So my daughter called me from college today with an issue with her 2006 Ford Escape Hybrid (147K miles). She drove back to the campus and parked, no issues. She went out an hour or so later, the Escape started, but she immediately (hadn't pulled out of the parking spot) got a "Stop Safely Now" warning, the red triangle "!", and check engine light. She also said that when she puts it into drive or reverse the vehicle won't move. She stopped and started the engine a couple times with no change in the symptoms.

Sorry, but that is all I have to go for now. I am going to the school on Friday. I will be Googling for possible causes all day tomorrow. Any advice you can provide on where to start the troubleshooting or possible causes (and ways to confirm or exclude them) would be appreciated.

I have an Autolink AL519 scanner which I will be taking with me, along with basic shade tree mechanic tools. Hopefully there are some DTCs that point to something, but I won't know until I get there.

Thanks in advance for your assistance.

Dave

 

Other than the odd MECS pumps failing, there really hasn't been too issues with the Escape Hybrids of that era that I'm aware of. First step is to retrieve DTCs and then address accordingly.

 

So the issue seemed to resolve itself. No recurrence since then. I checked for DTCs, there were none. I guess I'll have to wait to see if it happens again.

 

This was a high failure rate part and Ford issued a recall for it. Its the electric water pump for the hybrid cooling system.

 

Yes, I replaced a few of them. But other than that, there really hasn't been any issues with the hybrids that I've seen, over the years.

 

Same as OP but mine keeps on acting up. I thought it was a theft issue, but as I read the owners manual it done seem so.

 

So it happened again today. She had been driving for about an hour at highway speeds on a hot (90+) summer day. She got the Stop Safely Now message and . As she got into the right lane, the RPM went to 0 and started losing power and slowing. She was able to coast to a stop on the shoulder. She DID NOT have the Check Engine light or the "Wrench" symbol at anytime.
After she was stopped, she tried to start the engine a couple times. Each time the gas engine would start up, RPM would come up to about 1K for a second or two, then it would shut down.
After it sat for about an hour, while waiting for the tow truck, she tried again and it started up and stayed running. The Stop Safely Now message and were gone. She drove it a short distance (just a few yards) and everything seemed fine. She wasn't comfortable driving the hour and half to my house, so she waited for the tow truck and had them bring it to my house on the rollback. The tow truck driver was able to drive onto and off the rollback.

After it was dropped off, I plugged in my code reader. There were no indications of anything wrong, no DTCs, no Stop Safely Now message, no lights on the dash at all. I let it run for a bit (10 minutes or so) with no issues. I wonder if it could be something related to the summer heat? Let it sit to cool off and it good to go. Could something be overheating?

Not seeing anything obviously wrong, and knowing the intermittant nature of this issue, my daughter felt comfortable driving it to her home. She was able to make it home (hour+ drive) without issue.
I know this is going to happen again at some point. I would really like to figure what is causing this, but I don't want to just throw parts at it. Thanks in advance for any issue you can provide.

Vehicle: 2006 Ford Escape Hybrid

 

I would make sure there was a code reader in the vehicle and that your daughter knew how to use it.

Good luck!

 

Good morning. This issue has reappeared. Basically same situation, hot day (90+ degrees), stuck in traffic, 30 minutes into drive) and the FEH gave the Stop Safely Now warning and the ICE shut off.

I had it towed home, hooked up FORSCAN, and got the following codes:

(OK) [18:42:21.456] Vehicle: Ford Escape/Mercury Mariner Hybrid HEV / ATKINSON 4V 2.3L 2006 ( 2006 MY ), VIN: 1FM*********06468
(OK) [18:42:22.142] Found module: TCM - Transmission Control Module
(WARN) [18:42:22.185] DTCs in TCM: P0562-FF, P0A0A-FF
(OK) [18:42:22.187] Found module: PCM - Powertrain Control Module
(WARN) [18:42:22.302] DTCs in PCM: P0685-FF, P1A10-FF, P1A13-FF, P2105-FF, U0101-FF, U0129-FF
(OK) [18:42:22.610] Found module: ABS - Antilock braking system
(WARN) [18:42:22.696] DTCs in ABS: C1524-A0, B1318-A0
(OK) [18:42:22.698] Found module: BCM - Battery Control Module
(WARN) [18:42:22.756] DTCs in BCM: P0AC0-20, P0A8D-20, P0A0A-20, P0A27-20, P0A7E-20, P0A81-20, P0A96-20
(OK) [18:42:22.776] Found module: IC - Instrument Cluster
(WARN) [18:42:22.817] DTCs in IC: B1318-20
(OK) [18:42:22.818] Found module: RCM - Restraint Control Module
(WARN) [18:42:23.270] DTCs in RCM: B1318
(OK) [18:42:23.340] Found module: GEM - Generic Electronic Module
(WARN) [18:42:23.399] DTCs in GEM: B1342-60, B2872-20, B106E-20

I also ran a couple of the FORSCAN self tests and got addtional codes:
(OK) [18:52:48.462] On Demand Self-Test has been started
(WARN) [18:53:08.844] Test completed, found DTCs: P0A81, P0A96, P0A81, P0A96

(OK) [18:54:41.946] On Demand Self-Test has been started
(WARN) [18:54:49.073] Test completed, found DTCs: B1314, C1769

(OK) [10:03:17.749] Key On Engine Off On Demand Self-Test has been started
(WARN) [10:03:31.391] Test completed, found DTCs: P2521, P2524

There's so many codes I'm not sure where to start. I'm not sure which codes indicate the casue, which are additional symptoms, and which are unrelated (but still need to be taken care off).
I need to keep the repair expense within reason, the FEH is only work about $2,500 when its running.

For DTCs P0A81 & P0A96, TSB 16-0118 says, "replace both high voltage traction battery (HVTB) cooling fans." It doesn't mention any other troubleshooting, just replace the HVTB cooling fans. From what I have found, failed cooling fans won't cause the SSN issue; though they will stop the FEH from going into hybrid mode (it almost never goes into hybrid mode). Seems pretty straight forward to replace the cooling fans. I just don't know if that will fix this issue (needs to be done, but I would like to fix the SSN issue first.). Cooling Fan replacement video:
For DTCs P2521, P2524, the 2006 Ford Escape Hybrid 2006 ENGINE PERFORMANCE Pinpoint Tests - Escape Hybrid & Mariner Hybrid says,
KM20 - CHECK THE A/CFDS CIRCUIT FOR A SHORT TO POWER IN THE HARNESS
- PCM connector disconnected. - Key ON, engine OFF.
- Measure the voltage between: (+) PCM Connector, Harness Side A/CFDS - Pin B3 and (-) Ground
- Is the voltage less than 1 V? YES: INSTALL a new PCM. NO: REPAIR the short circuit to PWR.
Where is A/CFDS - Pin B3?

I will continue Googling the other codes and see what else I can find. The Hanes manual is useless for Hybrids. Thanks in advance for your assistance and information. This site has always been a great resource!

Vehicle info: 2006 Ford Escape Hybrid HEV / 4V 2.3L