NHTSA Complaint #10436723 — 2007 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID

ON THE NIGHT OF OCTOBER 21, 2011 I WAS DRIVING ON RT.66W NEAR GAINESVILLE, VA IN MY 2007 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID WITH APPROXIMATELY 71,500 MILES.. AN ALARM SOUNDED AND I GOT A DASH MESSAGE READING "STOP THE CAR SAFELY NOW". CONCURRENTLY, I LOST POWER AND WAS FORCED TO IMMEDIATELY PULL OVER TO THE SHOULDER. WHEN I CONSULTED THE OWNER'S MANUAL, I WAS INFORMED IT WAS A PROBLEM WITH THE HYBRID SYSTEM. THE MANUAL SUGGESTED TURNING OFF THE CAR & RESTARTING. WHEN I DID THIS, THE WARNING LIGHT WENT OFF AND THE POWER RETURNED. I WAS EXTREMELY CONCERNED ABOUT PULLING INTO 70 MPH TRAFFIC AND CRAWLED DOWN THE SHOULDER UNTIL I COULD EXIT. FOR THE NEXT 35 MILES (UNTIL I GOT TO MY DESTINATION) THIS SAME THING OCCURRED 3 MORE TIMES ON DARK, RURAL ROADS. LUCKILY, MY HUSBAND WAS TRAVELING THE SAME ROUTE IN ANOTHER CAR, TRAFFIC WAS LIGHT, AND THERE WERE AVAILABLE SHOULDERS ON THE ROAD FOR AN IMMEDIATE PULL-OVER. THIS WAS A DANGEROUS AND FRIGHTENING SITUATION. I CONSIDER THE SUDDEN LOSS OF POWER ON A HIGH-SPEED HIGHWAY TO BE AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS SAFETY PROBLEM. THIS WARRANTS A RECALL OF THE FAILING PARTS TO PREVENT ANY OTHER OCCURRENCES WHICH COULD LEAD TO SERIOUS ACCIDENTS AND POSSIBLY FATALITIES. *TR THE DEALER REPLACED THE COOLING FAN AND WATER PUMP