 ford escape hybrid. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, the check braking system, traction control and emergency brake warning light was illuminated. The contact drove to his destination. The contact stated while restarting the vehicle, the contact had to depress the brake pedal to the floor and use the parking brake to stop the vehicle. The vehicle was not drivable. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic and was referred to local dealer. The vehicle was taken to local dealer nick mayer lincoln westlake located at 24400 center ridge rd, westlake, oh 44145, (440) 835-3700, where it was diagnosed with needing the brake master cylinder, brake booster, electronic control unit and module and ABS hydraulic unit to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired as of yet. The manufacturer had been informed of failure. The failure mileage was 101,000.

Filed Apr 15, 2019 · Brakes · 95,000 miles · IL · fire

My ABS brakes on my 2009 ford escape hybrid engine light came on and the RPM ramped while I was going 65 MPH down a highway and the front passenger brakes started smoking. I took it in to have it fixed and it was going to cost $5700 to fix because of some hcu unit that failed while I was driving at pretty good rate of speed. I am glad it didn't throw me off into a ditch or catch on fire with me in it. What a crappy design this is. Wow!!! Scary stuff.

Filed Jan 27, 2017 · Brakes · 102,000 miles · NJ

I was driving in my work parking garage when I got a, "check brake system" warning on my dash, and a couple of dashboard lights lit up, including the emergency brake light. I suddenly realized that I had no brakes, and I was pressing my brake pedal to the floor in an attempt to stop the car. Luckily I was going about 5-10 MPH and there were no cars or people in front of me. I was able to continue around the parking garage until the car slowed, then used my emergency brake to stop the car. I started reading the manual trying to figure out what went wrong, and that didn't help. I turned the car back on and there were no warnings or lights on my dash, so I tentatively moved the car. The brakes worked perfectly. I drove it to a nearby mechanic shop to have it looked at before it acted up again. They said I needed to take it to a dealership since it was a hybrid and they were getting high voltage battery codes that they weren't experienced with. The dealership mechanics spend the next 2 days trying to figure out the issue and recreate the problem. They were finally able to recreate it and told me the ABS control module had an electrical issue and needs to be replaced, for approximately $2,000, due to no fault of my own. Everything else on the car is in great condition, and my car only has 100,000 miles, so I am going to foot the bill. *tr

Filed Sep 15, 2016 · Brakes · 124,000 miles · CA

Brakes weak on manual mode almost no stopping power, codes c1320., hydraulic travel sensor circuit, hcu, ABS light on, service brakes lights on, no hcu compressor coming on at pre start any more. Suggested need new hcu, at a part cost of $3889.00 plus 10 hours of labor to bleed system putting repair cost over $5k, car blue books at $3.5k, how can this be feasible, thanks for the disposable car ford.!!!

Filed Sep 11, 2016 · Brakes · 86,485 miles · VA

Sudden and immediate loss of braking system without any warning lights etc. I had started car, backed down my driveway and entered roadway when ABS and brake warning lights appeared and I had no braking system operating. I had to be towed to a service station.

Filed May 23, 2016 · Electrical, Engine · 61,832 miles · SD

On march 9, 2016, our 2009 escape hybrid completely "stopped" in traffic on boulder highway, las vegas, nevada which occurred about 1 mile from a carwash that we have frequently used no less than 15 times annually. Our vehicle had completely stopped in traffic 5 times within a 1 mile distance between the initial stop on boulder highway to our rv park. At the initial stop in traffic my wife and I had to push our vehicle into a gas station because the vehicle would not restart. Each time the vehicle stopped the red master vehicle electrical hazard warning light had come on and the digital panel showed the message "stop safely". The master vehicle electrical hazard warning light "indicates hybrid component fault/failure that will cause the vehicle to shutdown or fail to start". The vehicle did both. The vehicle was towed to ford country in henderson, nevada. A diagnostic test was performed, however, the computer results showed an ABS and transmission issue, but no hybrid problem. The ABS and transmission error codes eventually cleared themselves. The ford technicians stated that since the undercarriage had been washed, as always, an electrical sensor had probably created the failure. I questioned the idea that car washing could create the problem since the only opening to the hybrid battery is the vent located on the driver's side near the rear of the vehicle. The master vehicle electrical hazard warning light failure resulted in the complete shutdown of our vehicle in traffic and is worrisome since our experience could have resulted in a major accident with possible fatal consequences. If a regular carwash is the diagnosis for the warning of a "hybrid component failure", which completely shuts down the engine in traffic, there may be a vehicle design issue. And, the fact that the escape's computer failed to store the error code is also alarming.

Filed Jul 27, 2015 · Brakes · 58,600 miles · CA

The initial incident in which the hydraulic brakes failed in my 2009 ford escape hybrid was in early june 2015. The vehicle was serviced at the dealership on june 17, 2015 at 57,164 miles. The service department was unable to duplicate the brake failure: where hydraulic brakes go soft, making it very difficult to stop, and then the check brake system light and the ABS light turn on. The vehicle must be turned off and restarted for the system to reset itself. The hydraulic brakes failed again on july 25, followed by two more failures on july 26, 2015. The only common factors that may be linked to my brake failure incidents are use of power window and turning airconditioning on/off multiple times. The vehicle spent a full day at the dealership (july 27), and baffled service personnel are waiting for ford hotline to provide direction.

Filed Jul 2, 2014 · Brakes · 90,000 miles · VA

Backing out of garage at home brakes failed. Was unable to stop almost backed in to a parked car. Since backing out was going very slow and pushed brake as hard as possible to the floor finally getting the car to stop. The ABS light, parking brake light, and check brake system came up. Car was taken to service station in neighborhood and ignition turned off. Started car back up and no lights were on and brake functioning was almost normal.

Filed Mar 6, 2014 · Brakes, Electrical · 99,257 miles · MI

Sudden brake failure with no warning. Vehicle was initially traveling at 55 MPH when a sudden stop was initiated by driver. Vehicle stopped as expected. Vehicle also stopped as expected 3 more times over next couple miles. However, when brake pedal was depressed prior to next turn (now from 45 MPH), brake pressure was low, pedal travel was long, and vehicle did not slow. At this time 3 dash indicator lights illuminated: ABS, brake pressure/emergency brake, and traction control. No warning chime or driver information message. Vehicle did begin to slow at slow rate once brake pedal was depressed all the way to floor. Issue remained for duration of 1/2 mile drive home. Vehicle was then parked, ignition switched off, then restarted after ~30 seconds. Warning lights went off, and brake pedal pressure was normal after restarting. Brake fluid reservoir level was okay. All systems function normal during 1 mile test drive. Vehicle has no history of brake problems.

Filed Feb 15, 2014 · Brakes, Electrical · 12,000 miles · CA

A recurring issue with the electrical/brake system of this vehicle was a random-occurring "short" or electrical system glitch that would partially disable the electric power braking system and causing a substantial loss of engine power, which caused the braking capability of the vehicle to be reduced to a barely functioning operational level as well as the loss of power steering. This occurred at least 20-times during our first 22-months of ownership. This sudden and severe lack of braking required the vehicle to have the transmission downshifted to a lower forward gear and a hard mechanical effort applied to the brake pedal and steering wheel to bring the vehicle to a stop. With the vehicle stopped, the ignition could be turned-off and the key removed. When the key was re-inserted and turned to "start", the vehicle would always start as if the entire electrical system had "reset". This required a total of five (5) different multiple-day repairs at the local ford dealer in attention to the normal maintenance intervals service. Each of the 5-"power problem" repairs were found to be from different causes, including but not limited to: faulty starting-battery location and wiring harness damage, faulty wiring assembly (different location), ABS brake sensor module. The ford dealer we purchased the vehicle from, and ford corporate ultimately did not stand behind our purchased "ford premium service plan" or our purchased "ford extended service mileage contract" costing us over $2,000 of out-of-pocket and "non-covered" plan expenses. Because of the random and severely unsafe power and braking conditions of this vehicle, in addition to the excessive repairs and finally the non-resolution attitude and non-performance of the ford motor company, we sold this vehicle as a dealer trade-in for the purchase of a new SUV from a different manufacturer and dealer.

Filed Nov 21, 2013 · Brakes, Transmission · 112,112 miles · CA

Driving down a major blvd. 4 lights turned on simultaneously, brake, ABS, traction control and the "wrench" icon indicating a major failure. Brake pedal went to the floor and I experienced an 80% loss of braking power narrowly avoiding a collision with cars stopped in front of me. Lights remained on and brakes were severely compromised as I limped to the nearest repair shop with very little braking ability. Turned the car off. When I restarted the car all systems were operational and all lights were off. Drove the car to a ford dealer the following day for evaluation. Dealer diagnosed a compromised battery as the source of failure and replaced the battery. Dealer service rep denied this problem had anything to do with hydraulic control unit as other reports mention with the exact same symptoms on your site, as well denied problems with the master cylinder or regenerative braking system. The battery didn't explain the problem to me, why then did the car continue to drive normally for a while following the failure before the battery was replaced? Even if this is the problem, no battery light indicated a problem prior to failure. Am I to expect brake failure to be what announces my battery might be in need of replacement? No fail safe mechanism appears to be in place on this vehicle. Treacherous. I'll likely sell the car as I don't want my less experienced 16 yr old to be confronted with this issue. I was lucky to have left plenty of following distance, without which I most certainly would have become the victim of an accident.

Filed Oct 7, 2013 · Brakes · 63,400 miles · GA

Driving down hill on dry pavement at 35mph. Gentle braking for red traffic light. Everything normal until slowed nearly to a stop. Then a sudden loss of braking effect requiring extreme pressure on brake. Simultaneous with the loss of braking a clunking sound was heard and several warning lights came on including brake, ABS, & traction lights. Drove to a safe location with the warning lights still on and the brakes requiring markedly more force to apply. Engine never stalled. Once parked I turned off the car and removed the key. When I restarted the car all the lights went out and the brakes behaved normally. Drove the car to nearest dealer. They found no codes and could find nothing wrong. Called national service number and was assigned case # [xxx]. Almost hit car ahead of me. Now I am afraid to operate vehicle. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).