2006 Ford Escape Hybrid engine problems

“The idler pulley on the subject vehicle has failed numerous times, with the mounting bolt shearing at the connection to the timing cover. Upon failure of the pulley the serpentine belt will either fail or become dislodged; when this occurs the steering, alternator, and water pump all stop operating. The vehicle becomes difficult to handle due to the loss of power steering, and is subject to shutting off due to the lack of an alternator and water pump. This particular issue has happened to me on four separate occasions in the last two years; the first time occurred while operating in traffic; the subsequent occasions were noted during startup and were detected before driving. New replacement pulleys will only last approximately 4000-5000 miles before they fail. The power steering pump and air conditioning compressor have been replaced due to concerns that they could be placing extra strain on the serpentine belt, however the issue has occurred even after replacing these components. Internet research notes that this is a common problem of the 2.3L engine in the Escape and other Ford/Mercury models of the same time frame. Nobody has reported a permanent solution;…”

“The contact owns a 2006 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while pulling into the driveway, the check engine warning light illuminated and there was smoke coming from under the hood. The contact parked the vehicle and noticed that the smoke had increased. The contact stated that as he exited the vehicle, the smoke became darker. The contact stated that upon looking through the passenger's side wheel well, he saw flames under the engine compartment. The contact then walked away from the vehicle. The contact stated that the entire front end of the vehicle and dash had significantly burned and melted. The contact was able to extinguish the fire with the assistance of the fire department. A fire department report was filed. There was no injury sustained. The vehicle remained at the residence. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 164,000.”

“On Sunday May/23/2021 my car shut off suddenly with out warning after 3m of driving, the wrench orange lite came on, i was able to pull aside on the curb, turned off the car and waited a few minutes, i was able to turn the car back on, and the car restarted with out problem but the incident was there. when i got home i start looking on line for an explanation of what went wrong and i encounter that the 2006 Ford scape hybrid has been recall for stalling problems, somehow my car is not part of the recall according with the VIN number, but my car is a 2006 Ford Scape Hybrid, i don't understand why my car its not part of the recall and i hope that it did not fall under the cracks and i hope more that my car will not get stall in the freeway and cause an accident. please let me know if any additional information is need it”

“AFTER ABOUT 2 YEARS, 2008, CAR WAS DRAGGING TOOK IT TO FORD, WAS TOLD NOTHING WAS WRONG, IT WAS SOME TIME LATER, 2016 /2017 THAT THE TRANSMISSION WENT OUT, HAD IT REPLACED, LESS THAN 1 YEAR IT WENT OUT AGAIN, WHICH FORD REPLACED, WHEN THE SERVICE PERSON ASKED WHO DID IT, HE JUST ROLLED HIS EYES. 3 YEARS AND 2 MONTHS LATER, MORE TRANSMISSION PROBLEM, NOW THEYARE TELING IT THE PTU UNIT WHICH IS CAUSING OIL TO LEAK THROUGH THE ENGINE AND NOW THEY WANT 5,000.00 TO REPLACE IT. A TRANSMISSION SHOP WAS QUESTION AND THEY SAID THAT YEAR HAD LOTS OF ISSUE WITH THE TRANSMISSIONS AND WHEN FORD REPLACED THE TRANSMISSION THE PTRU UNIT WAS PUT IN WRONG, THAT THEY WERE CONSTANTLY FIXING IT, ALSO THAT THE HILLTOP FORD SERVICE DEPARTMENT IS THE WORSE ANYONE COULD GO TO, ALSO WHEN I TOOK MY CARE TO FORD, THE ENGINE LIGHT WAS NOT ON, AND WHEN I PICKED IT UP AND TOLD WHAT WAS WRONG, THEY HAD ON IT THE I WANTED TO FIND OUT WHY MY ENGINE WAS, I DID NOT, IT WAS NOT ON, I WAS TOLD THAT HE HAD TO PUT THAT OR THE CHARGES WOULD BE MORE, I WAS ALREADY BEING CHANGED OVER $200 WHEN I WAS NEVER TOLD ABOUT THE CHARGE IN THE FIRST PLACE.”

“THE VEHICLE SHUTS OFF WHILE DRIVING AND IDLE.AFTER WARMED UP.THE RED SECURITY LIGHT FLASHES ON THE DASH. IT HAS SHUT OFF WHILE DRIVING AND ALMOST CAUSED AN ACCIDENT.”

“2006 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID WITH APPROX. 140,000 MILES. INITIALLY, HAD PROBLEMS WITH VEHICLE'S GAS ENGINE STALLING OUT WHILE IN MOTION AND AT VARIOUS SPEEDS FROM 35 TO 55 MPH. MESSAGE IN DASH SAID TO PULL OVER SAFELY. THIS HAPPENED 5 TIMES IN ONE DAY AND EACH TIME THE VEHICLE WOULD RESTART AND RUN FOR ONLY A FEW MINUTES. NEXT DAY IT RAN FOR ABOUT 15 MINUTES BEFORE OCCURRING ONCE AGAIN. EVENTUALLY THE HYBRID BATTERY HAD NO MORE JUICE AND I HAVE TO BE TOWED. GARAGE, NOT DEALER DX STICKING THROTTLE LINKAGE ASSEMBLY. THEY CLEANED IT, RECHARGED THE HYBRID BATTERY AND REPROGRAMMED THE COMPUTER. VEHICLE WORKED WELL FOR 6 WEEKS AND THEN PROBLEM RETURNED. ONLY DIFFERENCE WAS THAT AFTER INITIALLY STALLING OUT WHEN THE ENGINE WAS WARM, ON 2 OCCASIONS OCCURRED WHEN ENGINE WAS COLD. RETURNED IT TO GARAGE WHERE IT STALLED WHEN COLD ONE OF THOSE TIMES. AFTER THAT IS DIDN'T STALL FOR THEM AGAIN. GARAGE LOOKED ON LINE AND SAW A NUMBER OF POSSIBLE CAUSES FOR THE PROBLEM, BUT NO CONCLUSIVE DIAGNOSIS OR FIX. THEY SUGGESTED THAT CHANGING THE THROTTLE LINKAGE ASSEMBLY MIGHT FIX THE PROBLEM, BUT THEY WERE NOT CONFIDENT OF THIS. VEHICLE NOT REPAIRED.”