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 vehicle just lost power and appeared to stall right in the middle of traffic. I pressed on the accelerator and nothing happened.... no power. I was able to coast over to the curb out of traffic. I turned the engine off and waited a few minutes and then turned it back on. I was able to make it home. The next morning I started the vehicle up again and started to drive it again and while it traffic it did the same thing again, I again lost power and coast over to the curb this time, I called aaa and was towed to a mechanic. I was told it was the throttle body.
Had just stopped at an exit and was pulling back out on the interstate when suddenly my car quit accelerating. Thankfully, I wasn't going full speed yet and could pull over on the side of the interstate out of traffic. Had I been going full speed, this could have been really bad, even fatal. My wrench and engine lights came on. After some time of sitting, the car drove fine and I was able to get to a repair shop that performed a diagnostic test and the error came up "throttle body stuck closed". after researching, I've found this seems to be a common problem and is very dangerous. I've also had times where after stopping and then pressing the gas to go, the car would accelerate forward suddenly. Because of this defective part, my son and I were stranded for several hours and were traveling home so we were about 4 hours from home. We had to depend on strangers to help us. Ford needs to take responsibility for this and fix this. We do not have several hundred dollars to fix this.
My Ford Escape was stopping multiple times. It would stay running in very slow movement until I could pull over out of traffic and then it would shut down. Then wrench light would be lit. I had this happen while driving side roads and the interstate. This was very unsafe. I first took it to a dealer near my home and they could not find anything wrong. When this happened one morning on the interstate, I called the dealer I bought the vehicle from and took it in. They called me later that day and stated that the issue was the throttle body control, they stated that since my vehicle was no longer under warranty that I would have to pay for the replacement and that they had to order the part. It seems that these were an issue and the could not receive from manufacture right away due to a release issue. They finally were able to obtain one and I had to pay $371.79 for this to be fixed. Even though I was no longer under warranty I feel that I should not have had to pay this, from doing research it seems to be a manufactures issue.
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving 45 mph, the vehicle decelerated independently and the accelerator pedal failed to engage. The contact mentioned that the wrench warning icon was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the electronic throttle body was defective and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was 43,000 and the current mileage was 45,000.
Driving the car would result in the car to stall. This is an automatic vehicle. I would have to put into neutral to restart car. Then the RPM would jump then stall again. I took in the vehicle to be repaired and found code that the throttle body was stuck closed so the car would be able to drive without the throttle body being replaced. After fixed the problem went away. The problem is $500 later after the repair and the car had not even broke the 50K yet. Very bad problem and seems a if I am no the only one. After looking it up to see if I could get the parts myself I saw that this is happening to a lot of different Ford vehicles at the same time in the same range of years. This is a huge problem and just glad the kids weren't in the cars as I was driving on the interstate.
- Harahan, LA, USA
Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...
I was on the freeway on my 2011 Ford Escape the 4th lane when the car made a sudden noise of loss of power and my dashboard lights when dimmer...the power of my car was diminishing and it felt as if the car engine was going to die on me...scary...I felt my heart drop to my stomach...looked left and had cars coming on the contiguous lane so I could not move to the emergency lane/shoulder, looked right and fortunately no cars were coming immediately (my steering was still ok ) other cars were far away so I moved to my right 3 lanes and even though the car felt that it was going to stop I continued with the momentum it had. I was able to get off the freeway since there was an exit as I moved the 3 lanes. Very scary experience. The car sort of stalled at the corner but I was in a safe spot. I called the dealership immediately to ask for the roadside assistance number and the service department person asked me if I turned the car off would it start again? the car did start again as if nothing had happened. Really crazy! when the dealership checked it they diagnosed faulty throttle body, they fixed it apparently but now I am driving on the slow lane all the time unless I am passing because I have fears it might happen again. I lived a very scary situation.
I was driving down the hwy and my truck just abruptly slowed to 10 or less mile per hour. I had to cost over two lanes of traffic to the shoulder. This was very dangerous as the cars around me had no idea that I was having car troubles and just whizzed by at hwy speeds. Once I made it to the shoulder I was able to turn the truck off and restart it and get it to the dealership without a tow. Once at the dealership, they said there was no codes on the computer so there was nothing they could do until they had a code. This has happened four times and I still have not been able to get it fixed.
Was driving for about an hour, then came to a stop light. When the light turned green and I pressed the accelerator, the engine died (but the car's electronics stayed on) and the check engine light came on, no movement from the car. I turned it off and back on. The engine struggled to start. I then proceeded to drive another half mile at about 55mph, and the engine stalled again while at driving speed. I managed to pull over, turned it off, waited 5 minutes, then was able to drive 3 miles home. A month and half later, my wife was driving at roughly 30mph and the engine did the same thing(stalled). Turned it off, struggled to start, but managed to drive 5 miles home. I took it to Ford in between the first and second incident, they said there was nothing wrong, but cleaned the throttle body. I have since learned of investigation # PE13-003 which appears to be the exact problem I am having. Ford has not helped me in the matter, but I believe this issue needs to be addressed.
I was pulling out of a shopping center onto four lanes. When I tried to accelerate the gas pedal did nothing. I managed to get over to the side of the road and ended up having to have the car towed to the dealership. Today I was called and told that the throttle body needs to be replaced.
As I was driving down the road, all the sudden without notice, the vehicle went to 1 RPM and 5 miles per hour. Tried to accelerate and it would not, then the wrench light came on. I put on my flashers immediately so I would not get rear ended by cars coming fast behind me. Then, the vehicle stalled out. The check engine light never came on. Sat there in the rain for a few minutes. Then, started the vehicle back up again, to get it home. Then, I was afraid to drive it, called the Ford dealer to get my vehicle in, they could not look at it until Monday of the next week, so had vehicle towed on Saturday to dealer---extra cost involved on a 2 year old vehicle. The service department looked at it, they could not duplicate the problem. I pick up the vehicle on 9/25/2013. Drove the vehicle for 4 days, then happened again on 9/29/13 and it had been raining. Then, drove the next day 9/30/13, again threw the wrench symbol after going to 1 RPM and 2 to 5 miles per hour and bucking, could not accelerate at all. It was dry on this day. Again, put my flashers on this time was going 30 mph on a narrow two lane road. Remember the service engine light never came on, but they were able to find a code this time. They said it was the throttle body, so I began asking more questions as to why Ford has not recalled this since so many across the usa are having issues. No one knows, so as a consumer on a tight budget --like many of us these days....gets to figure out all the money pieces. I guess I will need a third job just for vehicle repairs on a two year old vehicle. This was a very scary experience and Ford needs to do something about this before anyone else is seriously injured or killed. This problem should not be happening with a two year old maintained vehicle. Now because it is over the 36,000 miles more money out of pocket....geez.
The car just quit on the four lane highway in the passing lane and a couple of times on the city street in town found the throttle body and motor assemble bad.
Vehicle loses power during operation at various speeds. The engine reverts to idle, revving below 1000rpm. Depressing the gas pedal has no effect on engine RPM or speed. The "wrench" light comes on, but without any code stored. If the car is turned off and then back on, the engine reluctantly starts, and the problem is not present, but the problem soon appears (within seconds). After several incidents today on my way to the auto shop, the "check engine" light came on and I was able to get the code: P2111, "binding throttle body - stuck open" and "tacm open or shorted". taking the vehicle to the auto shop, they told me the throttle body assembly was not functioning correctly and needed replacement. This is currently being done as the vehicle is unsafe to drive in its present condition. This problem happened once before, about a month ago, and I immediately took the vehicle to the local Ford dealership. They could find nothing wrong, but said it sounded like a throttle or electrical problem, as they have seen numerous problems similar to this. They said there was no stored code for the "wrench" light. They told me the car was safe to drive but to bring the vehicle in if it happens again. At that time they would begin replacing parts until the problem went away as they were unable to diagnose the problem with the information provided, even though they had seen this problem before. This is a dangerous situation, particularly when driving on the highway or crossing an intersection, as the vehicle no longer has power to the drive train and can only coast to a stop. There should be a recall on this defective part.
While driving tonight I lost power and came to a complete stop. I was on my way home from work and luckily not on the freeway. I am 21 weeks pregnant and this really scared me. I had the car towed to the Ford dealer. When they called to tell us what was wrong they said it was the throttle body. It is no longer under warranty. Before we gave them the ok to fix it we looked online and discovered that this was a known issue with the Ford Escapes. When I called back I asked if what we read was true and if this part gets replaced a lot on these cars. The service person confirmed. I then asked if it became a recall would we get our money back and I was told we would. This car is only 2.5 years old and we had to replace something already. $475 out of our pocket!
After coming to a near stop, the engine began to surge and the vehicle lurched 6 or 7 times. After touching the throttle, the engine became responsive again.
Engine speed became unsteady, rising and falling despite steady, even pressure on throttle pedal. Soon after, the engine would die after returning to idle following a stop. Not long after that, unsteady engine speed became more noticeable both at idle and while driving.
I bought my 2011 Ford Escape brand new and it has about 40K miles on it. I've never had any issues. It's been a great car with all of my traveling and I've always trusted that it would get me from point a to point B safely. Until today! I got an oil change and check-up last week, no problems. This morning, I was driving on a busy 4-lane interstate when my car lost all power and started shaking and jerking. I was going about 65-70 mph when it stalled and quickly decelerated as cars were swerving around me and speeding past. The engine was still running, the check engine light popped on, and pressing the gas pedal did nothing. It was a miracle that I was able to safely maneuver over to the shoulder without causing an accident and killing someone or myself. I was completely caught off guard and spooked by the whole thing. I restarted my car and the check engine light was off and the car seemed normal. I got off at the next exit to avoid playing car accident roulette on the highway. Everything was fine for the next few miles. Then.. it happened again! this time as I was approaching a busy intersection. Scary, scary stuff. It was like driving a ticking time bomb! this time the check engine light remained on and it took me twice to get my engine to restart. I drove directly to the nearest Ford dealership. I was very caught off guard as my car had just been serviced and had always been reliable in the past. Ford replaced the throttle body. After a simple google search, I discovered how common this issue has been and was shocked. I cannot believe that this part hasn't been recalled yet! I find it to be extremely irresponsible of Ford to be so complacent with a known issue when people's lives are in jeopardy. Turning your back on a problem and ignoring it is not satisfactory customer service. This part needs to be recalled asap before someone is hurt or killed.
My vehicle stalled twice yesterday while going though busy intersections and the wrench light came on. I would pull over at a super slow speed and then turn the car off and back on. Finding this rare for a well maintained 2 year old vehicle, I looked up "Escape stalling" on google and found a plethora of complaints. I took it to the dealer today and mentioned what was happening with the car and what I had seen on the internet and he didn't give any credence to it. I am still waiting for a diagnosis and hope the problem can be repaired. Luckily there was no one behind me either time...but this could have easily been a very nasty accident because there is no warning that the car is going to stall. Notes: I purchased the vehicle in NJ February 2011
While driving on my morning work commute I was stunned when my 2011 Ford Escape just became unresponsive and was coasting on a 5 lane freeway doing 65 mph. I really did not know what was going on since the only signal that could classify a problem was the little wrench light at the bottom left of the dashboard that was on. I did not do anything out of the ordinary, and I did not notice anything out of the ordinary with the ride. My observations - rpms dropped below 1,000, speed was coasting but dropping since there was no acceleration, electrical was on, steering was sluggish like something was wrong, and a small shaking of the vehicle occurred. The only thing I could do is put my blinker to move to the shoulder but my fellow commuters did not respect that very well. So I promoted my desired to get off the freeway by turning my hazard emergency lights and that's when they started to move away from me to get to the shoulder. My experience did rattle me since I felt hopeless in a sense that I wanted to hit the brake and remembered that I was on a freeway which would be really bad. After pulling over to the shoulder I did manage to turn the vehicle off completely pull the key out and give it about a minute. After I started it up again I figured it was a single occurrence, which I was wrong when it happened again on the way home but I was down the street from my house.
The car stopped responding to the gas pedal as I was merging into traffic. I pulled over, turned the car off and waited 15 minutes. I turned it back on, had the same behavior when I tried pulling out of the parking lot. I had to toe the vehicle to the dealership. The mechanic knew right away what the issue was, mentioning that it was common. The dealer replaced the throttle body and charged a $100 premium to use my warranty, despite it being a "known" issue.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Pasadena, CA, USA