This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
Driving for the 1st couple of miles was fine. Problem happened after stopping the car 1st time at friends house then 2nd time after gas station stop. After car was re~entered onto the road it would not go over 15 mph and felt like the brakes were on. This was after the 2nd trip to the mechanic about this problem. The mechanic couldn't figure out the problem and started researching. After talking to friends at parts store he was told there is a class action law suit on this vehicle for this problem. I have only had vehicle for 5 months so I am having a hard time finding any way to participate in this. It is possible previous owner was attempted to contact but has moved several times since original purchase. Can you help me with this, or will Ford contact me since title is now in my name. This is a safety issue.
ABS and emergency brake light comes on and says regen brakes disabled. Had it checked and was told hcu is bad. From everything I've read and been told Ford should've issued a recall on this issue
After applying the brakes, under normal conditions, the calipers and brakes pads never released from the rotor! this caused the vehicle to drive slowly and the brakes/rotors and wheels to get very hot. A service station said it appears the hydraulic control unit is sticking, not allowing the brakes to come off of the rotor. I have read that the Ford Fusion has this same issue and a recall has been issued.
The contact owns a 2008 Ford Escape. The contact stated the brake pedal was depressed and became soft and sticky. The contact stated that the brake pedal remained on the floorboard. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the brake fluid was flushed, inspected for leaks, and replaced the brake fluid however, the repair failed to fix the failure. The manufacturer was contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 73,000.
While driving the ABS warning light comes on along with the check brakes took to a mechanic shop and was told it was the and module that was going out. They waited me a price of 2400 dollars to get a new module and 1200 to install. Took vehicle to the dealership and was told they could not find a problem. When I tried to drive it home the two lights came on and also the engine light. I called a weaker and had it dropped off at my house.
- Amarillo, TX, USA
Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...
Brakes went to floor when I had to make an emergency stop. Diagnosis as ABS moduel/pump & brain. Estimated repair cost over $3,000 at Ford dealer. On just one web site, carcomplaints.com there are multiple complaints about the dangerous safety issue with the ABS moduel on the 2008-09 Ford Escape. There has been multiple accidents & injuries, no deaths that I can find. This is a problem that Ford knows about according to the dealer service rep I spoke too. This is a dangerous safety issue and Ford should be required to repair this safety issue via a recall on the ABS moduel in all 2008-09 Ford Escapes.
On hot days the vehicle displays the following error "ABS light on regen brakes disabled". the braking system does not function as intended. It almost feels as the vehicle will not stop and takes a very long time to come to a stop. In a situation where an immediate stop would be neccessary this error is likely to result in a vehicle collision. This has been occuring all of this year (2020) on days when the temperature exceeds 85 degrees. The most recent being on July 25, 2020. The vehicle is in motion on city streets.
I got this vehicle in 2019, the brakes started acting up off and on, then in 2020, as of July 1, my daughter and I were out shopping.when I say the brakes were acting up, this is not like most brakes would do.feel squishy, go to the floor or something like that.I was coming to a stop sign, put my foot on the brake, and it does not give at all.just kept going.I finally shoved it into park and it stopped.this happened about 3 or 4 times that day..went through 2 stop signs, unable to stop.I have not driven it since the 1st of July.also, I think the starter went out in it.was unable to start it anymore.
Traveling on main highway with my 3 grandchildren when the ABS light came on and the check brake system light comes on, brakes go almost all of the way to the floor to get the vehicle to stop. Shortly after, the lights went off and the brakes worked fine. This has happened intermittently, which is very dangerous our mechanic said this is something that only a dealership can fix and it is a very expensive repair. There was a recall 19S54 on other Ford vehicles 2006-2010 Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, Lincoln zephyr and mkz vehicles for this exact issue. (the valves within the ABS hydraulic control units (hcu) may react with brake fluids containing specific corrosion preventative additives. This reaction may cause the valves to not close properly.) this recall should apply to the Escape hybrid as well. This is nothing to do with owner maintenance. This is a design default and should be covered at Ford's expense.
Yesterday, while driving at speed on I95 in Connecticut, I approached stopped traffic and attempted to slow down by using the brakes. My foot went to floor without any vehicle braking. I began to pump the brakes vigorously and was able to achieve braking without further incident. This very much disconcerted me as I drove straight home with what appeared to be very poorly functioning brakes that may have caused serious injury if I was not ever vigilant of traffic ahead of me that I could anticipate needed slowing and stopping. I checked my brake fluid level when home and found it correctly filled as well as a survey under the hood and under the vehicle that found nothing out of the ordinary. The vehicle is well maintained by myself and a local shop. The vehicle now sits in my driveway as I contemplate my next course of action. Web research indicates a failed hydraulic control unit for which a recall has been issued for this problem for similar year/models, but, not my 2008 Ford Escape. Many other Escape owners have noted this experience with no federal response to date. Please review complaints regarding this dangerous failed component and act. Thank you.
Brake pedal goes down too far. Diagnosed as hydraulic control unit failure. Car has 84K miles on it. Ford seems to have recalled other vehicles for hydraulic brake problems. Why not these? very dangerous.
This started in Oct.2019, with brakes in the Ford Escape hybrid.I am not sure how many times the brakes failed last year, but this year alone they have failed at least 5 times.the last 2 times, very serious.I was on road with traffic, coming to a stop sign, trying to brake.put my foot hard on brake, it never went down rubbery like a brake going out would.it was like trying to push on a cement floor.I shoved it into park, it finally stopped.next time was even worse, it went right on through stop sign, made loud noise when I was shoving it into park, but finally stopped.made it safely home and it is still sitting parked.my daughter said she had heard they were recalling many for brakes.it is not safe at all.it was parked on July 1,2020, and has not been moved since.
Brakes started messing up when I first got this last year.I was driving and getting ready to stop.the brakes never went to the floor, as normally they would, if brakes would be going bad.I stepped on the brake and it was like stepping or putting my foot on a stone wall.this happened the worst 1 day ago.coming to stop sign, it's like the brake hardens, stepping on it instead of going down.(I pray)finally stopped when I put it in park.then go on very cautiously to home.I have been in vehicle when brakes were messing up, going out, or what ever.the brake in this is not like that.when it is going right, it is a good brake that stops well.when I hit it at different times, highway, street traffic, parking, etc.unexpectedly, it will be like hitting concrete or cement trying to get it to stop.it happens at random times, unexpectedly.very unnerving, to say the least.there have been people in vehicle with me when this happened.this started as of Oct.2019-June 30,2020.never kept track of all to be specific in dates, other than last one on June 30,2020.more than 10 unexpected stops, so far.maybe I did not say that right.I was expecting to be able to stop normal as I had many times before when stepping on the brake;instead, prayed and threw shift into park, it stopped.
Brake pedal became very soft, has a very long amount of travel to engage brakes and is soft when being depressed. Took to earnhardt Ford in chandler, AZ, and they did a brake fluid flush and bleed to ensure no air was in the lines, they advised the brake booster, and master cylinder had actually been replaced already, and recently according to their information, we agreed to the diagnostic charge, and the diagnosis came back that the ABS control module has failed, the service tech advised us he believes there is a pending recall/investigation relating to this issue during our visit which is what led us to make this report. Vehicle is only at 88,000 miles, and has no other existing issues. According to paperwork, they refilled the system with dot3 brake fluid during the bleed, control module was not available at the time so replacement was not possible.
The contact owns a 2008 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 mph, the brake pedal was depressed and was firm. The contact stated that added pressure was needed to slow the vehicle, extending the braking distance. The ABS and brake warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was driven to the residence. The following day the vehicle was taken to hoffman Ford Lincoln (600 Connecticut blvd, East hartford, ct 06108) to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the hydraulic control unit was defective and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 121,000.
When running the car (stationary, and then moving), ABS light came on, the brake light came on, and it said "regen brakes disabled". attempting to drive the car, the brakes seemed to work most of the time, but were more difficult to depress sometimes. After taking it to a mechanic, we were informed that the hydraulic control unit was faulty and needed to be replaced.
I was driving the car out of nowhere my passenger break decided to lock up and started burning break pad so I took it to the dealer only to find out that I needed to replace my calipers break pads rotors and my ABS hcu which it run to 5 thousand dollars I also been reading about this problem from Ford Escape hybrids but Ford doesn't want to make a recall on them. People have families in cars and for us to be in accident due to the break faking on us should be a priority for Ford
The contact owns a 2008 Ford Escape. The contact stated that when the driver started the engine, the brake warning light illuminated. The contact also advised that the brake pedal felt loose when it was engaged. The vehicle was taken to an unknown mechanic that performed a diagnostic and advised that the vehicle brake hydraulic control unit failed. The contact also mentioned that the brake hydraulic control unit was replaced several times and the repair did not correct the failure. The contact also advised that that several codes was received when the diagnostic was performed code 1491 and code U2023. The manufacturer was contacted. The manufacturer advised the contact that the vehicle was not included in the brake recall. The failure mileage was 159,000.
When I bought the car, it was over 12 years old and had approximately 137K miles. I experienced recurring brake problems about a month after purchasing the car: On some days, when starting the car the ABS failure light and the red brake failure light would remain illuminated and the "check brake system" message would appear. Sometimes restarting the car cleared the errors, but most of the time they would remain the entire day. The following day the failures often cleared up. While these failure modes were active, the brake pedal had some pressure behind it, but braking took longer and strong braking led to wheels locking up. (like in the days before ABS) over time, the failure modes persisted longer to the point where over the past two weeks, there was only one period of a half-hour where the car did not exhibit the failure condition. In addition, the "regen brakes disabled" message also started appearing, but that message may be deceptive because the battery status gauge shows a strong charge indication when the brakes are applied. In all cases, the failure modes appeared immediately on startup and persisted while the car was running. In the shop, these diagnostic codes were reported: C1313, C1478, C1480, C1526. The mechanic instructed me to take the car to a Ford dealer because he was not convinced that replacing the master cylinder (an expense exceeding $2000) would fix the problem.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Jacksonville, FL, USA