NHTSA Defect Investigation #RP04002

ENGINE STALLING: Engine And Engine Cooling

CLOSED

no recall issued

2001 FORD ESCAPE -- Summary:the petitioner alleges that after having the recall remedy performed on her model year (MY) 2001 Ford escape, it continued to exhibit an intermittent stall condition.consequently, she petitioned the Agency to examine the adequacy of the recall remedy for safety recall 04V-165.on April 5, 2004, Ford motor company (Ford) notified the Agency that it would conduct a recall of 321,903 MY 2001 through 2002 and certain 2003 my escape vehicles equipped with 3.0L engines manufactured between January 21, 2000 and September 11, 2002 at the Kansas City assembly plant.these vehicles exhibited an intermittent engine stall during decelerations at vehicle speeds below 40 mph due to an excessively rich fuel-air mixture in the engine.as a remedy, Ford dealers are instructed to reprogram the powertrain control module (pcm) to a revised calibration to prevent the stalling condition. In its July 23, 2004 response to the Office Of Defects Investigation¿S (ODI) July 1, 2004 information request letter, Ford states that as of June 30, 2004 the recall remedy has been completed on 174,014 vehicles.additionally, only a small number of vehicle owners (less than .1%) who have had the remedy performed on their vehicles have had additional deceleration stalling issues.Ford also states that the pcm has to ¿learn¿ the new program and that any subsequent stalling would be temporary.to verify Ford¿S claim, ODI conducted a random survey of 20 complainants who had the remedy performed on their vehicles and who experienced a subsequent stalling event.ODI found that most of them had isolated stalling problems, supporting Ford¿S allegation that the pcm must ¿learn¿ the new program.in addition, in a phone conversation with ODI, the petitioner stated that a Ford engineer found a faulty ignition switch as the cause of the stalling in her vehicle.thus, there is no evidence at this time to suggest the recall remedy is inadequate.for the foregoing reasons, further expenditure of the Agency¿S investigative resources on the issue raised by the petitioner does not appear to be warranted and the petition is denied. Investigation was initiated on June 24 2004. Closed on August 31 2004. For detailed information & supporting documents, see the official NHTSA page concerning investigation #RP04002 »

NHTSA Defect Investigation #EA02027

ENGINE STALLING: Engine And Engine Cooling**

RECALL »

Recall #04V175000

** This defect investigation is filed under 2 related vehicle components.
2001 FORD ESCAPE -- Ford's and Mazda's letters to NHTSA dated April 5 and April 9, 2004, state that they will recall model year 2001-03 Ford escape and Mazda tribute vehicles with the V6 engine built thru September 11, 2002.dealers will adjust engine calibration in the programmable control module (pcm), which in its current setting, can cause the engine to shut down if the vehicle is decelerating at speeds below 40 mph. The engine shuts down due to "excessively rich air-fuel mixtures being sent to the engine."when the engine shuts down, drivers may notice a loss of power assist for their steering and brakes. The majority of the complainants have indicated to the Agency that the stall is intermittent and can happen more than once. Investigation was initiated on September 10 2002. Closed on April 15 2004. For detailed information & supporting documents, see the official NHTSA page concerning investigation #EA02027 »

NHTSA Defect Investigation #PE01043

ENGINE STALLING: Engine And Engine Cooling

CLOSED

no recall issued

2001 FORD ESCAPE -- Allege that the engine stalls without warning while driving Investigation was initiated on December 07 2001. Closed on September 10 2002. For detailed information & supporting documents, see the official NHTSA page concerning investigation #PE01043 »

NHTSA Defect Investigation #PE03030

SAFETY BELT BUCKLE FAILURE: Seat Belts:Front:Buckle Assembly**

RECALL »

Recall #03V507000

** This defect investigation is filed under 2 related vehicle components.
2001 FORD ESCAPE -- This investigation was opened on July 14, 2003 based on 4 reports alleging the driver's safety belt buckle failed to latch or remain latched.Mazda notified ODI that it transferred engineering responsibility to Ford when the vehicle design was brought to the United States for production in Ford's assembly plants.Ford determined that the safety belt buckle is subject to lateral flexing during use that could allow a portion of the buckle cable stalk convolute tubing that extends into the buckle assembly to contact the molded plastic "anti-rattle" post on the upper buckle cover.this contact may cause the post to fatigue and fracture, allowing the backside of the latch to wedge below the broken edge of the post.in this orientation, the broken post may hinder the intended rotation of the latch during insertion of the latch plate resulting in a no-latch or false-latch condition.Ford's supplier autoliv, Inc. Provided buckle covers without the "anti-rattle" post beginning in October 2000.recall scope:the affected vehicles are 2001 model year Ford escape and Mazda tribute built at the claycomo (Kansas City), Missouri assembly plant through May 31, 2001.recall remedy:Ford-Lincoln-Mercury and Mazda dealers, respectively, will replace both driver and front passenger safety belt buckle covers with newly designed service buckle covers.accordingly, this investigation is closed. Investigation was initiated on July 14 2003. Closed on December 31 2003. For detailed information & supporting documents, see the official NHTSA page concerning investigation #PE03030 »

NHTSA Defect Investigation #PE06048

ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRE: Service Brakes, Hydraulic:Antilock**

RECALL »

Recall #07V157000

** This defect investigation is filed under 4 related vehicle components.
2001 FORD ESCAPE -- In letters dated March 30, 2007, Ford and Mazda notified NHTSA that they will conduct safety recalls to remedy a safety defect that may result in fire in a wiring connector used in certain model year (MY) 2001-2004 Ford escape and Mazda tribute sport utility vehicles equipped with ABS.recall 07V-156 involves approximately 446,450 MY 2001-2004 escape vehicles manufactured from October 22, 1999 through January 23, 2004.recall 07V-157 involves approximately 95,300 MY 2001-2004 tribute vehicles manufactured from April 17, 2000 through December 19, 2003. According to the manufacturers, the electrical wiring connectors to the ABS electronic control module were manufactured with wire seals missing or improperly installed in some wiring harnesses used in the recall populations.this may allow environmental contaminants such as water or brake fluid to enter the ABS electrical connector interface and cause corrosion of the electrical terminals.such corrosion may result in an illuminated ABS telltale, an open circuit, and/or an engine compartment fire originating at the electrical connector.to remedy the defect, the manufacturers will inspect the connectors for seal integrity.if a seal integrity issue is identified the vehicle will be repaired as necessary.all vehicles will have dielectric grease applied to the connectors to further reduce the possibility of contaminants entering the electrical connectors. To date, ODI is aware of 120 non-crash related fire incidents alleged to have originated in the engine compartment at or near the ABS electronic control module in the subject vehicles, which represent approximately 80 percent of the recall population.of the 120 alleged fires, 6 are alleged to have occurred when the vehicle was parked inside a garage structure.in 4 incidents, complainants alleged the structure or adjoining structure(s) suffered smoke damage, while in 2 incidents, the alleged fires caused more extensive damage totaling approximately $50,000 each.there are no known injuries or fatalities related to the alleged defect.based on the Ford and Mazda recalls, this investigation is closed. Investigation was initiated on October 30 2006. Closed on April 17 2007. For detailed information & supporting documents, see the official NHTSA page concerning investigation #PE06048 »

NHTSA Defect Investigation #RQ01001

GASOLINE VAPOR INTRUSION: Vehicle Speed Control:Linkages

RECALL »

Recall #00V277002

2001 FORD ESCAPE -- There is no summary currently available Investigation was initiated on February 21 2001. Closed on December 21 2001. For detailed information & supporting documents, see the official NHTSA page concerning investigation #RQ01001 »