My wife’s 2005 Escape Hybrid has recently started acting up.
After a bit of driving at semi-highway speeds (say 10 minutes), when you slow down to a stop- the car stalls out (or what feels like a stall to someone who drives a std transmission car). Sometimes, it comes back on when you turn off & on the car- sometimes it takes a minute of being off to turn back on. After a few cycles of this, the engine temperature warning goes off. After each stall, the car will be ok for a few minutes then stall again when slowing down (it seems to do it when you are under 20mph only- not that I am about to try to stall it at high-speeds).
It has circa 70k miles on it, and is obviously in the shop- as it is unsafe to drive. It was a warm day when it first did it (say 80deg), and cooler (50) the next morning.
I might ask how long ago was:
The oil and filter changed
The plugs and wires changed
The air filter replaced
The fuel filter replaced?OIl and filter were a few months ago (Ford says it can be 10k between changes, as it is a hybrid). Plugs and wires are all original parts as far as I know. Not sure about the fuel filter; the engine air filter was done about 10k ago.
Did you read your owner’s manual ?
What you describe and the way you describe it is the normal function for the hybrid. This is what gives it it’s fuel efficiency. Below 40 mph the engine goes to sleep and allows you to drive on battery only.
Look at the LCD display below the speedometer and see the little picture of the shape of a car.
When the engine shows zero rpm AND the picture of the car is showing, the car is ON and perfectly drivable. Push on the pedal and go. Push on the pedal softly and the engine remains at zero rpm yet you’re driving on battery power.
I think perhaps I am not describing it all that well. I am not talking about the engine turning off as part of the normal hybrid operation; I am talking about the car shutting down completely, the car bucking slightly- warning symbols appearing on the dashboard- including a message that says ‘pull over safely’. Being a std trans guy, it is akin to a stall to me.