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.
My vehicle is a 2010 Ford Escape 6 cyc with 4 wd. This was a new vehicle purchased in early 2010 as it had 4.7 miles on it when purchased and I put most of those miles on it during the test drive. When traveling at highway speed recently in heavy traffic the vehicle suddenly lost all ability to accelerate. It was as if there was no gas pedal in the vehicle at all. No shuddering, or chugging after this occurred and absolutely no warning at all before it occurred. It was extremely lucky that no one was injured as I attempted to make my way across 4 lanes of traffic to the shoulder. The vehicle never shut off when this occurred. I then turned the vehicle off, waited, and then restarted and it seemed to run fine. I took it to the Ford dealership where it was purchased to assess the situation. I was told the battery was bad which they replaced. I questioned as to how a battery could cause this type of problem as I understand some of the vehicle mechanics and my research showed that it was more than likely a throttle body issue and I was assured that battery was most certainly the issue due to the complex nature of vehicles today and their on board computers. When the battery was replaced my wife picked up the vehicle and had just entered the interstate when at highway speed the same exact problem occurred where an accident was almost caused by her efforts to exit the road. Again no warning. When it was restarted it was driven back to the dealership. Today, it was confirmed by the Ford dealership that in fact it was the throttle body issue that my research had show it to be, and more so, the part, which is somehow not a safety recalled item by the NHTSA, is on back-order by Ford because of the shear number of these parts going bad and needing to be replaced in so many vehicles. I now own a vehicle that cannot be operated safely without a safety recall.
Wife was driving home and her vehicle stalled. She was able to get out of traffic and into a parking lot, where she had her car towed to the nearest dealer. Dealer told her the issue was with the throttle body.
While driving 70 mph down interstate my 2010 Escape suddenly lost all power without warning. The wrench light on the dash came on, the gas pedal was non-responsive and the engine idled extremely rough at a low RPM. Luckily I was able to get to the side of the road - nearly caused an accident. Unsure what to do I looked in the manual and saw that the wrench light meant powertrain failure and it advised to contact dealer. I had shut the car off, but decided to try and move it farther off the road so I started it again. The light was no longer on and the engine was running smoothly. I decided to attempt to get closer to home and drove about 5 miles before it happened again. I was in the right hand lane, so I was able to pull right off the road. This incident happened two more time during a 20 mile trip. This is an extremely dangerous issue. I could have caused a horrible accident tonight and there is no warning that this is going to happen. By the sound of it the throttle body is on national backorder. I hope Ford steps up and takes care of this huge safety hazard.
I was traveling at highway speed, 60 mph, when the engine suddenly lost power and I had to coast to the side of the road. The warning indicating a problem with the throttle control/powertrain came on. I turned the motor off and restarted the engine, the light went off, and I proceeded to work without further incident. After researching on the internet and talking to my dealer, I was told it was a defective throttle body part and is on "national back order" and will be at least 2 weeks before they can get the part in. On the same day, on the drive from home from work, the exact same problem happened, but this time at about 35 mph in traffic. Fortunately no one was right on my bumper at the time. There is absolutely no warning when this happens, it just suddenly loses power.
During highway driving at approximately 40 mph the vehicle suddenly lost acceleration, stalling, and the throttle/power train indicator light came on. I was forced to pull over on the side on the road, turn off the vehicle and restart. The care drove for approximately 3 more miles and then the issue recurred. I immediately proceeded to my local dealership (dealership where vehicle was purchased). During that trip, the "check engine" light came on. I was advised by the service technician that this was due to a faulty/failed throttle body but that the parts were on back order indefinitely with no word from Ford as to when they would be available. I was advised to continue to drive the vehicle in its current state until such time as the part was available.
- Charlotte, NC, USA
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Vehicle suddenly lost power while traveling at highway speed. I was able to steer to the side of the road and stop. Vehicle restarted and had the same issue two more times in a 40 mile trip. Vehicle has continued to have the same problem intermittently both at surface street speed and highway speeds.
Vehicle surges and then dies when stopping at a red light or stop sign. Vehicle will instantly restart after placing it in park. After first incident vehicle has constantly gotten worse. Dealer stated throttle body was defective and ordered new part which is on back order. Unable to drive the car since it is subject to die at anytime.
While making left hand turn vehicle abruptly stalled, yellow warning light showed fault with powertrain. Vehicle was towed to dealer on 6/10/2013 still waiting for throttle body assembly three days.
Driving on highway, at 65 mph. Car loses power and have to cost to a stop. Very dangerous situations trying to cross 4 lanes of traffic to get to shoulder of highway and stop safely. This happened once on 4/26/13, took to dealership, they said nothing wrong. Continued to drive until happened again. Happened on 5/30 and 5/31 repeatedly until got the vehicle to a repair shop. Repair shop has had the vehicle for 10 days due to part not available. Part is not available because this is a recurring problem for Ford and these vehicles. This is a very serious safety issue and needs to be recalled! please do something!
In a 35 mph zone, when accelerating after slowing to allow vehicle in front to turn, throttle stuck open & car lost power. Was able to get to side of road and restart car and proceed. Same thing happened 4 additional times that day at various speeds accelerating to speed following a stop or using an on-ramp to highway speed. Have experienced "surging" previously but dealer ignored reports as "intermittent". car was towed to dealer on 22 may and is still there awaiting a new throttle control body. Shipment of new part is estimated as 17 June. Dealer is not providing loaner or rental car as the part is not considered part of the powertrain & is therefore approx. 6 months out of warranty. Since the car cannot "go" without the throttle control body - why is it considered part of the emission system vice the powertrain? with so many cars down for this part, it should be a recall.
I was cruising at highway speeds when the car began slowing despite no change in gas pedal pressure. Additional gas did not result in the car maintaining speed or speeding up. I coasted to the side of the highway and turned the car off. I restarted the car and was able to accelerate to highway speeds. About a mile later, the same thing happened. I called a tow truck and the car was taken to a local Ford dealer. The mechanic informed me that the problem is a bad throttle body and that a number of Ford have the problem but there is no recall. It is such a problem that a replacement part is on back-ordered and the dealer is unable to tell me when it will be in so that the car can be made safe to operate. The potential safety issue of a failure while driving, and the widespread nature of the problem suggest Ford should be more proactively addressing this and recalling cars like mine before incidents arise while operating the vehicle.
I was driving down the street and lost power. The throttle wasn't working properly. Took the Escape to Ford where other similar vehicles have same problem with throttle body. I have been waiting on the part for over a week and Ford says there is no recall or warranty for this although it's happening to so many people. I'm having to rent a car this whole time waiting.
Driving on highway, heard a little pop and had sudden loss of power from depressed accelerator, but engine was on - no warning light on dash. Was going on downward incline, able to go from left lane to shoulder on right; engine shook violently then and I turned it off. Waited a minutes, turned back on; idling had a little "miss" but able to finish trip. Upon return home, took vehicle to mechanic, found no historic code in computer and nothing found on test drive. On 6/07, again on highway and without warning, car again lost power from accelerator - immediate loss of momentum almost caused me to be broadsided by large SUV merging from off ramp as I am trying to coast to the shoulder. Same thing, engine shook, I turned it off; again no warning light. Occurred two more times and we turned around for home. Same thing happened two more times on the return trip - the yellow wrench warning light came on the last two times. Very hazardous condition, I plan to not drive and take to the dealer as soon as I can. I see there is a known issue with the throttle body and feel a recall should be implemented, especially since the condition suddenly puts a driver in a very dangerous position and I will have to pay for a known design / device problem to be repaired.
Bought 2010 Ford Escape limited in December. Purchased a $2000 extended bumper to bumper from easy care. Put about 1200 miles on the vehicle before it started turning off at random. First time it happened was at an intersection where I lost throttle response totally and almost got T boned by a coal truck. It did it 5 more times as I was just trying to get it home. Took it to freedom Ford in ebensburg pa for warranty work and they found a faulty throttle body. The dealer and my warranty company refused to pay anything for the repair and the part is back ordered until July 16th. Now I am paying almost $400 a month for a Ford Escape with only 31000 miles that I don't have. And it will be sitting at the dealer for 6 more weeks.
I was driving from the bank to home and all of the sudden I had no power. I stepped on the gas and nothing happened. I had to ease over to the right lane with no power and when I got to the side of the road I shut off the engine and then I restarted it. My Escape then ran fine the rest of the way home. I called the dealership and brought my Escape into the service department. They said I need a new throttle box and that they are on back order. My car is only 3 years old. I bought it brand new. There is no reason for something like this to happen. Since the part is on back order I have to drive it like this until the part is available. The dealership told me it will be at least 1 week, probably longer. If my car dies in an intersection or while crossing an intersection, or on a freeway, I could have an accident. This is very frightening. I have to drive it, it's the only car I own. I avoided the freeway to and from the dealership because I know the side roads to get there. I won't be able to do that all the time. Please recall this part. Considering the part is on back order and they have no idea how long it will take to get a new one that tells me I am not the only one having this problem. This is a safety concern for all. If a car stalls in the middle of rush hour traffic on the freeway it is endangering many lives besides mine.
Engine just goes to idle. You have to stop and put car in park to restart. There is no warring as to when the engine will cut out. This has happened at least 12 to 15 time over the last two weeks.
While driving at approx 45mph, vehicle started to decrease in speed. Pressing the gas pedal the rpms continued to decrease and car slowed to a stop without stalling. Vehicle began sputtering and "wrench" light appeared on dash.
I was driving on the highway when the motor in the Escape just died, I was forced to move from the left lane of the highway to the right with almost no power. No accident occurred I took the truck to the Ford dealership and they say that part is on national backorder Ford is making 4000 of the throttle bodies in order to keep with the demand.
Engine lost power and coasted to side of road. Towed to dealer, keyser miller Ford, 8 East main St., collegeville, pa 19426. They stated the problem was the "throttle body", and it needed to be replaced. They said it was a common problem with the Escapes. Parts next to impossible to obtain.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Norfolk, VA, USA