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.
The transmission locked up in the center lane of hwy 50 leading into sacramento ca. The Ford came to a stop in high speed traffic and we were nearly hit from behind. We were stranded there for about a half an hour waiting for a tow truck to arrive. The Ford had to be dragged up onto the car hauler. The wheels would not roll.
I was driving on the freeway going approx. 70 mph and without warning lost all acceleration. I had to maneuver across 4 lanes of traffic to get on the shoulder. I turned the car off and was preparing to call a tow truck when I started the car again and had limited acceleration. I was able to "limp" the car home and to a repair shop. The repair shop said the throttle body needed to be replaced.
Signs of issue during the occurrence: -car stop running -throttle alarm showed up -transmission alarm showed up -the issue happens approx. 3 to 4 times a month you will need to stop and turn off your engine for a while before you can start driving the car again, the throttle alarm will go away but the transmission stays sometime approximately after 12 hours.
This problem happened two times within about 30 minutes time, so I drove immediately home, parked the car, and called my dealer, who speculated that the trouble was due to the "throttle body." The first time, I was idling at a red light and when the light changed to green and I tried to accelerate, I had no acceleration. The vehicle just sat there, with no indication of any power to be had to the throttle. I turned on my emergency flashers, put the car in "park, " turned off the ignition, turned it back on, put the car in "drive, " and the car began to drive normally. Several minutes later, after parking the car, conducting an errand, and then re-starting the car and backing out of a driveway, the throttle did the same thing in the middle of a street: Tried to accelerate in "drive" and got nothing until shutting off the ignition and re-starting. Previously, over the course of the past six months, I experienced what seems to be a similar, though opposite, problem with the throttle. Occasionally while driving, I would hear and feel what seemed to me to be a small surge of power while accelerating on surface roads. I assumed at that time that it was a transmission problem and mentioned it to the dealer when I took the car in for an oil change and normal servicing. The service department checked the transmission and found no problem with it. I believe now, after reading about the throttle problems with this model on ncconsumer.org, that those incidents were likely due to the throttle body malfunctioning as well. I experienced approximately 10-12 of these power surge incidents.
- Wilson, NC, USA
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I was driving on the interstate with my 3 year old son in the back seat. As I was in traffic all of a sudden I felt a loss of power and the wrench light went on. I was almost hit multiple times, but luckily was able to force it to the side of the road. I sat there for a couple minutes and then started the car normally and drove home. It was a scary experience and one that I hope Ford takes care of.
The Ford Escape has been randomly stalling at times while driving. I am forced to either pull off to the side of the road or quickly turn off my car and turn it back on again in the middle of the road.
Driving 50 miles per hour, when a wrench lit up on dash and instantaneously the vehicle lost power to the throttle. Pulled over quickly, turned off vehicle, then restarted and went on about my way. Very scary and so scared it could happen in a busy traffic situation.
My Ford would not accelerate, it sputtered and went dead. It would not restart. It had done this before but previously I could restart it. Dealership replaced throttle body.
Upon starting the vehicle it operates as it should, once the RPM slow to an idle the vehicle will surge and stall at idle. At slow speeds (10-20 mph) the vehicle will surge and stall when the throttle is applied. The vehicle shuts down and steering and braking abilities are minimal, the vehicle will surge at speeds of 45mph however it does not stall at this speed. On the highway at a speed of 70 mph the vehicle will surge slightly, however it is not as noticeable of an event as at slower speeds.
During rush hour traffic on a busy highway, while attempting to accelerate from approximately 50 mph, the gas pedal become unresponsive, I began quickly losing speed, and a "wrench" light came on. I was in the right hand lane with a wide shoulder and was able to pull over before slowing to a complete halt. Had I been in a center lane or on a stretch with no shoulder, there could have easily been a severe accident. The engine sputtered and surged as I came to a stop. When I was completely stopped and shifted into park, the service engine light also came on. The vehicle was to towed to maxwell Ford (austin, tx), and the reported cause was "failed R&R throttle."
My daughter was driving on interstate 10 East of tallahassee, Florida the vehicle warning light (wrench) came on and the vehicle began to slow down. The engine was still on but there was no power. She pulled to the side of the road, cut the engine off, and called home. I asked to start the engine to see what would happen. She did and the vehicle pulled off like nothing had happen. The second incident happen when I was going over an over pass on interstate 10 yesterday. I pull over on the side of the road, cut the engine off, waited ten second started up and drove off.
I was driving normally, at a constant speed, and all of a sudden, wrench light comes on, gas pedal didn't do anything. Putting it in park and shutting the engine, and starting again makes the light go away and run fine again.
Transmission slips twice and jerks forward when first driven cold.........very dangerous when entering a busy highway................took to palm springs motors 3 times and the problems was never solved...........they told me that they could not solve the problem and to drive it until it breaks down and then they could tell what the problem is................this is unacceptable and needs to be taken care by Ford asap................
My first incident occurred on Friday, August 30, 2013. I lost power and acceleration with absolutely no warning at all. I observed that the wrench light was on and noticed that the car was shuddering. I turned the ignition all the way off and sat for a minute and turned the car back on. It started fine and I immediately took the car to a mechanic nearby. I left the car for 4 days while out of town and the mechanic informed me upon my return that they were unable to diagnose the problem or repeat the problem, so I retrieved my car hoping that it was just a one time incident. The same occurrence happened twice more on September 6, 2013; this time in rush hour traffic and it was in very hazardous and unsafe conditions. I was able to coast to the side of the road and turn the car off without further incident. I'm surprised that Ford has not already issued a recall on this particular problem. Someone could get hurt and this vehicle is very unsafe with this potential power train problem. I took it upon myself to do some research and I see complaints on other Ford models and the Escape as far back as 2008. Shame on Ford. I will be taking the car to a Ford service dealer on Monday, August 9, 2013. I love the Escape (this is my second one) and have purchased nothing but Ford products. I will seriously consider another make for my next vehicle purchase. Ford should absolutely do the right thing and issue a recall.
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 mph, the vehicle jerked violently. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the failure could not be diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure and current mileage was 44,000.
Ever since we bought our 2011 Ford Escape (used in fl--had to drive it to wa state due to military pcs army orders) the car has never gotten more than 20 mpg. It was hesitating consistently after we put 5,000 miles on the car. It started hesitating/ revving rpms at stop/jumping/accelerating then engine would just shut off and power as well. Finally stalled on joint base lewis mcchord, wa (where we are stationed and live) and my husband could not get it to start. The "check engine light" was also then showing. We had it towed to the nearest Ford dealership (lakewood Ford). We had a platinum warranty we paid extra for with our monthly payments. Even with that we still had to get an aer (army emergency relief) loan for the difference (appx. $187) that was not covered. We were entitled to rental car coverage but the Ford dealership did not contact our warranty company in time so we were without a vehicle for 4 days. That was barely 3 months ago. They ended up replacing the throttle body regulator. Again...here it is less than 3 months since that was replaced and we are only getting 18.2 miles to the gallon. It is worse when we use the flex fuel. It barely has 47,000 miles and it is unpredictable and I feel unsafe in this car. My husband is being medically boarded from active duty army because he is 100% disabled and a "wounded warrior." The only comfort I have is seeing that we aren't the only ones who have dealt with this problem. That is terrible to say but it is even worse when you cannot rely on a vehicle you bought only 1 year used. We are facing having to drive this back to orlando, fl and now we will probably voluntarily turn it in to the loan company simply because neither one of us feel safe enough to attempt to drive it 3500 miles across the United States, along with the medical concerns.
Car would violently buck while loosing power. Wrench light came on then disappeared. Seams to be a random ghost that visits every 2 weeks. Had map sensor replaced under warranty then 2 wks later happened again. This time paid for throttle body. 2 wks went by and it happened again. This time didn't. go to dealer. Not sure but I think it might be throttle body again if it is infact the problem. Car sucks. Same problem over and over.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Fort Collins, CO, USA