NHTSA Complaint #10918680 — 2008 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID

WHILE DRIVING MY 2008 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID ON A RESIDENTIAL STREET, THE RED TRIANGLE LIGHT CAME ON, WITH A WARNING TO "STOP NOW, PULL OVER." LUCKILY I WAS ALREADY DRIVING SLOWLY AND I STOPPED SAFELY. THE ENGINE THEN DIED. I TRIED RESTARTING, BUT THE RED TRIANGLE CAME BACK ON, AND THE ENGINE DIED AGAIN. I HAD THE VEHICLE TOWED TO LOCAL FORD DEALERSHIP. THEY DIAGNOSED THE PROBLEM AS A DEAD HYBRID BATTERY, WITH A REPLACEMENT COST $12,000. UNFORTUNATELY, THE 8-YR BATTERY WARRANTY EXPIRED JUST A FEW MONTHS PRIOR TO THIS. I ASKED ABOUT RECALL 14S19, WHICH SEEMS TO BE RELATED TO THIS PROBLEM. THE DEALER AND FORD CORP CUSTOMER SERVICE BOTH SAID MY SPECIFIC VIN WAS NOT COVERED BY THE RECALL. ABOUT 18 MONTHS PRIOR TO THIS, I HAD THE SAME EXPERIENCE, WITH THE RED TRIANGLE WARNING LIGHT COMING ON WHILE I WAS DRIVING ON A RESIDENTIAL STREET. I HAD THE VEHICLE TOWED TO THE SAME DEALER. THEIR INITIAL DIAGNOSIS WAS A DEAD HYBRID BATTERY, WHICH WOULD BE COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. THE NEXT DAY, THE DEALER CALLED BACK TO SAY THEY HAD DISCUSSED THE PROBLEM WITH FORD CORPORATION, AND THEY CHANGED THE DIAGNOSIS. THEY REPLACED THE "IGNITION SWITCH AND HOUSING" (NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY) FOR $743. THE CAR RAN OK UNTIL THE PROBLEM RECURRED THIS MONTH. *TR