NHTSA Complaint #10548328 — 2008 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID

IT WAS THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2013. THE AMBIENT AIR TEMPERATURE WAS ABOUT 62 DEGREES. IT WAS SUNNY. THE STREETS WERE DRY. I WAS DRIVING SOUTH FROM AUSTIN TO NEW BRAUNFELS, TEXAS ON I-35 AT APPROXIMATELY 7:15 A.M. I HAD THE SPEED CONTROL SET FOR 55 M.P.H. AS I WAS LEAVING SAN MARCOS, AN ALARM TONE SOUNDED, AND THE DASH BOARD DISPLAY SHOWED "STOP SAFELY NOW" AND THE ENGINE SHUT OFF. I WAS ABLE TO MOVE TO THE SHOULDER USING BATTERY POWER ONLY AT LESS THAN 20 MILES AN HOUR, CAUSING ISSUES WITH OTHER TRAFFIC ON THE INTERSTATE, WITH MANY OF THE OTHER DRIVERS ANXIOUS TO GET TO WORK. I STOPPED THE CAR, AND WHEN IT WAS SAFE TO DO SO, EXITED THE VEHICLE AND DID A PERIMETER SCAN FOR ISSUES. NONE WERE DETECTED. I OPENED THE HOOD AND CHECKED FOR UNTOWARD ISSUES. THERE WAS NO SMOKE. THE ENGINE WASN'T OVERLY HOT. OIL WAS FULL TO THE APPROPRIATE MARK. THE VEHICLE HAD BEEN SERVICED BY THE DEALERSHIP WHO SOLD THE VEHICLE TO ME ABOUT 1790 MILES PRIOR TO THIS INCIDENT, AND A FULL DIAGNOSTIC WAS PERFORMED WITHOUT ANY ISSUES DETECTED. AFTER COMPLETING THIS CHECK, I RESTARTED THE CAR AND DROVE FOR ANOTHER 20 OR SO MILES WHEN THE ALARM AND DISPLAY REPEATED AS ABOVE. AGAIN THERE WERE NO ISSUES. I RESTARTED THE VEHICLE AFTER ABOUT THREE MINUTES AND WAS ABLE TO COMPLETE THE 75 MILE COMMUTE. THE RETURN TRIP HAD NO ISSUES. SINCE THE VEHICLE SHUT DOWN COMPLETELY WITHOUT WARNING IN FAST-MOVING TRAFFIC, THIS IS A CATASTROPHIC FAILURE. INFORMATION FROM THE INTERNET INDICATES THAT FORD HAS HAD THIS ISSUE SINCE THE FIRST ESCAPE HYBRIDS WERE ON THE ROAD, AND THERE APPEARS TO BE NO DEFINITIVE PROBLEM OR CORRECTION. I REQUEST THAT THE NHTSA EXAMINE THIS TO DETERMINE IF A RECALL SHOULD BE PERFORMED BEFORE SOMEONE IS KILLED BECAUSE OF A FAULTY ALARM THAT SHUTS THE VEHICLE DOWN COMPLETELY WITHOUT WARNING. *TR