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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
71,083 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 engine problems

engine problem

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2009 Ford Escape Owner Comments (Page 4 of 13)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #191

Aug 072014

Escape 6-cyl

  • 67,000 miles

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

Check engine light came on as with the drive train light. Had computer read. Showing a P2119 code/throttle actuator control. Note: Vehicle was in Ford dealer on 24 July 2014 due to recall issued on PCM.

- Vancouver, WA, USA

problem #190

Jul 252014

Escape 4-cyl

  • 105,000 miles
After fill-up, engine went into limp mode and vehicle would not accelerate. First instance happened while my daughter was pulling out into traffic and resulted in near accident. The engine has done this several additional times but not for long enough to set the trouble code or light. This resulted in a dangerous driving situation and all vehicles with this potential defect need to be recalled. Took to the Ford dealer on 7/28/14 and they advised me they could not fix the problem unless the trouble codes were stored in the PCM. 'this is not right- they need to repair because the NHTSA states that only approximately 50% of the vehicles with this problem have triggered the trouble codes.

- Lubbock, TX, USA

problem #189

Jul 142014

Escape 4WD 6-cyl

  • 73,317 miles
Engine started in parking lot with a very rough idle. I thought it may be a fuel issue because the car started but dies immediately after giving gas to the pedal. The 2009 Ford Escape was towed to our mechanic and he reported it has a seized engine on the exhaust vavle #1 cylinder. I then had the car towed to the Ford dealership to have a new Ford engine replaced. I am concerned this is related to the gas throttle recall as the engine was running fine and with low miles and oil changes every 3,000 miles it just does not make sense. The Ford dealership cost for a new engine is $7000. You would hope Ford could stand by their recall product, but they said no warranty on powertrain. This is a very unfortunate and very expensive repair. Updated 4/24/2015

- Sebastopol, CA, USA

problem #188

Jul 182014

Escape 4-cyl

  • 96,000 miles

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

I've had my vehicle serviced and was hold that I have a "perfuse" oil leak in my motor. And my motor has less than a 100,000 miles on it..

- Longview, TX, USA

problem #187

Jul 092014

Escape

  • 91,320 miles
The contact owns a 2009 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving approximately 10 mph, the vehicle suddenly stalled. After restarting the engine the failure recurred. The contact indicated that during the incident the maintenance service sensor light had illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 91,320.

- Rome, GA, USA

problem #186

Aug 132013

Escape

  • 52,000 miles
Vct solenoids and cam sensors are faulty. The vehicle stalls randomly, engine lags and exibits poor fuel mpg. The problem occured just out of warranty and upon research; I have discovered this issue is very vast with 2009-2011 Ford Escapes, Mercury mariners, 2010-2011 Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan vehicles equipped with the 3.0L engine and built on or before 3-1-2011. My 2009 Ford Escape and many others vehicles should be recalled at no cost out of warranty.

- Byron, GA, USA

problem #185

May 082014

Escape

  • 90,000 miles

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

My family were returning from vacation when the car decelerated with no warning. We were on the interstate and we were inches from being rear ended by the upcoming traffic. I have been told the issue is with the throttle body and that it is not being recalled because you can still drive it. How about you tell that to my terrified girls (ages 6 and under) that it is safe to have cars and trucks flying past you at 70 mph and you can't accelerate to move out of the way quick enough. A month later, the same thing happened to my wife returning from work. That's twice in 2 months. We have only the one car and have not been on vacation for fear of the car decelerating. I guess instead of being in the business of preventing accidents, people have to die first before anything will be done to protect consumers.

- Greenville, NC, USA

problem #184

Jun 142014

Escape

  • 39,000 miles
The vehicle suddenly lost engine power, came nearly to a stop but continued to jump forward until I turned it off. I have been told the problem is the throttle body.

- Nashville, TN, USA

problem #183

Aug 242013

Escape

  • 45,000 miles
Was accelerating when the vehicle seemed to shut off. Vehicle restarted and about a month later did it again pulling away from an intersection. Dealer confirmed it was a faulty throttle body and charged 100 dollars to fix.

- Palm Harbor, FL, USA

problem #182

May 202014

Escape

  • 58,000 miles
Had car set on cruise control, felt a pop or a snap under car, looked down and cruise went off and I was coasting, I had my foot in the gas and the RPM's were at 1000, gas was not revving and the RPM's didn't move, coasted to side of road. The engine sputtered as if it was going to shut off, but it didn't. I shut the car off and restarted it and it was fine, until 3 days later when it happened again. Have taken it to a Ford dealer 3 times and they claim that it is not tripping a code and that they can't replace the throttle body until they have a code. I don't know what else to do, I have been driving a loaner car since last Friday and they still haven't been able to recreate the incident.

- Murray, KY, USA

problem #181

Apr 292014

Escape 6-cyl

  • 89,000 miles

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

P2111, throttle actuator control system stuck open, I had to drive to an auto zone to get this code while the car was in this condition. Otherwise these was no error code recorded. The engine run at an idle and will not accelerate when accelerator is depressed.

- Vero Beach, FL, USA

problem #180

Apr 232014

Escape 6-cyl

  • 123,250 miles
For the past 2 months my 2009 Ford Escape XLT has been jumping and shifting roughly, I thought it was transmission related despite that I flushed my transmission a little over 1 year ago. On 04/24/14 I was driving 60 mph cruise control on the highway and the cruise control cut off and my 2009 Ford Escape XLT began to lose speed, I notice when the 18-wheeler behind me was approaching my bumper rapidly, nearly rear ended me - had to coast 2 lanes over to get to on coming exit to avoid rear ending due to heavy traffic. My SUV would not re-start until the throttle control/powertrain light cut off however the engine light remains on. I had to coast lanes of a busy highway with 8 am traffic to the exit ramp and stopped in the middle of the street and was stranded until my SUV started again.

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #179

Apr 022014

Escape 4WD 6-cyl

  • 91,000 miles
The throttle has failed four times in traffic.the engine has lost power and vehicle speed has been greatly reduced.I have taken it to a Ford dealership but was told if it did not occur when I brought it in that Ford Motor Co.would not replace or repair the throttle body. Here is my question, how do I get the vehicle to a dealership when it occurs" Ford issued me a warning but want make repairs, what good is the warranty"

- Lake City, FL, USA

problem #178

Apr 072014

Escape 6-cyl

  • 68,306 miles
Slowing down to turn right on adjacent street, the Ford Escape stalled and power loss ensued shortly there after.

- Manitowoc, WI, USA

problem #177

Mar 062013

Escape 4-cyl

  • 45,547 miles
Driving down the road at approximately 45 mph and truck had a momentary loss of power, like it was not getting fuel. Did not stall and we continued down the road. It happens at various speeds and sometimes once and other times multiple times. Gear and speed do not appear to be a factor. On two of the worst cases the power train / throttle control "wrench" light was illuminated, but of course after turning off vehicle and starting it back up and driving to dealership, the light was off and the truck ran fine. Nothing was found the first time it was taken in. The second time I pressed them about it and they came back with over $975 worth of needed replacement parts (throttle body, mass air flow sensor, fuel injector flush and spark plug replacement @ 56,000 miles.

- Bettendorf, IA, USA

problem #176

Jun 202013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 61,117 miles
While driving to work on a residential highway without warning the vehicle engine just shutdown. The lights on the instrument panel came on and my wife was forced to coast to the side of the highway. This issue has occurred 2 times since, once in August and once on March 17th, 2014. The car has had regular servicing and at the time of the first incident the car was towed to the closest dealership for a review which was inconclusive as to the root cause. Check code tested all modules with all passing. No low voltage codes or PCM codes. Battery checked and all confirmed to be ok. As a potential remedy the PCM was flashed to the most current level.

- Ingersoll, MI, USA

problem #175

Sep 302011

Escape 6-cyl

  • 18,000 miles
I first purchased this vehicle in Sep 2010. The problem was when I was stopped or made a turn coasting slowly, when I attempted to accelerate the engine did not kick in for a second or two. When it did it jerked hard and felt like it slammed into gear. The dealer could never id the problem and put it off as normal. Then very recently I have had the vehicle not respond to the gas pedal. It keeps the RPM's at an idling level but does not respond to the accelerator pedal-like you put it in neutral. This has happened twice now. When I shut the engine off and restart it appears to self correct. This happens while I'm driving slowly once and again when I was at a stop and tried to accelerate. I have not yet taken to a dealer yet.

- Ojai, CA, USA

problem #174

Mar 042014

Escape

  • 40,000 miles
We had noticed that the transmission had started slipping and gradually got worse. We checked the trans fluid and it was very low. Come to find out we had been losing fluid and didn't know the problem so we took it to our mechanic because we bought it used from patterson in mt. Airy and the warranty had expired. Our mechanic found that the seal had blown so he put a new axle in also because there was wear on it. Well....we have driven it a total of 2 weeks and the very same thing has happened so it is back to the repair shop again. After investigating this I am finding that other people are having the very same problem and it is very frustrating and getting very expensive. Right now I would not recommend this vehicle to anyone. Oh, and by the way, my mechanic said that this car had this same repair done on it before we purchased it!!!!! looking at my options right now because I can't afford to keep taking this to the shop. My fear is that we are going down the road with our grandbabies and this car stops and we are stranded. And also if it overheats because of no fluid...could fire be an issue??

- Elkin, NC, USA

problem #173

Apr 112012

Escape

  • 61,000 miles
While driving the vehicle I suddenly lost power and wrench and engine light came on. I was able to turn the car back on after a complete stop. Car was taken immediately to Ford and they said nothing wrong with it and if it happens again bring it in. After multiple times on city streets and interstates which I feared for my life, the car would have no power and the engine would not accelerate when I would step on gas. Had to shut the engine off and restart to make anything work. After that I took it to Ford again and this time they replaced throttle body-air intake which they said there were other vehicles with similar issues. I had to pay out of pocket due to out of warranty but they surely know there is a defect there in the throttle bottle and certainly an endangerment to those driving the vehicle and to those around them.

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #172

Feb 032014

Escape 6-cyl

  • 85,420 miles
Vehicle loses power when accelerating from a stop. Additionally, while traveling at a steady speed (usually between 30-45 mph) the vehicle power fluctuates between surging and losing power. The vehicle has stalled when coming to a stop because of this fluctuation. Also, the transmission shifts irregularly. The rpms rev excessively high, then the transmission jerks the vehicle when shifting. This happens the most between first, second, and third gear. The dealership stated there is a malfunction in the variable timing of the engine. They want to open the engine to try and find the problem without knowing what they are looking for. This issue started when the vehicle was purchased with 44,000 miles. They dealership did not have any appointments available until the vehicle exceeded 60,000 miles due to conflict of schedule and long commute times. Then they refused to honor the warranty. The vehicle has been to the dealership several times in the last couple years with no resolution to the transmission problems. I have almost been in several accidents from the vehicle stalling or losing power when accelerating.

- Tomah, WI, USA

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