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.
Driving pa turnpike at 10:00 pm 7/19/2013 @ 65 mph sb. Heard thump, wrench lite came on, then engine lite. No power on acceleration. Coasted to side of road. Called aaa. Couldn't start car kept sputtering. Waited for 1 1/2 hours no aaa. Tried to start car. Started. Continued on journey. Next day took to dealer. Got an appointment for 7/23/2013 @ 2pm. Drove car on mon. 7/22/2013. Going 35 mph. Same thing. Thump, wrench lite, engine lite.no power. Coasted to off ramp. Took to dealer on 7/23/2013 for diagnostic.failed throttle body assy. Removed and replaced throttle body and reprogrammed the PCM and retested. Cost..$500.68...out of warranty.
My wife was taking her mother home on the 18th of July when the Escape started to hesitate and surge going up a hill. When she pressed on the gas pedal there was no response from the engine.the powertrain and engine lights came on so she called me immediately. She was afraid to leave it running so she shut it down. What made things worse was the fact that it was 97 degrees out that day and she had her mother with her who is handicapped. After the engine cooled a bit, I was able to drive it the rest of the way to her mother's house. After dropping her off, the vehicle broke down twice on the way to the repair facility. It turned out to be a problem with the throttle body. As a former mechanic and now a parts person I can say with confidence that this is definitely a safety issue.
Small surges just after stops. Total loss of power at highway speeds. July 2012 showed the check engine light, and had to coast to side of the road, gas pedal totally dead, engine and car still running. Turn off and restart and all check engine lights go away and car acts normally. Dealership found no codes. June 2013 again total loss of power at highway speeds, this time powertrain light comes on, and the car has to coast to the side of the road, gas pedal totally dead, engine and car still running. Turn off and restart and all powertrain lights go away and car acts normally. This loss of power has happened 15-20 times to date from July 2012 to July 2013.
On May 23rd we were traveling on an interstate at about 65mph and suddenly the car lost acceleration, we were able to pull over to side of road and luckily able to avoid other cars. We turned off engine and it started again but was very apprehensive. The car did ok until July 20th when we stopped at a light and when we started the acceleration was gone again, we were able to get to side of road but it took 3 tries to get it started again. We tried to get home before it happened again but about 2 miles from our home it died again. We were on a 2 lane road but was able to pull into someone's driveway and it took several times to get it started and we tried to get back on road but it died again. After a couple more tries it started and we were able to make it home. We had to call a tow truck to take it to the dealer because we were afraid it would happen again and could have had an accident. We have only had the car for 2 yrs and it only has around 38000 miles.
When accelerating the car stalls for no apparent reason. I was driving down a busy highway in the left lane, when I accelerated the made a couple of jerks, thru the wrench sign on the dash and lost all power. This has happened to me 3 times, once from a dead stop turning left across traffic and twice while accelerating at an average speed on the highway there was a total loss of propulsion of the car and all you can do is hope and pray you can coast to safety. It is just a matter of time before someone is killed on a busy interstate when the throttle goes out. Ford replaced my throttle yesterday for $328 and never said a word about this being an issue with this car! this absolutely needs to be looked at and recalled!
- Monroe, GA, USA
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I was traveling 60 mph on the highway when the vehicle lost power, I had to coast over to the side of the road, turn off the vehicle and turn it back on. The vehicle would start but then return to idle with no throttle response. This went on repeatedly before I had to have it towed to a dealership. Because this occurred on a Saturday afternoon the service department was closed and I was unable to speak to anyone. First thing Monday morning when I went in they first told me they did not know about the problems with the throttle control unit. Upon presenting them with numerous copies of complaints filed on line they finally acknowledged that there was a problem. However with no recall I would need to pay for a replacement which with towing resulted in a $550 bill. Apparently I was very lucky that there was one replacement in stock (hmmm), otherwise it would be weeks. I hope the replacement works because it has been a chronic problem for months. Skeptical to say the least.
I was driving on the highway at about 60 mph for about 50 miles. The car suddenly lost power and went into limp mode. The small tool light came on the dash indicating the throttle. I pulled off the highway and stopped. After a few minutes, I restarted the car, which seemed fine. I drove for about 1/2 an hour, and it did the same thing again. This time it would not go more then 20 mph. I had the car towed to the closest Ford dealership. They said the code showed that the accelerator stuck. They reset the code and said they found nothing else wrong. When I got home, I called the dealership I have the car serviced at. They said it was the throttle body assembly and its a common problem. Apparently I have to have it happen again for a repair or replacement to be done and it has to be towed to that particular dealership. A recall would be good, as this is very dangerous and I don't want to have it happen again so that I can get it repaired.
The engine intermittently stalled/quit while driving at speed on numerous occasions. We took it to a Ford dealership. Diagnostics by their service department identified the problem as a defective throttle body.
After traveling for a approximately 45 minutes, my car stopped accelerating down the road. At this point my gas pedal would not make a difference in RPM or speed, then my engine began shaking violently. I barely was able to make it to the shoulder of the interstate. Then, a wrench light came on the dash of my vehicle. I then turned the ignition off. Upon restarting the vehicle, the light was gone and the gas pedal worked once more. I merged into traffic and continued on my trip with slight hesitation on the remainder of my trip. This whole scenario happened again on the 19th of July 2013 only 20 minutes into my trip home. Vehicle is currently at Ford dealership being checked out.
I was driving on the highway, going about 70mph on cruise control. The cruise control suddenly disengaged and the car started slowing down, plus the wrench maintenance sign in the dashboard lit up. I hit the gas and nothing would happen, I basically put the gas pedal to the floor with no results. I pulled over to the side of the road, avoiding traffic, and parked the car. Once the car was in park, the car started vibrating heavily. I shut the car down and waited about 5-10 minutes and then started the car again, it took about 3 tries to get the car to start again. I took the car to the mechanic, they could not get the car repeat the fails at that time, so they could not determine what happened. About a week later, I'm on the highway headed to work and it happens again, same situation, except this time all the lights in the dashboard lit up and I was not using cruise control. I took the car back to the mechanic and he worked on it for a few days, came back and said that the throttle body was malfunctioning and it needed to be replaced. Before I did that, I called the Ford dealership and explained the situation to the lead mechanic there and without even seeing the car, he agreed with my mechanic that it 100% sounded like a throttle body problem. So it has been replaced and I have had the car back with no problems since then.
Driving home from work, I was traveling at aprox. 35mph when it first happened. My RPM gauge started to "bounce" from 1 to 4 repeatedly. Make it very hard to stop and could not give it gas. At the same time, my power-train warning light came on along with my check engine light. I was able to pull over and call for assistance.
Traveling 70 mph on interstate North West of atlanta, Georgia at 5:00 in the morning using cruise control. Cruise control went off and car had a catastrophic loss of power. No response to the accelerator pedal. The open end wrench emblem came on the dash board. Car speed dropped to 2.5 mph with occasional double surges up to 4.5 mph. Had to drive on shoulder for 1 1/2 miles at 2.5 mph in order to get to an exit and call for assistance. Was on my own and totally unfamiliar with the area. Called Ford motor assist and they towed vehicle to dealership. This was a Sunday so had to spend night in motel before could see service people. Diagnosis ended up being throttle control needing replaced. Had complained to local dealership about something being wrong with what I thought was the transmission as the care would surge or shift funny several times clear up to just prior to reaching 36,000 mile warranty. Since this occurred at 37,195 and 500 miles away from home it was considered an out of warranty repair and cost $478. I am thankful it was 5:00 in the morning on a Sunday as had this occurred in rush hour in a further left hand lane, the sudden deceleration would likely have cause a bad accident. This is a very dangerous problem!!!!!
I was driving down a neighborhood street, when without warning, I suddenly had no power at all. My acceleration was gone, and I thought that the engine had died, however everything was running, and the engine light was not on. I pumped the gas pedal and got nothing, fortunately there was a convenience store coming up on my right, which I was able to turn into. At that point I noticed the "wrench" icon lighted up on the dashboard, I thought it might be a good idea to turn the engine off and see if it was a glitch, since I had just had the oil changed at the dealership earlier in the day. At least I was hoping that was the case. The car started perfectly, it took a few seconds to shake itself, which still worried me, and proceeded to act normally as I drove home, where I currently am. I advised my son about what happened and he checked up on auto defects on the Ford Escape and brought them to my attention, that is why I am reporting what happened to me today. I will be bringing this to the attention of the dealership first thing tomorrow morning due to my needing the use of my vehicle for work.
Leaving parking lot and the car began to lurch. Then it began to idle with the lurch. Pressed accelerator and no response other than the lurching idle. Had the car towed to Ford dealer. The service advisor later stated that the throttle body needed to be replaced and that the parts are back ordered. Probably 12 days was his statement. Recently found out that it may be 3 to 4 more weeks for the part.
My 2011 Ford Escape has gone into limp mode while in motion three times this month, July 2013. My local Ford dealership diagnosed the problem as a malfunctioning throttle body.
While driving at speed, the vehicle instantly lost power. Gas pedal was non-responsive. I was able to pull the vehicle to a safe spot off the main roadway. When the vehicle was put into park, it idled roughly and the orange wrench warning light came on. Turned the vehicle off and waited a few seconds. Turned the vehicle back on and was able to return home without further incident. Took vehicle to local dealer service the next day and was informed that this is a known problem and that the repair part needed is currently on extensive backorder, maybe up to several weeks. The primary concern over this type of issue is that it could occur to someone who is at highway speed and would be unable to reach a stopping point safely. The fact that the part needed to fix the issue is on extensive backorder indicates that this is hardly an isolated incident.
While driving on freeway with speed approx. 60mph, accelerator became inactive, no acceleration was possible, the car seemed that it had died. We maneuvered to the right lane and then pulled off onto the shoulder. The accelerator would not work again until we turned the car off and started it again. This happened once more a week later - when we took the car to Ford service we were told that it was likely the throttle module but Ford would not replace it even though our car is under warranty for a few more months. On 7/13/2013, we were on the freeway again at 60mph approx. And within a 5mile stretch of freeway, the same thing happened 5 times, each time we were in heavy freeway traffic. We were on our way out of town, but turned around and came back, taking a back road rather than the freeway.
Vehicle lost power - was running but could not accelerate. Turned car off and restarted and it was operating correctly. Called dealership service to inquire if they know what might have happened. They advised they had never heard of that before. Incident occurred 2 additional times over the next few months. Last time vehicle was out of warranty. Took to dealership and we were advised car out of warranty. We insisted there was a problem and it was dangerous to operate. They would not tow so we drove vehicle to dealership and they replaced throttle body assembly. We were only charged a $75 deductible. Vehicle has not been operated enough to determine if problem is fixed.
While driving at speed the Escape suddenly loses power. The engine remains running but the vehicle begins to slow and depressing the throttle has no effect. The only indication on the dash is a small wrench shaped light on the lower left side. Once the vehicle is stopped, I turn the engine off and restart. From the point the Escape runs fine. This problem started two weeks ago. It has occurred six times. 4 occurrences on the highway and speed and 2 occurrences on neighborhood streets while traveling in the 20 - 25 mph range.
Driving the truck suddenly would not accelerate and just shut off. I was able to start and coast over out of traffic.truck would start again but would not accelerate no more then 5-10mph and shut off.vehicle was towed to southgate Ford I was put in a dangerous position on the road.this could have been fatal if I was on the freeway. On top of all of the same complains of the same thing the dealership says I have to pay for work & parts truck pass my warranty limit and would not honor my Ford employee discount for parts or aarp discount to add insult to injury plus ican purchase online the parts from Ford.southgate wants to charge me $476.54 for parts I can order from Ford the parts myself for $262.09 online. What a shame checkin the oasis results for my vehicle I am appauled this is not on the recall list. How many people have to be killed first befoe this is addressed.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Dupont, PA, USA