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.
On 8/11/12 was traveling on interstate highway at 65 mph when I noticed I was losing acceleration despite constant pressure on the gas pedal. The vehicle was unresponsive to the gas pedal. Steering and brakes were responsive for about 30 seconds. After that 30 seconds the steering and brakes also became unresponsive. The engine continued to run. I coasted to a stop, put the vehicle in park, and turned the car off. After a minute or two I attempted to restart the vehicle. The vehicle restarted and ran normally. On 8/12/12 I was on the highway when the problem recurred in the same order and timing. Then on 8/30/12 I was again on the highway when the problem recurred, again around 65 mph. I restarted the vehicle, progressed around a mile further, and the problem occurred again. Restarted, and the problem occurred again, around 65 mph, about 30 miles later. At this time I noticed the "wrench" light was on as I coasted to a stop. I restarted, turned around toward home, and the problem recurred again. At this time I saw the "wrench" light and the powertrain warning light were both on. I turned the vehicle off, restarted, and was able to drive 70 miles home without any additional occurrences. As of today the problem has occurred six times. I made an appointment with my local dealership this morning for 8/14/12.
Twice, vehicle went into "limp mode" and failed to accelerate, once while stopped at a traffic signal, and a second time when turning onto another roadway. The engine would only idle and we had to pull out of moving traffic and shut down the engine for a minute and then restart. It would then run fine. Guessing the throttle computer had to reboot to function again.
While driving 65 mph on a very busy freeway and without any warning the vehicle jerked and immediately lost power. The engine did not shut off but there was no response from the accelerator. Fortunately we were able to coast to the shoulder where the vehicle would not go more than 5 mph. The wrench warning light (for power train issues) came on. We turned off the car and waited 10 minute and restarted the car. The wrench light did not come on and we were able to drive if off the highway to the dealer. The dealer advised the throttle body had failed and since the car was 4,500 over the 36,000 mile warranty limit it was not covered. The dealer replaced the throttle body. If the driver were less experienced and had a failure on a busy freeway at night there could have been a terrible accident. This is a serious safety defect that should be recalled. Ford has issued a technical service bulletin on the problem.
While driving at approx 45mph, my 2010 Ford Escape suddenly stopped accelerating and the car slowed to a crawl in the middle of traffic. The wrench light on the dashboard came on. I was able to make it through the intersection and get the car into a parking lot. I had the car towed to the dealership who told me my throttle had to be replaced. The car gave no indication of a problem prior to this.
Driving on freeway at 70 mph. Lost drive power as if transmission had disconnected (even though transmission shifter was in drive mode) and "wrench" light came on. Tachometer showed about 1100 RPM. Pushing the accelerator pedal down did not increase engine RPM. Coasted to shoulder. Turned off ignition and restarted the vehicle, immediately. Vehicle started up and drove normally.
- Plano, TX, USA
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My 2010 Ford Escape is making a noise that started about 2 months ago. The noise sounds like tools were being stored in the back and when I stopped, turned, or even began to take off again I would hear this rattling sound. I had to pay a diagnostic fee of 150 something dollars. Test-drove vehicle with mechanic but it was very hard to duplicate. They had vehicle 3 separate times vehicle ended up staying by the 3rd time with them from a Thursday till a Tuesday I was told it was rust on the sub frame shocked that Ford had a service bulletin for and that they had to remove some type of bolts. Sound would be gone for a few days but maybe shake back loose. Sound now coming from the front. I called back to the 1st dealership and was told by the service manager basically don't bring it back there it is a waste of their time because they can't find anything wrong with the vehicle he asked me where I purchased it and was told to take back to original dealership. I must say early on into the situation I wrote to Ford because I was very disgusted that I had to pay a diagnostic fee for something that was a known problem to Ford all this time and wanted my fee back. They told me since it was not fixed and the 1st dealership could not really figure out what is wrong take it back to the original dealership of purchase. I found out that again I have to pay another diagnostic fee and I pray that they find or hear something due to the noise is not heard all the time. Again, I am out of more money. I decided not to waste anymore time paying diagnostic fees and maybe hope the vehicle falls apart I feel like I am up against a wall I know this is my last time dealing with Ford time to move on especially with this 36,000 mile warranty crap. The noise is definitely there as others can hear it. I feel stuck I just pray that nothing happens to me when driving this junk!
A light in the shape of a wrench suddenly appears on the dashboard of the car. The car goes immediately into neutral but engine keeps running. Managed to get to shoulder and turned off car. Waited and restarted. This was the third time it happened, but the first time it happened on a highway, creating a potentially dangerous situation. Each time, the local Ford dealer was unable to diagnose the problem and kept the car for several weeks. They've never been able to find out what is causing this.
While driving at 35mph in the city, the car lost all power, while it was able to steer and brake, the gas pedal did not work, RPM slowed to 500 and the car coasted to a stop. The wrench warning light turned on. I turned off the ignition and when I restarted the car, it ran well. The same situation and sequence occurred 24 hours later. I took the care to a local Ford dealer who said that the computer revealed no issues. They kept the car and were able to experience the loss of power on a test drive. According to the mechanic, the computer showed no error code but their readings revealed erratic readings with the mass air sensor. They replaced it but told me that the sensor itself did not seem ot be malfunctioning. The defect caused a potential dangerous situation. Without power, there would be no way to get out of the way of traffic. I was fortunate that the road was quiet and I could coast from the inside lane to the side of the road without being hit by another vehicle.
Driving on freeway, between 4pm and 5pm, 40mph. Wrench light came on and pressing gas pedal resulted in no forward momentum or response from the RPM gauge. Pulled over coasting, no further response from the gas pedal in park or neutral. Restarted car, proceeded normally. Happened again a month later, same speed, same time of day. Took car to the dealer. They were able to identify the issue (throttle body) right away from my description. The throttle body was replaced, no further issues. I have seen several complaints via the internet regarding the same issue. Issue was replicated in a non-related video: www.youtube.com/watch?V=6hkmos9pohu.
The contact owns a 2010 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the vehicle violently jerked while driving at all speeds and while reversing. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer on three occasions and they were unable to figure out how to repair the failure. The manufacturer offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 20,000. The VIN was unavailable.
Driver was accelerating at 35 mph and 2010 Ford Escape engine became non-responsive. Attempts to press the accelerator were unproductive. Powertrain light came on. Vehicle coasted to shoulder of road and was turned off and restarted. Powertrain light went out upon restarting. Vehicle inspection at Ford dealer revealed no problems. Three days alter, same incident happened with a different driver. The experience was described as the gas pedal being disengaged from the engine.
The contact owns a 2010 Ford Escape. The contact stated that there was a popping sound in the transmission whenever he would shift gears. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who was unable to diagnose the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and advised that they were not liable. The failure mileage was 57,000 and the current mileage was 117,000.
I was going approx. 30 - 35 mph and my car started jerking and sputtering as if it were out of gas then just died in the middle of an intersection. My husband had to push me across three lanes of traffic to a station where we bought gas. The car started right up so we went continued on with our business. We got on the interstate and was going about 65 mph and the same thing happened. I got it on the shoulder and it died again so we called the extended warranty co. (which charged me an additional $200 deductible on top of the cost of the warranty) and they had it towed to the nearest Ford dealership which was on the other side of the interstate. My sister has the same car (only a year newer) and the exact same thing happened to her while she was on vacation in Indiana. In researching the incident we discovered this is a very common problem in the Escape. The mechanic at the Ford dealership where she had her car towed to made the statement that he has been waiting for two years for a recall on this part. If this is a common issue then why hasn't Ford issued a recall (recall even a Ford mechanic is waiting for)? in researching we also discovered another issued with the back window exploding. I do not fee safe drivng my Escape (which I absolutely love). I am ready to trade it in . oh, and the mechanic also said the part he replaced was the exact same part as the one that was originally in the car. When asked what is to keep this from happening again and he said "nothing because it is the same part". so, they took a defaulted part out and replaced it with another defaulted part. I would just like to know why a recall hasn't been issued on this part. Thanks for your time.
The contact owns a 2010 Ford Escape. The contact stated that when shifting into drive, the vehicle would jerk abnormally. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the contact was advised that the sensors and transmission would need reprogramming. The vehicle was repaired but the vehicle would shift extremely hard and would not accelerate after the repairs. The contact took the vehicle back to the dealer where the dealer reprogrammed the sensors and transmission again, but to no avail. The manufacturer was contacted and stated there was nothing they could do to assist. The failure mileage was 28,000 and the current mileage was 35,151.
The contact owns a 2010 Ford Escape. While driving approximately 10 mph, the transmission failed to shift into second gear and suddenly, there was hesitation and a violent jerking motion. The failure recurred intermittently. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer and repaired under NHTSA campaign id number: 10V222000 (power train: Automatic transmission) yet, the failure continued. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer twice. The transmission valve body was replaced on one occasion and the burned clutch and transmission drums were replaced at a different time. The vehicle had not been repaired for the most recent transmission failure. The manufacturer was notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 864.
The vehicle jerk and lunges at different speeds. Shifts hard during highway driving and lunges and jerks very violently during take-off at random times. This vehicles has been taken back to the Ford dealership for repair on four different occasions with no success for repair. Even more aggravating is that when taken to the dealership for repair they expect you to replace the gas in the loaner which is not even close to as nice of a car that you are having repaired yet they do not replace your gas out of your car. Very frustrating. The mechanics act like they have no idea what is wrong with the vehicle and have tried various things to fix it to no avail. Sometimes the vehicle jerks so hard it gives you whiplash.
The contact owns a 2010 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the vehicle would not shift into gear. Once the contact was able to get the vehicle into gear, it then shifted into neutral violently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer several times who reflashed the controller and replaced the transmission valve body in order to fix the problem. The remedy failed to repair the vehicle. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure who did not offer any assistance. The VIN was not available. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and the current mileage was 12,000.
While driving to the tpa on I-75 approaching the exit for I-4 we slowed for a truck that cut us off. Our vehicle shifted down at least two gears which caused the engine to over rev. We tried to speed up, but the engine just revved higher. So we slowed while exiting on to the ramp for I-4. we were able to get over to the right and pull off the ramp road before getting on to I-4. we turned the engine off and sat for a few minutes to compose ourselves. I was hoping that the system would reset itself so we could continue. We started the engine and we continued to the airport without anymore problems. I drove home, called john at brandon Ford and described the problem. He said it would be difficult to solve the problem because none of the dash lights came on during the incident. He said to drive the vehicle and hopefully it wouldn't happen again. I drove for two weeks drove without incident until 8/26/2011. The same thing happened as before. The engine down shifted about 65 mph and the engine began revving. We slowed the vehicle and came to a stop to make a left turn. After accelerating we felt the engine over revving before shifting. The vehicle is unsafe to drive. It is unpredictable as to when a problem will occur. It's a matter of time before something bad is going to happen. We need this problem fixed with assurance that it is truly fixed or we need restitution from Ford for selling us an unsafe vehicle.
Driving off road up a steep incline (40-45 degrees), the vehicle came to a halt. There wasn't any power going to the tires even though I had the accelerator pedal to the floor. The engine RPM would only rev up to about 1200 RPM. It felt as if there was a disconnect between the transmission and the engine as there was no power being delivered to the tires. The tires did not loose traction or spin either. What was especially unsafe about this is that it was extremely hazardous backing down the steep hill I had tried to ascend. I was trying to back down slowly by using the brake, but many times the brakes would lock up causing the vehicle to shift and slide sometimes sideways which could have caused the vehicle to roll. I tried to go up the hill again to no avail. This vehicle is used by the us forest service in which many times the vehicle is required to go of road on forest service roads. There is a section in the owner's manual about off road driving, but it makes no mention that the vehicle should not be driven up steep inclines.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Dickinson, TX, USA