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Ford Escape Hybrid Engine Problems

2

Comments

  • christmascreekchristmascreek Member Posts: 2
    I am having the same problem with my 08. I have to pull over every 30 miles. Do you have a contact name at Scarff Ford?
  • dgcarlson1dgcarlson1 Member Posts: 8
    I bought a 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid in mid summer of 2007. The automobile has been great until now, March 2010. I have put 80,000 miles on it since I bought it 2.5 yrs ago. In the past two weeks the engine cuts off at high speed (60-70mph). A warning light comes on (looks like a red yield sign with an exclamation point) and dash display states "Stop slowly". There were no other warning signs or lights to indicate anything was wrong with the vehicle. I followed the instructions in the manual (turn the vehicle off for a minute and try restarting). I did this and made my way home - it cut off on me two more times that evening. The next day I checked all the fuses to make sure it was not a bad fuse.

    The car functioned as normal until four days later when the same thing happened. I am taking it to the dealer I bought it from tomorrow. I am wondering if some of the wire coverings that have worn in the past 2.5 years (exposing more of the wire) may have triggered a sensor that shuts the engine off.

    If anyone has had a similar experience I would like to hear about it.

    Other than this the vehicle has been a pleasure to drive.
  • dgcarlson1dgcarlson1 Member Posts: 8
    Do you know what the exact fix for your '06 FEH shutting off was? My '08 FEH, which was built in '07 is experiencing the same problem. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
  • hch109hch109 Member Posts: 1
    Please let me know what your dealer says about your FEH. I have a 2006 and am at 70,500 miles on my vehicle. Starting in January I received the same "Stop Safely Now" message and the FEH shut off. I had to get it towed to the dealer 2x and it was "allegedly" fixed in February. Well this past weekend my husband and I made a 4 hour drive each way for a weekend getaway and I got the same message on average every hour. We would have to pull over on the highway, shut the engine off, restart and continuing driving until we got the same message. It has not happened again since Sunday, but it just makes me nervous that it can happen again at any time. Just curious to see what your dealer says is the issue.
  • hevincalihevincali Member Posts: 7
    There are 2 problems I have had with the stop safely now.
    1. There was a recall that fixed a problem with part of the battery electronics corroding and an overly sensitive software code line that decided that corrosion was a reason to shut down. I had this one fixed about 3 years ago. I haven't had that issue again. It wouldn't start again for 30 minutes after this.
    2. After about 45 minutes of driving I will loose power and the engine will stop, I still have electric power and can pull over safely, after this it will start again after 10 minutes but with much less power and if I don't baby it it will happen again. I've been told this is a faulty motor electronics cooling pump (transmission cooling). Dealer wanted too much money so I'm going to change it myself. We will see what happens then.
  • christmascreekchristmascreek Member Posts: 2
    I have a 2008 with 75,000 on it and had the same problem. The dealer I bought the car from couldn't find anything wrong and told me there were no codes on the diagnostic; so I took it to another dealer recommended by someone on this website. That dealer found 2 codes and replaced an electronic cooling pump. I haven't had any problem since.
  • yancey_12yancey_12 Member Posts: 2
    Good morning, i have a 2005 and it is stalling all the time, i went on a road trip and it took 4 hours to get someplace it usally takes 2 hours, i checked all fluids and they are fine, i have no idea why its doing it. i almost got hit by a semi on a nerrow road because i had no where to turn off and it wouldn't let me start it again.
  • iscaisca Member Posts: 1
    Bought my 06 FHE used in June, and after a few months of hard driving experienced the "triangle of death" for the first time. I had a emissions code come up as well at the time. I was told by the dealer that there was a solenoid canister that needed to be replaced, well, 5 months later and 4 more times in the garage for the same issues, its getting to be a bit trying. If the car didn't just shut off randomly and without warning I might have a little more patience. When its working, I love my car, would love to get to the real issue and if anyone has any advice, I'd like to hear it.
    Thanks.
  • visionfixervisionfixer Member Posts: 1
    This happened to my wife's care last night. Her car is a 2008 with 43,000 miles. Driving on the freeway, the "Stop Safely Now" warning beeped on and she lost power. The powersteering and the ABS seemed to work fine and allowed her to pull over to the shoulder. She turned the engine off, called me and I asked her to see if the car would start. It did start and the warning was no longer on. Not trusting this car, I took it directly to the dealer for them to trouble shoot. This is the first time this warning has come on, but three other times other warning warning lights have popped on while my wife has been driving and I have taken the car in and only once did they find something, the other two times, they blame faulty sensors. I guess I should have waited for the bugs to have been removed when considering this first generation Ford Hybrid engine. BTW, I have a 2007 Camry Hybrid with almost 100,000 miles on it and I have had zero problems with it. Yes there is a recall on the gas pedal, but I haven't had warning lights beep on, engines shut down, faulty acceleration, or poor braking. I am having lots of 2nd thoughts about having purchased this Escape Hybrid.
  • dgcarlson1dgcarlson1 Member Posts: 8
    The nitty gritty on the problem with my 2008 Escape hybrid shutting off. I took it the dealer (Capital Ford in Raliegh, NC). They stated the water pump went bad, and the traction battery filter had to be replaced. The new water pump was $325.69, and the traction battery filter was $32.00. The total for the labor was $256.83. Total for the EEC Pin Point Test was $2.70. (Grand total of evrything was $658.80).

    Again, I bought the SUV mid 2007, it have put 80,000 + miles on it since then. Yes, I was upset, I felt the pump should have been covered under warranty. But, I have been pleased with the automobile considering the amount of driving I have had to do.

    Since I had the water pump replaced I am having an issue with the powertrain light coming on (looks like a wrench), but nothing seems to be wrong with the car or the engine. When I turn the car off and back on the light goes out. I will call the service department about this.
  • joadjoad Member Posts: 4
    edited May 2010
    The wrench light is usually in damper motor for the battery cooler. You may want to have this checked so the battery doesn't overheat.

    The waterpump has been redesigned and you should not have that issue again. The labor seems kinda steep on that repair. I'm not a mechanic and it took about 20 minutes to replace mine.
  • briano17briano17 Member Posts: 3
    We had this problem yesterday in a 05 FEH. Started off as a High Motor Temperature light, followed by the Triangle of death and total shutdown in the middle of traffic. Upon lifting the hood could not smell a hot motor, both coolant reservoirs full and not hot to touch. Glad of second vehicle. The next day car started with no alarms present?
    Who were these 4 clowns in Canada that could not help you? I need to book with a dealer in the Red Deer Alberta area to get this fixed. Was it the electronic coolant pump?
  • spintcspintc Member Posts: 2
    I was on the highway when my car shut off without warning. I was 4 hours from home so found a dealer and it has been 2weeks without my car, they are waiting on a part under warranty for the electronic water pump. I had to rent a car which has cost me 650,00 and adding up daily. Ford won't reimburse me for the rental and when my car does get fixed I have to take off of work and drive 4 hours away to pick up my car. I have LOVED this car for 2 years but this has really made me think it is not a reliable vehicle. anyone else have this issue and how long did it take to get the part?
  • briano17briano17 Member Posts: 3
    They had the part but it still cost me $900. I asked for the old pump back, took it apart and the ceramic impeller was broken in 3 pieces. I think this should be a recall issue. Also not covered under warranty (normal wear and tear?). The dealer also wanted me to pay $50 for a new air filter which I refused to buy. Insult to injury.
    Everything else about the car is good but is this going to happen again?
  • joadjoad Member Posts: 4
    If your car is under factory warranty and they can't fix it the same day, Ford warranty pays for a rental. Check your warranty guidelines booklet.
  • joadjoad Member Posts: 4
    The pump has been redesigned, so it should not fail again. That price seems a little steep. It took me 30 minutes to replace mine and the part cost $250.
  • jessika85jessika85 Member Posts: 1
    so how long did it take for the part to become available? i took our 2008 FEH in yesterday for this same problem and they told me there is no ETA for this piece (it's on back order). and in the mean time i am not supposed to drive my car in case of doing further damage. the red triangle with the exclamation mark came on july 31st and hasn't appeared again, but still they make me nervous telling me that i shouldn't drive it. BTW our car has a little over 71,000 miles on it and is covered by an extended warranty but can only have a rental car for 5 days covered with that warranty. with no ETA i am pretty much screwed!
  • briano17briano17 Member Posts: 3
    I was lucky, only had to wait 1 day for the part, came from Edmonton. We drove about 50 km after the 'triangle of death' appeared, and finally it just shut off. We waited 5 minutes, restarted it and limped home another km. The dealer was able to tell us the maximum temperature that occurred (can't remember the value, but it was high). I asked if the motor/generator insulation was harmed by the high temp and they did not know. Can't they do a Megger (insulation breakdown) test? Thats what they do in heavy industry. Hope this does not happen again
  • hevincalihevincali Member Posts: 7
    With all of these costs that we're experiencing how about getting a class action lawsuit together? Any failure like this that leaves people stranded should have been a recall I believe. Does anyone have any experience in this area?

    Peter
  • PF_FlyerPF_Flyer Member Posts: 9,372
    I need to remind you that the forums cannot be used to organize legal actions. Any posts along those lines have to be removed. Rules of the road.
  • ndfeetndfeet Member Posts: 2
    Mine failed 5 times then I did not have problem for 600 miles . Parked it in my garage and called my Ford dealer to order the part and I was informed that I was number 800 thats right 800 on the bakcorder list. That was two weeks ago and they still do not have it. I emailed Ford about this and they had the dealer contact me. Which did no good as I had already spoke to them. So having Ford belly up looks like it will not happen. NUMBER "800" ON THE BSCKORDER LIST..
  • jimincalif1jimincalif1 Member Posts: 1
    I just sold my 2002 Toyota Prius with 76,000 miles. Toyota had to replace the battery at about 8 years and 62,000 miles. In California they had a 10 year warranty. The only other problems I had that were covered by my 7 year 100,000 mile extended warranty were a new power steering unit at about 55,000 miles and new rear struts at the final 70,000 mile service. After almost 9 years I was becoming fearful of the possible cost. I was told the steering problem would have cost me around $3000 had I not had the extended warranty. The car was only worth around $5000 so it was time. I purchased a new Toyota Camry Hybrid. They now have new selections of extended warranties, Since we are not high millage drivers I purchased the 8 year 80,000 mile warranty. The cost being around another $2000. I should mention I am not one for purchasing all these extended warranties, however, with the expense of auto repair (especially hybrids) I found it prudent. It should also be mentioned that the hybrid batteries in California are no longer covered 10 years but are now 8 years.
    I also have a 2006 Escape hybrid with 28,000 miles on it. Unfortunately the extended warrarnty is only to 5 years 100,000. It is currently in the shop and has been for 3 days. NO engine check lights have come on but, the vehicle is idling faster than normal and longer when first started. There is a louder than normal engine sound at the time of this idle (kind of reminds me of older cars if you ran them without the air cleaner. I also find that every so often when I start out from a stop there is a smell of raw gas. I had this happen once after backing it out of the garage and found the smell coming from under the hood and not the exhaust pipe. So far Ford says they can not find a thing wrong. They felt the idle was high and checked with the factory and found it was within range. What the hell range I always found idles were always a close tollerance not several hundred to a thousand RPM's. Anyone else had a similar problem
  • highrev2highrev2 Member Posts: 2
    Hey Voyager,

    I just was checking out this site. You probably solved that issue already, but if not here is my experience.

    I had a similar warning and then the engine shut down and the display said "pull over safely", I pulled over and checked the obvious things and started back up to go on my merry way. This happened once more on that day, both on the highway (at speed). I took it to the dealer and they diagnosed a bad blend air actuator? I run an equipment shop and had to know what that was.

    So the batteries have a heating/cooling system of thier own. It's purpose is to keep the batteries at optimum operating temperature for long life and performance. As I found this temp is somewhere around 70 deg F (i think), the system has a small door flap in the body, just behind the drivers rear door. it opens and closes to allow more or less air into the battery cooling system. In my case it was a 90 deg day and I was travelling a steady 75mph for 2 hours and the door stuck closed and the battery overheated. Apparently there is a filter in there also, that should be looked at occasionally. From what I read some of the newer models 2009? maybe are a little different and use some of the inside HVAC air for cooling also.

    My problem has never reoccured
  • imcooknimcookn Member Posts: 7
    My wife called me in a panic last night saying that the hi temp light or indicator went on and the car came to a stop eventually. She did this several times before calling me. Although she was in the neighborhood less than a mile away she ignord my plea to stop and I would come and get her.

    This morning I ran the scanner and got no codes. I checked the water and oil levels and all was OK. Then I drove the car for about 6 miles and everything was OK, no warning lights or alerts.

    So what do you think happened? Any advice as to how to proceed?
  • kapetan5kapetan5 Member Posts: 1
    Hey folks, looks like I'm not the only one to have a problem with the water pump on hybrid. Same as the others I've read here. Driving along, a beep, red triangle of death and left running on electric only. Turn off the car and restart and the problem goes away. This is the second time this has happened with mine. The last was 10 months ago. I've contacted Ford and "they're looking into this". Anybody interested in joining a class action suit against Ford?
  • tcm1tcm1 Member Posts: 2
    It's not the water pump. I had the same problem. The battery pack and computer are easily over heated. Both went out about 75k. ford covers both to 80k. In Cal they have to cover until 100k. Both battery pack and computer were replaced. 121k now sounds like a rod has gone bad.
  • healinghands14healinghands14 Member Posts: 1
    I just ran into the same problem. It cost me $700 to get fixed at the Ford dealership. They charged me $100 just to diagnose the problem, and $600 to fix it. The electrical cooling pump had to be replaced. I no longer feel safe driving this car and am also contacting Ford as the computer coding that makes the car shut off while driving is flawed and extremely dangerous. I can't believe there has been no recall on this. I was driving in rush hour traffic on the highway in NYC with 3 lanes of traffic going 65+ bumper to bumper when I got the beep, the red triangle, Stop Safely Now message, and the engine completely quit. There was no breakdown lane and me and my 2 children were nearly killed trying to get off the highway with absolutely no power, never mind that I still had 180 miles to drive to get home to MA. Luckily the jersey barriers blocking the breakdown lane opened up for about 100 ft so that I had some place to stop but it was treacherous! And this is a safety issue that appears to have been happening since 2005! The engine also completely shut down 4 times on a 2 mile stretch while driving to work in rush hour traffic. That is what prompted me to get it to the dealer last week. My local mechanic would not work on it. He referred me to the dealership.
  • tcm1tcm1 Member Posts: 2
    The battery pack and computer are already damaged, dump the car. The only reason Ford fixed mine is California made them extend the warranty on the batteries for 100k not the the 80k in most states. I recently sold mine. I was lucky I broke even on it. No more hybrids for me. New engine with install about 6k and I have yet to meet a Ford mech that knows how to do it. Run away, run away!
  • samaisamai Member Posts: 2
    Don't buy this hybrid at all. Our fleet got 9 escape hybrids, all of them with problems. One of it turned dead won't start. The dealer cannot even find out the problem, why it won't start amazing. 2008 escape hybrid dead, may be in a year all of them will die, will be selling them to junkyard :lemon: . Good thing is that our company figured it out and started to go towards toyota camry and highlander hybrids, superb cars. Lot better in luxury and maintenance. All of them who reads this, it is a warning, make a better choice for hard earned money.
  • stevedebistevedebi Member Posts: 4,098
    "It's not the water pump. I had the same problem. The battery pack and computer are easily over heated. Both went out about 75k. ford covers both to 80k. In Cal they have to cover until 100k. Both battery pack and computer were replaced. 121k now sounds like a rod has gone bad."

    It is not California, it is CARB states (I believe there are 13 states). The warranty is 10 years / 150K in those states, 8 years / 120K in other states. This ONLY covers the hybrid components.

    The part in question is the MCES, which cools the electronics (not the battery, whch has it's own A/C). Since it is not used in the non hybrid Escape, I can't imagine how they get away with not classifying it as a hybrid component, except that it isn't directly part of the hybrid system.
  • stevedebistevedebi Member Posts: 4,098
    "Don't buy this hybrid at all. Our fleet got 9 escape hybrids, all of them with problems. One of it turned dead won't start. The dealer cannot even find out the problem, why it won't start amazing. 2008 escape hybrid dead, may be in a year all of them will die, will be selling them to junkyard . Good thing is that our company figured it out and started to go towards toyota camry and highlander hybrids, superb cars. Lot better in luxury and maintenance. All of them who reads this, it is a warning, make a better choice for hard earned money. "

    They Camry is a passenger car, not an SUV, so it really isn't comparable. As for the Highlander Hybrid, for AWD applications the FEH is vastly better; the Ford model uses a mechanical AWD, so that one always has access to driving the rear wheels. The Toyota uses electric motors, which will simply stop working when they overheat - as they will if used enough. This won't happen with periodic AWD, but may happen at the beach or other intensive AWD situations.

    My 2008 is still humming along. Sorry you had a bad experience.
  • escape2mtescape2mt Member Posts: 1
    Same problem with my 2007 Escape Hybrid, 55mph, boxed-in traffic, red kiss-of-death triangle, beeping, stop safely now (ha ha) message. Water pump diagnosis, $750 for the part, $150 for the "computer diagnosis", part has to be ordered. Someone is going to get hurt or killed by this defect!
  • jneill91jneill91 Member Posts: 2
    My ’06 FEH, 60,000 miles will make a banging noise occasionally when the engine shuts off. It is as if the engine can’t decide if it wants to be running or not. Happens more in DRIVE than In LOW I think because I tend to drive it in a way to make it shut off when in L. No codes or check engine light. Cleaned the spark plugs, put in high octane gas with out any improvement. My Wife says when it happens to her the ABS light will flash.
    What to do?
  • klevyklevy Member Posts: 3
    Tonight on the 405 freeway my 2008 Escape Hybrid with only 28,000 miles had the red lights come on and started to come to a complete stop on the freeway. Crazy traffic, I barely made it to the side before my car just stopped on the freeway. Has this happened to you again? It was really scary. I almost got into a horrible accident. What did Ford say / do?
  • klevyklevy Member Posts: 3
    Tonight on the 405 freeway going up the hill, my 2008 Escape Hybrid with only 28,000 miles had the red lights come on, everything locked up and started to come to a complete stop on the freeway. Crazy traffic, I barely made it to the side before my car just stopped on the freeway. It was really scary. I almost got into a horrible accident. I waited a few minutes, the car started up again and I got off the freeway and make it home. Has anyone had this happen???
  • spintcspintc Member Posts: 2
    I went straight to a dealer. My pump had to be replaced and ford covered it as a defected part. I have nit had any other problems since it was repaired but am always worried when on the freeway. Get it fixed ASAP.
  • moppenheimmoppenheim Member Posts: 1
    What is the MCES? I've tried to pull up the parts on Ford.com to see if I could plug and play my way to a fix.

    I've had problems with my 2006 Hybrid since 2007. Same as everyone, car stops and limps to side. Wait a while and it will restart. Dealer couldn't find problem and wanted to "shotgun" everything for about $1000. When dealer told me I shouldn't complain, that they'd done the warranty work for free, I asked "what warranty work". And then I saw the letter describing the shutdown problem, and the "free fix", neither had been mailed to me or shown as a "recall". Since the work done, replacing a resistor in the Powertrain Control Module (not a "recall", but classified as a "Customer Satisfaction Program" and valid thru 8/2009 or 150,000) fix the symptoms, I also refused to pay their diagnostic fee - replacing it all doesn't count. And they weren't even telling me they'd already done the work.

    However, it's happenned again. 3 yrs later, same result but this time it was the filthy "cabin filter". Easy fix and I've seen it mentioned by others.

    Now, 4 months after the filter fix, it's happenning again. No warning, no sounds, just quits. Even tempeture isn't consistent. It's been over 100 in the desert all summer, so why NOW? And it will restart and drive for an inconsistent number of days or hours. But today was the worst. Took me 2 hrs to limp home 20 miles. And then my wife jumps in and goes driving off with no problem, yet.

    After reading these horror stories for 3 hrs, I'm left with choices of battery pack fan or CHT Sensor or Electronic Cooling Pump, and the first "MCES"
  • samaisamai Member Posts: 2
    Sorry guys time to say good bye from the forum like I said to my FEH. I got rid of it last week sold it for price of junk. Good luck everybody with your FEH. Last message for Ford Motors, I am suprised to see no response with so many cars having the same problem. It is equally dangerous for a car to lose power on a highway as it is to not be able stop like toyota prius (every one knows it was a scam to drag toyota down when domestic manufacturer were suffering in recession). psst looks like a deal between transportation saftey board and ........
    Never will I buy a ford again. BYE
  • stevedebistevedebi Member Posts: 4,098
    "Sorry guys time to say good bye from the forum like I said to my FEH. I got rid of it last week sold it for price of junk. Good luck everybody with your FEH. Last message for Ford Motors, I am suprised to see no response with so many cars having the same problem. It is equally dangerous for a car to lose power on a highway as it is to not be able stop like toyota prius (every one knows it was a scam to drag toyota down when domestic manufacturer were suffering in recession). psst looks like a deal between transportation saftey board and ........
    Never will I buy a ford again. BYE "

    Well, good luck with your future cars. My personal experience has been great. I suspect that swapping the old model MCES pump for the new model would have fixed your problems, at least from what I am reading in other forums.
  • klevyklevy Member Posts: 3
    Thanks! I got it fixed...it was the water pump. It was free but I never want that to happen again. I don't know why a car company would make a car just shut off on you without any warning. thanks again!
  • jneill91jneill91 Member Posts: 2
    Answered my own question:
    It was a cracked ABS Tone Ring. If the crack came round as I hit the brakes that caliper would bang close. As I said my code reader did not find the message but the dealers’ did.
    $7 part I got from newfordparts.com. I was able to replace it in by taking off the wheel, axel nut, caliper and bracket, ABS sensor wire bracket, tie rod end and two bolts that connect the strut to the knuckle. This gave me enough A arm movement to pull the knuckle away from the axel. I think corrosion got underneath the ring causing it to crack. I cleaned the rust off with a Dremel, held the new ring by the diameter with a vise grip, heated it with a pipe torch, slipped it on and held it in place with the old ring till it cooled. I sealed it with Loctite 290 to prevent the corrosion from coming back. I used 1 ¼ socket to get the axel nut off but it probably is a 31 mm. Also the way the nut came off it may had been Loctited, had I hit it with the pipe torch it probably would had come off easier.
  • illinoisboy80illinoisboy80 Member Posts: 2
    Hi all -
    I own a 2005 Escape All Wheel Drive Hybrid with 241,266 miles on it. I live in Illinois, and used it to commute to work about 95 miles one way (now have place to stay in area during week - long story). Last night I was traveling at highway speed, about 50 minutes into trip, when it suddenly felt like the transmission shifted, vehicle decelerated, and the red triangle with the exclamation point lit up, along with the warning message in the dashboard "Stop safely now". I was able to pull to the side, then drove on electric power 1/4 mile to a parking lot. I got out, checked for issues in the engine area, looked at the tie-rod ends (another long story for another post). I checked the owners manual, no insight concerning warning message. All system checks vehicle can scroll through were OK. I called the dealership for any thoughts, was 5 minutes after service department went home, said bring it in and they will check codes. I turned the vehicle off, then back on, warning message was gone. I decided to return home immediately to shorten or possibly avoid any vehicle recovery costs. While returning, after about 35 minutes of travel at highway speeds, I got the same "Stop safely now" warning message. Another turn engine off, then re-start cycle cleared message. I drove a little slower, and with the remaining short distance and several stops along way was able to get home. Am going to dealer this morning. Based on reads in this forum, I am suspecting issue similar to highrev2 (message 88). We park the car outside near trees, so I am suspecting the battery ventilation filter may be plugged. I googled Ford Escape Warning Messages and was very concerned about the Powertrain Control Module based on the consumer issues reported there, will post again about what dealer finds. This has been a great vehicle, average mpg 27.5 to 28 at highway speeds year around, as low as 22.5 mpg per tank at 80 mph in extreme cold, as high as 34 mpg doing local driving only in summer conditions. This is the first time I have felt uncertain about continuing to own the vehicle longer. My advice is to investigate carefully but immediately and not panic based on the red triangle warning messages, but certainly respond appropriately to your particular driving situations (any issue involving sudden deceleration in heavy traffic would deeply concern me too!). I will add another post to update this community later. Thanks!
  • illinoisboy80illinoisboy80 Member Posts: 2
    Hi all -
    Ford dealer (Dixon, IL where I bought the hybrid) performed diagnostic and it returned P1A0D code, indicating problem with transaxle cooling pump. Evidently, this code triggers immediate reduction/limit of transaxle to 75% power, lights red triangle with exclamation point warning, and "Stop safely now" message. Dealer mechanic checked transaxle coolant pump, found it sticking during testing, tapped housing area with hammer and freed it. I ordered replacement pump ($482), should come in about a week. Also replaced air filter for battery compartment at this time. My wife will be driving this car for local trips only (8 miles one way) until transaxle coolant pump is replaced. I expect this will resolve current issues with this vehicle, but will be alert for other performance issues and warning messages. In reviewing the posts to this site, I am impressed with how few issues have been posted about the FEH, but am concerned about the potential safety impacts due to the system response and the limited awareness of the problems in the mechanic community. This vehicle has been a great ownership experience for me, and I am well satisfied with it. I hope to own it several years more!
  • sacramentotomsacramentotom Member Posts: 1
    2006 mercury mariner (essentially ford escape) hybrid going 65 on freeway . sudden loss of gas engine, barely able to avoid traffic and get to side of road. turned engine off and re-started and it went for ~ 40 miles then did it again. is this a PCM type problem? if ford says it is "fixed" how will i know that it won't happen again?
    thanks.
  • cmothershedcmothershed Member Posts: 1
    Has Ford given you and help at all? I have a 2007 Escape Hybrid and just had the same issue no warning lights. It broke the 4th rod and piston from the oil pump. 100,000 mile warranty 3 months left and 70,000 miles on the engine and only 50,000 was engine running miles 20,000 was flat towed behind my class A motorhome. Did my oil changes no leaks ever but not having copies from the service centers (I called the ones I used and they don,t keep oil change records or reports to Carfax not even from Ford) from what I have seen on the web this seems to happen with 2005-2007 models and 50,000-80,000 miles.
  • jumper3jumper3 Member Posts: 9
    Short summarized version. Son and friends want to drive to Rosebowl to see their team play. Major engine problem in middle of Utah. Towed to nearest city with Ford dealership. Diagnosis: "lower engine rub" causing major banging sound. 3.5 qts of oil mysteriously disappeared (I personally confirmed full dipstick at their departure (3 week old oil change) Can get new shortblock engine installed for $6000. Repair would take 10 days and I live 1500 miles away. Dealership doesn't want to buy it....."no hybrid market in southern Utah" Recommend call salvage yard and see what they'll give me as Wholesale value is only $7000 to $7500. Does this sound at all logical/ accurate? The hassle of getting out to a small town in Utah to drive this back doesn't seem worth 1000 -1500 bucks if the numbers are correct. Any thoughts?? :sick:
  • forddriver2005forddriver2005 Member Posts: 3
    So on the hybrid I can be in all electric/battery mode or all engine mode. Today its cold about -15 with the windchill and a few days here in vancovuer with cold weather but this isn't the norm. So I let her warm up for about 5 mins outside (she parks outside) and was in full on engine mode (the red defrost symbol). I started out for work but the first light I came to the engine went quiet and into battery mode despite being on the engine setting so it shouldn't have gone into electric mode. It didn't stall as when I pressed the gas away it would go. I put in gas line anti-freeze and nothing. Anyone else experience this? Its troubling. Thanks
  • wilcoxwilcox Member Posts: 582
    edited March 2012
    As mentioned by a few posters before this one, our '07 Mariner Hybrid AWD (bought in '06) some times issues the message STOP SAFELY NOW ! :surprise:

    It has occurred on road trips (not on everyday local driving) and usually when we have it loaded with cargo creating weight. I was thinking it be some kind of temperature(heat) problem with battery ventilation or, it might be something about the trans axel as described in post 101 & 102.

    When it occurs we get off the highway ASAP because the darned thing is unresponsive to throttle! Scary!

    I get out and sniff around the outside and underneath to see if there is any abnormality. Haven't seen, heard or smelled anything out of the ordinary on any of the 3 occasions it has happened.

    We let the vehicle sit for 10-15 minutes. Then we start the puppy up and...off we go. Generally speaking, the message does not return and we stay below the speed limit and in the right hand lane just incase the loss of power happens again.

    FWIW, The vehicle never has the problem just described when there are just 2 or 3 people and no cargo load. Since I know this much...duh... I don't want to fart around with our local Dealership's Service shop because they will probably say it is not unique to the hybrid 100,000 mile component warranty.

    I'll just have live with it....because I ain't got much money :cry:
  • dancesonh2odancesonh2o Member Posts: 1
    Hevincali;

    I may have to source an engine for my '05 FEH. Pervasive engine rattle sounds ominously like a rod bearing going out.

    Can you reply with the information about your North Carolina source?

    Thanks so much...
  • goknittergoknitter Member Posts: 1
    http://www.safercar.gov/
    WILL take your report - twice my car stopped in the middle of big-time LA traffic - frightening experience. Took it to dealer the first time in 2011, they said it was fine. Happened again a week ago and they said it was a coolant pump and charged me accordingly. This should be a recall issue but the recall only happens when the government steps it. So file complaints with the National Highway Agency - link is given above. PLEASE FILE. This should be recalled.
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