2008 Ford Escape Hybrid

Typical pattern

0.7% of complaints about the 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid came in the first year, which is unremarkable for a 2008 vehicle — around the middle of the 262 model-years on record. The median complaint arrives at 6.8 yr in service. The most-reported system is service brakes (129 complaints), typically at 9.8 yr or about 113,000 miles.

Complaints: 583
Median age at failure: 6.8 yr
Median mileage: 90,000 n=545
Crash / fire / tow: 3.8% of reports
Safety recalls: 0

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

System

0y2y4y6y8y10y12y14y

Service brakes

129 reports · 113,000 mi

9.8 yr

5.4%

Steering

111 reports · 116,742 mi

7.4 yr

2.7%

Engine

73 reports · 79,270 mi

6.3 yr

4.1%

Electrical system

64 reports · 84,697 mi

5.8 yr

Power train

43 reports · 76,102 mi

5.8 yr

2.3%

Engine cooling

40 reports · 68,000 mi

4.1 yr

Speed control

25 reports · 75,000 mi

6.4 yr

Fuel / propulsion

21 reports · 75,000 mi

7.0 yr

4.8%

Service brakes, hydraulic

20 reports · 54,000 mi

4.1 yr

In owners’ own words

Service brakes, hydraulic 2,708 mi 10 mo in service

2008 FORD ESCAPE. CONSUMER STATES BRAKE FAILURE AND PROBLEMS WITH OTHER VEHICLES THAT ARE SIMILAR. *TGW

Service brakes, hydraulic 59,621 mi 2.7 yr in service

THE VEHICLE HAS HAD AT LEAST TWO ISSUES PRIOR WITH THE ABS SYSTEM FAILING. CURRENTLY THE ABS AND THE REGENERATIVE BRAKING SYSTEMS BOTH FAILED MAKING THE VEHICLE IMPOSSIBLE TO STOP WITH THE BRAKES "CUTTING OUT" IN THE LAST 5 MPH. THE DEALER WAS CLOSED SO THE VEHICLE WAS BROUGHT TO AN INDEPENDENT SHOP WHO FOUND THAT THE ABS CONTROL ASSEMBLY AND THE TRAVEL SENSOR IN THE MASTER CYLINDER HAD FAILED! *TR

Service brakes, hydraulic 61,667 mi 3.7 yr in service

2008 FORD ESCAPE HEV NEEDS A HCU (HYDRAULIC CONTROL UNIT) REPLACED AT 61,667 MILES. CAR WAS PARKED (EMERGENCY BRAKE OFF) AND WHEN STARTED BOTH ABS AND BRAKE WARNING LIGHT CAME ON. TOOK TO DEALERSHIP THIS MORNING AND THEY INDICATED IT WAS FAULTY. THIS APPEARS TO BE A COMMON PROBLEM WITH 2005 AND LATER FORD ESCAPE HEVS. MIGHT BE WORTH INVESTIGATING. WE WERE LUCKY THE BRAKES DIDN'T ACTUALLY FAIL WHILE DRIVING! *TR

Steering 28,000 mi 2.4 yr in service

WHILE RETURN HOME ON I70 FREEWAY GOING DOWNHILL AT APPROX. 70MPH THE ELECTRICAL ASSISTED POWER STEERING QUIT WORKING. THE VEHICLE WAS VERY HARD, BUT NOT IMPOSSIBLE, TO STEER GOING AROUND A CURVE. THIS ONLY LASTED A FEW SECONDS THEN IT STARTED WORKING AGAIN... *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.