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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
8 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
4 / 0
Average Mileage:
54,013 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.

2010 Ford Escape engine problems

engine problem

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2010 Ford Escape Owner Comments (Page 10 of 28)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #376

Sep 112013

Escape

  • 60,000 miles

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

While accelerating and switching from first gear, engine slows to rough idle, no throttle response, wrench light comes on, no check engine light though. Seems to be able to creep to the side of road but no real power or control of throttle. Idle and rev the engine after restart are ok but seems to have trouble under the heavier load of pulling second gear then rather than switching back to first the software crashes or something. Stupid way to handle a problem on Ford end.

- Swampscott, MA, USA

problem #375

Sep 252012

Escape

  • 49,500 miles
The throttle body was defective leading to a situation where the vehicle would not accelerate. It would immediate go into a crawl mode just enough toget me to the side of the road. I was able to turn off and restart the vehicle only to have it happen again a few miles later. I took to the dealer immediately, they replaced the throttle body at a cost of $440.

- Frankfort, KY, USA

problem #374

Sep 072013

Escape

  • 35,600 miles
Throttle body sensor malfunctioned, and accelerator peddle went limp. Dealership is telling us it's not under warranty, we're under the 36,000mi but over on the 3 years however now I'm reading this is a very common problem with this make and model.

- Oak Creek , WI, USA

problem #373

Sep 102013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 50,000 miles

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

After stopping at a stop light I proceeded to accelerate through the intersection when my Ford Escape began to jerk, then seemed to die in the middle of the intersection. There was no check engine light on and after listening to the engine I realized that it was still running, but there was no gas getting to the engine when I pressed on the accelerator. I let the car roll out of the intersection, turned off the engine and restarted it. After another mile upon stopping before making a left hand turn it stopped again after gaining up to about 10 mph. I turned the engine off again and when attempting to start it cranked, but would not turn over. On my third attempt to restart the engine it turned over and the check engine light came on.

- Garland, TX, USA

problem #372

Sep 082013

Escape

  • 45,820 miles
Was driving on the freeway and car started to jerk and I started to lose speed even though I was stepping on the gas nothing was happening. I was able to pull over safely to shoulder and put the car into park while the car was shaking violently and turn it off, waited a few minutes and with hesitation it started back up and I was able to continue home.. happened a second time the very next day only doing 25 and a wrench indicator light came on and again no gas or speed from the pedal was able to shut it off restart and continue home.. very scary and dangerous situation it needs to be addressed..

- Dearborn Heights, MI, USA

problem #371

Sep 062013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 47,700 miles
While driving approx. 40mph over a freeway overpass, the car lurched repeatedly, and slowed way down. I could not accelerate. The wrench light came on. I was able to eventually get it pulled over, turn it off and restart it. For the next day and a half, it would die almost every time I came to a stop for more than 30 seconds, or any time I tried to drive up my inclined driveway. I rested it the next day (Sunday) and Monday morning drove it to the dealership for repair. It did not die on the way to the dealership. Now the dealership has it and they have road tested it 2 or 3 times and can't get it to repeat the problem or show codes. I've found several links online to people having the exact same problem and it turns out to be the throttle body. However, the Ford dealer says they cannot fix it under warranty unless it shows them codes or repeats the behavior for them. They are not allowed to just take my word for it that this happened. As it's apparently an intermittent problem, who knows when it will happen again? so if it doesn't do it for them in the next day, I'll have to pick the car back up unfixed, and am terrified to drive it on the freeway for fear of being killed when it loses power at 65mph and causes an accident.

- Windsor, CA, USA

problem #370

Sep 092013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 61,478 miles

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

Vehicle would not accelerate, would miss fire and stop running.

- Mount Airy , NC, USA

problem #369

Sep 072013

Escape

  • 90,000 miles
I was driving at 20 miles an hour when suddenly the tool light came on and my Ford no longer would get gas from the gas pedal. I was suddenly coasting without ability to give gas to the car however the engine was still running. It came to a stop after I was able to get out of high traffic area almost getting hit by other cars. There is no warning it happened suddenly. Shut off car turned back on and was fine. On the 9th of Sept just a couple days later this continued to happen a total of three times almost causing a severe accident--something needs to be done about this as it has been reported too many times as being a electronic throttle body failure and it is a defect. I am having to pay for the repairs at the Ford dealer tomorrow as I had it tested today and hooked up to diagnostics and there was nothing that gave warnings. I was told to take to the dealer it must be electrical problem. Also the RPM's were going crazy when this happened each time. The Agency needs to have it so it is recalled item so this wouldn't be coming directly out of the consumers pocket--it is obviously a defect in the Ford 2010 Escape--I want a refund!!!

- Blair, NE, USA

problem #368

Aug 142013

Escape

  • miles
I was driving approximately 40 mph and went to accelerate, but when I hit the gas the car stalled and I had to pull to the side of the road and restart the car. The vehicle did this 4 times in the next three days. Sometimes it would happen at higher speed and sometimes it would happen when I was just getting going. It turns out that I had a defective throttle body which is apparently a common problem in Ford Escapes.

- Madison, WI, USA

problem #367

Sep 092013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 73,210 miles
Driving about 30mph and car suddenly stops accelerating and won't go, doesn't die but the"throttle control/powertrain" symbol comes on. I shut car off and restart and proceed to drive again and it happens a 2nd time. I have learned that this is happening in these models and I think something should be done about it!

- Wichita, KS, USA

problem #366

Aug 222013

Escape

  • 48,277 miles

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

For the 2nd time in 2 1/2 weeks, my 2010 Ford Escape has stalled on me. Today it happened while driving on the highway and nearly causing an accident. Thank god I was able to pull over to the shoulder, although without being able to accelerate at all no matter how much I pressed on the pedal. Once I got on the shoulder of the highway and hit the brake, my car jerked a little and then shut off. The first occurrence happened 2 1/2 weeks ago while I was pulling out of a fast food drive-thru. As I started to accelerate, it would not go anywhere. I pushed the pedal all the way down to the floor and my car wouldn't move at all. Then all of a sudden it started jerking and finally stalled on me just as it did today. When I restarted my car, it took a few seconds longer than usual. Last week I took it in for an oil change to my mechanic and explained the first occurrence to him. After he checked it out he stated that it's a throttle body issue which will be expensive. Since then, I have been searching online to see if anybody else has had the same issue with their Ford Escape and as expected, I found tons of complaints from other Ford Escape owners that have had the same issue. I contacted the dealership today where I purchased my car and they told me that it would cost $105 just to run a diagnostic. They also stated that the extended warranty that I purchased when I bought the car does not cover any expenses to get this problem fixed. Although there doesn't seem to be any recalls on any 2010 Ford Escapes that I could find online, I believe there should be a recall placed as this is a huge safety issue. With so many other complaints I've found online, I don't understand how Ford hasn't done a recall.

- Dupont, WA, USA

problem #365

Jun 242013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 52,000 miles
I was driving along & suddenly lost all throttle. A wrench appeared on my instrument panel & it was running very rough. I was able to idle over into a parking lot, but had no throttle power. I shut the vehicle off & just sat there, thinking about my options. I tried to start it & it started, so I drove it straight to a shop, where they hooked it up to their diagnostic machine. The wrench in the instrument panel was no longer there & the vehicle didn't throw any codes. The mechanic told me to drive it & contact Ford that next day. I called the Ford dealer & was told there are no recalls on this. Since June, this has happened several times & it finally threw a code in which the engine light came on, so I had my mechanic take a look at it. He removed the throttle body & cleaned the plates. It seemed to do much better, until a couple weeks ago. It's started it again & is now happening much more frequently. On 08/27/2013, I was driving on a highway in the passing lane, going about 60 mph when it happened again. I could have been rear-ended! I was able to limp it over to the shoulder, where I shut it off, waited, & then started it back up again. It happened three times in about a 15 mile period on 09/06/2013 & two times on 09/08/2013. On 09/06/2013, I again called the local Ford dealer & spoke to someone in parts. I was told the part I needed was recalled & was also on back order (3,800 parts behind). I called back to speak to someone in the service department & was told the parts person was wrong, because the part had not been recalled, although he had three cars there waiting on the same part for the same exact problem. If this is a known constant problem, why hasn't there been a recall? someone is going to get hurt in a rear-ender accident & I hope it's not me.

- Pleasant Hope, MO, USA

problem #364

Aug 232013

Escape

  • 61,000 miles
I was driving home with my five year old son when I noticed my vehicle seem to be running rough. First, I noticed a rough idle when I stopped at a stop light. Then, while turning accross on coming traffic the vehicle looses all power with no throttle response and the engine light illuminated. At this point I was still in the way of on coming traffic and could not accelerate to finish the turn. Thank god I did idle to safety. I then stopped on the side of the road and put the vehicle in park and observed a very rough idle and no throttle response at all. I shut off the vehicle and restarted it after thirty seconds and it ran normal again with the engine light off. I immediately took the vehicle to a parts store to have the the ECM scanned for trouble codes. The tech could not recover or read any codes at that time. I found that troubling at the time but found out later that not all scan tools can access stored codes. I had this occur twice the next day while driving to work. I then called my local Ford dealer to schedule service and when I told him the symptoms he immediately knew the problem. I ordered a new throttle body assembly per their instruction and asked if there are any recalls or tsb's on this issue if it's that common. The dealer checked and found a tsb on this problem but no recalls. I personally feel this is definately a safety concern and should treated as that before someone does get hurt or worse, killed in an accident. I called Ford customer service the next day to file a complaint and find out why they aren't being proactive with this serious issue. I was told that they have no known safety recalls or tsb's at this time. I was also told that this problem was not something they had encountered very often. Since then, I have researched this and found that it is very known and being investigated at this time. Thank you.

- Earlville, IL, USA

problem #363

Sep 042013

Escape

  • 53,000 miles
Throttle body failure: Replacement not only costly, but also on back order and is estimated to take several weeks.

- San Diego, CA, USA

problem #362

Sep 022013

Escape

  • 67,000 miles
Vehicle stalling, replaced throttle body.

- Dublin, OH, USA

problem #361

Sep 012013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 65,000 miles
I was driving home from work at 11:45 P.M. and my vehicle started to slow down, I pulled over to the side of the road, I stepped on the gas and nothing. So I shut it off and waited a few minutes and restarted it, the vehicle took off and I made it home, 26 miles. This happened the next morning when my husband drove it took it to decorah auto center Ford and they said they can't do anything with out a code. I have to restart the vehicle to drive it and this erases the code. Today is the 5th and it happened again that is 3 times in 5 days. The little wrench lights up in the lower left on dash. This is very scary especially in heavy traffic. How can I get a code to get this fixed? I have to restart to drive.

- Cresco, IA, USA

problem #360

Jul 262013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 28,018 miles
While driving on the interstate and entering a ramp, the engine just lost power and there was a rapid deceleration. The car had no power and I had to pull over to the shoulder in heavy traffic. There was a wrench symbol lit up on the dash. I towed the car to a Ford dealer in bettendorf Iowa. They told me the problem was a bad throttle body and it would have to be replaced. There was a shortage of parts because there was 5 cars ahead of me waiting for the same parts. Sounds like a common major problem. Should be recalled for this problem. It could have created a dangerous situation.

- Redington Shores, FL, USA

problem #359

Sep 032013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 57,000 miles
Vehicle stalls out while driving and goes into an idle mode. Vehicle has to be shut off and then restarted in order to go back into a mode that allows acceleration.

- Oklahoma City, OK, USA

problem #358

Aug 212013

Escape 4-cyl

  • 89,500 miles
Was going down highway around 50 mph and all of a sudden without warning, lost power. Vehicle did not die, just had no gas power, had to coast out of roadway. This same scenario has happened numerous times since then, all without warning and sometimes in dangerous situations in middle of heavy traffic. I have reported this all to Ford company headquarters.

- Scottsville, KY, USA

problem #357

Sep 012013

Escape 4WD 6-cyl

  • 45,372 miles
Driving on I80 West, when suddenly I lost power and the car started to decelerate, looked at the instrument panel and saw the "wrench" icon lit. Pulled off of the interstate as the car continued to lose speed and limped into a service station parking lot. Turned the ignition off and consulted the user manual and found the issue related to the "powertrain/throttle control". turned the ignition back on and all of the warning lights went off after starting the car. Headed back to home via side streets and had one more incident after approximately 3 miles. Followed the same procedure as before and was able to make it the rest of the way home (6 miles). If this had happened out in the country miles from nowhere I would have been extremely worried. Parked car until after the holiday and called the Ford dealership to arrange service. Took car to Ford dealership this morning(9/4) and was told later that the throttle body was bad. New one was back ordered to October 26th. Service technician(kyle) told me I couldn't drive the car because it was a safety hazard. Part is not covered under extended warrant, so a rental car will not be covered. I can't afford $1800 for a rental, so now what? dealer sympathetic, but unable to help.

- Lincoln, NE, USA

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