I'm sorry you are having problems, but I haven't seen a whole lot of complaints on this issue, here or elsewhere. I think your system may have some kind of problem that is not necessarily related to a design error.

 

Spot on Steve! Problems could be associated with the driver's habits or actions. A computer reaction to driver's reactions can cause glitches to the program. A complete reset by changing the part according to the workshop manual may solve the problem when a new part is not required. I've seen this with my battery blend door which continues to work with 71,000 miles.

The other day I had a brake system failure and a Stop Safely Now in my driveway. I had started my '05 FEH with my foot on the brake and shut the engine Off when I seen my wife was going to be another few minutes more before getting in the FEH. When I restarted the FEH I got all the warnings and the engine shut down. Tried restarting and the FEH and it wouldn't restart right away. Turned the key Off and took my foot Off the brake pedal and waited 10 seconds. The problem reset and I started my '05 with no warnings and it's been a week with no more problems. The thing I think cleared the problem was I recalibrated the brake pedal in Park before moving the vehicle after starting the engine.

I think the computer glitch was from me keeping my foot on the brake pedal during a start and Key shutdown and then a restart with my foot still on the brake pedal.

GaryG

 

Well, Ford seems to disagree and is replacing my defective Master Cylinder IAW TSB 05-8-5. The Ford Tech at my dealership said Ford also told him the next step after this (if replacing the master cylinder alone does not fix the problem) is to replace the HCU..which is in line with the original poster of this thread and some others. Is this a widespread problem? No. Is this a serious problem. YES. Can it be a potential safety issue? Hell, yes.

The fact that Ford has seen this in ENOUGH FEH's to issue a TSB tells me enough. This is not an unknown problem...Ford has known this can happen in pre 2/15/05 FEHs since Aug 2005!!

And it's not cheap to fix either...$1,200 for the master cylinder, $4,500 for the HCU. Luckily, I have extended insurance that will cover all/most of it(looks like it right now).

As far as calibration...the first dealer "recalibrated" everything after the 1st failure and the brakes worked for 700 miles before they failed again.

Nate

 

You just confirmed the tech is changing parts, not solving the problem that may have caused it "if replacing the master cylinder alone does not fix the problem". My '05 FEH was built 1/5/05 so if I have the problem I'll post it.

Going 700 miles after a recal, you may have created another computer glitch out of habit. Look, my blend door and my coolant pump still works because of computer glitches that go away. If I get an over heat or other problems, I'll fix it myself in a minute. The SGII is just another tool that I use to confirm a real problem but I use common sense along with it. You guys can keep paying the stealerships to rip you off, but I'm going to confirm problems before I pay. The big battery fan problem should be an example of how the dealer wants to handle your problems. Look at my answers to that BS.

GaryG

 

Ken,

Thanks for sharing your experience here. Problem is, you are sharing on a FEH ENTHUSIAST'S Forum.

To the people that post here, the FEH is the best vehicle on the planet and can't possibly have any type of failure.

Regardless of the problem(s) you are having; on this site, they are YOUR fault, a result of something YOU did, or NOT happening at all.

Good luck with your FEH. Consider your purchase a learning experience; both with a Ford Motor Company, and the vehicles they make.

Sean (yes, to those on this site I am nothing but a disgruntled, unhappy FEH owner too and none of the problems I've had are Ford's poor design, quality, or fault)

 

Thumbs Up!

 

Sir:
I call them as I see them. I do not ignore problems, but I have had none except the ones I have posted here on the site. Based on MY experience, not any web site, I will be buying more Ford vehicles. But if there were issues, I would report them so others would know.

Not enthusiast, realist.

Anyone can get a bad unit from any car company. I share my overall experience from various websites.

FWIW, I purchased the 7 year, 100K warranty. I don't trust all the electronics that have to be used in any modern vehicle, and even more so for a hybrid.

 

With all due respect Steve, the post was in general and not aimed at you or anyone else specifically.

Being the realist that you are claiming, go back and read all the replies in this post, then tell me you disagree with what I wrote. You'll find that my post applies to many threads on here that don't fit the enthusiasts view.

We can agree to disagree, it wasn't my intention to strike a nerve.

The true realist sees it for what it really is.

Sean

 

Reviewed the posts again. This indicates that there was an early problem with the braking system, covered by the TSB. I'm still not sure why that means the posts on this site should be suspect as slanted, which is what your post seemed to indicate... Although every car site has it's portion of people who are proponents rather than neutral on the vehicle being discussed.

 

Hello!

Could you, please, help me in my problem.

I'm owner of the o8'Ford Escape Hybrid.
During the Brake Fluid Replacement without Power Bleeder, I've encountered the following problem:

According to manual, scan tool was connected and corresponding service routine "Brake Fluid replacement without power bleeder" was selected.

For first 3of 4 bleeder screws following instructions screens were provided:

1) Attach fluid container, open the bleeder screw, press tick to continue.
2) Fully press and release the brake pedal 10 times, press tick to abort.

During the each press\release step system increased counter from 0 to 10.
After the 10th step it provided instruction to close the current bleeder screw and proceed to the next.

On the last (left front) bleeder screw system proposed to
"Fully press and release the brake pedal 30 times"

But after the 10th press\release counter stopped.
Each following pedal press from 11 to 30 didn't increase the counter. Also brake pedal vibrated during the each press from 11 to 30 (like ABS).
Even after 30 presses, scan tool didn't provide any new information.
It seems it hung after 10 steps.

After that System cannot complete initialization with Error C1525.

I've tried to do this again 4 times - each time system proposed to do 30 presses for the last screw and stopped on the 10th press.

Now, my Escape hybrid has no brakes. I live in Eastern Europe, there is no special support for USA cars near me.

If you earned this problem, or know how to resolve it - please, help me.

Best regards.
Andrey from Ukraine.