At the time we bought the car we were wary of the cost of the hybrid batteries. The salesman told us $4000 if they needed to be replaced. We had all the cutoff engine problems that others are reporting. Happened to me on the 99 freeway and was almost hit. We had the hybrid water pump replaced before the recall. Drove it for about a year afterwards.

At Christmas 2014 it would not start. It is now at the local dealer and they have told us they need to replace the hybrid system and quoted us $10,000 for the batteries and $1600 for the labor, for a total cost of $11,600! We are now faced with finding a junkyard that is going to take a 9 year old car, 4WD, leather seats, sunroof and 155,000 miles in perfect condition that is a total loss. Corporate office told us sorry you were at the leading edge of this technology. This a way to reward your customers who had faith in your company name, by punishing them? My husband is driving a 2003 Toyota Tundra that has 320,000 miles on it with no major problems.

What I am wondering is did their faulty cooling system cause this battery failure?

I've had this car since 2006 when I bought it new. After only a few years it started having difficulty driving over 70 miles per hour, shaking the car. After about 5 years the battery pack completely blew out but thankfully was covered with an extended warranty. Otherwise it would have costed me $4000. Last week it threw a rod and I've been informed that it will cost $5000 to replace the engine, which the mechanic recommended against. He said the engines are such a piece of junk that rebuilding a poor quality (ie Ford Escape) engine wouldn't be worth it because it would probably just blow again. I am outraged that a car that I bought brand new and serviced regularly would last only 8 years. Is this really the new shelf life of cars?

My car had been great, until the moment it wasn't. We were in the middle of a vacation, headed up a mountain pass on I-70, when I had a sudden loss of power and started hearing an awful grinding sound. Had to have the car towed 200 miles to home. Verdict? Engine needs to be replaced.

In looking for the cost, I found this site and had to add that my car is in the same boat as others- it hit the magic self-destruct at 80,000 miles mark and died. Ford wants $7000 to replace the engine, but I'm thinking I won't bother. It's not worth $7000 with a functioning engine and it looks like the tranny will go next.

Now my question is what to do with a dead car?

This happened to me about 1 year ago twice in one day on the highway and then went away until April 30th 2013.

This happened to me on the highway 5 times in a matter of 5-7 miles at a speed of 65-70 miles per hour. The engine complete shuts down, a red triangular symbol comes on and the screen tells me to pull over safely. I put the vehicle in park shut it down and then wait a few minutes and restart the vehicle and went forward for a short distance and again I would have another shut down. I finally got to my destination, which was the hospital visiting my wife who just had surgery that morning, so I let the car sit in the parking lot for about 1 hour and then when out to test it in the parking lot. I was trying to decide on having the vehicle towed to the ford dealer if the problem continued. Upon driving the car 6 times around the lot the problem did not occur again. I left and traveled home about 25 miles using the back roads, traveling about 40-50 miles per hour. The shut down did not happen again. I feel this is a very dangerous situation, especially when you are on the highway, and I cannot believe ford has not addressed this problem more aggressively. I was thinking of keeping this car as a second vehicle but do to this problem I do not feel safe with this vehicle and I plan to get rid of it. I have spoken with ford and their techs don,t seem to know what to do about the problem, because it does not happen continually and they feel it is hard to pin point. I do not wish to spend thousands of dollars for them to try and figure out. If anyone has figured this out, please let me know.

While driving on an Interstate today 8/27/12 at 70 miles per hour, my Ford Escape Hybrid simply died. This happened while in the left lane...passing a Semi with another one behind me. The failure almost caused a serious accident. The car is now in a Ford Dealership garage, I do not know the diagnosis yet. But I purchased this car new, and have had other similar failures that the Dealership could not pull up on the computer or duplicate it. Today was a life threatening event! If they don't tell me exactly what caused this failure, and correct the problem I will never own another FORD!!! If the Semi's had not been paying attention, I wouldn't be writing this complaint...... How do I find out if other accidents have occurred from this type of failure?

Looking for solution. Fixed once under Ford's recall for "false diagnostic code" that caused engine to "stop safely now" by replacing a corroded resister in power unit - battery module. Same symptoms happening again after 1 year. Car will restart and go for a while. Seemed fixed by replacing battery filter. No occurrence for several months. But happening again w/ new filter. Can't even get it home.

Engine sounds fine when it runs. Nothing else on in car, no a/c or power outlets in use.

Ideas?

Can't afford the new engine option.

Traveling down highway 50 in Rancho Cordova California doing about 70 MPH in fast lane. Many semis on freeway. Engine quit...no warning. I was barley able to pull off on the side safely. Once stopped, I turned engine key off...then turned engine back on and it started with no problems. Went about 2 more miles and the same thing happened again. This time there were cement highway construction barriers on the side....no place to pull over safely. I was able to coast (going about 15 MPH) and take an off-ramp. Pulled over and called AAA. Almost got rear-ended by a semi. This vehicle is not safe and I would not suggest anyone purchasing it.

I was traveling on the highway @ 65 mph when I experienced a 'catastrophic engine failure' with four occupants. I don't know if it was skilled driving, divine intervention or just plain luck that permitted me to safely stop the vehicle without a crash or injury.

I turned the engine off, counted to 50-Mississippi or so, then attempted to start the engine. The engine sounded like you were stirring a wooden box of rocks.

The vehicle was towed to a Ford Blue Oval and hybrid-certified dealership, who determined the engine was a 'catastrophic' loss (their words) and the only option to repair was to install a remanufactured engine. The repair cost? $6500.

The vehicle was delivered in July 2006 with a 3 year, 60,000 mile extended warranty. The engine failed one month and 5,697 miles out of warranty. I give kudos to the Ford Statistician who figured out how long extended warranties should last.

I have maintained this vehicle better than Ford's recommendations. I have service records indicating an oil and oil filter replacement, on average, every 3400 miles vs Ford's recommended 5,000 mile interval. Yet, I experienced a catastrophic engine failure just outside of warranty.

I contacted Ford's Customer Service center, and have asked for assistance with this extraordinarily expensive repair. "Too Bad", says Ford. "Out of Warranty. We cannot help you."

As of now, I no longer believe that Ford products are safe. I am thankful my immediate family was not killed in this incident. I've filed a complaint with the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration.

As of now, I no longer believe my Ford Escape Hybrid is reliable: the remanufactured engine installed in my vehicle has a better warranty than the extended warranty on my vehicle.

As of now, I no longer believe Ford products are competitively priced when you factor a $6500 repair cost into the ownership equation. After only three years of ownership, competitive products in the same class as the Ford Escape begin to look very attractive. As of now, I am no longer a Ford enthusiast.

As of now, I am telling my story to all of my friends and acquaintances, and urging them to think twice or three times before making a Ford product purchase decision. To a person, they are thankful my family was not hurt. To a person, they are appalled that a Ford Motor Company product would spectacularly fail and place my family at catastrophic risk of injury or death. Yet, Ford is not interested in learning from the incident or offering assistance for the repair.