my escape hybrid had all the doors locked (did not lock it), i had to manually unlock the door and when i put the key into the ignition no lights came on. It would not crank over or start, no anti-theft light was on and was not blinking, no lights came on at all, no sounds of any kind either. decided to disconnect the battery under the hood for about 10 minutes and when i checked the escape after that there was no change. i let it sit over night and in the morning it started right up. what could cause this? i would hate to have this happen again. Went to a ford dealer to hook it up to diagnostic machine but they said if there are no indicator lights on then no code would show up at all. please help.

 

One obvious recommendation would be to check the condition of the 12V battery. When that goes marginal, it can cause very odd and non-obvious symptoms.

 

I realize this is an old thread but hope someone can assist me. I'm new to the Hybrid world. I have a 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid that won't start unless you very forcefully press the brake pedal all the way to the floor.

I'm wondering if there is a switch or pedal sensor that I can locate and check to see if it has gone bad. Can anyone assist me with locating the sensor/switch that tells the vehicle that the brake pedal is pressed so it is okay to start?

 

First thing I would check with something like that is the 12v battery. If you have a voltmeter and the voltage is much under 12.6 with the vehicle off then I would replace that and see what happens. Another thing I would like to know is does it not recognize it is in park? What I mean is once it starts do you have to press on the brake until you hear a click to take it out of park still and how hard do you have to press on the brake, the same amount to start it or less?

 

The Escape shouldn't require any pedal pressure on anything to start whatsoever, so the fact that it is requiring it to go to the floor is definitely an issue.

 

Thanks for the input. The battery is brand new. Although you might not think it is the battery I may have gotten a rotten one. I'll double check the voltage on it and maybe have it tested out.

The question about Park is a good one. I believe it does because when you press the pedal all the way down it starts up just fine. I don't hear any click and to take it out of park is a normal press on the brake.

So this brings up another question. I understand that the Escape Hybrid doesn't rely on the 12v battery to start. It uses the 300V battery for that. So why is the 12.6v reading so important?

 

One more thing on this. Where is the switch or sensor that tells the car that the brake pedal has been pressed? Maybe it is going bad.

 

Every single system of your truck relied on having the proper voltage from the 12v battery to function properly. Incorrect voltage throws a massive wrench into the system. The brake generally has absolutely nothing to do with starting this truck, the fact that it is is alarming and might mean you have an issue with the pcm which could be from low battery voltage. I'm willing to help, but if you want to not run through basic tests I give you to do and question everything before even trying it then it's going to take forever and you're probably better off going to a dealer.

 

If the truck is going out of park and braking properly the sensor for the brake pedal and the shift park interlock are most likely not bad. The only way that could be is if the truck will shift from park without the brake pedal being pressed, if that is happening then I would look into the shift park interlock first.

 

A new battery could easily have a bad cell. New electronics are more likely to fail than semi old electronics and typically still more than old electronics.

As far as the clicking from the brake shift interlock it is very quiet, but if you have the radio and fan off you should be able to hear a click when you press down on the brake pedal.

Was the truck made in the United States or are you in a different country?
I am honestly going to tell you though that if it isn't something basic like a bad cell in your 12v battery then I am not really sure what direction to go. The truck I have absolutely shouldn't require ANY signal from the brake pedal to allow it to start and I can't see how that could have any interaction at all. I have started mine on several occasions in the garage by going through the passenger door. On mine which is the same year is doesn't have to have the pedal pressed down. Are you getting anything at all else that you would consider weird and how long have you owned the vehicle and has it always done this?