Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (service brakes, ABS, rotors and pads, parking brake).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2008 Ford Escape owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 2008 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an unknown speed, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the pedal went straight to the floor before stopping. The contact veered to the side of the road and waited for a few minutes before restarting the vehicle before driving back to the residence. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who inspected the vehicle but could not duplicate the failure. The mechanic suspected that the ABS brake booster and brake master cylinder had caused of the failure. The failure recurred a few months later. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 104,550. …
The contact owns a 2008 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the powertrain malfunction warning light and the ABS warning light were illuminated. The driver was able to pull over, the battery was disconnected and reconnected, and the contact was able to continue driving. The brake pedal was depressed to the floorboard when the ABS light was illuminated. While reversing, there was an abnormal sound coming from the vehicle. The local dealer was contacted and stated that the repairs would be at the owner's expense. Another local dealer, Bob Davidson Ford Lincoln, located at 1845 E Joppa Rd, Baltimore, MD 21234, was contacted, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and confirmed that the VIN was not under recall and referred the contact to the local dealer for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 136,000.
ABS, parking break light and regen breaks disabled. My breaks will go all the way to the floor and have crashed into a vehicle because out of nowhere I was not able to break like normal. Is not safe to drive. Was diagnosed with a bad hydraulic control until like thousands of other people with this car. Ford posted a service bulletin about this issue and recommended replacing the flex hoses before eventually replacing the HCU BUT WONT PAY FOR IT. IT IS FAULTY AND THEY SHOULD BE HELD RESPONSIBLE AND RECALL THIS HCU ISSUE INSTEAD OF JUST ACKNOWLEDGING THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH THOUSDANDS OF THESE VEHICLES.
* The braking system is failing without warning arbitrarily, resulting in pedal doing to floor and not stopping the vehicle and requiring swerving if possible to avoid collision, often needing to drive off the road surface to do so safely. This is a very common and largely reported problem with this vehicle with no assistance from the manufacturer, and a singular resolve that far exceeds the vehicle value; there is not an option to replace failing part/s with used as manufacturer prevented that. * The safety of the family member and others on the roadway are at substantial risk with a vehicle on the roadways that has a failed braking system, especially on highways/byways at increased speeds with no means to stop without warning. * The problem has been inspected and confirmed by the Ford dealership service department, where it's evidently a well-known issue. …
When the car was started in a shopping center parking lot, the emergency brake light and the abs warning light were displayed and remained displayed. When driven, the brakes were "spongy" and then "regenerative braking disabled" appeared in the odometer display. I pulled over briefly, turned the car off for a short period and then restarted it. The same messages and odometer display remained, and brakes were still spongy. As I continued to drive (carefully), the situation resolved itself, though the "regenerative braking disabled" continued for another minute or two. Normal braking then resumed. This issue just occurred so it has not yet been taken to a dealer, nor has it been inspected by mfr, police, etc. …
My escape keeps having the brakes go to the floor. Then they will be fine again for a while and then go to the floor again and have to be pumped to stop. The brake components are good. We replaced the master cylinder, continued to have the problem. Blakes bled by mechanic twice, again the same problem. Mechanic has determined it is a failure with the hydraulic control module. In researching they are back ordered everywhere and there is none available. In further research we have found that there have been over 200000 complaints. Ford wants us to pay 1000.00 to buy a new module and mechanic wants 500.00 to replace it. But again there are not any units available even from the Ford Dealer. Ford needs to recall this part and make them available to be replaced. This is a serious safety issue. Ours have never completely failed but there are many people who say theirs have. …
Having issue with throttle body and or controller. Break takes time to respond and is stiff. When on an incline road, the car rolls backwards before accelerating forward. The rolled back at stop signs on inclined roads and inclined parking lots. The car shows no warming lights. The car has issues accelerating and decelerating. The car has rolled back while another car was behind it. The car at some instances has come to almost a halt while driving at 70 mph on the highway. While displaying no warming signals. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? This type of issue has been confirmed by the dealership and has been recalled for some ford escapes but not all. The car has been inspected by a technician. The transmission has been rebuild but that did not work so a new transmission was placed inside yet this did not resolve anything. …
MY ABS brake warning and my regular brake light come on and go off occasionally with a warning that says "Regen Brake System Disabled". When this happens, it VERY difficult to brake, the brakes go almost to the floor before they engage and there is some sort of air leak because I can hear a leak in an air system of some kind. And when that started happening, the A/C stopped working and I heard a loud pitched whine coming from the vehicle. On the days there is no brake warning lights, the brakes still are not great and sometimes will start to stop the vehicle, then there is a kind of hiccup that happens where the pedal just goes to the floor WHILE you are stopping, and not just as you begin braking. There are SO many complaints on the web about people experiencing the EXACT same problems, I don't see why this has not been deemed a Recall yet. VERY DANGEROUS!!!!
There is a major safety issue with the braking system. The brakes were getting soft (having to push all the way to the floor to get it to stop) A brake warning light then came on, i had a mechanic check it and he replaced all 4 brakes and rotors on it, a small improvement...then the ABS warning light came on.....it now brakes fine from speed until about 10 mph and then the brake pedal goes to the floor. Upon having the warning light scanned, it appears that the HCU (hydraulic control unit) needs replaced for a tune of $5000 plus. Upon more research there are many complaints on-line about this problem, unfortunately those of us that drive 13 year old cars typically cant afford such a repair bill for an obviously bad design flaw and must continue driving these dangerous vehicles because we have no choice. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed
ABS brake light goes on and off and regen system disabled appeared. Brake pedal goes between being spongy and going to floor. I took it to an independent service center and the mechanic almost lost control of the car when test driving. There was no braking except to one wheel, which is why he almost lost control. They thought they fixed the problem by bleeding the brakes, but soon after I got it back on April 8, 2024 the ABS and brake lights came back on April 10, 2024. I am afraid that it will cause an accident if the brakes go out. The car is back at the mechanics and they are going to inspect the brake system. Not sure when the car will be fixed and returned back to me.
Brake complaints in other Escape years
Frequently asked questions
How common are brake problems on the 2008 Ford Escape?
NHTSA has 140 complaints about the brakes of the 2008 Ford Escape, 7% of the model year's 1,974 complaints. The component named most often is antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip › control unit/module (1 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2008 Ford Escape brake problems?
No. NHTSA lists no brakes recall for the 2008 Ford Escape, though it has 3 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2008 Ford Escape brake problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 103,000 miles, and 8% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 11 crashes, 0 fires and 7 injuries to brakes problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.