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.
ABS brake light goes on and off and regen system disabled appeared. Brake pedal goes between being spongy and going to floor. I took it to an independent service center and the mechanic almost lost control of the car when test driving. There was no braking except to one wheel, which is why he almost lost control. They thought they fixed the problem by bleeding the brakes, but soon after I got it back on April 8, 2024 the ABS and brake lights came back on April 10, 2024. I am afraid that it will cause an accident if the brakes go out. The car is back at the mechanics and they are going to inspect the brake system. Not sure when the car will be fixed and returned back to me.
My escape keeps having the brakes go to the floor. Then they will be fine again for a while and then go to the floor again and have to be pumped to stop. The brake components are good. We replaced the master cylinder, continued to have the problem. Blakes bled by mechanic twice, again the same problem. Mechanic has determined it is a failure with the hydraulic control module. In researching they are back ordered everywhere and there is none available. In further research we have found that there have been over 200000 complaints. Ford wants us to pay $1000 to buy a new module and mechanic wants $500 to replace it. But again there are not any units available even from the Ford Dealer. Ford needs to recall this part and make them available to be replaced. This is a serious safety issue. Ours have never completely failed but there are many people who say theirs have. Ours is very dangerous if you should have to hit your brakes suddenly and they do not stop or they skid.
I was driving home at night with my child, and I stepped on the brake to slow the car down as we were going down a hill, and the brakes did not work. The brake pedal went all the way to the floor after softly stepping on the brake pedal and did not release. I could not stop the SUV, so I coasted as best I could, and THANK GOD WE DID NOT CRASH!
My regen system failure light come on and off. When it does come on I lose my brakes. I have tried effortlessly like others to find out why they are malfunctioning. I am continually having near misses due to the brakes not wanting to work when they choose to. Why has this not been a recall yet. The brakes go all the way to the floor whenever they feel like it. I just purchased the vehicle. I wld have left it at the lot had I know this and no recall seems to be hand. So we get to have accidents or spend endless money while the Ford company doesn-??t have to deal with any of it.
ABS, parking break light and regen breaks disabled. My breaks will go all the way to the floor and have crashed into a vehicle because out of nowhere I was not able to break like normal. Is not safe to drive. Was diagnosed with a bad hydraulic control until like thousands of other people with this car. Ford posted a service bulletin about this issue and recommended replacing the flex hoses before eventually replacing the HCU BUT WONT PAY FOR IT. IT IS FAULTY AND THEY SHOULD BE HELD RESPONSIBLE AND RECALL THIS HCU ISSUE INSTEAD OF JUST ACKNOWLEDGING THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH THOUSDANDS OF THESE VEHICLES.
- Westland, MI, USA
Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...
The brakes stopped working correctly and are very unsafe. The Regenerative brakes get disabled, and the ABS light is on, you lose the power brakes stopping power. I have to step on the brake pedal very hard for the vehicle to stop. It feels like the old school pre-power brakes. I took it to the Ford dealer, and they want to charge 5000 + dollar to fix it, they also say parts are no longer available, they instructed me to call my insurance company and have it totaled. I read the escape hybrid forums and I see many people having this same problem
ABS light on, vehicle stalling, dragging while driving 40mph or over. Brake petal non functional. *c1313, c1480, c1481 Brake hoses restricted not allowing brake pressure in caliber damage *Sway bar links damage, excessive noise and play
The HCU fails causing the car to have little to no braking power while driving, at random times. There is a loud grind coming from the front right.. Happens only when it is warm.
When the car was started in a shopping center parking lot, the emergency brake light and the abs warning light were displayed and remained displayed. When driven, the brakes were "spongy" and then "regenerative braking disabled" appeared in the odometer display. I pulled over briefly, turned the car off for a short period and then restarted it. The same messages and odometer display remained, and brakes were still spongy. As I continued to drive (carefully), the situation resolved itself, though the "regenerative braking disabled" continued for another minute or two. Normal braking then resumed. This issue just occurred so it has not yet been taken to a dealer, nor has it been inspected by mfr, police, etc. THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN DOCUMENTED MANY TIMES BY OTHERS WITH ALMOST IDENTICAL SYMPTOMS AT THIS WEBSITE https://THIS IS CLEARLY A SAFETY ISSUE THAT HAS GONE IGNORED BY FORD FOR SEVERAL YEARS AND DESERVES NHTSA'S IMMEDIATE ATTENTION.
Having issue with throttle body and or controller. Break takes time to respond and is stiff. When on an incline road, the car rolls backwards before accelerating forward. The rolled back at stop signs on inclined roads and inclined parking lots. The car shows no warming lights. The car has issues accelerating and decelerating. The car has rolled back while another car was behind it. The car at some instances has come to almost a halt while driving at 70 mph on the highway. While displaying no warming signals. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? This type of issue has been confirmed by the dealership and has been recalled for some ford escapes but not all. The car has been inspected by a technician. The transmission has been rebuild but that did not work so a new transmission was placed inside yet this did not resolve anything. The car has been having these issues for some years.
* The braking system is failing without warning arbitrarily, resulting in pedal doing to floor and not stopping the vehicle and requiring swerving if possible to avoid collision, often needing to drive off the road surface to do so safely. This is a very common and largely reported problem with this vehicle with no assistance from the manufacturer, and a singular resolve that far exceeds the vehicle value; there is not an option to replace failing part/s with used as manufacturer prevented that. * The safety of the family member and others on the roadway are at substantial risk with a vehicle on the roadways that has a failed braking system, especially on highways/byways at increased speeds with no means to stop without warning. * The problem has been inspected and confirmed by the Ford dealership service department, where it's evidently a well-known issue. Many are subjected to leaving their Escape Hybrid with the dealer as they are too dangerous to risk driving, but the excessive cost levied to (temporarily) resolve the problem too much and outside the value of the vehicle. * Illuminated warning lights include: Regen brakes disabled, ABS, Check brake system.
MY ABS brake warning and my regular brake light come on and go off occasionally with a warning that says "Regen Brake System Disabled". When this happens, it VERY difficult to brake, the brakes go almost to the floor before they engage and there is some sort of air leak because I can hear a leak in an air system of some kind. And when that started happening, the A/C stopped working and I heard a loud pitched whine coming from the vehicle. On the days there is no brake warning lights, the brakes still are not great and sometimes will start to stop the vehicle, then there is a kind of hiccup that happens where the pedal just goes to the floor WHILE you are stopping, and not just as you begin braking. There are SO many complaints on the web about people experiencing the EXACT same problems, I don't see why this has not been deemed a Recall yet. VERY DANGEROUS!!!!
There is a major safety issue with the braking system. The brakes were getting soft (having to push all the way to the floor to get it to stop) A brake warning light then came on, i had a mechanic check it and he replaced all 4 brakes and rotors on it, a small improvement...then the ABS warning light came on.....it now brakes fine from speed until about 10 mph and then the brake pedal goes to the floor. Upon having the warning light scanned, it appears that the HCU (hydraulic control unit) needs replaced for a tune of $5000 plus. Upon more research there are many complaints on-line about this problem, unfortunately those of us that drive 13 year old cars typically cant afford such a repair bill for an obviously bad design flaw and must continue driving these dangerous vehicles because we have no choice. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed
Brakes are pedal is advancing towards the floor without any response until almost at the floor. Master cylinder was replaced and problem still exists. No codes evident, nor signs of defect. Spent entire day at the mechanic to no avail. Must use pumping brake S continually at reduced speeds from greater lengths to stop at appropriate time and location.
The ABS system fails when ABS tone ring cracks/breaks due to rust developing on the axle housing where the ring is pressed on. This has happened twice during 4 years, both with the front/left ring/axle.
In November 2020 while driving my car, by brakes suddenly went soft. To stop my vehicle, I had to press my brake all the way down to the floor before the vehicle stopped. I immediately drove my vehicle to the nearest shop where I had my brake fluid flushed and my brake pads replaced. This temporarily resolved the issue. Exactly one week later, my brakes went soft again. I took my vehicle to my mechanic who said the issue was with my master cylinder. Replacing the master cylinder temporarily resolved the issue. A few weeks later, my brakes went soft again. I've had my master cylinder replaced four times since November 2020. It is now April 2021 and my brakes are still going soft. My vehicle has been with my mechanic for the past three weeks as he's been trying to diagnose the problem. He believes the issue is with the module of the absystem, but no codes register when he plugs the vehicle to the computer. Since this issue does not register a computer code, my mechanic has had issues with accurately identifying the cause of the constant soft braking I've been experiencing for the past five months. I' went online and googled this issue and I've come across forums where hundreds of other Ford Escape (2008 and after) owners are experiencing the same exact issue with their vehicles. All of the Ford Escape owners have had their master cylinders replaced multiple times with no permanent resolution. This is an extremely dangerous safety issue. The most important safety component on every vehicle is the braking system. Seatbelts are required to be worn by law, but what good is a seatbelt if the vehicle is unable to brake and mechanics are unable to diagnose the issue because a computer code does not register.
My vehicle mileage is 58049 original. I noticed while I was driving, within the last 8 months. I wouldn't get an alert about the odometer reading that would say regen brakes disabled I also noticed when I try to stop, the brake pedal would buckle while pressing it. And the vehicle didn't seem to notice that I'm trying to stop, it would eventually stop. It's a good thing that I'm not a tailgater cuz I would have clocked any vehicle in front of me. Here is a copy of the service forum that gary yeoman Ford daytona beach Florida print it out for me. They told me that I need to have my hand on the emergency brake or my foot on the emergency break whenever I'm breaking out just in case. I bought this vehicle brand new, I have always taken it to Ford for any if any repairs. I literally have every receipt, if they haven't already faded through the years. The hybrid battery died after 7 years oh, pretty much on the 6th year I noticed it wasn't holding a charge longer than 24 hours. I inquired at the dealership they told me it would be 10K to replace. I still have it on the vehicle oh, I just get poor mileage now. I am in no financial predicament to afford a trade in newer major repairs. I'm just discouraged considering with such low mileage the most important part of a vehicle which is the braking system is going if not already gone. I am disabled so I do not drive often, the vehicle sits in the driveway more than its on the road. I've not traveled a far distances with the vehicle, mostly doctor's appointments and picking up medication and grocery store. That's it, now I've come to a crossroads not sure what to do how about this conundrum.
08 Ford Escape hybrid-ABS light illuminated and breaks failed. While driving, stopsafe came on. Turned car off and back on approx. 5 minutes later. ABS stays on along with check breaks system and regen breaks disabled. Car has sat for 3 years. When turned on now, regular battery drains and ABS light stays on.
In March 2008 my brakes went 2 the floor then I pumped it up. I took it to larson Ford on 4/26/08 ans they said it was the calipers. Had the work done and the problem did not go away. I took it back again and they said I cant find anything and to drive it. On Dec 31 the breaks failed completely. I limped it back to them and they decided to take the day off. Left it there a few weeks again they said they cant find anything. I called Ford for help and they did nothing also. They want us to drive unsafe vehicles. I am now taking it to another Ford dealer to do the recall flush of dot4 and inspect the ABS valves that they did on the cars with the recalls. It also looks like NHTSA is not do anything. Not even ask someone if they can take there vehicle to looks at it. If I get the same result my next step will be to contact congress and the president of the United States of the lack of any action by the NHTSA.
It started early thanksgivings(11/26/2020) drive as I was coming to my 4th/5th stop of the morning, I went to apply the brakes and felt my brake pedal sink with slight to no pressure, no response. I panicked and I remember pumping the brake rapidly to build pressure, but the brake did not respond as expected, I did feel I slight jerk and heard a growling sound coming from the bottom engine area. I must of gone over a pothole that made my truck feel like I jumped the curve, I was going about 35-45mph. After a few rapid brake pedal pumps my vehicle did come to a stop on time before running the light, luckily I was alone in the street that early morning. As of today the brake pedal still feel mushy/spongy lack of pressure and scary unsafe.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Devine, TX, USA