The vehicle ran great for almost 90,000 miles, only minor issues. Then one day the car wouldn't start and I was getting a message to pull over slowly, stop, and have the brakes serviced. If I disconnected the battery and hard rebooted the car it would work fine but when it was turned off it was a crap shoot if it would start again.
I took the Escape HEV to my local Ford Dealer who could not figure out the issue for days. The completely reflashed the car electronics including the PCM and the Anti-Lock brake module with no success. I was then told that I would either have to drive this unsafe vehicle for 100 miles to the closes Ford Dealer that had a special tool to bleed the brake lines or I would have to have it towed. I was then told that it was most likely the Hydraulic Control Unit that had failed which would cost $4500 for the part plus labor. This car was out of warranty (I had an extended warrant 7 yr. 75,000 miles) but that did me no good. At this point it was not worth spending $5000-$6000 dollars to have this vehicle repaired and then have another $4000 or greater part break.
The really upsetting part about this is that the HCU is used for the Regenerative Braking process which recharges the Hybrid battery but this part is not included in the Hybrid Parts warranty. These parts are used for Hybrid functions only and not included in a non-hybrid vehicle so why is it not covered in the 100,000 mile Hybrid Warranty?/
At this point I will never buy another Hybrid vehicle from any manufacturer, they all have this problem of excessively expensive parts. I have been a fan of Ford vehicles for a long time and this did not stop me from buying another Ford (I replaced the Escape HEV with a 2010 Ford Flex SEl) but I will not buy a Hybrid.
The vehicle ran great for almost 90,000 miles, only minor issues. Then one day the car wouldn't start and I was getting a message to pull over slowly, stop, and have the brakes serviced. If I disconnected the battery and hard rebooted the car it would work fine but when it was turned off it was a crap shoot if it would start again.
I took the Escape HEV to my local Ford Dealer who could not figure out the issue for days. The completely reflashed the car electronics including the PCM and the Anti-Lock brake module with no success. I was then told that I would either have to drive this unsafe vehicle for 100 miles to the closes Ford Dealer that had a special tool to bleed the brake lines or I would have to have it towed. I was then told that it was most likely the Hydraulic Control Unit that had failed which would cost $4500 for the part plus labor. This car was out of warranty (I had an extended warrant 7 yr. 75,000 miles) but that did me no good. At this point it was not worth spending $5000-$6000 dollars to have this vehicle repaired and then have another $4000 or greater part break.
The really upsetting part about this is that the HCU is used for the Regenerative Braking process which recharges the Hybrid battery but this part is not included in the Hybrid Parts warranty. These parts are used for Hybrid functions only and not included in a non-hybrid vehicle so why is it not covered in the 100,000 mile Hybrid Warranty?/
At this point I will never buy another Hybrid vehicle from any manufacturer, they all have this problem of excessively expensive parts. I have been a fan of Ford vehicles for a long time and this did not stop me from buying another Ford (I replaced the Escape HEV with a 2010 Ford Flex SEl) but I will not buy a Hybrid.
- Daryl H., Sierra Vista, AZ, US