2006 Ford Escape Hybrid

No clear pattern

0% of complaints about the 2006 Ford Escape Hybrid arrived in its first year of service. That is an unusual figure for a 2006 vehicle, but with only 305 complaints on record the sample is too small to call it a pattern — the margin of error covers the range where ordinary vehicles sit. The figures below are reported without a verdict. The most-reported system is service brakes (57 complaints), typically at 9.6 yr or about 94,000 miles.

Complaints: 305
Median age at failure: 8.6 yr
Median mileage: 105,000 n=282
Crash / fire / tow: 3.6% of reports
Safety recalls: 0

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

System

0y2y4y6y8y10y12y14y

Service brakes

57 reports · 94,000 mi

9.6 yr

5.3%

Engine

43 reports · 124,000 mi

8.7 yr

2.3%

Electrical system

36 reports · 116,000 mi

8.7 yr

Service brakes, hydraulic

28 reports · 59,000 mi

5.2 yr

3.6%

Steering

24 reports · 110,000 mi

9.3 yr

Speed control

19 reports · 124,000 mi

7.6 yr

5.3%

Power train

18 reports · 116,000 mi

8.8 yr

5.6%

In owners’ own words

Electrical system 108,000 mi 4.9 yr in service

DRIVING MY FORD ESCAPE HYBRID ON I 5 WA STATE. WARNING LITE CAME ON THAT SAID STOP SAFELY NOW AND MY ENGINE HAD STOPPED. I WAS IN THE LEFT LANE ON THE HIGHWAY AND HAD TO UNSAFELY MANEUVER 4 LANES TO THE RIGHT WITHOUT THE ENGINE ON.. I READ MY MANUAL AND IT SAID TO TRY AND START, WHICH IT DID. 3 MILES LATER IT DID IT AGAIN. THIS WENT ON FOR 4 OR 5 MORE TIMES. I GOT OFF THE HIGHWAY AND LIMPED TO A FORD DEALER. THEY REPAIRED IT, IT AS A HYBRID COMPONENT COOLING PUMP. IT COST ME $726.00. THEY WOULDN'T COVER IT. I VIEW THIS AS A SEVERE SAFETY PROBLEM. *TR

Electrical system 145,500 mi 5.2 yr in service

I WAS TRAVELING ON THE HIGHWAY @ 65 MPH WHEN I EXPERIENCED A 'CATASTROPHIC ENGINE FAILURE' WITH FOUR OCCUPANTS. I DON'T KNOW IF IT WAS SKILLED DRIVING, DIVINE INTERVENTION OR JUST PLAIN LUCK THAT PERMITTED ME TO SAFELY STOP THE VEHICLE WITHOUT A CRASH OR INJURY. HAD VEHICLE TOWED BY AAA TO DEALERSHIP. SERVICE DEPARTMENT SAID THE "HYBRID BATTERY COOLING SYSTEM" HAD FAILED AND CAUSED THE ENGINE TO STOP WITH NO WARNING. I WAS ALMOST REAR-ENDED BY A SEMI TRUCK. *TR

Electrical system 105,400 mi 6.8 yr in service

THIS IS THE SECOND TIME IN TWO MONTHS CAR WARNINGS TO "STOP VEHICLE SAFETY" IN A MIDDLE OF HIGHWAYS. WE JUST HAD A FEW SECONDS TO PULLED VEHICLE OFF THE ROAD AND IS VERY DANGEROUS MANEUVER IT. ONCE WE PULLED IT OFF WE TURNED OFF ENGINE AND WAITED FOR A FEW MINUTES TO RESTARTED AGAIN TO COMPLETE OUR DESTINATION. THIS IS A VERY DELICATE SITUATION DUE THE SHORT TIME TO REACT WHEN ENGINE SUDDENLY TURNS OFF. WE HAVE TWO KIDS AND OUR LIFE HAD BEEN IN TREMENDOUSLY DANGER TO BE HIT BY ANOTHER CAR. *TR

Service brakes, hydraulic 51,106 mi 3.9 yr in service

ABS DASH LIGHT FLASHES INTERMITTENTLY WHEN BRAKING , NOISE AND CLUNKING FROM FRONT OF VEHICLE AS WELL AS JERKING . ABS TONE RING FAILURE AFTER ORIGINAL PART FAILURE WAS CORRECTED (REPLACED AXLES) ON BOTH FRONT AXLES. PARTS FAILED AGAIN ON ONE AXLE. *TR

Other Escape Hybrid model years

How to read this

This is what owners reported, not a reliability rating. People file with NHTSA about alarming failures, not routine ones, and complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold.
Failure ages come from the incident date on each complaint, populated on about 83% of records. Mileage is shown where reported — NHTSA’s 2021 system change cut mileage capture to roughly 15%, so it thins out sharply after MY2020.
Every rank compares this vehicle only against others of the same model year. A 2025 car has not had time to accumulate five-year failures, so comparing early-failure share across years is meaningless.
Fourteen make-months distorted by media storms and mass recalls — Toyota in February 2010 ran 11× normal volume across 33 models — are excluded.
Recalls are manufacturer actions and authoritative; complaints are not. A recall listed here may already have been performed on any individual car. Check a specific VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.