My ABS and brake light came on and brakes became manual. When I checked on the codes (C1478, C1313 & C1480) I found that there are quite a few complaints of this exact problem, that the repair cost is ridiculous at approximately $5000. And that this is a very common problem with this 2006 Ford Escape hybrids. This is a safety hazard and should be a recall by Ford!

- Virginia Beach, VA, USA

The wheel speed sensor ring, also known as the tone ring, can split or crack while driving, causing loss of ABS and 4 wheel drive. This is what happened to me. It's a known defect, is frightening when it happens, and should have long ago result in a recall.

- Glen Arm, MD, USA

Nearly impossible to brake, major safety issue with the hydrolic regenerative breaking system and ABS. While driving the vehicle on city streets, speeds between 0-40mph the brake pedal will become very hard and impossible to press with loss of braking. When this happens I am forced to rapidly release the brake pedal and brake again (pumping) the brakes in order to stop. On several occasions this pumping of the brakes has cause the break pedal to go from hard/impossible to push to completely soft hitting the floor with no braking capabilities. On these occasions I am forced to pull of the road quickly, downshift to low gear and even use the emergency brake to avoid causing an accident. Only about 60% of the time when this event occurred does the ABS light, brake light and service brake system warning indicators illuminate or display. When this occurres I am usually forced to turn the engin off, remove the key, let the system purge (makes noise) after the vehicle sits for a couple minutes and then restart the vehicle in order to keep driving and fix the issue. Sometimes it fixes to issue for the rest of the driving time while others only work temporarily and the issue returns almost immediately. I feel that this braking issue is a huge safety concern for my family and I and our piece of mind in the safety of this vehicle is not good. As an additional note this brake issue only became evident after we had another recall issue fixed on this vehicle for stalling. Before that fix we never had any braking issues.

- Orlando, FL, USA

Driving car and brakes failed completely. Had to jump on the brakes to get any traction whatsoever. Was fortunately able to use the emergency brake before I got into an accident. Yellow ABS and red brake lights are on, along with messages of check brake system and regen brakes disabled. Appears to be a common problem with Escape hybrid that it is the hydraulic control unit - a part to repair which is more expensive than the car is worth.

- Gulf Breeze, FL, USA

The brakes on our 2006 Ford Escape hybrid began grinding around February 2016. We had the pads and rotors replaced and it braked better, but within a mile after leaving the Ford service center the brake light came on and shortly after - while moving - the brake pedal went to the floor and there were no brakes. We had to coast to a stop and pull over. When the car is stopped and turned on and off, you can sometimes get the brakes to work for less than a mile. Its so unsafe, we had it towed to service centers for estimates. Two Ford dealers and one other service place investigated the problem thoroughly and all came back saying the hydraulic control unit must be replaced at an average cost of $4,500. Otherwise, we like the car, but this one repair is greater than the blue book value and is very dangerous.

- Falls Church, VA, USA

The brake system is very irritating because my ABS and brake light are on at weird times and to fix they said it would cost me $4500. That's ridiculous I can't afford something like that. It also just started spitting gas out at me when I go to fill it up. Did it to me twice the other day and I have no idea what the reasoning was for that never had happen before. Then when I go to drove off sometimes the vehicle likes to make a pop noise once or twice not sure what that's all about. These cars are have more problems then they are worth.

- Terre Haute, IN, USA

Car had been parked at airport parking lot for a month. When retrieving it upon return brakes failed, ABS and brake service warning light came on, and peddle went to the floor. We parked the car in the lot, rented a car to get home. Next morning we arranged aaa to tow vehicle. When tow operator came the vehicle braking systems was perfectly fine. We chose to pay him and drive the car home. Took vehicle to dealer and explained the issue. They never acknowledged any understanding of this problem. They replaced rear brake pads and rotors because there was also loud brake noise. Now one year later, July 27 2015, [97000+ miles] slowing for a right turn on a rural highway and the brake system failed again. With no warning the peddle went to the floor. With a concerted effort I was able to slow the vehicle and make the turn without incident. The ABS light and service brake warning lights were lit. Condition persisted as we continued a few miles to the shopping plaza. After shopping we decided to return directly home, but when car was started the fault had cleared and the brakes functioned normally. We have just spent the morning searching internet and find this is an issue Ford knows about and is denying to acknowledge. And apparently it is very expensive to resolve with the need to replace the hcu. We now understand what the problem is but are among the many who feel this is certainly a serious enough safety issue Ford should participate in its resolve for owners with defective brake systems. Our experience so far is, that though there is some ability to brake it is not anywhere equal to the 'normal' braking capacity and that is dangerous. And the intermittent and random occurrence is troubling to say the least. We will contact the dealer today to get the reaction to our concern.

- Germantown Hills, IL, USA

Driving approximately 35 mph, suddenly received warning message about the brakes and heard warning beeps. Immediately I lost all braking ability (brake pedal felt soft and give very little resistance) but still had acceleration and steering control of the vehicle. I navigated the car to a side street and was able to slow the car down to an eventual stop on the shoulder using the emergency/parking brake. I turned the car off for approximately 5 minutes. Tested the pressure on the brake pedal and it seemed normal. I then started the car up and moved a little bit forward and depressed the brake pedal and everything worked fine. No warning messages or sounds. The car operated normally as I drove it back to a safe spot.

- Longwood, FL, USA

Basically, this is happening at least 1 X / day. I am taking back to the dealership tomorrow, but Ford really needs to recall this vehicle and get this fixed. I was driving on a regular road and my ABS brake light and service engine light came on with the warning bell. My hydraulic brakes failed again! I put my flashers on, pulled to the side of the road, I depressed the brake all the way the floor and rolled to a stop with throbbing emergency brakes still working. Then I turn off my vehicle after putting it into park, take out the key, wait a few seconds, then start the car again. It works again temporarily. Now, I know how to deal with it and I plan for it since it happens all the time, but if I am ever in a situation where I cannot control my environment, I cannot guarantee someone will not be harmed or killed as a result of this failure in my vehicle. Please! help us do something about this. This needs to be fixed!!!

- Huntington Beach, CA, USA

Driving down the road I had a complete loss of normal and effective braking. The ABS and brake service lights both came on in the dash and in order to bring the vehicle to a stop it, it became necessary to depress the brake pedal as hard as possible all the way to the floor. Whenever attempting to brake the vehicle would lunge to the right, clearly indicating that (at least) the front brake on the passenger side was completely useless/ineffective. Needless to say, this was a very traumatic experience as it took all of my skill as a motorist to avoid a collision with the vehicle in front of me and to protect my wife and two children who were also with me. After getting online and reading countless forums and articles, I discovered that it is a disturbingly common problem with Ford Escape hybrids to lose effective braking by way of a faulty hydraulic control unit: A part to which I later found out costs an approximate $4,200 to acquire. After bringing the vehicle to a local Ford dealer, I discovered that this was, in fact, the exact problem with my escape. This vehicle, apart from the faulty hcu, is in incredibly good shape and has no other mechanical issues. It is an absolute atrocity that Ford has not issued a recall for this part. It has been made very clear that they have no intention of recalling this dangerous unit until, inevitably, fatalities occur.

- Greendale, WI, USA

Was driving to work in the morning. Had been in the car approximately 10 minutes when the ABS, brake, and service brakes, indicators came on all at once. Depressed brake pedal only to discover that I did in fact not have any brakes. Turned on emergency flashers and began to merge over into right hand shoulder, repeatedly stomping on brake pedal. Was able to come to a stop. This incident happened while I was approaching a very busy 3-way intersection, off of a major highway. Turned car off and back on to see if this was a malfunction, but all three indicators came on again. Had vehicle towed to Ford dealership. Paid $5280.03 in parts and labor to have faulty hydraulic unit repaired, and hcu and hybrid system bleed. Had not had any problems with this vehicle in the past. Very thankful that this incident did not cause an accident or injuries to myself or others....updated 04/11/17 updated 10/16/2017

- Wauna, WA, USA

I was driving my daughter to school and my brake light and warning sound came on when I tried to brake for a red light. I had to push really hard to get the car to stop and we were almost hit by oncoming traffic.

- Huntington Beach, CA, USA

We were driving the car on the freeway and suddenly the ABS light comes on and the brakes did not work. They were very hard to depress and slowed the car very slowly. Had this happened when we needed to stop, there would have been an accident, without a doubt. This happened about 3 weeks ago and my mechanic reset the computer and all was good for about 2 weeks. Then the exact same thing happened again. My mechanic, who I trust impeccably was baffled by the whole thing and asked that we send the car to a dealership. I've never seen that before. The dealer (first dealer) is telling us we need to replace the master cylinder, then maybe the hydraulic control unit, which thankfully, is still under warranty in ca because it's a hybrid part. However, if it is the hcu, we still have to pay for the master cylinder, even though I suspect it's the hcu from what I've read online. I then called the dealer who inspected the car when we initially bought it (second dealer from here on out). The first dealer is quoting us $2800 to fix the master, while the other is quoting around $2000. The second one is also saying he might be able to diagnose the hcu and just change it out where dealer 1 is saying Ford says in order to change out the hcu, the master has to be changed first. The second dealer is saying this simply isn't true. We just bought the car from a private seller and frankly, I'm scared to drive it. I'm reading a lot of problems with this part of the car and it looks to me like Ford is having some serious, life threatening issues with this component...as well as giving people massive bills to fix their car. The only thing that should cost $4000 on a car should be the engine. Not the brake system. This is insanity.

- North Hollywood, CA, USA

The first incident was the ABS light illuminating and a chugging sound in 2013.... took it to the local Ford dealer and the tone ring on front driver side was broken and replaced for $350. On 12 January 2015, both the ABS light and brake failure light illuminated, along with message to service brakes. Took to local Ford dealer where I was informed the problem was failure of the ABS hydraulic system --- approx. $4,000 to replace. I don't have $4,000 plus available to invest in this 2006 Escape hybrid.... this is a known problem, has been repeatedly reported, and is a vehicle safety issue that Ford appears to be dismissive --- much like GM and the acceleration issue. Fortunately, there have been no reported deaths due to this issue..... yet. We need to get a recall before that happens.

- Manassas, VA, USA

While the car was in motion, the yellow ABS and the red brake failure warning lamps lit up, and the alarm sounded. I was unable to control my vehicle as the pedal became stiff. Brakes went into manual mode. This luckily happened in the evening, or else I could have hit another vehicle or a pedestrian. The car jerked as I pulled up the emergency brake, and I hurt my neck. I researched this issue at home and found that it is a known issue that many have had problems with, which have not yet been addressed as a vehicle safety complaint. Please see this experience here & read the comments from others: www.greenhybrid.com/forums/F26/brakes-broke-bank-24731/. there is a technical service bulletin, tsb 05-8-5 released by Ford that addresses this issue, and it has still not become a recall. I desperately need to use this vehicle, I bought it as a safe & green hybrid SUV that would be practical, even brought it into the dealership to check for recalls, and now I find out that this purchase may be a threat to my life, and I am now financially unable to afford repairs after this large car expense. This is happening to thousands of people with Escape hybrids of many different years, please see this man's youtube video here: www.youtube.com/watch?V=yfwzpzn2yg8 more sites to reference: forums.edmunds.com/discussion/5850/Ford/escape-hybrid/Ford-escape-hybrid-brake-problems.

- Tucson, AZ, USA

While driving my 2006 Ford hybrid escape on the highway, the ABS and parking brake lights came on as well as a warning alarm sounded. The brakes went completely out, and I had to push the brake pedal all the way to the floor before I could slow down. This is the second time in about 3 months that this event has occurred.

- Santa Rosa, CA, USA

Approximately 8-9 months ago I felt like the master cylinder was going out in my 2006 Escape hybrid. I took it to a local shop that I trust a few days later and the mechanic drove it and thought it was ok so no repairs were performed. However, at this time he did not perform any sort of a computer diagnostic test because he felt the brakes seemed ok. Fast forward to approx. 8/17/14, I pulled into my garage and before I turned my car off both the led message board indicated an issue needed attention (can't recall exact wording) and the red brake warning light on the dash lit up indicating the brake unit needed service. I took the vehicle back to the same mechanic and he performed a computer diagnostic test. He got back to following: "brake system diagnostics code: C1471 high pressure accumulator volume consumption plausibility failure. Recommend replacement of the master cylinder first and recheck system. If code returns the hydraulic control unit will need to be replaced." The cost to perform this work is nearly $8,900 and almost all of that charge is for replacing these two defective parts, not labor. The cost to replace the failing hydraulics exceeds the blue book value of the vehicle also. This vehicle has only 91,589 miles on it and the whole hydraulic system is failing. I checked out various internet boards and it looks like my problem is the same exact problem scores of others have experienced, and many of them right at the same approx. Mileage interval.

- Houston, TX, USA

The contact owns a 2006 Ford Escape hybrid. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 mph, the brake warning light illuminated. The contact also stated when the brake pedal was depressed, the vehicle would not instantly stop and traveled abnormally to the floorboard. The failure recurred on multiple occasions. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the hydraulics code was present as a result the master cylinder needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 105,000. The VIN was not available.

- Pinckney, MI, USA

At approximately 1:30pm, I was driving in sacramento making a right turn merging into traffic with my foot on the brake pedal when all of a sudden the petal dropped to the floor with no hydraulic pressure in it. The ABS light came on, the brake light came on, and the panel said "service brake system." I had my son in the car with me and I pulled over to the side of the road pressing extremely hard on the brake pedal to get it to stop. I immediately went to pep boys around the corner without brakes (except when I pressed hard on the brake pedal all the way to the floor). Pep boys looked at it and said it might be the master cylinder but they were not willing to sell me one until I had a Ford dealer look at the vehicle. When I turned the car back on, the ABS light was off, the brake warning light was off, and the service warning was off. Ford dealer looked at the vehicle, drove it around for 22 miles and nothing out of the ordinary happened. I advised Ford that pep boys had advised me there was a technical service bulletin (tsb) on intermittent brake loss for 2006 Ford Escape hybrid. The Ford representative immediately snapped back at me "that doesn't mean its covered under warranty?" I then said, I care about my safety and want to know why out of the blue my brakes failed. When I went back to see if they found a problem, they stated everything was in normal working order and there were no codes in the system to indicate brake failure.

- Ione, CA, USA

The vehicle was and has been driving normally until standard braking situation of coming to a stoplight. As the brakes were applied the ABS and brake light came on and all power assist to the brakes was gone. I had to crush the brake pedal to get any braking at all. Luckily I'm strong enough to manually bring the vehicle to a stop. This was the first time (December 2013) since I've had the vehicle that this happened. It's now April 2014 and the same issue has returned (twice in a week). A very dangerous potential situation. However, after braking to a stop the vehicle can be turned off and back on to correct the situation (ABS and brake light turn off) and the brakes return to normal. I purchased this vehicle at auction from a fleet of vehicles. The sticker did say brake problems, however, after driving it I found only normal braking and attributed the "brake problem" to worn brake pads etc. I can only say that the "brake problem" they mentioned on the sticker must have been the same situation I've run into - so the fleet personnel must have been experiencing the same thing. This situation seems to me to be a much deeper design flaw and after researching online and seeing so many other similar complaints - this obvious flaw should be exposed and corrected on a vehicle recall basis before there are fatalities. It seems to me only a matter of time......

- Palm Beach Gardens , FL, USA