NHTSA Complaint #11174800 — 2008 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID

FORD ELECTRONIC THROTTLE BODY (ETB) ISSUE MY 2008 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID HAS BEEN INTERMITTENTLY EXPERIENCING ISSUES RELATED TO AN ILL-DESIGNED ETB SINCE 2010 (WHEN WE PURCHASED THE VEHICLE). IN THE PAST 5 YEARS, THE FREQUENCY OF ISSUE OCCURRENCE HAS PROGRESSIVELY INCREASED. CURRENT RATE OF OCCURRENCE IS 3 - 6 TIMES PER WEEK. RANDOMLY THE VEHICLE GOES INTO "LIMP MODE" WHILE DRIVING, WHERE THE ENGINE SHUTS DOWN TO NEARLY ZERO POWER. DASHBOARD DISPLAYS "PULL OVER SAFELY". IF THIS OCCURS IN HEAVY TRAFFIC (WHICH IS MANY TIMES THE CASE ON OUR LOS ANGELES FREEWAYS), THERE IS NO WAY TO PULL OVER SAFELY WITH NEARLY ZERO ENGINE POWER. THE VEHICLE IS LITERALLY STRANDED IN FREEWAY TRAFFIC UNTIL THE ETB IS RESET. THE VEHICLE'S IGNITION MUST BE TURNED OFF AND BACK ON TO RESET THE ETB. THIS FAULTY ETB PART ACROSS MANY FORD MODELS FOR 10+ YEARS IS PUTTING VEHICLE OWNERS' SAFETY AT HIGH RISK. FORD SHOULD ISSUE A RECALL OF ALL VEHICLES WITH THESE ILL-DESIGNED, FAULTY ETBS. VEHICLE OWNERS SHOULD NOT BE FINANCIALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR REPLACEMENT OF A PART WHICH IS CLEARLY FAULTY IN ITS DESIGN.