Print this page

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
8 / 0
Average Mileage:
96,332 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 electrical problems

electrical problem

Find something helpful? Spread the word.
Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2009 Ford Escape:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

2009 Ford Escape Owner Comments (Page 2 of 7)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #118

Aug 012018

Escape

  • miles

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

I received the car for my aunt who purchased it new. In 2018. Power steering was going out. I reached out to Ford they said they had a recall. I gave my VIN number and they said my car was not from the lot that was for the recall but having the same issue. I looked online and there are many people having the same issue for the same year make up my car.

- Gloucester, NJ, USA

problem #117

Nov 272020

Escape

  • 195,000 miles
My vehicle is coming alive at night with headlights and radio coming on that I haven't be able to park it in my garage as O feel like it may end up catching fire. While driving it will shut down the turn signals, break lights, and climate controls and shut off the radio. I've narrowly avoided many collisions due to having no turn signals and break lights at night and throughout the day. I've talked to other owners of the model years in question and all seem to share similar experiences some ending in accidents and others paying thousands out of pocket for faulty PCM's or electrical wiring to the ignition. It happens randomly when driving or when the car is off and in park I feel as if this is an issue Ford is aware of as I've talked to almost 1,000 people all sharing similar issues and upon taking them to the dealer it's costed $500-$2,000 depending what the dealers came up with some being the PCM others being the wiring to the ignition, some being a bad fuse box and the dealers just throw parts at it to just have the issue come back 6 months down the road and then try to say now it's something else and it's going to be another $500-$2,000 in parts or try and push the owner to a new vehicle. I contacted my local Ford dealer and he said they aren't equipped to do this kind of work that I'll need to go to a hub dealership and it would be about $400 just to diagnose with having to pull the dash, steering column and check the PCM. Then it'd be parts and labor to fix the issue if the find anything wrong but I wouldn't be notified till after the repairs were completed.

- Fairfield, OH, USA

problem #116

Jun 092020

Escape

  • 200 miles
While driving the steering wheel will lock up and then the car lose power and shuts off

- Poughkeepsie, NY, USA

problem #115

Aug 312020

Escape

  • miles

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

While driving or stationary, the power steering assist fails and defaults to manual steering. This has happened on city roads, highways, and stationary. The steering wheel will actually snap back while holding it steering. The air conditioner fails to work when this happens as well. This has periodically been happening even though the date listed is today. Ford was contacted and advised my vehicle wasn't manufactured at the specific plant so it shouldn't have any issues (even though it's experiencing the exact issues as the recall) and recommended I take it to a dealership and pay $1500+ out of pocket to correct the issue.

- Fort Mitchell, KY, USA

problem #114

May 132020

Escape 6-cyl

  • 135,000 miles
Power steering goes in and out while driving.

- Monroe, MI, USA

problem #113

Mar 052020

Escape

  • 189,687 miles
The contact owns 2009 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 5 mph, the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to sheehy Ford Lincoln of richmond located at (10601 midlothian turnpike, richmond, va 23235), to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the steering column needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was informed that NHTSA campaign number: 14V284000 (steering) repair was performed in 2014. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 189,687.

- Chester, VA, USA

problem #112

Jan 072020

Escape

  • 183,000 miles

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

I was exiting the freeway, turning left when all the sudden my steering wheel froze and I was unable to turn. I barely got myself to a safe place to park my car and was lucky to not cause an accident. I took it to a Ford dealership/ repair shop where they told me the steering shaft torque sensor needed to be replaced and that they had to fix the steering column too. There was a recall on 2008-20011 Ford Escapes for this exact issue!! however when I called Ford to set things right they told me they would not honor the recall. The previous owner got a software update though this was only 1 of 3 fixes that Ford should have done. Ford knows they have unsafe cars on the road and yet they tell the consumer to pay for their improper and faulty product. I don't see why I should have to pay for this when this has been an issue that was recalled; an issue that is exactly what happened to my car. Ford is choosing to not fix the problem and it is a major safety issue to myself, my family and those on the road. How can you get around not fixing your recall" how is that legal"

- Eugene, OR, USA

problem #111

Dec 092019

Escape

  • 125,000 miles
Tire pressure light comes on and and dome light blinks when the car is running all of the time.

- Paso Robles, CA, USA

problem #110

Nov 032019

Escape

  • 1,654,200 miles
Power steering assist fault recall

- Springfield, IL, USA

problem #109

Oct 072019

Escape

  • 177,000 miles
Highway speeds. Wrench light comes on and vehicle loses all power/throttle response. Pull off road, put vehicle in park, restart and computer seems to reset. Had been 1-2 times per year over the last couple of years and struggled to diagnose problem. Happened 8 times in 150 mile trip today.

- Waxhaw, NC, USA

problem #108

Mar 302017

Escape

  • 115,000 miles

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

Bought my 2009 Ford Escape XLT 4WD in 2016.had no problems up until around March, 2017 when trying to start vehicle.turned the key to start and it wouldn't. thinking maybe there was a little moisture on ignition key seeing how it had rained earler and keys were exposed but nope.pulled key out and flipped it over then retried. It did start and didn't think anymore about it. Didn't happen again till about 4 mos later and has gradually gotten worse over time. Now have to make several attempts...up to 5-6 times other day before it started. Just by chance I had pushed the ignition key further in the start position and felt key slip into ignition a "hair" more. It started up immediately. Thought that maybe original key was getting worn and that was what the problem was but after reading many other complaints about exact same issue it shows that there is a serious problem and Ford needs to address this. I have to travel alone when out of state for dr visits or family matters. Would say this can become a serious safety issue especially for a family.

- Calvert City, KY, USA

problem #107

Jul 282019

Escape

  • 214,000 miles
Steering has completely frozen during operation making controlling the vehicle virtually impossible. I'm absolutely petrified to drive my vehicle. These problems are very irresponsible on Ford behalf. On a straight road traveling about 25-30 mph. Next I had a left turn coming and my steering wheel failed to turn, and almost ran into another vehicle head on. To say I'm petrified of my vehicle at this point is a gross understatement.

- Harlan, KY, USA

problem #106

Jul 162019

Escape

  • miles
Vehicle shut down while in motion.

- Lancaster, NY, USA

problem #105

Jul 152019

Escape

  • 143,600 miles
My wife was driving down the highway when her Escape just kept shutting down to the point she almost got rear ended at 65-70mph. Ford had a field service action on this issue is a faulty electronic throttle body malfunction that never made it as a recall. I tried to get Ford to restart this field service as they said my wife's car was past the warranty. Needs to be as a recall not a field service complaint she could have been severely injured or died from this I am out $150 and half day of work to fix this because Ford won't do a recall to save their ass.

- Fayetteville, PA, USA

problem #104

Jan 152019

Escape

  • 130,000 miles
Complete loss of power steering during any point in driving.

- San Francisco, CA, USA

problem #103

Jan 012018

Escape

  • 106,500 miles
Key ignition switch is difficult to work. After turning to the start position you have to push the key in for the vehicle to start. This started about a year ago and the problem has got worst to the point that it can take up to 10 tries and 3 or 4 minutes to get it started.you should not have to punch the key in hard (especially us with arthritis) then turn to get started. This happens every time I try to start the car and extremely stressful when away from home. This is a common flaw of this car and must be fixed by Ford.

- Santa Cruz, CA, USA

problem #102

Dec 122018

Escape

  • 179,000 miles
Power steering went out while driving with no warning so there was a recall on some but not all Escapes on a city street while I was turning at an intersection

- Paradise, TX, USA

problem #101

Mar 092019

Escape

  • 123,000 miles
Power steering failure. Exact failure as reported under Ford recall # 14S05 but this specific VIN# is not a part of the recall. Power steering failed while driving. Could have potentially resulted in loss of control and crash.

- Tulsa, OK, USA

problem #100

Mar 072019

Escape

  • 187,000 miles
The vehicle is having electrical issues. The for dealer says its a sensor but it has thrown out my power steering

- Shelby, MI, USA

problem #99

Mar 022019

Escape

  • 130,280 miles
While traveling at 35mph on a city street an alert sounded on the vehicle followed by a message stating power steering assist fault. Vehicle immediately became hard to steer and nearly resulted in a collusion. Managed to pull vehicle in a parking lot and message continued to be displayed after restarting vehicle. Contacted tow service to have vehicle towed to dealership.

- Norman, OK, USA

Read the next 20 complaints »

Not what you are looking for?