Engine Cooling System Problems of Ford Escape Hybrid

Submission to mark fields re 2008 Ford hybrid escape defects. The consumer stated about two weeks ago, a red master vehicle electrical hazard warning lamp and stop safely now message appeared on the dashboard, while driving at 60 mph. The engine immediately shut off. He was able to pull over safely. He turned off the vehicle, waited 5-10 minutes before re-starting it and drove a few miles, before the situation repeated itself, several more times, until he arrived home. After doing some research, he narrowed the problem down to what he believed to be the (mecs) motor engine cooling system pump, which from his understanding, was unique to the 2005-2008 Ford Escape Hybrids.

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Does someone have to die before Ford recalls these cars to fix the hybrid cooling system in these vehicles. I have fixed the problem once myself (two years ago) and now it is happening again. These cars shut down on the highway with out warning because of something going on with the hybrid system. This time my wife was in the passing lane when it happened. One day someone is going to die from this problem because it only happens when you are traveling at higher speeds (on a highway) the red triangle light comes on and automatically shuts down the car. Some family will be killed because of this and Ford will be caught knowing about the problem and doing nothing to fix it.

"stop safely now" appears on screen with red triangle: car goes dead, coast to the side of the road. I caused a bit of a mess of the traffic but no accidents: no warning for a cooling pump to keep the batteries cool. I found the problem online in 5 minutes and it was confirmed the next day at Ford. "technical service bulletin for this overheating problem. TSB 08-24-5 states that some 2005-2008 Escape Hybrid and 2006-2008 mariner hybrid vehicles may exhibit a red triangle light and codes indicating a transaxle overtemp. This condition may result in reduced power as the system activates fail safe operation. Codes p1a0e, p1a0f, p0a3c, p0a3e, p0a7a, p0a7c and p1a0d may also be set. ".

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My 2006 Ford Escape Hybrid cut off the combustion engine while traveling down a country rd. Was able to pull off with declining power in the electric engine. Display read "pull over safely" and nothing else. I brought it in to both a Ford dealership who referred me to a Toyota dealership because they didn't have anyone who knew about hybrid cars. Since the problem did not occur at the time I brought it in and there were no problems showing on a diagnostic test they could not do anything. The SUV has done this numerous times since and sometimes shuts off both engines in the middle of the highway. I thought speed and hard driving were the problem which it tends to happen more so on 45min or greater drives but has been known to do this at 15mph in residential areas. Very scary, especially on crowded high speed roads as you cannot "pull over safely" with neither motor running. If their excuse is its a safety feature it is not very safe. I contacted Ford via e-mail and they were nice enough to refer me back to the original Ford dealership and send the dealership the e-mail I had sent to their customer support in confidence stating I did not trust the dealership and they should investigate their practices (for previous reasons relating to other car issues). Saw many posts in forums that this problem relates to the cooling pump for the electric motor. Ordering a new coolant pump online as I will not go to the Ford (as I saw a post eliquently put) "stealership".

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.

The contact owns a 2007 Ford Escape Hybrid. The contact was traveling 40-45 mph when the engine stalled. The pull over safely warning message displayed after the failure. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The dealer confirmed that the motor electronic cooling system and water pump both failed and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileages were 100,400.

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While driving in the left lane of the highway at about 60-65 mph in moderate/heavy traffic, the gasoline engine shut down and gave me a "stop safely now" message on the instrument cluster. I was able to get the car off of the road, but it was a rather frightening and dangerous ordeal to cross two lanes of moderate/heavy traffic after the engine shut down. After having the car towed to the dealer, they informed me that it was "a pretty common" problem amongst escapes (transaxle cooling pump / water pump). Researching this further, it appears that there are a number of others on message boards and the like that have this same problem.

While driving on a bridge at 65 miles per hour, I heard a beep and a triangle light came on. The car immediately jolted as it lost power and it displayed a message to stop safely. This was in late morning traffic and a semi was able to slightly swerve to the right in order to avoid rear ending me as I had sudden reduced power and little median space to coast to on my left side. I was able to restart the car after a few minutes. A Ford dealer has run a diagnostic and confirmed it is a failure of the motor engine cooling pump and the overall cost for parts and labor, including diagnostic is $738. After reading all of the complaints to this agency and online entries, I cannot believe that no action has been taken about this safety hazard. There are two issues, the first being that the cooling pump is known to fail on these vehicles at different mileage levels, and is supposedly not covered by the hybrid warranty even though it is only found on hybrids. Ford dealers will not even acknowledge that this is a known problem. This part should be recalled as it is known as one cause that leads to the shut off of the car at different speeds. Second, Ford's shutoff design itself is seriously flawed since it allows the car to unexpectedly shutoff at high speeds risking collision and injury. I am forced to pay the high cost of this particular repair because I cannot do it myself, however, I no longer consider this a reliable safe vehicle. I urge NHTSA to investigate these complaints rather than wait for one of these incidents to result in death or serious injury. At the very least Ford should be notifying all owners of these vehicles about the defective cooling pumps and need for replacement.

While traveling on i80 (about 30 miles to sugar bowl ski resort), the gas engine suddenly shutdown without any warning at about 60 mph. There was a red triangle light and "stop safely now" message was displayed. Luckily, I was on the right most lane and I could pull to the side of the road to avoid incoming traffic from behind. This was extremely dangerous as this may cause serious accidents. The car was diagnosed at a Ford dealership and the motor electronics cooling system was failing. Ford is fully aware of this part failing frequently and Ford has a service bulletin for TSB 08-24-5.

The contact owns a 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid. The contact was driving 60 mph when the vehicle stalled with the stop safely now warning message displayed. The vehicle was restarted without any hesitation. The vehicle was inspected by a dealer and they advised the contact that the water pump had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.

I was driving my 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid on the high way and it stalled 3 times at high speeds. "stop safely now" came on dash. I did tons of research and this is a huge problem with the motor over heating. Ford had backorders up to nearly 900 coolant pumps last year. This is very scary because you just lose power in the middle of he highway. Toyota just recalled theirs, why has Ford not been on this. It is all over the internet. I am bringing my car in to the dealership with printed research and a letter of concern. I am blown away that so many people have had this issue with the stalling at high speeds and Ford has done nothing. This is very concerning.

I was traveling through nyc on rt 95 during rush hour, bumper to bumper traffic. All 3 lanes were traveling at 65 mph with no breakdown lane due to construction in the area. The car for no apparent reason displayed the "stop safely now" message and the engine died. By some miracle the jersey barriers blocking the breakdown lane opened up for about 100 ft and I was able to pull over. The car loses all power when the stop safely now message appears. This is a hazard and this car should be recalled for this problem. It turned out the cooling pump needed to be replaced. No car should simply shut off when driving. It creates an extremely dangerous situation. I had 18 wheelers and a stream of cars behind me and had the breakdown lane not been available, there would have been a multiple car crash with potential deaths. It is hard to believe that there have been no accidents due to this problem. This car is unsafe to drive because you have no idea when the engine will shut off. The car needs to be redesigned so that the stop safely now message never shuts down the engine.

The contact owns a 2005 Ford Escape Hybrid. The contact stated that while driving approximately 80 mph, the vehicle suddenly stalled after an unknown warning light illuminated. The vehicle was able to continue driving on the battery power and then independently restarted. The vehicle was inspected by an independent mechanic and they advised him that they were unable to diagnose the failure. A few weeks later, the exact failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the independent mechanic who advised taking the vehicle to an authorized dealer. The dealer inspected the vehicle and advised him that the failure was caused by the coolant pump. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 74,000. The VIN was unavailable.

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The contact owns a 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid. While driving approximately 55-70 mph, the engine stalled and there was a beeping chime heard in the vehicle followed by a message displayed on the instrument panel instructing the contact to stop and pull over safely. The vehicle was coasted to the side of the road and the engine was restarted. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the electronic cooling pump was being replaced. The failure mileage was 63,000. The VIN was unavailable.

On my way to work this morning the warning "stop safely now", illuminated on my dash and the vehicle immediately shutdown in the middle of the road. I was very fortunate that I was only going 25 miles per hour and immediately put my emergency lights on which prevented traffic from rear ending me. I had to have the vehicle towed awaiting diagnosis which I am being told by the deal will probably be related to the hybrid battery cooling system. This is a critical safety issues that must be addressed.

2006 Ford Escape Hybrid, right after the warning "stop safely now", the car shut down right in the middle of the road, and it happened three times on my way home. After web research, it is quite common for the Ford Escape Hybrid cars. It is very dangerous since there is no time for you to stop safely before the car shut down, not even a 5 or 10 seconds. The dealer check it out, it was a water pump failure caused this, called Ford, but Ford denied any assistance. The repair costs more than $600. 00. This is a safety issue and it is need to be fixed. Who is going to drive a car which will shut down in the middle of the road without any time to respond to?.

While driving my 2005 Ford Escape Hybrid the following occurred. I was stopped at an intersection and when I began making a left turn, an alarm sounded, a red wrench symbol, and red exclamation mark lit up on the dash. I immediately pulled to the curb and the car lost all power and steering locked up. The car restarted and I took it to Ford. The service rep said the car went into a "fail safe mode" which it does to protect the hybrid battery from overheating. I was told that the alarm and symbols occur to give you about 5 minutes to safely get off the road. This did not happen. The car just lost power immediately. The Ford dealership determined that a coolant pump for the hybrid battery needed to be replaced which was done. Five weeks later the same thing happened again. I was stopped at a light and when I began turning right, the alarm sounded, the red wrench and exclamation light lit up and the car lost all power immediately. Again, I was able to restart the engine so I took it back to Ford to be looked at. They replaced a "suspect" cooling pump relay and road tested the car. The problem could not be duplicated. My concern is that this vehicle's "fail safe mode" makes the car completely shut down immediately. Both times I was able to move into an emergency lane, but what would have happened if I was on a freeway and the car just stopped? I am concerned that other Ford Escape Hybrids may have the same problem and it is a real safety hazard. The second time it happened my grandchildren were in the backseat and I could have been rear ended. After having the Ford dealership look at it and replace the cooling pump relay I traded in the vehicle the next day. I would like to have this documented in case there is a pattern with these cars or other hybrids. I will never purchase one again.

Our 2008 Ford escape (hybrid) shuts down without warning. The problem has been diagnosed as a failed coolant pump for the electrical system. When we tried to have it repaired, we learned that there were 891 replacement pumps on back order - these are not orders for new manufacturing, but for replacing failed pumps. These are just the ones on back order and do not include ones already replaced, or those owners that have not taken their escape for diagnostics. Our escape has shut down several dozen times and it has almost always been at highway speeds on an interstate. There is no warning, the vehicle shuts down and gives us a message to please stop safely. The vehicle will re-start once it has been shut off, but that means we have to coast to the shoulder while avoiding other vehicles. We then have to merge back into interstate traffic. Ford is aware of the issue, but have told us they have nothing to do with "recalling the part" as that is up to the federal government!.

Organization owns two 2009 Ford Escape Hybrids. First vehicle has had numerous problems including ac/heating system was repaired under warranty, steering wheel cover disintegrated and was replaced under warranty, check engine light has repeatedly come on dating back to when vehicle was under warranty, but dealership could not replicate the problem or find any codes, abs module went out at 52,000 miles, when module was replaced, code for hydraulics showed another module needed replaced, car is still in shop, and dealer says there are still additional codes that have not been addressed. This vehicle has not been in an accident or any other type of situation that would cause this kind of mechanical and/or electrical problems. When Ford customer relations was contacted, they said there was nothing they could do since the car was no longer under warranty at 52,000 miles.

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2006 Ford Escape Hybrid. Driving on hwy 75 south in ohio. I was driving about 68 miles an hour. My car stopped running and slowed abruptly. The info display said main engine over heat slow and continue to safe stop. I pulled over and drove off the highway shut the car down and restarted it. It ran for about a 1/2 mile and shut down again. This time I started up again and dove it about five miles before I shut it down for about 20 minutes. There was no signs or smells of hot over heating engine. I then got in a drove it for about 5 more hours without any problems. My concern is that I all most got rear ended from a semi. I have read other hybrid forums with other people having the same problem.

The contact owns a 2005 Ford Escape Hybrid. The contact stated that when driving above 60 mph the overheat indicator illuminated on the instrument control panel, then the vehicle stalled. As a consequence his risk of a serious injury was increased. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but the technicians have been unable to duplicate the failure. The failure mileage was 70,000. The current mileage was 79,000. Updated 10/29/09 the pump for the cooling system was defective. Updated 10/29/09.

On or about 12/11/08 my wife's 2007 Ford Escape Hybrid with less than 50,000 miles on it started to sputter then quit running. It did this several times. She call me in which I told her it's not safe to drive. We took it the dealer they said it was out of warranty. Since it was a hybrid we had the dealer look at it. They told us it was a hybrid thing. They told us it was a cooling pump. We had them fix it at a cost of $640. 61. I would like to know why this pump failed so quickly. The part # is 6m64-8c419-aa. Please do an investigation to see if this part is defective. If so I would like my money reimbursed. I have the old pump thank you mitch.

The contact owns a 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid. The contact stated that the auxiliary cooling pump failed which caused the gasoline engine to shut down as it was electric. The electric motor still functioned but the gasoline engine would stall. When the failure occurred, a message on the instrument panel warned the contact to pull over safely. The contact was able to drive home but could only drive 7-8 miles before they would have to pull over again and let it sit. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer who stated that the cooling pump had failed. The vehicle was repaired at the contact's expense. The failure mileage was 52,961 and the current mileage was 53,045.