We were out running errands for several hours, my son dropped me off back at home and had 1 more trip to make before he had to go into work. The vehicle died about a half hour after he had dropped me off, while he was turning from a side road onto the main road, he heard a clunk and the 'Stop Safely Now' light indicate on the dash.

He did pull over and turn the vehicle off, checked a few things on and under the vehicle and when he couldn't find anything he attempted to restart the vehicle. Dash warning lights showed the wrench and battery on but would not turn over. Ended up being towed to a friends for the night and was able to take their vehicle to work. Pulled it home a half hour away on a flat bed the next day (happened on a Friday night).

The following week we bring it to the nearest hybrid dealer a half hour away. They weren't able to look at it for a few days. When they called, they were pretty sure it was the transmission but since the hybrid battery fuse was blown they could not fully diagnose. For the hybrid battery fuse from Ford I was quoted $900.00 just for the part. I was able to find the exact same part for less than $100 from a reputable online auto parts dealer. Confirming with the mechanic shop that had my vehicle, I ordered the part and waited another week plus for it to come in before I could hand it over to the mechanic to install and fully diagnose. They were able to confirm that the transmission was in fact the failing part.

The quote I received for the transmission and labor came out to $12,000.00 -yes, 12 grand. The transmission itself for my 10 year old vehicle was nearly 10k (see link below). https://parts.ford.com/shop/en/us/automatic-transmission-assy-7893149-1

Finding a used transmission was not out of the question, but finding one without a significant amount of miles on it and relatively quickly was something we couldn't wait on. At this point I had been without a vehicle for nearly a month, playing musical vehicles with my husband during the week and renting a vehicle on the weekends was not cutting it. Ended up bringing it home on a flatbed and finding a different vehicle. I had the vehicle just over 4 years, put approx 110k miles on it in that time. Disappointed that in my 20+ years of driving, this vehicle has lasted the shortest amount of time for me.

My 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid lost power and came to an ABRUPT halt, luckily not causing an accident. The first Ford dealer had it a week, and then decided it would take 8 weeks to get around to it. The second dealer had it a month, then finally told me that the transmission had failed, and that it could not be repaired. It could be replaced at a cost of $12,000 (this for a car with a high blue book of $7,000).

I talked to Ford Motor a couple of times. They refused to help and told me to work it out with a dealer. Both Ford Motor and the dealer refused to give me a break or even a dollar trade in on a new Ford.

Interestingly enough, a mechanic at the first Ford dealer took me aside and said this was a "crappy Ford transmission." That he had seen a lot of them, it's a known issue, and the cars are just scrapped unless under warranty.

If you have one of these Escape Hybrids and it's still running, I strongly urge you to unload it ASAP. It's a time bomb and you will lose your entire resale value.

Update from Sep 29, 2016: Ford Motor again told me that their dealers are independent providers, that they are not responsible for the car's defects and that I need to "work it out with the dealer." At the same time the dealer tells me I'll have to take it up with Ford Motor. What a racket!