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.
While driving, the vehicle lost power. When pressing on gas it just coasted. The wrench warning light came on. Was able to get to side of the road, but almost got hit from behind. Turned vehicle off, restarted and was back on the road. On other occasions there has been some surging. I see that there has been many complaints on this problem and it is getting some press that there is a defective part (throttle body). I contacted Ford service and was told that they could look at it, but it is not under warranty. However, the wrench warning light indicate a power train issue, I was told it is not covered under the power train warranty. This does not make sense and it truly looks like a defective part. This is very unsafe and could result in a very bad accident in traffic. This needs to be a recall since they are aware of the issue.
The contact owns a 2009 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving approximately 60 mph, the vehicle failed to accelerate and the RPM increased. The contact mentioned that the wrench symbol warning light illuminated. Also, the contact stated that the failure occurred intermittently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the failure was not diagnosed. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 20,000 and the current mileage was 60,000.
My first incident with my 2009 Ford Escape happened shortly after I bought it. After just starting my truck and driving a short distance, the truck would not accelerate but the RPM's were roaring to over 6000 and my truck finally shot out into traffic. Luckily on a very busy street, no one was coming at the time. After that the truck had multiple incidents of not accelerating in traffic and a roaring and rapid rise in RPM's. I learned to immediately turn my car off (in the middle of the road) and then restart and it would usually work properly. It can be very scary. It would often slam into gear when this happened which I know was not good for my transmission. This happened intermittently so I knew it might be hard for a technician to replicate. When I took it to the dealer for 3 years they said everything was fine. When my warranty was up I went in and insisted that they fix my truck. They replaced a tie rod, fixed the sway bar linkage and said it was fine. It started making really loud noises a month later and I took it to my mechanic who again fixed the linkage. I called Ford and they kept the truck for a couple weeks and did extensive transmission work. It has had 2 problem since but not as bad. I still worry about front end issues after 3 years of slamming into gear with the engine revving. I bought this vehicle(usually I leased my truck) because I was retiring and now I feel I must get rid of it because of anticipated mechanical trouble.
Our 2009 Ford Escape is stalling and surging. The Escape suddenly decelerates like it is stalling out, on other occasions it accelerates and revs the engine really high then drops back down.
My Ford Escape 2009 keeps losing acceleration ability. The first time it happened I was only going 25 on a residential road so I was able to pull over easily. Wrench light is on, I turn car off and restart and acceleration is fine. The next time I was pulling out of my driveway again turn car off wait turn car on and I'm fine next time heading home from work on a very busy street happened in the intersection had to get over limped into a quick trip turned off then back on works fine. But who is to say this won't happen when I am trying to turn against traffic I would be in a serious wreck. Took it to the dealership the mechanic could not get a code off the computer. They are still trying but when a women (myself) mentions throttle body they try to say no that couldn't be it.
- Independence, MO, USA
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2009 Ford Escape. Consumer writes in regards to acceleration problems. The consumer stated she was driving in the city, at 50 mph, when suddenly the vehicle failed to accelerate. Her foot was all the way to the floor, but it would not accelerate. She also noticed two symbols, a gas and a wrench light, appeared on the left side of the dashboard. She was able to pull over, and turned the engine off. Shortly after she turned the engine off and started it again, she was able to drive without any problem. She contacted the dealer, and was advised to monitor the situation. On December 21, 2012, as she was driving 40 mph in the city, the vehicle suddenly failed to accelerate again. At that time, only the symbol of the wrench appeared on the left side of the dashboard. The consumer took the vehicle to the dealer for an inspection, only to be told, they could not find a problem.
This happened first on January 7 and again today jjnuary 10, 2013. The car suddenly stops. The yellow wrench warning light comes on and indicates throttle control problem. Can turn car off and restart and drive normally. It was very scary as my wife was left in the dark in the middle of a busy street. It seems to be very intermiitent. I have read others reports of this and Ford apparently is not taking action. This is very dangerous situation which many have reported.
My vehicle will be driving fine until suddenly the car losses the ability to accelerate and the "wrench" light appears and the engine shakes forcefully. At that time I power the vehicle off and restart it. When it restarts the engine shakes for like 30 seconds and then the car proceeds to drive normal until the next incident occurs. At the time I was driving on a busy road at about 50 miles per hour. This has happened on several occasions. I was on the highway driving 65 and it has happened. I have three kids and this is extremely dangerous.
Driving and wrench light came on at the same time that the vehicle lost power. This had happened previously on 11/25/12 and the dealer repair was replacing both vct solenoids and valve cover gaskets. Both times when this had happened before I turned the engine off and restarted after 3-5 minutes. I was able to go another 6-8 miles and then the wrench light came back on. The second time, the check engine light came on and then seconds later 8 other lights were lit on the dash. I turned the engine off after coasting to the median of the highway (was in left lane with traffic at 55mph) and waited for a tow from the dealer. Now the dealer is telling me this repair (replacement of throttle body) is not covered as the vehicle is more than 3 years old (actually, I've had it for 44 months). I want Ford to pay for this repair as it seems rather common from what I'm seeing on-line.
Was on road.car just stop accelerating light came on, pulled to side of road. Turned off. Restarted and worked find for a couple of days. Now have to deal with every other day. Called dealership, and they said I need to pay for repair. It should be a recall. Has happened alot to people.
Was driving on the interstate and the car stopped responding to the gas pedal. Car had to be towed to a Ford dealer, where it was determined the throttle body is bad and has to be replaced to the tune of $350. A google search reveals this is a known problem, there just hasn't been a formal recall yet.
My Ford Escape 2009 keeps losing acceleration ability. The first time it happened I was only going 25 on a residential road so I was able to pull over easily. Wrench light is on, I turn car off and restart and acceleration is fine. The next time I was out of traveling out of town on the interstate at 60 mph when engine began to decelerate, luckily I was able to pull over to emergency lane. Again I turned car off and when I turned it back on everything seem to return to normal. I had the car towed because I did not feel safe continuing to drive it. The mechanic could not get a code off the computer. The mechanic drove it and was unable to get problem to occur. I had to pick up the car with no resolution. I risked my life and drove it home. It happened again on the way home. I will not be driving my car again until this is resolved. It seems Ford is aware of this problem with the throttle body. If someone is injured or killed because of this issue Ford will be held liable. Ford you have been officially notified of this hazardous malfunction and legally are now responsible for the outcome.
Pulling out into traffic while stopped, pressed gas peddle car rolled but not strong, hesitated as I had told Ford dealer, had to slam brakes so car would not go, by then upcoming car was to close. No accident but scared me. This happens often. Not safe to have passengers, or myself. Many complaints to Ford but nothing done about it.
The contact owns a 2009 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving 20 mph, the vehicle made a noise and the vehicle would not accelerate past 20 mph. The vehicle was taken to the a dealer for inspection and they stated that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified and they stated that the warranty was expired. The failure mileage was 60,600. The VIN was unavailable.
In February 2012 (mileage approx 32900), I experienced jerking upon accelerating as my 2009 Ford Escape was changing gears. The dealer assessed it as a computer malfunction and reprogrammed the computer. My wife and I have had intermittent problems with jerking upon accelerating since. Then, on 10/20/2012 (mileage approx 38000), the vehicle stalled when my wife was accelerating to enter traffic on the interstate highway. Thankfully, she was able to get out of traffic without getting hit, and she and our 18 month old are ok. The dealership is replacing the throttle body. Not only was acceleration a problem, the seals on the front axle broke and spilled axle fluid on the drivers side, so the dealer is refilling the axle fluid and replacing the seals.
I was driving on the interstate when I started to lose power and the throttle control/drivetrain light came on. I pulled to the berm and the engine felt like it was missing and it would not respond when I pressed the accelerator. I turned the vehicle off, waited and then turned it back on. The light was off and it ran okay. I continued to work with no further problems. On the way home from work the exact same thing occurred only traffic was much heavier on the interstate so getting to the berm was much more hazardous. I turned it off and then back on and it ran okay again. I contacted my local Ford dealer and was able to schedule an appt for the next evening. The next day on the way to work the vehicle did the same thing as I pulled into an intersection. Traffic was light so I was able to stop turn it off and then back on and it ran okay. I took it to the dealer that evening and they kept it so their service dept could analysis the problem. The next evening they contacted me and advised they could find nothing wrong with the vehicle. I picked it up and drove it to work and home the next day with no problem. The following day it occurred again and I contacted the dealer and they had me bring it in. I was approx. 15 miles from the dealership when I contacted them and the vehicle did the same thing 2 more times before I could get to the dealership, once in an intersection and once on the interstate. After they analyzed it again they advised me it was the throttle body actuator (code P2111 throttle body actuator stuck open forced to limit power) the vehicle has just over 37,500 miles on it so it is not covered by warranty. Looking on the web and the NHTSA website this doesn't appear unique to my vehicle. Since this occurs without any warning and has happened at very inopportune times this looks to be a safety concern.
Shortly after entering highway on dark rainy evening, with no fore warning, car began to shake and lose power. Was able to pull to side of highway. Even though I was pressing on the gas, car would not go forward. Wrench light was illuminated on the dashboard. Called for assistance. When help arrived they suggested I turn off vehicle. When I turned back on, car was fine. The next day, with no warning, same thing occurs on neighborhood road. When we took to Ford dealer today, the problem did not repeat so they have no repair code. This is a very dangerous situation....could lead to accident on highway...I have to drive 17 miles to work on highway and I am scared.
The car jerks forward without pressing the gas pedal. When switching from reverse to drive it jerks forward also. I just read an article that talks about the same type of problem with other Ford Escapes.
We were driving our Escape back from the store and all of the sudden it lost power and the throttle did not respond, this happened several times over the next few days. We took it to the shop and found out the throttle body was bad, there is no reason the throttle body should fail at all much less in a newer model car with low mileage. Had we been pulling out on to a road we could have been involved in an accident! I don't think ours is an isolated indecent from what I have read online.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Franklin, TN, USA