Abs Brake Fail problems of the 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid

The abs brakes have failed. The vehicle is no longer safe to drive. I took it to a Ford dealer and was quoted over $5,000 to replace the hydraulic control unit. I have read many people have experienced the same problem. Why has there been no recall on a vehicle with a problem as serious as this?.

Approx. A year ago the brakes started failing. Suddenly you had to pump them extra hard to stop. Warning light appeared that tires need inflating. They did not. Then an abs warning light appeared. Suddenly the brakes started working again, no extra pumping needed. Then at high speeds the warning light turned on and steering wheel shook violently and you couldn't go about 60 mph. Ahhh! when you hit brakes they didn't respond or a terrible grinding noise happened. Looked it up, common in this year's hybrid that abs brakes fail. Only had 150k on it. Took to local Ford dealer, they wanted $7400 to fix. What? "proprietary abs brakes must be replaced. " they wouldn't turn warning message off computer or do anything less. Wouldn't check hoses, circuits, or pads. Just a flat "$7400" with no explanation other than abs system. We found out through complaint sites online that others had the same problems. It's extremely harrowing to be driving at high speeds and have the car suddenly start shaking and the brakes not work!!.

I am the original owner of this car and this is the third time my abs brakes have failed. I don't know the technical reason but my car does not stop properly in nine years the braking system should not fail three times.

Brakes can fail without warning after the abs light comes on. There is no warning and no secondary backup system. The abs module failure is the result, which will make the vehicle have no brakes. The repair cost is $5,000 and must be done at the dealer. The dealer also witnessed the no brakes while driving.

Driving along, my wife suddenly noticed that braking was extremely difficult. Dashboard states abs system failure, and regen system failure. She pulled over and turned car off. Restarting, failure lights still come up, braking still extremely difficult. A look under the hood, and the brake fluid is almost completely gone! it'd been filled at last oil change (less than 1500 miles ago) took car to Ford dealership. After 2 days, they determined that the master cylinder and hcu needed to be replaced, that they would be special order parts and that it'd cost extra $ for repairs due to the complexity of the repair. (I'd told the dealership that I'd researched and this is a very common issue, Ford has many tsbs out for this, calls into question the training or the ability of this dealership to properly do the repair) Ford is the only supplier for parts for this particular repair, and they charge a premium price for them! $7000 for parts and labor to repair a safety related problem that Ford should be voluntarily recalling. If they're not going to issue a safety recall, they should at least make the parts available for a lot less money!.

The hydraulic control unit of the abs experienced a failure resulting in internal loss of pressure. The only repair solution is for the dealer to replace then entire hydraulic control unit at a cost of over $3000. It seems awfully odd that 1) only the dealer can diagnose and repair element, 2) only the dealer can order the parts, 3) there is no way to repair just the failing component but the whole hcu must be replaced, and 4) the cost is so extreme. I've read online about other Ford escape owners whose hcu had failed and it seems this may be defective in either design or in function. Certainly making it a dealer-only repair seems shady.

The vehicle has had at least two issues prior with the abs system failing. Currently the abs and the regenerative braking systems both failed making the vehicle impossible to stop with the brakes "cutting out" in the last 5 mph. The dealer was closed so the vehicle was brought to an independent shop who found that the abs control assembly and the travel sensor in the master cylinder had failed!.