The contact owns a 2005 Ford Escape hybrid. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled without warning and the "stop safely" warning indicator flashed. The vehicle was unable to be driven due to the failure. Manteca Ford (555 N main St, manteca, ca 95336, (209) 239-3561) was notified of the failure and stated that the vehicle needed to be diagnosed in order to be repaired. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 130,000.

- Stockton, CA, USA

The ABS control module. Noticed many complaints. Had 1700 dollars of work to fix the issue and the brakes went out on me yesterday. Three weeks after the work. The ABS and brake light came on again and the brakes failed on hwy 19 fl. Pulled over, turned the car off like what I read online about this type a vehicle, started up and the brakes were back' took it home and parked it. When is Ford going to put a recall on this, when someone dies.of course had I known about this defect I would have never purchased it. I have only had it for a little over a month and it has low mileage..

- Holiday, FL, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Ford Escape hybrid. While driving approximately 30 mph, the speed suddenly decelerated before the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was restarted, but continued to experience the failure. During the incident, the master vehicle electrical hazard warning and the engine electric coolant temperature sensors illuminated. The cause of the failure was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was 200,000.

- Elk River, MN, USA

The electronic coolant pump that cools the hybrid battery is faulty we have had this problem for two years and the car continually breaks down on trips. We have spent over 1500 fixing it. There is a recall on this product and Ford refuses to honor because the light is not on currently. As soon as my son drives somewhere the light goes on and the car comes to a stop. He currently is in grad school in denver and we are getting complete run around from Ford.

- Center Moriches, NY, USA

Car was parked and turned off left sitting for 2 hours. Got back, turned vehicle on, backed up from parking stall and power steering locked. It became hard to turn or control the steering. Tried turning off car and restarting, but that did not reset or release the power steering. No warning sound or lights came on. Drove car home with emergency lights and on the shoulder for about 3 miles. Parked car and left sitting for 5 hours hoping it would reset. Before turning the ignition, I turned on ac, then turn on the car. That did nothing. Now the wrench light came on and "power steering service" warning came on. Isn't the warning done before an incident can happen? had a mechanic place a machine to diagnose the car, but no luck. Please help in fixing the issue. There should be an investigation for defect on electrical warning.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

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- Remsen, NY, USA

I was driving my vehicle and the "service soon" light came on then about 10 seconds later the "stop safely" light came on and my vehicle shutdown and would not restart. I had the vehicle towed to the nearest Ford dealership and found out that there was a failure with the electrical system that had to be reset (shutdown was to protect the hybrid battery). Once Ford fixed the electrical system to get car to start again, they informed me that the passenger side rear shock absorber had fully detached from the wheel house and was basically a dangling piece. Ford could offer no help "they didn't have the equipment or capability to fix" and said I had to go to a auto body shop to have the piece welded back to the frame. Turns out there is nothing there to weld, the entire connection has rotted out and needs to be replaced. From what I can find online this is a recurring issue on 2005 Ford escapes and Ford refuses to deal with it. Cars with these issues are extremely unsafe to drive. Luckily I was not involved in an accident when this happened but I was only driving 35mph on a side street, imagine what could've happened if I was traveling at 70mph on the highway and the piece just fell out. This is an extremely difficult fix that Ford owners should not have the burden of dealing with financially on a car that is less that 10 years old. My car is very well maintained and has a lot of life left in it, but now this fix is going to cost close to $2500. This should be further investigated so Ford has to fix this safety issue! has anyone considered filing a class action suit for defective car parts"?"

- Medford, MA, USA

Driving at night on four-lane us highway at 50 mph when engine suddenly stalled. Warning lamp came on with stop safely now message. Scary in traffic but was able to pull over onto shoulder without causing an accident. Aaa towed to Ford dealership which diagnosed stuck open circuit in throttle body. Replaced part 5M6Z*9E926 throttle body and motor asy. Part $376.70 labor $262.50 shop fee $2.50 sales tax $48.13 total $ $689.83 very expensive but lucky to not have been hurt.

- Tallahassee, FL, USA

At highway speed, the engine suddenly shut itself off. At the same time, a dashboard readout displayed the message "stop safely now." In order to get to the shoulder of the road I was forced to cut across a lane of traffic without warning and without power. No other warning lights or signals displayed. Had there been no shoulder, I could easily have been a high-speed crash. The engine started again as soon I turned the key after stopping the vehicle, but still no warning lights or explanations displayed. This happened three times during a 3-hour trip across Maryland, and it happened again once on the return trip two days later. An internet search reveals that this is not an uncommon problem with Ford hybrids, yet no recall has been issued to remedy this extremely dangerous defect.

- Silver Spring, MD, USA

The vehicle was parked and would not start. I received warnings on the dash and the information panel stating to slow to a stop and service the brakes. I was able to start the vehicle after disconnecting the battery and everything operated normally. After getting home and running diagnostics everything came back normal. Later that day the vehicle would not start again with the same warnings and it was more and more difficult to get the vehicle working again. I also noticed that the 12V battery seemed to be leaking so I inspected and cleaned it. The next day (Monday) I brought the vehicle to the Ford dealer and explained the problems including the leaking battery. The dealer replaced the 12 V battery under warranty and said my problems should be fixed but they would check for fault codes. The dealer found additional problems with the ABS brake system but could not immediately diagnose the cause. The car was left for another day and eventually I was told that it was most likely the hydraulic control unit (hcu) with was approximately a $4500 part. I have read stories online that this is a fairly common problem with this model year Escape hybrid and Ford is aware of the issue but not doing anything to correct it other than making the owners buy $4500 replacement parts.

- Sierra Vista, AZ, USA

On 3/17/2009, after washing the vehicle at a car wash, the service engine soon light came on. The vehicle later stopped running and was towed to the dealership. They had it for 3 days and said they couldn't find anything wrong with it. We were charged without prior notification. On 9/01/2010, the fuel filter was replaced at the same dealership. On the way home, the vehicle began to overheat. It stopped running in traffic and we were almost hit. It was taken to the local Ford dealer on 9/07/2010 to be looked at at the advice of Ford. They found a faulty water pump, replaced it and a filter, and we were told the problem was fixed. On 9/09/2010, the vehicle once again overheated, stranding us again. It was returned to the dealer, where they reset the computer and again told us it was fixed. On 11/23/2010, it was raining and again the vehicle stalled, but we were able to return home. On 12/17/2010, the repair engine soon light came on, and we haven't driven it since.

- Tooele, UT, USA

I was driving my 2005 Ford Escape hybrid April 1, 2010, West bound on I-90 in Massachusetts between sturbridge and chicopee when the first incident happened. The "control module" displayed a "stop safely now" message and then proceeded to shut down the vehicle. I was forced, without power, to traverse 3 lanes of high speed, high volume traffic, to the shoulder. I was frightened for my life at the time. Since the first occurrence, the same "stop safely now" message and vehicle shut-down repeated several more times, before I took it in to the Ford dealership where I bought it - sunnyside Ford, in holden MA. They have had it now since April 14th 2010 and are unable to repair. After first replacing a motor electronics (mec) pump, the problem has gotten worse - indeed, the vehicle will not drive at all before receiving the "stop safely now" and vehicle shutdown message. My independent online research has provided much information from owners of the same Ford Escape hybrid, who have had the same or close to the same set of problems. On April 30th 2010, I wrote a letter to sunnyside Ford's service manager, outlining my findings and asking for a Ford certified hybrid engineer to intervene in my vehicle's repair. There have been many, now including myself, who feel the underlying problem is a design issue. I have only 23,250 miles on it, way too early for the car to be having mechanical failure due to usage alone. Its the fact that when the problem arises, that the control module (PCM) shuts down the vehicle that makes this a safety issue. Its just a matter of time before someone is in or causes a serious accident, if it has not already happened. The Ford Escape hybrid should undergo a Ford recall and re-design on the entire electronics overlay, to permanently fix the issue.

- Worcester, MA, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Ford Escape hybrid. While driving 65 mph, the contact noticed that the maintenance light illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and they stated that the electrical motor was overheating. The current and failure mileages were 77,000.

- Atlanta, GA, USA