ABS light came on and dash said regen brakes disabled. There was no power brakes and car had a very hard time stopping and narrowly missed hitting the car in front of me. Took it to a shop and it needs ABS pump which costs over $7000 to replace.

- Gordonville, PA, USA

He hydraulic control unit failed on my vehicle. This seems to be an issue that has arisen with a great deal of owners of Ford Escape hybrids over the last several years. I had to have the entire hcu system replaced at a Ford dealership service department. As it was not covered by warranty, nor considered by the company to be an issue deserving of a recall, I had to pay out of pocket for the entire thing, which totaled $4,863 (and it took five days to get the work completed). I also had to pay to rent a car for the several days it took to get the part and perform the work, which was another $200. Due to the high cost of this repair and the frequency with which it is affecting consumers, I believe that this issue should become a recall and people should be reimbursed for the repairs they have had to make.

- Delray Beach, FL, USA

I am the original owner of this car and this is the third time my ABS brakes have failed. I don't know the technical reason but my car does not stop properly in nine years the braking system should not fail three times.

- Liberty Lake, WA, USA

This is my daughters car she got bought for her 18 birthday. Not a year later and the whole ABS system needs to be replaced for 5 grand and now the trade in value is worth 2200. The brakes fail. 10 years old and 5 grand to fix. Tons of same stories of the same year on the net. I don't know how many people have died but I'm am sure someone will cause of this terribly designed system. Now my daughter will be forced to go in debt at 18. This should be a recall. Not because I'm an educated dumby, not because I pay my taxes every year and went above and beyond. Because this is a safety issue. No way you have not received any complaints about this. I thought it was a joke. So this company manufactures vehicles that will have to be fixed before normal wear and tear destroys something and I guess a quota of dead people has to be met by failing brakes before taking it serious or I have to or my daughter just starting out in life has to go in debt more because we allow corporations to pull a pyramid scheme with vehicles. I'm not sure why I have to wonder why a recall has not been called on these vehicles with this hydraulic breaking system that has thus many complaints. Maybe we should check how many people were forced thru Ford or other dealerships to fix this exact problem. Then there will be the evidence of deceptive manufacturing and advertising to generate cash flow. We know the brakes will fail and the engine and everything else will still be strong and it looks nice but they will be forced to go in debt to fix it cause anyone that owns this will only have one car typically. Scam using safety and life as leverage. Exactly what happens, brakes fail, every time coming to a stop from any speed. Have to stand on them to stop. My daughter is working and going to school full time. What an american rip off.

- Mulvane, KS, USA

Pending failure of the hydraulic brake control unit. ABS, check engine and service brake lights would come on and go off. When lights are on the vehicle is more difficult to stop. Reading other's posts online, this seems to be an issue that happens often. Vehicle is unsafe to drive once failure is present. Only way to fix is with a $4,500 part that you have to get new from Ford....

- Hamoton, VA, USA

Loss of brake function while driving. ABS warning light illuminates during driving. Warning message "check brake system" warning message "regen braking disabled" at times need to press brake very hard just to have the vehicle slowly roll to a stop. Occasionally, the parking brake light is illuminated and almost feels like it is partially engaged, even though I did not depress the parking brake pedal. I've researched on the internet and there are hundreds of complaints about this same exact problem - many on the 2008 Escape hybrid itself, but many on other escape years as well. Ford denies this as a problem. I spoke to both my dealer and Ford corporation - they say they haven't heard about any braking problems on the Escape hybrids -they lie through their teeth. Maybe NHTSA can make them own up to their problem before someone really gets hurt - or worse.

- Lawrenceville, NJ, USA

The contact owns a 2008 Ford Escape hybrid. While driving 70 mph, the hydraulic brakes failed to work without warning. The contact was able to drive slowly to the independent mechanic a mile away (arnolds oil company, 466 old us rte 52, new richmond, oh 45157) where it was diagnosed that the hydraulic brakes needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer (beechmont Ford, 600 Ohio pike, cincinnati, oh 45245, (513) 752-6611) stated that there were no recalls. The manufacturer was contacted at 800-392-3673 and advised the contact to call NHTSA. A case number was not provided. The approximate failure mileage was 70,000. The VIN was not available....updated 10/19/17 updated 10/27/2017

- New Richmond, OH, USA

The ABS and brake lights come on and the brake regeneration disabled is displayed on dash. When this happens there is a loss of braking power. This happens when driving. When I researched this I found this is a common problem. It calls for the ECU to be replaced and the repair is $5,000. Ford needs to recall and replace this part as it is a safety concern due to brake failure.

- Fries, VA, USA

While approaching an intersection at 45mph with a stop signal brake pedal went to the floor with little to no braking effect. Got stopped in the middle of intersection without hitting anything or being hit. Yellow ABS and red brake lights illuminated. Ford dealership reports that vehicle needs new hbcu @ $5000. Multiple car forums with same exact issue. So far no one killed and Ford will not admit any problems or try to satisfy customers with a fix. I have now reached out to you for help and make this issue a matter of documentation with the nhstb. Please get involved before this gets ugly.

- Sterrett, AL, USA

Regan brakes system fails with no warning making stopping almost impossible shut vech off and maybe problem goes away maybe not.when starting brake system light on dash stays on which makes no brakes or light goes out and may come on later with no warning there are many many complaints involving 2008 hybrids looking at all complaints it seems Ford knows about failure but wont fix we have been told it was made that way and will cost 4000-5000 thousand dollars for consumer to fix

- Philadelphia, PA, USA

ABS & parking brake warning lights, warning tone & regen brake message are displayed. When this has happened the brake performance became "grabby" and over time the brakes were dangerously bad. For several months if I stopped the vehicle, turned off ignition and restarted, the warnings would go away and the brakes would function normally.I informed the Ford technician the last time I had regular service of this problem and they found " no issue" with brakes. I took vehicle back to Ford 06/22/2017 and they told me the hydraulic control unit needed to be replaced at a cost in excess of $5,800. I will discard this vehicle and replace it with a non -Ford product

- La, CA, USA

2008 Ford escape hydraulic control unit failure. Check brake system, ABS, and emergency brake lights all game on. Drove car with limited brakes to mechanic who got codes C1978 and U2023. $4,700 part. This seems very dangerous and really disappointed that Ford has not done a recall on this item.

- Hackensack, NJ, USA

Brakes can fail without warning after the ABS light comes on. There is no warning and no secondary backup system. The ABS module failure is the result, which will make the vehicle have no brakes. The repair cost is $5,000 and must be done at the dealer. The dealer also witnessed the no brakes while driving.

- Stamping Ground, KY, USA

"check brakes" and "ABS" lights came on, then "regenerative brake system disabled" illuminated, warning sounded. Took car for repair. Mechanic performed diagnostic, then bled all 4 brake systems. Lights went off and brakes worked. Several days later, same lights came on and warning bell sounded. Brakes were almost completely inoperable. Returned car to mechanic. Inspected, then told it might need regenerative brake system replacement. Warning lights were off, but illuminated again a couple of hours later (02/22/17) took car to autofair Ford, manchester, nh.where brakes failed while entering dealership at 15 mph. They kept car overnight, spent 4 hours labor, bled brakes, and said car was fixed (charged $280). Couple hours later all lights illuminated, warning bell sounded and lost almost all braking capacity while on highway 93 South heading South towards boston. Called Ford and they told me that car needed new regenerative braking system and computer module. Cost of equipment alone was quoted at approx. $6000 without labor. Am in the process of trading the car. Without functional brakes, car is virtually worthless. When brakes were depressed to the floor at low speeds, brakes did not stop car; vehicle coasted to a stop. In short, 2008 Ford Escape hybrid suffered catastrophic brake failure.

- Bedford, NH, USA

The brakes stopped working and the warning was "regen brakes disabled". I was told this was a defect and Ford was not covering the cost of fixing, which is $5,000-7,000. We bought the vehicle new and it has a bit over 130,000 miles and is in great shape otherwise. We can't fix it, sell it or drive it.

- Ballwin, MO, USA

The contact owns a 2008 Ford Escape hybrid. When the vehicle was started, the ABS, service brakes, and regenerative brake disabled warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the hydraulic control unit needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 160,000. The VIN was unavailable.

- Media, PA, USA

Yellow ABS light and red emergency brake lights illuminated while driving. Brake petal went soft to the point where braking was difficult. A Ford service center diagnosed the problem and indicated that the hydraulic control unit (hcu) needs to be replaced. The part costs $4800 dollars and the total repair is $5300. This is not an uncommon problem for the Escape hybrid. And in my case, renders the vehicle essentially worthless since the cost of the repair is slightly more than the value of tahe vehicle itself. I've been given no alternatives or options.

- Wilmington, DE, USA

The ABS light and "regen brake failure" warning lights go on and vehicle is almost impossible to stop.

- Fort Thomas, KY, USA

Vehicle brakes fail for no apparent reason, then eventually begin working for no apparent reason. No warning is given that anything is wrong with the brakes (I.e. no brake light, and no "check engine" light). In addition, the "all ok" light remains green, indicating that nothing is wrong. This occurs when the vehicle is moving at any speed (I.e above 35 mph or below 5 mph). The vehicle eventually comes to a stop, but only after a lengthy deceleration distance.*updated 3-7-17 I would see a warning that says 'regen brake failure.' In some cases, depressing the pedal would cause the brakes to lock-up. In other cases, the vehicle would slow down gradually, but would never stop even if the brake pedal was fully pressed. In the second situation, I would bypass my intended stop point, often a turn. The situation would occur without warning and last until I turned off the car. It sometimes went away after restarting, meaning the brakes would function as expected. The dealer diagnosed the problem and said I needed to replace the hydraulic control module and several brake lines. Estimated cost was $6200. I contacted Ford to inquire about a recall, and was told that none exists for this situation.*smch

- Goshen, OH, USA

I was driving around town and all of a sudden the brake pedal wouldn't go down, I tried again and the regenerative braking wasn't working, only felt about half power brakes. The ABS light came on and a red light that said check braking system. I pulled over and turned the car off. Restarted the car back to normal.

- Holland, MI, USA