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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
71,083 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2009 Ford Escape engine problems

engine problem

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2009 Ford Escape Owner Comments (Page 7 of 13)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #131

Aug 172013

Escape

  • 96,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2009 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving 45 mph, the engine stalled and the vehicle began to shake as the wrench warning icon illuminated. The vehicle was coasted off the roadway as the engine was restarted. The failure was recurring. The vehicle was not inspected or diagnosed. The manufacturer was not notified of the incident. The approximate failure mileage was 96000.

- Livingston , TX, USA

problem #130

Sep 152013

Escape 4-cyl

  • 94,000 miles
I had my 2month old great granddaughter with me as I was taking her home. I was a block from entering the freeway and the car just quit running. I tried to start it but it kept dying. Finally it started and I went 10 miles an hour back home which was only a few blocks from there. I had it towed to Ford the next morning. They called today 9/20 that the problem was the throttle body. They would have to order it and it was on back order as alot of Escapes have this problem. There should be a recall on this part as this could cause a very bad accident and we could have been killed if we were on the freeway. I have done my research and there are alot of complaints on this. I still have a warranty but this is not covered. I feel they should fix it as it a dangerous thing.

- Castro Valley, CA, USA

problem #129

Jun 042013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 69,500 miles
Intermittently..sometimes a week apart and then got worse..the car quit moving due to the throttle body code P2111. The engine had to be turned off and car restarted after coasting to a safe spot. I was told at the dealership that they could not get the part as over 5000 were back ordered nationally. Eventually in September I got the part and car fixed. It is interesting to note that the part has been redesigned and costs less now. I have read and heard many similar stories about this part..the dealership says there will surely be a recall as they are small dealership and they are even seeing quite a bit of this. I hope someone does not have to be killed before something is done. Thanks for accepting input.

- Pendleton, IN, USA

problem #128

Jul 052013

Escape

  • 54,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

As I was driving my Escape it began to shake and I was no longer able to accelerate. I had to turn the engine off, sit for a minute and then restart it. I had to do this every half mile on my drive home to get my car home. I pulled over to the side of the road and called for assistance and I had someone follow me home. I had to have it towed to the dealership. They told me it was the electric throttle body. After having it for two weeks they told me I would have to wait another month for the part as it was back ordered from Ford. As soon as I requested a rental car, the part automatically appeared. Over $400 worth of work.

- Va Bch, VA, USA

problem #127

Jul 012011

Escape 6-cyl

  • 39,000 miles
I bought my car new in 2009. Summer of 2011, it started dying when stopped at red lights or any stops. It did this mostly when it was.25 tank of gas or less and the warmer the weather. I took it to three different mechanics and no one could figure out what was truly wrong. When they plugged it in all it says is emission problem. It happened so inconsistently it was hard to explain or diagnose. I had Ford replace a vapor sensor of some sort in summer of 2012 when it was doing it again. It has never ran the same since 2011 when I first had problems. Now it is losing power as I drive down the road. It loses power completely, you push the gas and there is nothing and I have to pull over or let it roll to a stop and it jerks or dies. I am taking it to Ford service tomorrow and once it is fixed I am trading it in and not buying another Ford again.

- Norman, OK, USA

problem #126

Sep 022013

Escape 4WD 6-cyl

  • 40,000 miles
2009 Ford Escape 40K miles. Driving down the road in normal driving conditions the vehicle started shaking slightly the idle started fluctuating and the tachometer started rapidly spiking up and down as well as a loss of acceleration. The vehicle also is stalling. Shutting the engine off and restarting vehicle temporarily fixes the problem. It would appear it is the same throttle body issue everyone else is having. Brought the vehicle in for service the dealer said it was not covered under warranty or my extended warranty that I purchased.

- Crest Hill, IL, USA

problem #125

Aug 212013

Escape 4WD 4-cyl

  • 85,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Head cylinder was cracked and was informed that it was a manufacture defect, due to car did not over heat and was in normal wear and tear conditon.

- Avon, CT, USA

problem #124

Aug 302013

Escape

  • 46,500 miles
Two times today, while I was driving, my 2009 Ford Escape stalled while I was driving. The first time I was in the middle of an intersection around noon on a six lane road, and the second time luckily I was in my neighborhood. This is ridiculously unsafe, and Ford has taken no responsibility.

- Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA

problem #123

Aug 292013

Escape

  • 55,000 miles
Engine loses power suddenly and the wrech comes on and I have to drive off to the side of the road. When I turn the car off and restart it the wrench goes off of the screen and the car drives normal for a few days before it does it again.

- Port Neches, TX, USA

problem #122

Aug 132013

Escape

  • 48,608 miles
Engine lost power while driving, began to sputter when gas pedal was engaged. Vehicle was towed to nearest Ford dealer. Problem diagnosed as "needing throttle body, " which controls air flow to engine and was "stuck in either the open or closed position." I was advised that the part was back ordered, and repairs could take several weeks.

- Middleburg Hts, OH, USA

problem #121

Aug 262013

Escape

  • 58,500 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I was driving approx 60 mph when my car jumped down to approx 25 mph and wrench light came on. I had to coast to side of road to get off highway. When I shut the car off and restarted it I was able to drive to saftey but then it happened again and car had to be towed to the Ford dealer for them to charge me $585 and replace the throttle body. I have read this has happened to many people and this really should be a recall.

- Tempe, AZ, USA

problem #120

Jun 152012

Escape

  • 12,000 miles
When slowing down engine would stall at any speed. Slowly progressed into a hesitation from a red light. Sparatic idle after stopping. Wrench light would come on every time. Now check engine light and wrench light on together.

- Townsend , TN, USA

problem #119

Aug 282013

Escape

  • 67,000 miles
I was on my way to work when suddenly my vehicle would not let me accelerate. I pulled over and turned on my hazards. A little wrench light popped up, which I later looked up and realized its the throttle body. I turned off my car and started it back up and it went away. I just purchased this vehicle in March and have had no other problems with it. There were no warnings prior to this incident. I have taken good care of this vehicle and there should be no reason for the throttle body to be failing already.

- Yorktown, VA, USA

problem #118

Jan 032012

Escape

  • 34,311 miles
First incident 1-3-12, took to Ford dealership, they replaced the throttle body. Then on 8-10-13 the car just died going up my drive way, but it cranked right back up. Then on 8-11-13 the engine quit again going about 10 mph. It cranked right back up. I took it in to Ford dealership on Tuesday 8-13-13 and they could not find anything wrong. I, then saw on the news a report about Ford Escapes stalling and the throttle body issue. This example on the news happened on an expressway. Fortunately they were not hurt. My question is how do I know for sure if the throttle body is bad again on my Escape.? it stalled 2 times while moving, but they could not find anything. I am afraid to drive in heavy traffic.

- Newnan, GA, USA

problem #117

Aug 232013

Escape

  • 95,000 miles
I was driving about 45 miles per hour, felt a jolt in the vehicle and acceleration began to decrease rapidly, no matter how hard I pressed on the gas. I luckily was at a low-traffic spot with a veer-off area nearby that I was able to coast over to with my four-ways on. I was able to avoid traffic. The throttle/powertrain light came on as the vehicle came to a stop. I was able to turn the vehicle off as it was lightly shaking, turn it back on with no issue, and slowly drive the vehicle about 3 miles to the nearest Ford dealership. They were able to (next day) verify my fears that it was the pending recall issue, the throttle body had gone bad. They replaced it for $620 (including labor) within 2 hours and told me to hold onto my receipt because there would most likely be a recall. They told me that they've replaced many of these lately. I'm very lucky that I wasn't on the highway with many vehicles moving at a high speed around me, or else I could have been injured if I couldn't find a place to pull off.

- Allentown, NJ, USA

problem #116

Aug 142013

Escape 4-cyl

  • 160,000 miles
My wife owns a 2009 Ford Escape purchased new from a dealer and there have been so many issues with the vehicle I question if there wasn?T some type of flaw in the manufacturing process or at the very least, some type failure in the quality control process. Within weeks of purchasing this Ford Escape we had to take the vehicle back to the dealer for an oil leak and transmission problems. After 2 or 3 trips to the dealer, the oil leak was fixed but the transmission issues (2 overhauls and then replacement) continued for years. Thankfully, Ford covered and the dealer covered 2/3 of the cost of the second transmission overhaul and almost all of the cost for the transmission replacement. All of this work was completed at the Ford dealer ship in meter Georgia. Nice folks, we have no issue with the dealership. Approximately 6 months ago, due to low engine power and using oil, we had the vehicle worked on at a local shop. That total cost for repair was 1600 dollars. Last week due to a massive oil leak we had to have the vehicle towed in a local shop. The Ford Escape appears to have a cracked timing belt cover. Having never heard of a vehicle having a cracked timing belt cover, I decided to do some research; a cursory internet search reveals many, many complaints of 2009 Ford Escapes with cracked timing belt covers. For our vehicle this will make five major repairs and numerous minor issues in a vehicle not 4 years old!! there has to be some manufacturing process with these vehicles. VIN [xxx] 2009 Ford Escape XLS information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Lyons, GA, USA

problem #115

Aug 182013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 86,555 miles
Driving down the highway at 60mph when car slowed down to 10-15mph. Had to place my emergency lights on in order not to get hit by passing vehicles and move to the emergency lane. I had to turn off the car in order for the accelerator to work again. After the first incident the vehicle kept on stalling. Took the vehicle to the dealer and it turns out its the throttle body thats malfuctioning. The warranty I purchased does not cover this type of part, I dont even have a year with this vehicle. In doing my research I find out that there has been an investigation on this vehicle on foresaid problem around the time I purchased the vehicle. The investigation is still opened. Investigation number PE13-003. The Ford dealership is charging me close to $700 in order to get this part fixed. They did not provide this information to me I had to look it up myself. They also did not provide me with a renter car I had to purchase one on my own. Its just unfair.

- Richmond, VA, USA

problem #114

Aug 182013

Escape

  • 74,323 miles
Sunday August 18, 2013 9:30 pm driving back from store on highway 17 wrench showed up on dash and car slowed down and came to a complete stop. I pushed the gas but nothing happened. Traffic was behind me a I feared getting hit. I was able to get to the side of the road to avoid an accident. Turned car off and waited for a few seconds. Turned key in ignition and car started and ran just fine. 8/19/13, driving daughter to school on highway 80 vehicle did the same thing but sputtered twice. Needless to say sheer pandemonium! daughter screaming and crying because highway 80 is very congested and the speed is 55 to 60 mph. Managed to get to side of highway, repeated what I did the night before and car started just fine, was able to get daughter to school and myself to work. 8/20/13, it happened again. On highway 80, got to side of road and started car up again. Got daughter to school and on the way to work car stopped again. Started car again and got to work -- called Ford and took car to shop. Had to start car gain as it slowed down and would only go no more than 5 mph. Car is at shop right now. Waiting for Ford to call me. Car is under warranty as I purchased the extended warranty package.

- Savannah, GA, USA

problem #113

Aug 152013

Escape 4-cyl

  • 95,517 miles
While driving the engine lost power. I was able to pull over and restarted the engine. I took it to the Ford dealership today and had to have the throttle body replaced. From what I have read this is a common occurrence so why hasn't Ford done anything about it?

- Weatherford, TX, USA

problem #112

Aug 162013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 163,433 miles
I was driving my 2009 Ford Escape limited at 60 to 55 mph when there was a lurch and sudden loss of power. I then pulled of the highway and turned off the vehicle and did an inspection to troubleshoot the problem. After 15 minutes the vehicle started back up and I drove it to our local autoparts store to get the trouble code. The code came back as P2112 : throttle actuator control system closed; explanation ECM has detected the throttle plate is at a lower angle than commanded probable cause binding throttle stuck closed.

- Clarksville, TN, USA

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