2007 Ford Escape Hybrid Engine cooling Problems

“On the night of october 21, 2011 I was driving on rt.66w near gainesville, va in my 2007 Ford Escape Hybrid with approximately 71,500 miles.. An alarm sounded and I got a dash message reading stop the car safely now . Concurrently, I lost power and was forced to immediately pull over to the shoulder. When I consulted the owner's manual, I was informed it was a problem with the hybrid system. The manual suggested turning off the car & restarting. When I did this, the warning light went off and the power returned. …”

“My vehicle was running perfectly and had just been serviced. I was driving with my wife and children in mild conditions when the stop safely now message appeared at the same time the vehicle lost all power and was in a glide. We luckily made it to the side of the road as we were traveling in the number 1 lane furthest from any place to stop. We were nearly killed by a truck trying to get over to the side of the road. This has happened on 3 other occasions in the following months. All instances but one were on the highway. All put me in a very dangerous situation.”

“My Ford hybrid escape (gas) engine shut down as I was accelerating onto the highway. The drive power was completely lost. The car continued coasting and I got the message stop safely now. I pulled off to the shoulder, stopped and shut off the car. I then restarted the car and it functioned normally. The failure has not happened (after about 100 miles) since the one incident. I have driven the car to a Ford dealer for diagnosis. The un-commanded engine shut down without any preliminary warning seems like a hazardous condition that could be life threatening in certain circumstances.”

“While backing out of a parking space, the right front wheel separated from the vehicle. Upon closer inspection, it appeared that the bolt sheared, dislocating the wheel from the drivetrain. This was later confirmed at the repair center--the bolt had sheared and had to be drilled out. The front lower control arm bolts (forward bolt) removed and threads had to be repaired. The right front axle also had to be replaced. This vehicle is only 6.5 years old, and is not driven off road. Ford does not acknowledge this as an issue. …”

“The contact owns a 2007 Ford Escape Hybrid. While driving at 65 MPH, the electronic coolant system warning indicator was illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 77,000.”