Just bought '08 FEH - Already got Stop Safely Now
 

OK,

So I just bought a 2008 Escape Hybrid with 80,000 miles on it. I was driving it earlier today (ambient of 80F) and there were several times when I was coming to a stop, and it felt like the regen braking just went away completely - I had to press down on the pedal significantly more in order to get the vehicle to stop. No warning lights or wrench lights present. Seemed kinda dangerous.

Later on in the day, the wrench light came on, but was driving fine.

The next key cycle, the wrench light was gone.

So, in order to force the issue, I drove the vehicle hard. Lots of hard accels and decels. This resulted in the STOP SAFELY NOW, and a dead car. Also had the Red triangle warning on the dash. 2 mins later, was able to start the car and drive home fine.

Doing some research on the web turned up this:
http://blog.yagelski.com/2011/02/for...ric-motor.html

So, I turned on the A/C with the car parked to ensure the engine was running, and got under the vehicle to check the MECS pump.

I can feel some vibration in the pump, and when I remove the electrical connector from the pump, the vibration goes away. Seems like the pump may be working just fine. The TSB states that you should check the overflow bottle for flow. There is flow in the overflow bottle, but really not much at all. I'm not sure how much is normal though. Maybe the pump is on it's death bed, or maybe it's just fine.

Any ideas for me?

I'm not real happy with my purchase right now.

Re: Just bought '08 FEH - Already got Stop Safely Now
 

Maybe repeat the MECS check with the engine off so you can hear the pump. MECS pump should go on with the ignition, not related to engine running.

Re: Just bought '08 FEH - Already got Stop Safely Now
 

I'll check the pump without the engine on. Also forgot to mention that I changed the battery cooling air filter prior to getting the Stop Safely Now, which obviously didn't help.

I'll try and hookup a Matco scan tool and check for codes when I'm at work today.

Re: Just bought '08 FEH - Already got Stop Safely Now
 

A little ***** session from me as well:

I understand the need to shut down the vehicle if the temperature gets too hot. It's just a protection issue - trying to save all the expensive hybrid components.

BUT - I don't understand why Ford couldn't provide some sort of warning first - there is absolutlely no warning - just a dead car. You can't even safely navigate to the side of the road. Ridiculous.

They need to have two temperature thresholds - a lower limit to issue a warning to the driver that the temps are getting too high, then a higher limit which causes the shutdown. Easy implementation, and much safer. The driver could then at least have time to pull over to the side of the road safely. What the hell were they thinking?

They removed the engine temperature gauge that a normal vehicle has - they should replace it with an electronics temperature gauge. It could be an aggregate of battery temp and motor/generator temp.

Re: Just bought '08 FEH - Already got Stop Safely Now
 

Yea, I agree. I was going to install an aftermarket temperature gauge, but ended up popping for a ScanGage. It is nice to be able to monitor multiple functions.

Re: Just bought '08 FEH - Already got Stop Safely Now
 

I was actually monitoring the MeT temperature on a ScanGauge when my MECS pump failed on the highway at 55mph. Overheating and shutdown occurred so quickly that I got dash lights before I observed the overtemp on the SG. I estimate it took less than 60 sec from normal temperature to over temperature shutdown. I don't think any other temperature gauges or warnings would have helped in that situation.