NHTSA Complaint #11231913 — 2006 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID

THE HYBRID ELECTRONICS SYSTEM OVERHEATED, THE DASHBOARD LIGHTS WENT ON AND THE ALERT SYSTEM SAID TO "STOP CAR SLOWLY" AND THEN "CHECK EMISSIONS SYSTEM". THE CAR SLOWED DOWN AND LOST ALMOST ALL POWER. AFTER TURNING IT ON AGAIN, THE CAR HAD NO POWER AND COULD NOT ACCELERATE. IT WAS LIKE THIS FOR SEVERAL MINUTES (THIS HAS HAPPENED BEFORE BUT THE CAR SEEMED NORMAL AFTER THE INITIAL STALL). THE CAR WAS TOWED TO A NEARBY MECHANIC'S GARAGE AND THEY TOLD US THE PROBLEM WAS WITH THE MECS PUMP WHICH WAS CAUSING THE HYBRID SYSTEM TO OVERHEAT. THIS SEEMS REMARKABLY SIMILAR TO RECALL #14S19 AND I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW MY CAR IS NOT COVERED UNDER IT. I ALSO CHATTED WITH A REP FROM FORD WHO COULDN'T TELL ME WHY MY CAR WASN'T COVERED. WHILE I UNDERSTAND THAT RECALLS ARE VIN SPECIFIC I BELIEVE THERE IS AN ERROR ON FORD'S END. THE REP TOLD ME MY VEHICLE WAS BUILT ON JULY 29, 2005 AND THE RECALL INCLUDES VEHICLES MANUFACTURED FROM 2005 TO JUNE 20, 2008. SHE SAID SHE COULDN'T FIND AN EXACT DATE FOR THE START OF THE "BUILD DATE" RANGE, BUT SHE THOUGHT IT INCLUDED ALL OF 2005. SO I SAID "SHOULDN'T MINE BE COVERED?" SIMILARLY, THE 14S19 RECALL NOTICE STATES: "MODEL YEAR 2005-2008 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID ELECTRIC VEHICLES MANUFACTURED OCTOBER 13, 2003, TO JUNE 20, 2008". I BOUGHT THE CAR IN LATE 2015, AFTER THE INITIAL RECALL DATE WAS ISSUED AND THE DEALER STATED THAT THERE WERE NO OUTSTANDING RECALL MATTERS WITH THE VEHICLE. HOWEVER, THE CAR ONLY HAD 60,000 MILES ON IT AND WAS LIGHTLY USED SO I WONDER IF THE PREVIOUS OWNER WAS EVEN AWARE OF THE MECS ISSUES. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. I AM CURRENTLY FACING $1,300 IN REPAIR COSTS AND THIS LOOKS EXACTLY LIKE THE RECALL PROBLEMS MENTIONED IN 14S19. I HOPE SOMEONE AT NHTSA CAN HELP BECAUSE I THINK FORD SHOULD REIMBURSE ME FOR THE DAMAGES. THANKS AGAIN. PLEASE CONTACT ME AT [XXX] IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR