I seem to recall discussion quite a while back -- and also I think this might have been discussed at Ford "fuel economy experience" in Dearborn -- that Ford had a help line *just* for the Hybrid. Members had mentioned it was a very good idea to know the number because if your local service center has any questions about diagnosing / servicing the car, the normal numbers don't know anything about the hybrid system and Ford wanted to make sure dealer ignorance didn't sour the hybrid experience.

Ok... yesterday my 2005 FEH broke down. The temperature icon light on the dash came on, and the driver message center read "High Motor Temperature". I pulled over and shut down the car, then called Ford.

Turns out the 800 number in ALL of the literature (I found the same number in at least 3 different places) is all the same and they don't know *anything* about hybrids. In fact, they pretty much only know how to arrange for towing to the nearest dealer and that's about it.

The dealer was qualified to work on hybrids (at least based on Ford's list of approved dealers for the hybrid), but they didn't know anything about the special number either.

The service garage told me there's no difference between the message "high motor temperature" and "high engine temperature" -- even though the owners manual lists both messages and indicates that there are two coolant systems, one for the combusion engine, another for the electric motor system. I felt that it was telling me that there was a problem with the electric motor, *not* the combusion engine. The dealer insisted that the message was generic and meant nothing of the sort.

Turns out the dealer was wrong. The message is indeed specific.

My car isn't back yet (should be ready in one or two more hours) -- but the coolant pump for the electric motor has failed. They can hear it run, but it is not pumping any coolant. They ordered a new pump yesterday and said they'd install it today.

BTW - the car has just barely over 13,000 miles and is now 18 months old. I had drive it about 75 miles before it overheated. Most of that was doing 55-65, but the last 10 miles or so were in a construction zone limited to 45mph -- and it was the end of that zone when the alert came on.

Oooh! Quick update... the dealer just rang and the car is now ready (let's hope it's really fixed).

However... if anyone recalls that number for Ford (that all of us hybrid owners should know before taking a car to the dealership), I sure would appreciate it. I did try using the search feature on the forums, but I didn't find it. It's probably a good thing to add to the owners FAQ.

Thanks & Regards,
Tim

 

Tim - When I first got my FEH and was on vacation - I called the general Ford 800 number and they gave me a 'Special' FEH number. Worked then and got good advice. Stored it in my cell phone and a couple of weeks ago I needed help with a minor question and called it - a recoded voice - From Ford - came on and said that the number I had call was no longer in service and proceded to give me the standard 800 number.
Anyway the old number was 866-637-2273

 

Tim -

Just to warn you.....this may not be the end of your troubles. I had the exact same thing happen to my FEH at 16,000 miles. They told me the pump was bad and replaced it .... but in less than 1000 miles, it did it again (and again....and again). Just be VERY CAREFUL.....because if you don't pull over quickly, the vehicle can just power itself down completely (even if you're on the highway doing 60!). My first time, I did drive it for quite a ways and it didn't shut down - but I was lucky - because every time after that it did - and without any notice (once in front of a city transit bus!). I did learn quite a bit after my experiences - and my guess is that your FEH isn't fixed - but you may just not know it for a few weeks. I was able to get Ford to send a Hybrid Engineer out to CT just to try to find out what was going on (with lots of work!). I do have some inside information that may or may not help you. I hope your experience is better than mine - but knowing what I know now I strongly advise you to be careful and be prepared for future incidents - because I'm pretty sure that your problem isn't fixed (unless they did more than replace the pump).

 

I believe that was the same number they gave out at the FEH Experience.

Though it's not advertised, at least at the moment, every FEH complaint does go to the development team. (As long as there are only a handfull, they'll keep doing that. When/if it becomes too much, they'll stop and only address the more severe/local people can't fix it problems. If you complain loud enough, you should be able to reach them.

 

Ouch! Well... I *hope* it's fixed for good. If not, my one and only advantage is that I live a grand total of two miles from Ford's headquarters here in Dearborn.

I'll give Ford a call on Monday and talk to them about it, but I'd interested in hearing what they utlimately found on your FEH.

 

https://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/...ead.php?t=6682


More likely your problem is rather different, as his seemed rather lemonish.

Should you get a new number to contact the hybrid specialists, please let me know.

 

I can CONFIRM that at least some Hybrid engineers do read these posts.
As recently as two weeks ago, I had a Ford Hybrid engineer comment to me in a personal email about something I had posted.

 

Not to mention at the FEH experience, the engineer that was assigned to me was a fan of the "you know you're a hybrid owner" thread.

 

I'm a SHE....but that's OK.

I really don't think the problem is different - I've been seeing many other people with the same problem popping up on different boards in the past few weeks. I think we'll see more and more in the next few months. I bought mine 8 months ago and had over 18,000 miles - so I did put on miles faster than most would.

The first time my "high motor temperature" warning came on, the mechanic followed the TSB directions exactly. I really thought at the time it was fixed. When it happened the second time, I was near a different dealership (where my DH bought his F350) so we left it there. They said that when the TSB was written, Ford didn't truly understand the problem yet. (Note: the following was told to me by the service managers at both dealers - so I am only mentioning what was said - I can't validate that it's true. They told me that a truckload of water pumps were spilled on a highway. Ford tested them and found no problems so they used them. Now they're seeing significant failures with the vehicles that had these pumps installed. I didn't believe this story - but couldn't understand why both dealerships would be telling me this.) This second service manager also told me that the first failure significantly weakened the fuse. This time the fuse was replaced. He also thought that maybe the other pump on that line was damaged when the first pump failed (or something like that) so he replaced both. Anyways - he did tell me that Ford couldn't give him straight answers and he wasn't sure that it was really fixed.

I truly believe my FEH was a lemon - because I had other issues like wheel bearings going at 3,000 miles. BUT - I have seen enough people complaining of this type of failure to know it's becomming more common and I have yet to hear of anyone have the problem completely corrected - so my guess is Ford doesn't know what's really causing this.

Anyways - back to my story.....after the various pumps and fuses were replaced a few times, I knew that something was still wrong. (One indicator was that the battery fan was coming on more than it used to) The last time my FEH shut down (which was when my DH was picking up his HCH at the dealer), I had a data recorder attached which recorded everything. This time, it was a catastrophic failure of the computer. (It may have been that all along.....but I have no way to know since the data recorder wasn't attached previously). The service manager showed me where the computer had been (he had already shipped it out to the Ford Engineers). He made comments about what a poor design and that he couldn't believe Ford put it where they did. (In case you haven't seen it - if you open the hood, it's straight ahead in the center right under the wipers). He reached his hand up in the bay where it was located and his hand came up behind the windshield wipers. He said normally, the computers are a little more "hidden" and protected than this. I didn't get to see the computer and I can only assume it's a sealed unit - but he said mine was a mess and it had obvious water damage (he didn't say specifically what he saw).

My point isn't to bash Ford or say anything bad about the FEH. I just want you to be aware that the problem most likely isn't fixed and that you *could* end up in a very dangerous situation in the future. Just be sure to pull over as fast as possible if you get that warning again - because when the FEH shuts itself down - it could leave you in a deadly situation. I hope yours really is fixed - because it gets rather annoying having it break down over and over again.

 

I'm coming in late on this discussion, but do you still have the "lemon" Ford Escape Hybrid you're referring to, or do you no longer have it?

What other forums have you read about this problem on? I'd like to read the threads, and I'm on the hybrid Ford Escape forum, cleanmpg.com and here, and I occasionally scan the Edmunds.com forums.

Thanks, and best of luck, whatever situation you're now in with or without your FEH.