Battery problems of the 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid

We were driving up I-95 from FL to va when the car suddenly gave a loud warning tone and displayed the message stop safely now. The car lost all power as we quickly tried to cross several lanes of traffic to reach the shoulder. Upon examination of the car we started it up again with no consequence and continued on our trip. About 30 minutes later it happened again. After reading the owner's manual I discovered the warning message involved a component of the hybrid system. I decided to try shutting off the econ switch (which activates battery) and all ac/ electrical components. This worked beautifully for 100+ miles until at nightfall the headlights kicked on and our troubles returned. Since it was Sunday night we decided to stay overnight where we were and get it checked by the nearest Ford in the morning. The diagnostics ($95) revealed it was the motor electronic cooling pump at fault which this dealer did not carry. We cautiously continued using the no electrical method and were able to successfully reach our destination 400miles away with no more incidents, where we then took it to our home dealer for repair. A very dangerous condition which upon research I'm learning is happening to many other Escape Hybrid owners.

I have a 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid (purchased in April 2007), with 67,000 miles on it. I was traveling at 65mph, starting to head into the sierras outside of sacramento, California. I had been driving for 2 hours, and had traveled 120 miles that morning when the car engine suddenly cut out, and the warning light "stop safely now" appeared on the dash. Luckily, it was only 6am and there was only one other car near me on the road. I pulled over 3 lanes, brakes and steering working, but with no gas. I turned the car off for a minute, started it up without any problems or warning lights. I waited another minute or two, and headed out on the road. When I got back up to 65mph the engine cut out and the warning showed up again. This time I was already near the shoulder so I stopped again. I was about to get into a snowy uphill climb and decided that, not knowing what this car would do, that it was unsafe to continue. I drove slowly to the next exit, and got myself turned around. For the first hour I drove at under 60mph without any problems. I was able to achieve 65mph in the second hour without problem. I had the error codes assessed by a Ford dealer and they said it was an mec pump failure (the pump that cools the electric battery). I was very lucky that this happened with so little traffic volume. There was no warning, and the sudden cut out of the engine was startling and unsafe. I feared for my life while heading home as the volume of cars picked up around me.