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.
I purchased a 2010 Ford Escape limited in October 2010. In just two and half of years of having the vehicle and under 50,000 miles, I had to replace the throttle body costing me $385 (after talking the service guy down to that price). The incident occurred on April 24, 2013 while driving home from work for lunch. I was driving on a busy road when my car's speed started to slow down automatically. I tried to press the gas but it would not accelerate although the engine was still on. There were no lights on indicating a problem, so I pulled into the first place I could, turned off the car and turned it back on. It started right back up so I didn't think anything of it and pulled back out onto the street. It happened two more times on my way home before I saw the first mechanic shop and turned in. By the third time the (wrench) light came on. Since I was still under the powertrain warranty the mechanic told me it was best to go to the closest Ford location. After looking at my car they told me the throttle body needed to be replaced and due to what type of part it was, the repair was not covered under my warranty so I had to pay the full amount. This does not seem normal given that the car is only a few years old and less than 50,000 miles. I am fearful that more problems are to come...
As I was driving my 2010 Ford Escape on the highway, it started to buckle and it eventually turned off by itself. The only thing that was remaining on was my radio. I had no steering, and the gas pedal did not even work. On a busy highway, I had to some how pull over, put the car in park, and, had to restart it. I did notice a wrench symbol on my dashboard that lighted up. Didn't know what it meant, so, I went ahead and got my manual out. The symbol has stated that it was "the throttle/powertrain" and I needed to see a dealer as soon as possible. This incident has happened before, I just did not keep track of it. This time it was more worse than the others. On June 1st 2013 it actually did it twice in one day. Thankfully the second time around I was in the clear and pulled over into an office complex. Had to do the same thing over again. Please check into this defect. It is really dangerous, scary, and its an accident waiting to happen. Luckily for me, that this did not happen. As of June 3rd 2013 the dealer replaced my throttle auto body. I am hoping that this doesn't happen to anybody else. It can cause serious damage to another person, if, they are not careful, and, don't know what to do. Thank god, I had my husband with me when this happened. The other times, I was actually by myself and scared out of my mind. I was in the middle of the road and on a busy bridge when my truck completely stalled on me. I could have killed somebody or myself. My total bill for this part to be replaced was $455. I am hoping you can check into this problem for other drivers as well. One day this is going to happen to somebody, and, it will cause a very serious accident.
I was driving down 128 (a major highway), when my car 'appeared' to downshift all on it's own. The 'wrench' appeared on the dashboard and I managed to coast into a rest area before the car eventually stalled. I was able to restart the vehicle and at first it seemed like everything was fine again. I attempted to drive it home, but 4-5 minutes in the same thing happened. It hesitated, light came one, car stalled, I dangerously coasted into the breakdown lane. This happened 3 times before I then decided to get it towed since it was stalling in dangerous places and I didn't think I would make it home. I had it towed to a mechanic that night. Next day I was told it's the etb, but it's not covered. I was also told that this part is not in stock since there are so many being sold. This appears to be a good candidate for a recall, since it sounds like something common and can result in serious injury or worse. This is my 5th Ford, I've had the Explorer, mustang, Ford 250, Ford 150 and now the Escape. As a loyal consumer I would expect the manufacturer to do the proper thing and make this more than tsb since it's a definite danger. I'm just happy my kids were not in the car at the time.
As vehicle was proceeding forward from a stop onto a four lane road with the speed limit of 35 mph, it rolled forward and no power was provided. No warning lights prior to this. The throttle control / power train light came on and we were only able to go approximately 20 -30 yards onto the shoulder attempting to go around the corner and up a hill the vehicle was unable to do this we rolled back to the shoulder then turned the car off restarted and the check engine light appeared and were able to get the car up the hill and home. Car was towed to Ford dealership where it was diagnosed as a failed throttle body which was then replaced.
I have been a Ford owner for years, and this is the first complaint I am filing. My 2010 Ford Escape suddenly lost all power and I had to pull it to the side of the road. It restarted and resumed driving normally. The next day I took it to the dealer and was told it was the electronic throttle body. Since I was on the interstate outside a major city, I feel this is a real safety hazard. I had no ability to power the vehicle other than its own momentum. I really want to see this part recalled!
- Killeen , TX, USA
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I was driving and my vehicle just stopped working at least I was able to coast to the side of the road. The part is not in stock at any Ford dealer and has been back ordered so to me that means it is a regular problem on this vehicle. I need to know if other cars had this problem.
Traveling in the left lane at 70mph down I696 in oakland county Michigan, vehicle went dead. "wrench" light came on. I pulled over to the right shoulder. Car was running, however no power. I turned the car off and re-started. It ran fine after that. One month later the same issue occurred. This time traveling 45mph down the road, vehicle went dead, I pulled over, re-started. Travelled another 100ft, same issue. Tried again, this time went about 200ft, died. The wrench light and amber engine light came on. This time the engine light remained on and the Escape was towed to the Ford dealer on May 18, 2013. As of May 31, 2013, the throttle body has been on back order. Vehicle sits in their lot awaiting part.
While I was driving, the car started stalling : the speed indicator started coming down and even pressing on the accelerator, there was no pick up and the wrench sign lit up indicating the power train defect.I moved the car to the shoulder and waited for some assistance. I mechanic friend of mine came after about 45 min. He started the car and the wrench sign was no longer there. Rode the car for about 10 miles to get to my house. Ran some errands (about 20 round trip miles) later and the car rode fine. On 5/30/2013 morning (today) on my way to work, the truck stalled again with the lit up wrench sign. Pulled on to the shoulder, turned off engine and got the truck towed to the closest Ford dealer - bob davidson Ford, , parkville, Maryland 21234 (410-661-6400). They performed diagnostics for a fee of $123 and said that the throttle body assembly need to be replaced. The service dept indicated that they were out of these parts and is backordered. They were not sure when they will get the part. I drove the SUV home with no further problems. I called Ford Motor Co. Customer relations and complained. They issued a claim number cas[xxx]. I am unable to rent a car as I don't know how long it would be until they get the part to fix. I searched and found that this had been a recurring problem for the Escape 2010. Ford should be responsible to repair this problem, I asked the customer service representative "is Ford waiting until people get killed to fix this dangerous defect?". it is quite dangerous if it happens while driving in the express way at 55-60 mph in an inside lane. God help the Escape owners. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
When I'm driving my car, it will suddenly stop accelerating as though someone threw the car into neutral. When this happens, the wrench light comes on and I have to coast over to a safe area to turn the car off and turn it back on. This happened on the freeway at speeds over 70mph, on streets, after a red light, turning corners. Over and over again this happens and it started happening at about 50-thousand miles and has gotten worse. Today this happened more than six times in a twenty mile radius.
Monkey wrench warning light illuminates on the dash accompanied by a loss of functionality of the gas pedal. I was able to coast to the side of the road since the car did not respond at all to any pressure on the gas pedal. Turned the car off. Restarted the car after a few moments, light was off and car functioned normally. 2nd incident happened 5/22 on the freeway at 65 mph. Again, I was lucky enough to be able to coast to the emergency lane. Turned the car off, waited, back on and continued driving. 3rd incident happened a mile further down the road. I was already in the slow lane so again it was easy to maneuver into the emergency lane. Mechanic indicates the throttle body is faulty and needs to be replaced.
Vehicle decelerated to 10 mph, "wrench" service light appeared. I pulled over, put vehicle into park, at which time it began shuddering. Turned off engine, waited a few moments, and turned ignition. Vehicle restarted with some effort. Incident has re-occurred 7 times since then, now with "engine" service light on. Mechanic has identified issue as worn throttle body, on 2-week back order as of May 10, 2013. Time for a recall, Ford.
As I was driving down the road the car just lost acceleration and the wrench light came on. I was able to get off the road and shut off the engine. I restarted the car and was able to drive home. Just today we had the same thing happen again. Ford dealer tells me there was no code so they can't order the part. However, they believe the throttle body is bad but need the code to be sure. From what I have read it sounds like they know what it is but are unwilling to fix this. They tell to just restart and keep going sooner or later it will to start and they can fix it. I am going on vacation tomorrow just what I need is this to fail at the wrong time. Does someone need to die before something is done. Sure seems Toyota wasn't given this much leeway a couple of years ago.
While driving the car suddenly started to sputter, shutter and lurch forward while losing speed and making a strange noise. The "wrench" light displayed which identifies a power train/throttle problem. Pulled over to the side of the road, turned off engine, restarted and all appeared fine, wrench light turned off and drove rest of way home. Researched online and there are hundreds and hundreds of complains regarding this problem which appears to be tied to the throttle body or electric system that controls the throttle input between the gas pedal and the throttle body. This is a very dangerous and scary problem and I'm very concerned it will occur again soon. Based on online reports this is a well known problem that Ford appears to be well aware of but will not cover expense to fix.
2010 Ford Escape - several instances of dramatic loss of power resulting in 'limp mode' due to throttle body sticking closed. This requires restarting the car and has been occurring more frequently since first incident. Vehicle is currently at a Ford dealership to be repaired; however, dealership states that the throttle body cannot be replaced due to the part being on backorder 'indefinitely.' Dealership acknowledged that this is a known problem with late model Escapes, but was unable to offer any suggestion or time frame for repair.
As I was slowing down to turn, the entire system died and there was no power. Luckily, I was able to pull over and the vehicle started up again. This happened four times in the past year: May 2012, Sept. 2013, March 2013, and again on May 15 2013. Each time I took it to the dealership and was told there was no problem found. After doing some research on line, I discovered many people have experienced the same problem. Very dangerous and am afraid to drive it. Read that replacing the throttle might help. Is there a recall or what should I do?
When driving the car, car de-accelerated, idle was very rough, despite pressing on accelerator unable to make car advance. This has happened twice and is very unnerving and unsafe. After putting the car in park and turning it off, the car seemed to reset itself. Our mechanic said it was a throttle body problem. Ford Motor Co. Refused to do anything about it unless it came out of my pocket. This is so dangerous and these cars should be recalled and fixed. I will not drive this car until it is fixed. I feel like I could get killed in this car.
I was driving on the freeway and suddenly I lost power, the RPM's dropped to 1500-2000. I pulled over and the engine was sputtering like it was trying to die, the RPM's were fluctuating between 1000-2000. I turned the car off, waited a minute and started it again, seemed fine. I started driving again, it was ok for about 5 minutes then the same thing happened except this time the "wrench" light on the dash came on as well as the check engine light. The car had to be towed. I didn't drive the car for a few days, then tried driving it, the warning lights were off and it seemed fine. Worked great for about 2 weeks, then the same thing happened on the freeway again. I had it towed to my mechanic he said it was the throttle body and it needed to be replaced. He tried to order the part from Ford, but he was told that the part was being re-manufactured and may not be available for up to 3 months. I tried to drive my car home, but once again, the engine lost power. The only way I was able to drive it home was by driving 20 mph with my flashers on. I now have a car that I still have to make payments on that I can't drive because the part it needs hasn't been manufactured yet. Love my car, but this really sucks! there needs to be a recall!
I was driving down a side street toward an intersection going about 40 mph when my car appeared to die--I was able to coast slowly across the intersection into a parking lot--after 10 minutes waiting for my husband I attempted to start the car and it started right up--I followed my husband to the dealership and the problem did not reoccur--the dealership said no code had registered so there was nothing to fix--my husband researched this issue and discovered a lot of info about the throttle body issue on Ford Escapes--on May 2 was leaving the parking lot where I work and the car appeared to die again and I was able to go down my street at an idle speed to my house --we went to the dealership again and the manager acknowledged the throttle body issue but said since it didn't leave a code Ford wouldn't fix it--after several hours the dealership called and said that they had gone ahead and replaced the throttle body stating on the invoice "during visual inspection found throttle plate binding and sticking closed. Replaced"--we acknowledge that the dealership went above and beyond to fix our problem but are very concerned about the number of complaints about this issue we found on the internet--it is potentially a dangerous problem and, had I been on a freeway or in heavy traffic, would have possibly caused injury to myself or car damage.
I was driving the vehicle at approximately 40mph when with no warning, the car started to stutter like it was going to stall out and I lost all ability to accelerate. The monkey wrench warning light came on and I was able to pull off to the side of the before someone hit me from behind and turned off the vehicle. I called for assistance, but the vehicle started up again fine, and I was able to drive it to the nearest Ford dealer. They advised it was most likely a throttle train issue, and they replaced the throttle train.
While driving on the highway, the wrench light appeared and the car lost all power and was unable to move. I coasted to the shoulder. After turning the car off, it would then move. This has happened multiple times. The dealer could not located the problem. It occurred again yesterday and it is at the dealer again. This appears to be related to a common issue which is being reported and supposedly due to the throttle body but the dealer has not said that yet.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Auburn, AL, USA