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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
7 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
70,571 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 5 of 14)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #197

Oct 132013

Escape

  • miles

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

Initial incident was near home in residential neighborhood. Wrench symbol appeared & vehicle began to slow down with inability to accelerate. Turned car off & then back on with no light present. Incident happened again next day driving on the expressway at about 65 mph. Vehicle began to shake & lose speed & wrench symbol reappeared. Was early morning & dark out & had to merge to shoulder. Had to frequently stop & turn car off in order to prevent from happening again. Fixed by Ford dealership citing throttle body issue & was replaced. Cost of repair just under $400.

- Farmington Hills, MI, USA

problem #196

Oct 112013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 33,000 miles
When driving on a busy 4 lane road, the vehicle suddenly lost fuel power and began creeping down the road at less than 5 km/H the wrench light was flashing and it was a few hundred meters to the nearest side street, fortunately I was able to make it to the side street without getting struck by traffic moving 60 km/H faster than I was, I thought that the computer may have had a one time failure but this happened again 3 days after with my young son in the back seat. That was Monday Oct 14 2013, I am super mad at Ford for not recalling this throttle body problem already it seems like a constant point of failure and it is unsafe to drive these cars when this is happening.

- London, OH, USA

problem #195

Oct 102013

Escape 4-cyl

  • 96,096 miles
While driving on the highway, at approximately 65 mph, the vehicle bucked and instantaneously slowed down and was unable to accelerate. At that moment when the vehicle bucked the dash indicator (a wrench) came on showing the problem being the throttle control/powertrain. I was on the highway in the middle lane, in traffic when I lost the ability to accelerate and was luckily able to navigate to the right and coast to the exit that was less than a quarter mile from the incident. I placed it into park and it sputtered just prior to turning off the vehicle completely. After waiting about 10 minutes I then restarted the vehicle and the dash indicator did not come on, I therefore proceeded and drove it home. Because this occurred late evening I was not able to contact the dealer until the following day.

- Raleigh, NC, USA

problem #194

Oct 082013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 86,000 miles

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

The first time I had a throttle failure (first time wrench light came on), I was on the free way going about 65 mph. My acceleration quickly died and the gas pedal was inactive and useless while my car slowed down. I pulled over on the side of the freeway left shoulder going North on the 5, and after a few minutes, my car turned back on and worked fine. I took my car to Firestone to cleanup throttle, only to find myself experience another car breakdown for the same reason the next day on the freeway going the same speed, this occurred 2 more times going about 25 mph the next day. All 4 times, , my wrench light came on my Escape as well as completely dying as far as acceleration. Each time, I had to pull over to the side. The last time this occurred was earlier today 10/10/13 as I was makin a left at a red light. Where I was afraid my car would not make it through the intersection.

- Vista, CA, USA

problem #193

Oct 092013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 59,802 miles
I was driving to work on the expressway during the morning rush hour doing 70 mph when my vehicle stalled. I had to risk moving over three lanes to the off ramp without having power. I rolled up the exit ramp and pulled safely to the side of the road. I was able to restart the car but noticed both the check engine light and service light were on. The car died two additional times before I got to an auto repair shop. The repair shop told me the service code was P2111 which indicated a problem with the throttle. This was a terrible incident and I was relieved to make it safely off the road.

- Livonia, MI, USA

problem #192

Sep 262013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 64,165 miles
I was traveling in the center lane on I-75 at 65 mph when my car lost power. The car continued to run but had no acceleration. Their were cars beside and behind me. I finally was able to get off the freeway and into the emergency lane. I cut the engine off and restarted it, it acted the same. The orange wrench light came on. I decided to drive it to the next exit which was about two miles. I finally got to the exit and called the local Ford dealership and was told by service people they had no way of getting the vehicle to their shop and was also told I could call or they would call for me a tow truck. I called several places and finally found a private garage that was available to come and pick me and the vehicle up. They told me while loading the vehicle on the tow truck that they had the equipment to check it out and repair it. They contacted me after checking the system out and stated that the drive by wire was bad and the throttle control body needed cleaning. To made a long story short after the tow bill, parts and labor to repair the vehicle it cost me $747.38. I feel that Ford Motor Company should be responsible for some of the expenses if not all. They should at least have a recall and check this part for malfunction before someone gets hurt or killed from this safety issue.

- Forsyth, GA, USA

problem #191

Sep 202013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 71,200 miles

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

Pulling out from a red light car accelerated to 25 and lost all engine power. Stepped on accelerator and nothing happened. Coasted to a stop.in passing lane. Shut off, waited 30 seconds, and restarted to drive away. Traffic behind me in passing line trying to go around me unsafely. Ford dealership tested and said failed throttle body. Mechanic said he has seen quite a few of these. Cost $358. Thank goodness I was not on I-95 which I travel often when this happened.

- Mohnton, PA, USA

problem #190

Oct 052013

Escape 4-cyl

  • 82,491 miles
The SUV was stopped at light and when the light turned green the engine would not speed up. Coasted out of traffic and shut off engine. Engine started normally and ran. Took to shop after researching and was told my mechanic that the throttle body assembly was faulty. Paid $356 to have replaced. Ford is aware of this problem.

- Summerville, SC, USA

problem #189

Jun 012013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 79,338 miles
Car intermittently stalled while driving at speeds from 1-30 mph or following a stop. This continued to increase to the point that the car stalled every few feet. Car had to be towed to Ford dealer for throttle body replacement and reprogram. Dealer charge for labor and parts was $ $732.

- Charlotte, NC, USA

problem #188

Sep 072013

Escape

  • 150,000 miles
The contact owns a 2009 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the vehicle intermittently failed to start. The vehicle was taken to a private mechanic where it was found that the throttle body had failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted about the failure. The failure mileage was 150,000.

- Spring, TX, USA

problem #187

Jul 192013

Escape 4-cyl

  • 65,219 miles

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

Car stalled while moving 3 times. Once while in motion, the other 2 right after stops. Would hit the gas & the car wouldn't move. I would turn off the car & restart it & it would run ok, then do it again. Took it to autozone to have them tell me what codes came up & they said it was the P2111 stating the throttle actuator stuck on open. I have a 2 year old daughter & can't have take this kind of risk with her. Its happened again over the last week several times.

- Streetsboro, OH, USA

problem #186

Sep 302013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 77,314 miles
I was driving appx 50 mph and out of the blue the car briefly sputtered and the wrench light came on. I pressed the gas but couldn't accelerate. I coasted to the side of the road and turned the engine off. When I cranked it back up everything seemed to work, and the wrench light was off. I called my Ford service department from the roadside and immediately drove it in for diagnostics. They said it was the throttle body, and the part was back ordered. Left car at Ford because I didn't want to take the chance of this happening again on a road or highway with no place to pull off. Bought the car new in 09 from this dealership and have had all scheduled maintenance done at this dealership. No mechanical issues until this one. Driving habits are normal.

- Monroe, GA, USA

problem #185

Sep 292013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 59,060 miles
Faulty electronic throttle body vehicle lost power twice while my wife was driving home - extremely dangerous situation. Engine remained running but all power lost. Had vehicle towed to Ford in hopes the repair would be covered under extended powertrain warranty or via technical service bulletin. No.... this is astounding to me - a quick google search will tell you there are many issues with this part across multiple Ford models. This was a $340 repair, for a faulty part, and one which puts people in potentially extreme danger. Please conclude your investigation asap.

- Bloomington, IL, USA

problem #184

Sep 262013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 53,400 miles
Loss of acceleration and/or power. Gas pedal did not respond. After a few scary moments was able to get vehicle to side of road. Had an idea what was wrong based on a conversation with a person who described a similar situation that was do to a malfunctioning throttle body was able to get the car started and the computer reset itself, as was also described, and made it to the local Ford dealership who made repairs to the throttle body. My concern is that Ford is very aware of the problem and has been for sometime but is doing nothing to warn consumers of the potential of danger associated with loss of power under highway driving conditions - this needs to be done and at minimum the consumer should be compensated to some degree for what is, for all practicable purpose, faulty parts and design problems that are on going. Could you imagine this situation happening to someone in their 80's - at night.

- Lakeland , FL, USA

problem #183

Sep 112013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 60,000 miles
While traveling in heavy traffic the engine seemed to quit. A "wrench" icon light came on and the car came to a stop. I was unable to pull to the side of the rode and remained in the middle lane of an interstate highway until I managed to restart the car, approximately 5 minutes. The car ran normally for about 10 minutes and stopped again this time in the middle of an intersection. Research confirms this problem is common for my model, code P2111. This failure mode is a safety issue and the frequency of failure is evidenced by the throttle body being on factory back order for and extended period. Ford should issue a recall to replace the faulty modules and pay for the modules people like me were forced to purchase.

- Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

problem #182

Sep 302013

Escape 4-cyl

  • 55,000 miles
While driving the Ford Escape under normal driving and road conditions at 60 mph, I lost complete acceleration and had to steer the vehicle to the shoulder off the freeway to avoid traffic trailing behind and beside me. It was a dangerous situation to say the least. The engine was still running but I had no power to accelerate. I turned off the vehicle and restarted it. I was able to drive the vehicle slowly off the freeway with intermittent loss of acceleration and into a parking area. I was able to drive the vehicle to my home slowly with intermittent losses of acceleration, having to stop multiple times to turn off and restart my engine. I attempted to drive the vehicle from my home to an auto mechanic shop and the same situation occurred on the way to the shop. The engine check light and the wrench light was on the dashboard. The mechanic performed a computer diagnostics and it indicated a dirty or damaged throttle body. The mechanic cleaned the throttle, and I test drove the vehicle again. Within a short time of driving the vehicle the loss of complete acceleration occurred multiple times again. At that point the mechanic indicated that I would need to replace the throttle body. I called the Ford dealership and explained my situation, whereby they responded that they could examine my vehicle to determine the cause of the problem. They also indicated that the throttle body is not under the powertrain warranty. I strongly feel that this defect which poses a life threatening situation for owners, should be under recall as it has become a common problem with this make & model of Ford vehicle. I have read many on-line testimonials of other owners having the same problem and even some that had serious auto incidents.

- Corpus Christi, TX, USA

problem #181

Sep 282013

Escape

  • 64,123 miles
I would like to preface that this vehicle is not driven every day. Starting in July I had started experiencing drops/spikes in the RPM's. I would be pulling into my garage and the truck would suddenly lunge forward. Thankfully already having my foot on the brake; I could stop the truck before causing any damage to items in the garage. Then I started to noticed while sitting at traffic lights the RPM's would drop and it would run a little ruff for a sec or 2 then balance back out - this was very random. - next, while stopped at a traffic light it stalled completely on 2 separate occasions with in the same day. At first we thought maybe some bad gas, so we ran it almost out and filled up with premium. The truck was then better for a few days. The final incident was when I was taking my son to soccer. I backed out of the driveway and put the truck into drive, stepped on the gas, and it would not go. The RPM's would not go above 1000. Then the little wrench came on in the lower left of the dash. I quickly put on the 4-ways as I now was blocking the busy street for which we live on; and was able to limp the truck into a neighbor's driveway. Had it towed up to the local dealership and they said it was the throttle body. I could not believe the initial quote from the dealership - and we had purchased the extended care pkg with the vehicle - yeah so much for that. I started looking it up and found that Ford has acknowledged that there were production issues of the throttle body for this make/model/yr causing faulty parts to be installed - but yet will not take full responsibility, issue a recall and truly fix the issue. At least a service issue warranty- only if you have these issues and the diagnoses is the throttle body(code: P2111 or P2112) for this make/model/yr - it will be covered by Ford.

- Howell, MI, USA

problem #180

Jul 112013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 68,000 miles
Car seems to loose power. Although the engine is still running it seems to not be able to accelerate or move. I have to turn on my blinkers and coast to a safe place and stop and restart my engine.

- The Colony, TX, USA

problem #179

Sep 252013

Escape 4-cyl

  • 102,800 miles
Throttle body malfunction. This is the second Ford Escape 2009 that I have had this issue. Both issues occurred within a month of each other. Vehicle stalls out while driving resulting in loss of all acceleration. Wrench symbol comes on and have to put car in emergency lane. I can turn it off and then it restarts. This has happened multiple times and is very dangerous especially at high speeds with no emergency lane available. Currently in shop replacing throttle body at Ford dealer today 9/30 and cost is $400. Its not worth risking my life or my wife's life. Issued consumer complaint with Ford. Ford will not do anything to help regardless of the risk.

- Whitefish Bay, WI, USA

problem #178

Aug 082013

Escape 4-cyl

  • 108,000 miles
Identified as throttle bottle malfunction. Driving in cruise control at 70mph and car stalls out. Wrench symbol comes up and car looses all acceleration. Almost had an accident and had to safely get on the curb. Car continues to rev. Turn car off and then restart and everything is fine. Also took video of incident. This had occurred multiple times. Had Ford install new throttle body for $400 on 8/10/13. No more issues and Ford verbally acknowledged that this was the issue. Own two 2009 Escapes and both have had the same issue and both have replaced throttle body. Called Ford consumer service and they stated they could not do anything to help the situation.

- Whitefish Bay, WI, USA

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