My 2006 Ford Escape Hybrid has experienced a 'catastrophic engine failure' @ 65,000 miles.

The good news? No one was hurt when the engine failed @ 70 MPH on the highway. I was able to safely stop the vehicle without injury or crash.

The not-so-good news? The repair is $6,500 for installation of a remanufactured engine. Ford will NOT cover the repair costs.

I have maintained the vehicle very well (to the point of a complete oil/filter change every 3,000 miles). I do not understand a complete engine failure at only 65,000 miles.

Has anyone else experienced engine issues with their Escape Hybrid? If so, please post or forward - I need anecdotal stories in my discussions with Ford in my attempt to convince Ford to fund the repair bill.

 

Do you have a code reader such as the scanguage II unit to read possible "codes"? This is the first I have heard of an engine failure in this vehicle. What exactly failed?

 

So what failed? Loss of oil? Piston crown crush? Connecting rod failure?

…And what did Ford cite as their reason for not covering the failure?

 

From what I could find on Edmunds, the 2006 FEH had the following warranties:

Basic: 3 yr. / 36,000 mi.
Drivetrain: 3 yr. / 36,000 mi.
Hybrid Component: 8 yr. / 100,000 mi.
Roadside: 3 yr. / 36,000 mi.
Rust: 5 yr. / Unlimited mi


Since you're past the drivetrain portion's 36,000 mile warranty coverage and you didn't mention purchasing an extended Ford warranty, I don't see why Ford would cover this failure. It's sad that it happened but mechanical failures do occur and Ford only agreed to cover the ICE for 3yr or 36,000mi (whichever comes first) under the purchase agreement.

You are only the second owner I've read of with a ICE failure and the other one was due to operator error (ran without oil).

 

Despite what “mypart” posted you should ask for a definitive response from Ford.
A truly catastrophic failure at this mileage, absent owner abuse, is a bad sign for Ford.

Ask them, clearly, concisely, and directly. Don’t be bashful.

 

My post was to assist in setting a realistic expectations for the OP.

There should be NO expectation that Ford replace the ICE free of charge after the stated warranty has long expired. Ford assumed the failure risk for the first 36,000 miles. It is up to the owner to bear the remaining risk (or mitigate that risk by extending the warranty with Ford, up to 100,000 miles, or some other third party, up to possibly unlimited mileage).

That said, in no way am I suggesting that the OP shouldn't question Ford and get answers as to what might have happened. I would also encourage researching any avenues wherein Ford may have known this specific failure might occur and did nothing to address it.

There's NO way a single reported ICE failure over the more than 60,000 FEH out there can be construed as a "bad sign for Ford". If there were a bad design flaw or parts defect specific to the FEH ICE, there would be much more than one reported incident on this board, especially since this board is dedicated to and extremely sensitive to any and all things good and bad within the FEH.

 

I appreciate your opinion…

Now back to the issue at hand… should dlucarreli approach Ford for some assistance?

Well, yeah, depending on the failure. So lets let him tell us just what he means by
“catastrophic” failure, then maybe we can get on with doing something productive and
figuring out whether there just might be a basis in there somewhere.

 

I was traveling on the highway @ 65-70 mph, when I started hearing a whine - similar to what a failing belt sounds like. I disengaged the cruise control, the sound diminished, then all warning lights on the instrument panel lit up: the red triangle "Alert", a "Stop Safely NOW" on the instrument panel, and all yellow alert icons. Tachometer went to zero. Temperature was normal.

I coasted to a stop, shut the vehicle off, waited a minute or two, and attempted to start the engine. The engine sounded like you were stirring a wooden box of rocks.

The vehicle was towed to a hybrid-certified Ford dealer. The dealer said that a "catastrophic engine event" occurred, and surmised that something internal to the engine broke off and ruined the engine. "The only option is to replace the engine". They installed a remanufactured engine - repair bill = $6,500.

I have maintained this vehicle over and above the Ford recommended maintenance schedule. (e.g. oil changes every 3,000 miles) The engine SHOULD NOT FAIL @ 65,000 miles. Ford is sticking to their "The extended warranty expired @ 60,000 miles; Too bad" story.

When I purchased the vehicle in July 2006, Ford extended the powertrain warranty to 5 years / 60,000 miles for all remaining 2006 model year Escape Hybrids, to match the powertrain warranty on the early 2007 model year Escape Hybrids. I drive 20,000 miles per year - 70% highway, 65 mph, cruise control.

It is interesting to me that:
* The remanufactured engine has a better warranty than the original (3 years / 100,000 miles).
* The dealer secured an engine (on a low production vehicle with a unique engine) in only three days.
* The Escape "Atkinson style" engine - available ONLY on the Escape Hybrid and unique to this vehicle - is not considered part of the hybrid technology and not covered by the warranty extensions on the transaxle, electric motor or battery.

 

It would be beneficial to know the root cause of the failure. Then you may be able to connect the cause to a "workmanship" issue or a "design flaw"(unlikely unless the 'event' has been seen in other motors). That would be the ammunition that would help you approach Ford. Is it the Corp. Customer Care folks that you have contacted? Or are you just getting the word of the Dealer Service Dept. All consideration is eventually approved by the Corp. folks.

Unless they gave you credit ($) for the "core" of the old engine, you still own it and it is yours to take and have investigated - or at least threaten to have such done. I would at least make it sound like you are going to pursue that angle.

Was the replacement engine "remanufactured" ('used') or was it new? I believe the basics of the Mazda designed 2.3L engine were (are) used in a lot of Ford/Mazda vehicles. Not a lot of changes were needed to make it fire on the Atkinson cycle. And not much argument that the engine mechanicals are hybrid-specific.

Good luck. Register you situation with the Ford Corp folks if you haven't already.

 

"...not a lot of changes.."

Mill the heads to get a 13:1 static compression ratio and use a different intake cam shaft/profile so the intake valve remains open for a portion of the compression stroke thereby reducing the effective CR to 10:1.

Sounds as if the timing belt/chain failed. $6500 should have been a new engine IMMHO.