NHTSA Complaint #10458744 — 2008 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID

WHILE DRIVING ON A BRIDGE AT 65 MILES PER HOUR, I HEARD A BEEP AND A TRIANGLE LIGHT CAME ON. THE CAR IMMEDIATELY JOLTED AS IT LOST POWER AND IT DISPLAYED A MESSAGE TO STOP SAFELY. THIS WAS IN LATE MORNING TRAFFIC AND A SEMI WAS ABLE TO SLIGHTLY SWERVE TO THE RIGHT IN ORDER TO AVOID REAR ENDING ME AS I HAD SUDDEN REDUCED POWER AND LITTLE MEDIAN SPACE TO COAST TO ON MY LEFT SIDE. I WAS ABLE TO RESTART THE CAR AFTER A FEW MINUTES. A FORD DEALER HAS RUN A DIAGNOSTIC AND CONFIRMED IT IS A FAILURE OF THE MOTOR ENGINE COOLING PUMP AND THE OVERALL COST FOR PARTS AND LABOR, INCLUDING DIAGNOSTIC IS $738. AFTER READING ALL OF THE COMPLAINTS TO THIS AGENCY AND ONLINE ENTRIES, I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT NO ACTION HAS BEEN TAKEN ABOUT THIS SAFETY HAZARD. THERE ARE TWO ISSUES, THE FIRST BEING THAT THE COOLING PUMP IS KNOWN TO FAIL ON THESE VEHICLES AT DIFFERENT MILEAGE LEVELS, AND IS SUPPOSEDLY NOT COVERED BY THE HYBRID WARRANTY EVEN THOUGH IT IS ONLY FOUND ON HYBRIDS. FORD DEALERS WILL NOT EVEN ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THIS IS A KNOWN PROBLEM. THIS PART SHOULD BE RECALLED AS IT IS KNOWN AS ONE CAUSE THAT LEADS TO THE SHUT OFF OF THE CAR AT DIFFERENT SPEEDS. SECOND, FORD'S SHUTOFF DESIGN ITSELF IS SERIOUSLY FLAWED SINCE IT ALLOWS THE CAR TO UNEXPECTEDLY SHUTOFF AT HIGH SPEEDS RISKING COLLISION AND INJURY. I AM FORCED TO PAY THE HIGH COST OF THIS PARTICULAR REPAIR BECAUSE I CANNOT DO IT MYSELF, HOWEVER, I NO LONGER CONSIDER THIS A RELIABLE SAFE VEHICLE. I URGE NHTSA TO INVESTIGATE THESE COMPLAINTS RATHER THAN WAIT FOR ONE OF THESE INCIDENTS TO RESULT IN DEATH OR SERIOUS INJURY. AT THE VERY LEAST FORD SHOULD BE NOTIFYING ALL OWNERS OF THESE VEHICLES ABOUT THE DEFECTIVE COOLING PUMPS AND NEED FOR REPLACEMENT.