Has anyone else experienced this?

Our 2005 Ford Escape Hybrid is at the dealer for the 2nd time in a few months for the same problem which they can't recreate: when exiting the front passenger door, you get a really strong electric shock. Not a minor static shock, but a real bona fide open current running through your body thing.

Both times it has happened, our daughter felt the electrical current go up her arm to her elbow and felt the aftereffects for several minutes thereafter. Both times, she was closing the passenger door (so she was outside the vehicle) and only touching the door for a moment to close it, so luckily she didn't maintain contact for a long time or she could have been really burned.

After we brought the car in the first time and they couldn't replicate the situation, we took the car back. But after this last incident, we're leaving the car there until they figure it out.

 

Hmm. This seems odd. There are really only two electrical power systems on the FEH, the 12 volt, and the HV. 12v is finger safe, and actually up to 42v is considered finger safe, so it's hard to imagine any stray 12v power lines causing any actual shocks.

So then there's the HV power, but that disconnects as soon as you turn the key off. So, it would be relevant if you had your key on still both times. Also, for this to shock you, you would have to somehow be touching both sides of the circuit. It is very unlikely that these exist wherever your daughter touched the car since if they did it would probably mean a direct short on the battery, and that system would be unable to charge/discharge normally.

That leaves us with static. I'm not trying to be callous or condescending, but are you sure it wasn't static? I've been static shocked quite strongly when closing my door. Is it possible your daughter just doesn't know what is normal?

So, a couple of questions. Was it raining? Was the key off?

No matter what I hope this is resolved to your satisfaction.

 

I have been getting small static shocks when exiting the vehicle and touching the door metal when closing it.

I don't remember it happening when it was new (just over a year ago), and only noticed it over the winter. I figured it was static electricity from wearing sweaters and extra layers during the winter. However, today it was warmer and I had no sweater or layers, just jeans and a short sleeved shirt... same shock.

But I've never had anything as severe as you've described.

 

Thanks for your response and your follow-up questions. The answers to your questions are: 1) It was not raining; 2) She does know the difference between a static shock and being electrocuted; 3) The key was on.

 

Salsbr is 100% correct. There's no possible way that a short in the 12 volt system would produce the condition you're describing. You can put one finger directly on the positive terminal of the 12 volt battery and the other directly on the negative terminal and you'd never feel a thing. Although the availble amperage is great, the voltage is too low to allow you to feel the current.


Then there's the 300 volt (and very high amperage) system which I asume you're implying is faulty. Along with electronic safeguards contained within the system as well as physical ones (fuses, interlocks, etc) the chance of it being the source of the condition you're describing are slim to none:

1) If there was a short in the system that somehow bypassed the safeguards, you'd likely see A LOT of sparks and smoke with a 300 volt short!

2) If your daughter came in contact with the 300 volt (and very high amperage system) at best she'd be in the hospital right now. (By the way, just exactly HOW does she know the difference between a static shock and being electrocuted?)

3) Why is your daughter the only one being "electrocuted"? I wouldn't think a vehicle could be so selective toward only one person...unless of course it was named "Christine".


Static shocks in vehicles are nothing new. Do a quick search in Google (or elsewhere) and you'll find it's been around for years even in non-Hybrid vehicles:
http://www.cartalk.com/content/colum...vember/11.html

http://www.thecarconnection.com/Enth...209.A1530.html

http://www.thecarconnection.com/Enth...209.A1530.html


Unfortunately, whenever new technology that people don't thoroughly understand is even remotely in the picture, it's usually the first thing to get blamed for problems it can't possibly be responsible for.

Your daughter experienced static electricity. Plain and simple.

 

Static guard your seats. Seriously. I had the same problem where passengers were getting a nasty shock when trying to close their doors... So, I started spraying static guard on the seats. Problem solved (for me, anyway). As always, your mileage may very. No warranty expressed or implied. :-)

 

Appreciate the in-depth responses.

Believe me, I've done a lot of Googling and web-surfing searching for answers because we really love the car. We love the fuel efficiency. And, ironically, we also bought it for safety. So, we're not bad-talking the car or the technology. We just want what's safe for our family, and, in particular, a very smart, high-honors, high school student. Our daughter knows well enough what a static shock feels like. She has never had this kind of shock in any of our other vehicles (BMW X-5 and Volvo S-40). She described what she felt - real pain going up to her elbow - and persistent pain for ten minutes thereafter - to a cardiologist who confirmed it was more than static shock. A current traveled up to her elbow until she broke contact with the vehicle.

The reason that our daughter is the only one to get shocked in the vehicle is that she's the only one who sits in the passenger seat. Our son is too young to sit up front. It is used for local driving only and most of the time my wife is the only passenger in the car.

Bottom line: This is about concerns for my family's safety and not a joke (although I do appreciate the Christine reference). We haven't driven the car for months because Ford has not been able to tell us this won't happen again. If you had kids (and maybe you do) would you submit your kids to a possible safety hazard? We did it twice and said no more. We don't want to find out what would happen the third time.

 

pedropromo60,

More food for thought. The human body model is about 1500 Ohms resistance which limits the discharge rate of a large charged object (AKA vehicle). Any object that is isolated from earth by for example tires can easily build up a large static charge under the right conditions. The resistance of the body can make a discharge feel like and affect the body as though a continuous currrent was flowing even though it was a discharge limited by the impedance of a body and the stored charge. Believe me, I've been hit by 350Vdc with one hand in my pocket (this prevents the current from going through the heart and causing defib) and it put me out of comimssion for several minutes ...won't do that again! You may want to consider a ground strap that connects to the vehicle and drops to the ground when stopped to discharge the vehicle as some locals are more prone to static charge build up.

It is very very remote that there was a complete circuit between the HV battery, earth ground and the vehicle and your Daughter, however there is a very remote possibility that something could be going wrong that could cause this to happen so make sure due diligence is done by Ford engineering.

Sincerely, Don

 

A couple of questions.

What kind of seat coverings do the three vehicle you mentioned have, (leather/cloth)?

Exactly how does the cardiologist know what kind of shock your daughter received?

One thing to think about. Several years ago Honda fitted Accords (non Hybrids of course) with tires of high silica/low black carbon content for low rolling resistance. The unexpected effect was a higher than normal amount of static charge on the vehicle after driving at highway speeds because the lower carbon content did not allow the buildup to dissipate as well as conventional tires. Guess who noticed the difference first?

Toll booth attendants!!!

When the owner would stop to pay the toll and they handed the money to the attendant the attendant would get zapped with noticeably greater force than other vehicles. I guess this happens a lot to attendants.

Does anyone know if the Escape Hybrid tires are similar?

 

Thank you everyone for your replies. What we really want is for the problem to be fixed so we can drive the car and know our family will be safe. Ford has not been very responsive to the problem, so we appreciate your thoughts. As mentioned before, the car has been at Ford service for over 4 months with no movement to correct the problem.

The answer to the seat cover question is that all three cars have leather seats. As far as the cardiologist. I couldn't tell you how he knows because I don't have the knowledge he does, but he is certain enough to offer to write us a letter to the fact that what she experienced was not a case of static shock.