38,000 miles is way too soon for new brakes. I have an old car that sits outside for months at a time. The rotors rust so bad that they make grinding noises for about 20 miles. Then they burnish in a deep blue.

68,000 miles on the hooptie.

I'm driving a 2008 Yukon hybrid mostly now. 113,000 miles and the rotors and pads are perfect. About 70% pad left.

The braking in Neutral is a good idea to shut off Re-Gen braking. However, almost all hybrids will turn off Re-Gen on bumps. Stability control is more important than a few joules of energy.

Also, Re-Gen rolls out at lower speeds < 7 mph and friction blends in to finish most stops.

If you don't believe this get out and touch the rotor.

 

Reviews that I read when considering buying an FEH indicated a concern that the stopping distance on the hybrid Escape was longer than it should be and longer than a non hybrid Escape and suggested that disk brakes are needed on the rear. They attributed it to the increased weight of the battery pack.

(I couldn't find an FEH at a price that I liked and a month ago ended getting an '09 TCH with very low miles on it instead. I'd still like an Escape and preferably a 4WD one to pull a very steep dirt, granite gravel and rocky hill from a campground to our cabin in the Sierra that is definitely a 4WD hill part of an early 1900s mountain road. I was impressed that the Forest Service District Ranger visited us a couple of summers ago and drove an FEH 4WD up the hill and when I asked him about it he said they were buying them in his area from now on and they were working out very well.)

 

My FEH has 72K on it with the original brake pads. Just took a wheel off to replace pads and have 6.5 - 7MM of pad left.