At 65 mph on hwy 5 in los angeles the vehicle died and the " stop safely now" message came on. Fortunately, I was able to safely get from the 3rd lane to the shoulder. After putting the car in park and turning off the key I was able to restart and continue. About 15 miles later it did the same thing again with the same message. Again able to safely pull off the freeway and after putting it in park turned the key off and back on and was again on my way. Both times the cruise control was on so after that I did not use the cruise and have not had another occurrence.

- Fillmore, CA, USA

I was driving down the highway in my 2006 Ford Escape hybrid going about 65 mph and started to accelerate to pass another vehicle and my car suddenly shut down. It was as if I slammed on the brakes. And I could not pick up speed after that. There was no warning on my dashboard only the display saying to "stop safely now". I pulled over and let the car idle for a minute. There was still not other warning and the car was not making any noises and no steam coming from hood. I shut it down, waited a minute, then restarted it. It started back up fine. Nothing on the display now and still not making any noise. I pulled ahead a little to see if it would move and it did. I let it idle for another minute then proceeded back onto highway to try to get home. I got up to about 40 mph and the same exact thing happened. I pulled back to side of highway and called aaa for a tow truck. When the tow truck came about 1 1/2 hours later, my car would not start at all at that point. Towed it to a shop who then said the car's oil was not reading on the dipstick. I had my oil changed in March by a reputable company and have always had my oil changed consistently. They told me my engine was gone and I needed a whole new one. I then had my car towed to a Ford dealership, where I bought, it for a second opinion and he said the same thing that I needed to have my engine replaced due to internal engine noise. They also told me I needed the throttle body and coolant pump replaced. They also said no visible external oil leaks and no indication of internal engine use such as "blow-by". their overall estimate to fix my car, including a new engine, is $8000. I never had at any point any indication that something was wrong with my car. No noises, no warning lights. I bought it brand new. I can't afford repairs of that magnitude. I called Ford and they said there is nothing they can do.

- Tewksbury, MA, USA

August 2011 - had driven approximately 200 miles tn into va when stop safely now message appears. Pulled over, waited a few minutes and started the engine. No help available locally as it was small town late Saturday. Decided to continue trip home - drove slowly in right lane for last 200 miles. No recurrance the rest of the way. My mechanic could find nothing wrong upon return home. Did not occur again until June 9, 2012 - about 150 miles from home. Same scenario - stopped for a minute then went on. Happened again on June 20, 2012. After stop and go traffic then running at 70 mph when message appears, this time the engine shut down immediatly and I barely got onto the shoulder with traffic speeding by about 2 feet off my right. Tried to start again but message that the engine was dangerously heated appeared. After sitting for about 10 minutes, it started, I turned on the heat (despite 90+ outside temp) and got off at next exit and parked for about an hour. Started up and drove home. No other occurance since. My mechanic tells me now that I need a coolant pump based on the stored service code. Will cost over $700 part and labor. Just hope it fixes it. It is extremely dangerous when the engine shuts down with only seconds of warning. In the area I live, I wouldn't always be able to even get onto a shoulder safely.

- Stafford, VA, USA