..or what do you do when your FEH simply turns itself off without warning? I'm interested in others' takes on this issue, and I'll try to make it succinct.

Two weeks back our 2006 FEH simply turned itself off, without any prior warning, with the warning chime, red triangle of death and "STOP VEHICLE SAFELY" all going off simultaneously as it shut itself off. Fortunately, it was a quiet evening, and we were on a residential cul-de-sac downhill pointed straight at the driveway and it rolled in and stopped. Turned it off, then tried to restart, but no - all warnings. Leaving it there, a quick little bit of research found TSB 08-15-1, which seemed to make the original Bosch MECS pump (auxiliary electric coolant pump for the hybrid system) the culprit. After a couple of hours it restarted without drama, and we moved it to the garage. The next day I drove it to one of the local Ford dealers, showed them the TSB, and inquired about a fix - out of warranty, of course, and without my request, they ended up running 'diagnostics' for $100 (I did not pay), and not only said the TSB work needed done - $358 for the Ford kit designed for this fix - but another $550 in labor for reprogramming due to the failure. I went to the parts window, ordered the part ($308 5M6Z-8C419-A for the kit or $159 9M6Z-8C419-A for the 'apparent' part alone) - and when it was in two days later I picked it up (after Parts declared the pumps identical, the pump only), and took it to an ASE-certified shop I use for everyday things - and this pump, which looks like an aquarium pump - has an inlet, an outlet, and a single electrical connection. WARNING: These pumps are NOT, in fact, identical! The 'kit' pump - the pump alone, a 9" corrugated plastic sleeve and a plastic pipe clip - is ONLY for the affected 2005-2008 FEH. The $159 pump fits ONLY the 2009-2012 FEH models - the electrical connector is different. The $159 pump did not fit, it was after dealer's hours, and my car was on the lift at the ASE shop - that meant a quick trip to Advance Auto Parts, which had the Dorman 902-001 'kit' they were willing to sell to me for $200 - and that was installed.

One day later, after using the FEH for a regular trip to Mom's house 50 miles away and back, and after sitting idle for a couple of hours, the family loaded up for a trip to the ballpark - and on an uphill expressway entrance ramp - BAM - identical no-warning complete shutdown! We coasted onto the shoulder, called to a relative to pickup the kids and mom, and I waited for AAA. Thinking it must be related to the MECS just installed, I had it taken back to the ASE shop where, the following Monday, they ran diagnostics and found nothing. Now - here's another tidbit - we'd had another Ford dealer recently work on the FEH after we had a dustup with a coyote about a month ago, suffered only bumper damage, plus their determination that the radiator for the hybrid cooling system looked to have been contacted by the pushed-in bumper and should be replaced, even though it showed no leaking at that point. Done in two days. So - thinking on that, I took it to that dealer, this time running on its own again, and made it safely without any shutdown.

Two days later the dealer said it had not been able to duplicate the failure - and they asked to keep it another day. Day 3 - failure! This time they followed the codes back, researched the VIN, and found another TSB 09-18-06, a follow-up to CUSTOMER SATISFACTION PROGRAM 07B48, that almost word-for-word described what had occurred with our FEH. I don't know if it will post well here, but it is easily found through a google search:

TSB 09-18-6 DTC P0A27—INSTRUMENTATION WARNINGS— REDUCED ENGINE POWER
Some 2005-2007 Escape Hybrid vehicles built from 10/13/2003 to 12/19/2006 and Mariner Hybrid vehicles built from 6/10/2005 to 10/11/2006 may have a red triangle illuminated on the cluster accompanied by an audible chime. In addition, the message center will indicate Stop Safely Now and the Powertrain Control Module will command the vehicle to shut down. Diagnostic trouble code P0A27 for Hybrid Battery Power Off Circuit will also be present.

This service procedure replaces Customer Satisfaction Program 07B48, which expired on 8/22/2009. Check the vehicle’s repair history to determine if a 14A303 service harness (7M6Z-14A303-B) has already been installed under 07B48. Do not install a second 14A303 service harness in series with a 14A303 that has been previously installed under the Customer Satisfaction Program.

Install a service harness in the High Voltage Traction Battery (HVTB), and reprogram the Battery Control Module (BCM), to eliminate the circuit that is susceptible to setting a false DTC.

Dealer Coding: Basic Part Number 10B759 Condition Code 42

So - the Ford dealer's service department, based on the codes and the TSB and the CSP, identified the faulty harness as the true culprit, and that this 2006 FEH never had the CSP 07B48 work done - at all. Unfortunately, that part is not readily available anywhere - and our FEH may be idle for up to a week while they search for it, either within Ford's chain, or through the supplier. I've alerted Ford Corporate and tried to enlist their help in this - to me, this is far more than the typical TSB - this is a known, original fault in the harness of a set run of FEH/MMH vehicles that FoMoCo already knew was out there, and that could, on its own and without any prior warning, simply shut the vehicle off completely. While the later TSB makes it appear to be the MECS pump - and ours was the original Bosch, so that might be a separate issue - what appears to be the true, much more compelling issue here is a known failure point in a bad OEM harness that FoMoCo already knows has the ability to completely disable the vehicle.

Thoughts? Ours will sit waiting for the part, and then we'll go from there. As of right now, the better half, whose ride this is, does not even want to get behind the wheel again, fixed or not.

 

I HEAR YOU!!! this has happened to me 4 times in past 3 weeks-- I went to ford dealer this am and asked them to look into all recalls--that one you wrote about expired--I bought car used--maybe previous owner did not follow up on this recall.. I called Ford in MI--no help there either even tho I told her about recall years ago and she said too late! I would not sell this car to anyone-- I refuse to drive on 4 lane highways..last year I put in a transmission so I hate to put more $$ into it!!!VERY FRUSTRATED!!! Can not understand why ford can not honer previous recall.

 

It certainly doesn't appear that Ford sees such events as opportunities to improve customer loyalty by demonstrating that they are competent and supportive of their customers.

The only time I've dealt with a Ford dealership so far regarding an issue with the FEH, I came away feeling they'd demonstrated why I should avoid dealing with Ford whenever possible.

 

That's church yo.

 

Watching CNN on the "whistle blower" from GM --I sent email to CNN about the ford escape hybrid problems with shutting off quickly--and Ford not honoring recall now because it ended in 2009.. even though this a huge safety issue for several of us.

 

It's vital that you report this to NHTSA/Safercar if you're in the US, or phone Transport Canada if you're in Canada.

 

Replacing the wiring harness was never a recall, it was a customer satisfaction campaign for those who brought the car to the dealer within the specified time frame.

When I replaced mine as a preventative measure several months ago, it was widely available...either $29 or $39...I forget which. Do a search. You can do this yourself (if you're so inclined and at your own risk) without removing the HVTB from the vehicle. I posted a bit of a write up with photos in another thread.

See post 351:

https://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/...9/index19.html

Wiring harness kit for $25 shipped:

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw...303*B&_sacat=0

 

It wasn't a recall.

 

The harness is inexpensive and can be installed with minimal tools. I don't know how important the reprogramming of the BCM is.

If I wanted to fight them, I would start with the 10 year battery warranty. The battery is the big aluminum box in the back of the car. Part of it failed and they are required, by law, to fix it for 10 years or 150,000 miles. Any hemming or hawing on their part is akin to their saying, "Yes, the engine is under warranty, but not the pistons". If they persist in denying that the BCM and the harness are parts of the battery, get them to tell you what,EXACTLY, is covered under the battery warranty. Whatever they answer, ask them why the battery fan (5M6Z-10B759-A) IS under warranty? (be sure to give them that number). If one part of the battery is covered, they all are.