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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
67,503 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 drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2009 Ford Escape Owner Comments (Page 7 of 14)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #156

Sep 142012

Escape 6-cyl

  • 56,000 miles

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

We have had this vehicle in for service many times to try and find out why it often will hesitate to accelerate. Recently it has begun to stall while driving. This has happened numerous times and without warning and at various speeds. Luckily we have been able to avoid an accident. Tonight when it happened the car stalled and the power train throttle control light came on. After the stall we put the car in park, then restarted it. We were able to drive to safety but the car was not driving smoothly.

- Allentown, PA, USA

problem #155

Sep 112013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 67,000 miles
I was driving at 40 mph and the throttle control/powertrain light came on. There was some jerking, a loss of power and I coasted to the curve. I turned the car off, restarted and drove maybe 2 miles, the light came back on and there was a loss of power again. This happen 4 times and I was able to make it back home. I just had a complete fuel system cleaning that was supposed to clean the throttle on August 14, 2013. I thought I was having maintenance done to prevent my car from malfunctioning. This is the 1st time the throttle light has come on. This is dangerous and I see that other drivers with the Ford Escape are have the same type of problems. Please make Ford motors address this problem.

- Little Rock, AR, USA

problem #154

May 112013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 32,798 miles
While driving on the highway to our vacation, my car felt like it was surging and the engine light came on. I took my car to the local Ford dealership and the diagnoses code was P0012 and P0022. Both vct solenoids were replaced. My 4 yr old car was still under warranty at the time. 2nd incident took place Sunday, 09/08/2013. Was driving at 45 mph and my car cut off!!! no lights came on until the engine stopped, and at that time the oil & battery lights came on. I was barely able to coast into the median. My local Ford dealership could not see me until this Thursday, 09/12/2013. So the problem has not been diagnosed at this time. I have been told by 2 Ford dealerships that it sounds like the full throttle body. Very scary & very, very dangerous!!! I am not driving my car. Mileage is 34,791. This needs to be recalled before someone gets killed. I sent an email to Ford customer complaints &have not heard back. My car is 4 yrs old & has had 2 major incidents that could have caused major accidents.

- Taylors, SC, USA

problem #153

Jun 042013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 69,500 miles

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

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 #152

Aug 202013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 79,121 miles
I was driving down the highway when suddenly my Ford Escape began shaking and felt as if something fell out from under it (speed at this time was 55 mph). I lost gas pedal responsiveness. I coasted into a parking lot. The check engine light was on. It was spitting and sputtering. I sat there a few minutes, put it in gear, and pressed the gas pedal. It was as if the gas pedal was not being applied at all. I called my husband who suggested I put it in park, turn off the switch, and he would tell me when to restart the engine. When I started it back up the check engine light was on but it drove like nothing had happened. I had a diagnostic test ran (not at a Ford co.). no problems were detected and the light went off later. I had no more problems until 8/20/2013. The powertrain warning light came on. I was on the way to the local Ford service center. I had to coast to the side of the road multiple times, stop, put the vehicle in park, turn it off, and restart the engine. I had to do this at least 35-40 times enroute to the service center which was only 3 miles from my starting point (speed was 5 mph-45 mph). I got to the service center, parked the vehicle, and walked in. Service tech asked if he could help me. I said, "I'm having problems with my car shaking and loosing power. It's like it's in neutral. The check engine light is on and the powertrain light came on. I coast to the side of the road, put it in park, turn it off, and restart it. Then I can go again." The service tech said, "your vehicle is either a Ford Explorer or a Ford Escape." I said, "that tells me this happens a lot. It's an Escape. Is there a recall on it"" he said, "no." I said, "I have an extended warranty on my vehicle check to see if the problem is covered"" he checked and said, "you have coverage (warranty is 72/100,000 cpo powertraincare wty w/roadside) but it doesn't cover the problem."

- Morehead City, NC, USA

problem #151

Sep 092013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 66,000 miles
I drove at a constant speed (approx 30-35 mph) and all of a sudden wrench light came on and I could not accelerate. Rpms did weird things, gas pedal didn't do anything, putting it in neutral in a drift down speed did nothing, park did nothing. Engine never stopped, ac and radio worked...just couldn't accelerate. I finally made it to the side of the road, put it in park and shut off the engine. Started it again (started right up), light was gone and vehicle ran fine the rest of the way home. Was very dangerous because I lost power in an intersection. Scary because my 7 year old was with me.

- Hillsboro, MO, USA

problem #150

Aug 212013

Escape 4-cyl

  • 76,000 miles

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

Since I purchased my 2009 Ford Escape in November 2011, my car would occasionally just as I began to move after a stop sign or make a turn after stopping. About a year ago, my car had stalled in the middle of a street with the electricity out. This August, the car completely stalled (the electricity was still on) an onramp to interstate 81. I was able to restart it and attempt to go home, but when I turned left after stopping at a light, the car stalled again. The local Ford dealership said, " verified concern, pulled code P2112 throttle body stuck closed, performed all of the pinpoint tests and the throttle body failed the functionality test, removed air tube and found the throttle is very slow to respond to commands."

- Mechanicsburg, PA, USA

problem #149

Sep 072013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 86,000 miles
Randomly the orange wrench light will come on and the car will lose power and shut off. I have to stop the car and then it restarts. This has happened in the middle of a freeway and was lucky to get to the side pull off. Very random as it once happened twice in a day and then again a week later. This has been a recurring problem in multiple Ford in doing research on line. Why has this not been recalled? problem seems to be the throttle body. Very dangerous. I have car at the dealership now and waiting their response.

- West Chester, PA, USA

problem #148

Aug 272013

Escape

  • 89,600 miles
On August 16 I was driving into work on the highway when all of a sudden my Ford Escape lost gas pedal responsiveness and the power train warning light came on. I coasted to the side of the road and stopped. Restarted and everything was ok. Took it into my mechanic the next day and he couldn't find anything wrong with it. Over the next week the same issue happened 5 more times in random places while driving. Each of these times it would make a sudden shake and then the engine light would come on, gas pedal won't work till I stopped and restarted the engine. I was unable to take it back to my mechanic till the end of the following week and was hoping I could survive till then but on August 27 while I was turning left in a busy intersection it happened again. The person behind me rear ended me causing major damage to their car and minor damage to mine. I was luckily able to get out of the intersection by slowly inching across it with everyone honking at me. That was the final straw. I did some research online and figured out that this was actually a known problem with an open investigation (PE13003) and multiple known complaints. My mechanic confirmed that my research was right when he ran a diagnostic check and got error code P2112. He replaced the throttle body for $650. This is a serious issue that caused an accident. Ford needs to issue a recall before someone gets seriously injured or killed.

- Ellicott City, MD, USA

problem #147

Sep 052013

Escape

  • 51,000 miles
I was driving down the street and stopped at a stop sign. My car began to sputter a bit then lost power - did not shut off completely but the gas pedal would not respond. Wrench light came on. Shut the car off and started it back up again without a problem. About a 1/4 mile down the road, same thing happened and check engine light came on. I was low on gas, so I thought that might be the problem. Filled the tank the next morning and the check engine light went off, drove fine to work. Left work, went to pick my son up, and on the way home (about an hour of driving), the car did the same thing it had done before. This time, I was going a lot faster and in the middle of traffic. Very scary and very dangerous. It took me about 6 times of shutting the car off and starting it up again to get home (which was only about 4 miles away).

- Beaufort, SC, USA

problem #146

Sep 042013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 82,000 miles

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

On the morning of Sept 4, 2013- I was making a turn at about 20 miles an hour. I had just about completed the turn when I was engaging the gas peddle to continue on, but the car was running and it wasn't going. I was able to coast off the road. I turned the car off. I started the car back up and had power from the peddle again, so I proceeded up the street only to have the same thing happen to me again, as I was turning at the next very busy intersection. I was lucky that there happened to be a gas station on the right side of the road. I pulled in and turned the car off. I contacted the Ford dealership where I purchased my car to have them come tow my vehicle, and verify the reason for the incidents. I was informed that it is the throttle body, and it will need to be replaced. The part is on back order, but I am paying an extra fee to have it expedited. I am very lucky that on both times this happened, another vehicle was not right behind me, because I would have been rear ended and possibly injured.

- Greenwood , IN, USA

problem #145

Aug 312013

Escape

  • miles
We were driving along at a steady pace of 60 mph all of sudden there was a shudder felt by everyone in the vehicle and the wrench light came on. The car would not accelerate and dropped speed very quickly, and also making a jerking motion. Luckily, there was no one behind us, we pulled over to the side of the road, and shut off the vehicle. Popped the hood to see what was wrong and could not find anything. We turned the car back on and the wrench light was on and the vehicle ran just fine. Doing research online found that this is a throttle body issue. I just want to say that if this would have happened while someone was behind us, there would have been an accident as we would have been rear ended. Something should be done about this.

- Slayton, MN, USA

problem #144

Sep 012013

Escape 4-cyl

  • 125,000 miles
While driving home with family on Sept 1st, 2013, our 2009 Ford Escape decelerated quite rapidly from 45-50 mph to 0 mph within 10 seconds and wrench warning light came on. We were able to safely pull over and turn off engine. We waited a minute and it started back up again (no wrench warning light was no longer on) and we were able to make it home. It appears to be a faulty throttle body.

- West Linn, OR, USA

problem #143

Aug 212013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 42,925 miles
I was accelerating & at approx 50 mph the car jerked, a wrench symbol came on & I started loosing speed. I coasted to the shoulder of the road & cut the car off. I let it sit a few minutes & restarted it. The car drove fine to my destination but when I left to return home, it did the same thing again. The next day my mechanic ran the scanner but no codes showed up. About 3 days later I experienced another incident & not only did the wrench symbol come on but an engine symbol also. My owners manual said this meant "service engine soon". I had just had the oil changed and everything checked a few days before all this started! this happens at different speeds and on flat land or inclines. This is scary because you never know when or where your car is going to lose power & cut off. I took my car back to my mechanic & he cleaned the throttle body. He said it was extremely "gunked up" for a vehicle that only had 43,000 miles on it. $186.85 later I prayed this would fix the problem. On my way home I lost power twice. Once was on a very busy highway. I was in the right lane & traffic was speeding towards my right side coming from an exit ramp. I had to Dodge the traffic with my power failing & "limp" to the shoulder of the road. I'm still not sure how I made it to the side of the highway without getting hit! my mechanic was upset as well because the problem was not obvious and he felt responsible for putting me in danger. After more investigation we stumbled upon the fact that I am not alone! several people have had this problem! so much so that the throttle body is a very hard part to locate. After much searching, I was informed that a throttle body had been found and my car could be repaired for $588.26. I hope this recall will soon be approved because this is a very dangerous problem and I would hate for people to be killed before the severity is recognized.

- New Bern, NC, USA

problem #142

Sep 012013

Escape

  • 55,000 miles
My 2009 Ford Escape with 55,000mi started stalling at lower speeds along with a jerky idle. Just recently the car began stalling at freeway speeds, twice in one day. Well after researching my problem and reading countless complaints that were in the exact nature as mine came to believe it was the throttle body. I called my dealership and asked if they've replaced a lot of these parts and the response was "ohh yea". you can't buy this part anywhere but at the dealership which is about $300. If you want it installed I saw an avg. Between $500-$600. If your in my position and need your car to run safely, buy the part and install it yourself. It literally took my 15min to install very simple, look on youtube or whatever and at least save yourself $200-$300. I got the throttle body for $250 shopping around. And to rub salt in my wound the guy who sells me the part was like" if you would've bought this part 2mos ago it was $100-$150 cheaper"!" great...after removing the part the new one is different, slightly, so they tried to fix the problem. My real concern is a serious accident can happen when your car totally dies on the freeway, frequently! and after all the complaints I've read about this matter that no recall was ordered. Also ppl keep your receipt if there is a recall we want our money.

- Euclid, OH, USA

problem #141

Aug 312013

Escape

  • 37,000 miles
As I was driving down the highway, my car surges and then starts to slow down. I push the gas but nothing happens. The wrench sign pops up and I immediately exit and try to make it to the side of the road. Putting the car in neutral and pushing the gas pedal does nothing now either. Shut the car off and continue driving. Drive for not even a mile and it happens again. Shut it off and drove home without an issue. Searched the web and I can see this happens a lot. Just bought the car certified pre owned the day of the incident. Hoping its covered under powertrain warranty, if not I don't know what ill do. This is a dangerous issue and needs to be fixed. Its happening to so many people. Very very upset dealership would sell me a car knowing that this issue existed.

- Fort Worth, TX, USA

problem #140

Aug 302013

Escape 4-cyl

  • 108,000 miles
I will suddenly lose all throttle power while driving down the road. It doesn't matter what my speed is when this happens, and it happens every time I drive my vehicle but at random times. My power steering and power brakes will be fine, but I will have no throttle at all. I can push the gas pedal all the way to the floor and I feel no response and get no response from the vehicle. After a computer check, the displayed code showed that there was a problem with the throttle body. I have had the throttle body cleaned but the problem persists. It appears to be the same problem that many other owners have had and the same problem covered by recalls, just not on my model year.

- Somerset, KY, USA

problem #139

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 #138

Aug 262013

Escape

  • 58,500 miles
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 #137

Aug 272013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 72,888 miles
On 8-27-13, I was driving on the interstate to work, traveling 65mph, when my vehicle made a sudden surge and then lost speed. The RPM gauge went completely down and my vehicle would not accelerate. I was almost rear ended due to the sudden decrease in speed and not being able to do anything but swerve into the median. I turned the vehicle off and let it set for a second or two and when I cranked it up, it was fine. I am now terrified to drive this vehicle. This was probably the single scariest thing I have ever been thru.

- Chatham, LA, USA

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