I thought we didn't have traction control, or whatever it's called because of the complexity of intergrating it with Hybrids? But tonight I got to drive home shortly after the freezing rain started, luckily the roads only seemed wet, no sliding. So just before home is a short bridge, just to test things out, I was only going 25, I stomped on the brakes. It started to slide (and now I think about it, no grunting or pulsing was felt in the pedal like the mini van did when ABS kicked in) and an orange car with wavey tire trails started flashing on the dash. The minivan had this, Traction control I think it was, but it had an over ride, and I thought it was for accelerationg, not stopping.

So anyway what was the light for? and According to SCIIx I managed 20mpg on this 5mile trip! 10min of sitting tring to warm up to scrape the 1/4" of ice off the windows.

 

The anti-lock brake system engaged.

 

If I understand things correctly, the reason you didn't feel the pulsing in the pedal is because the pedal is just an electrical interface. You wouldn't get that hydraulic feedback. If I'm wrong someone who actually knows will be along to correct me lol.

 

You are mixing two terms and two different processes.

ABS is Anti Lock Brakes - All Ford Hybrids have this all the way back to '05.

Traction Control is what limits wheel spin when you try to accelerate on slippery surfaces.

ABS = related to brake pedal
Trac Control = related to gas pedal.

The 2005-2007 do NOT have traction control, and maybe 2008 don't either.

 

Yea, I'm confused. The Icon on the dash was the same image the Ford Minivan had. But on the Escape it flashed during braking, the MV had it during accelerating. So Ford is confusing me. I understaned which is which. I didn't have a change to spin out, wasn't that slick yet.

Decied to go to the source, here's from my manual:

Four-wheel anti-lock brake system (ABS)

Your vehicle is equipped with an Anti-lock Braking System (ABS). This
system helps you maintain steering control during emergency stops by
keeping the brakes from locking. The hydraulic brake system used for
regenerative braking is different from other vehicles. The noise from the
ABS pump motor and the brake pedal pulsation are much less than on
vehicles with conventional ABS. Noise and pedal pulsation during ABS
may not be noticed.
The sliding car symbol in the
instrument cluster will be
illuminated during ABS braking.
The hydraulic brake system used for regenerative braking will charge its
hydraulic system at the beginning of a trip and discharge the system at
the end of each trip. You may notice a pumping sound when you enter
the vehicle or a venting sound a few minutes after parking the vehicle.

Using ABS

When hard braking is required, apply continuous force on the brake
pedal; do not pump the brake pedal since this will reduce the
effectiveness of the ABS and will increase your vehicle’s stopping
distance. The ABS will be activated immediately, allowing you to retain
steering control during hard braking and on slippery surfaces. However,

the ABS does not decrease stopping distance.

(The immage didn't post, but is my car leaving tire tracks.)

No mention of Trac Control. Just Ford using the same icon for 2 opposite things. "ABS active/Traction controlactive (if equipped):"

 

Ok, looks like you've "got it" now.

Other cars may have one light-up icon for two actions.

The Escape Hybrid: one light-up icon for one action. ABS
-John

 

Yup, a perfect example of ***ume! One would think the same brand wouldn't mix the same icon for 2 different actions!

 

My 2008 FWD has traction control. It came on yesterday when I was stopped and was hitting the gas a little too hard when i was pulling out of my driveway. I could feel what I assume was the brakes coming on to keep things from sliding.

I think they have some of the features of traction control, they just couldn't get all the features to work so they couldnt call it traction control.

In any case, I was very pleased with the handling in the 1/2 of ice we got yesterday.

The motor shutting off to go into EV is great for these conditions.

Find an open icy parking lot and push on the gas a little, you will see the green light come on as you start sliding.

 

That's basically it. And since there is no pedal pulsing for driver feedback when the ABS is active, Ford has the ABS/TC (car weaving) dash light blink instead.

However, the Owners Manual should not also state for this dash light "Traction control active (if equipped)" if no hybrid is ever equipped with TC.

 

The Hybrid has to have traction control.

I just doesnt have the anti-rollover(a.k.a. driving to fast in a corner) protection?