Engine over accelerates on its own causing engine to race, then automatically shuts the engine down. Also, in idle position, engine rpms excessively increase and decrease for no apparent reason. Both problems happened while vehicle is stationary and also while in motion spiratically at any given time, at at any speed (from idleing up to 80 mph).

- Pickford,, MI, USA

Driving at night on four-lane us highway at 50 mph when engine suddenly stalled. Warning lamp came on with stop safely now message. Scary in traffic but was able to pull over onto shoulder without causing an accident. Aaa towed to Ford dealership which diagnosed stuck open circuit in throttle body. Replaced part 5M6Z*9E926 throttle body and motor asy. Part $376.70 labor $262.50 shop fee $2.50 sales tax $48.13 total $ $689.83 very expensive but lucky to not have been hurt.

- Tallahassee, FL, USA

I was driving my 2005 Ford Escape hybrid April 1, 2010, West bound on I-90 in Massachusetts between sturbridge and chicopee when the first incident happened. The "control module" displayed a "stop safely now" message and then proceeded to shut down the vehicle. I was forced, without power, to traverse 3 lanes of high speed, high volume traffic, to the shoulder. I was frightened for my life at the time. Since the first occurrence, the same "stop safely now" message and vehicle shut-down repeated several more times, before I took it in to the Ford dealership where I bought it - sunnyside Ford, in holden MA. They have had it now since April 14th 2010 and are unable to repair. After first replacing a motor electronics (mec) pump, the problem has gotten worse - indeed, the vehicle will not drive at all before receiving the "stop safely now" and vehicle shutdown message. My independent online research has provided much information from owners of the same Ford Escape hybrid, who have had the same or close to the same set of problems. On April 30th 2010, I wrote a letter to sunnyside Ford's service manager, outlining my findings and asking for a Ford certified hybrid engineer to intervene in my vehicle's repair. There have been many, now including myself, who feel the underlying problem is a design issue. I have only 23,250 miles on it, way too early for the car to be having mechanical failure due to usage alone. Its the fact that when the problem arises, that the control module (PCM) shuts down the vehicle that makes this a safety issue. Its just a matter of time before someone is in or causes a serious accident, if it has not already happened. The Ford Escape hybrid should undergo a Ford recall and re-design on the entire electronics overlay, to permanently fix the issue.

- Worcester, MA, USA