A lack of clearance between the engine cover and the speed control cable connector meant the throttle could get stick open when the accelerator was fully depressed. Following a petition from the Center for Auto Safety, NHTSA opened an investigation and eventually issued a recall to fix the sticky throttles in the 2001–2004 model years.
Even with the throttles fixed, the 2001 model year could still have trouble stopping due to multiple problems with leaking brakes.
2001 FORD ESCAPE HAD ORIGINAL ALTERNATOR FOR 140000 MILES NOW 2 NEW ALTERNATORS IN 7 MONTHS AND NOW A THIRD .I hope Ford goes out of business.First of all they purposefully mounted the alternator in such a place as to make it 5 hour job to remove $600 each time for a $ 100 part.Every time I work on Ford which I have three,ford escape, ford ranger, and 1993 ford escort all of them have major design flaws that make it almost impossible to replace parts,and I know they design them like that on purpose so you'll be forced to go to the dealer for service. For example the escape they put the catalytic converters inside the exhaust manifold so when the converters go bad you have to remove and replace the exhaust manifolds. And you wonder why no one wants to buy a ford their cars and trucks suck I will never buy a ford as long as I live. In today's market Corporate America doesn't understand how Americans think.All they care about is how they can screw you over and get a dollar out of you. This is off the subject but for example I use to work for Sears in the 70s and 80s and they decided to get rid of all the full time employees that worked there until they retired selling shoes tools etc and Sears replaced them with teenagers part time with no benefits or profit sharing they were the Walmart and retail powerhouse at that time. I told our general manager that would be the end of Sears I even wrote as letter to the corporate office .Of course the rest is history that was the start of their decline when customers couldn't get good service or even waited on .America lost faith in how they did business and the rest is history. That gave way to the rise of Walmart and Sears almost went out of business several times and is still limping along barely able to stay a live when they were the American institution.The point is Ford is doing the same by designing their cars the way they do Americans aren't as stupid as Ford thinks.When you take one of the most frequently replaced appliances on the car in this case the alternator and put it in an inaccessible place just to force the customer to return to the dealer for service that cost 5 times the normal price then there's something wrong with that picture.America was known for its ingenuity but that's all lost now .And you wonder why Toyota is the number one sold car in America year after year .its a sad day in America
C'mon Ford, can you design a vehicle? Put the exhaust right next to the alternator, stupid! Planned obsolescence, parts sales are up for this $150 item, then try to put the damn thing on! You need the brain of an engineer, the hands of a strong midget wrestler, and the neck of an ostrich to even think about this task. Who designed this? Whats the fix Ford for the third time in 100000 miles? Got a alternator cooler? Add ice when operating the premium package vehicle? I hope I never meet the engineer who deigned this piece of crap in a dark alley! Get a clue!!!! Another stupid customer.
While I was driving, again tje car died on me. The battery was on for just 1 day and I wanted to take it in to have it checked.
We had it towed to the garage and the mechanic called me the same day and said that I would need a new alternator(we already replaced the battery ourselves that day). He put in a new alternator and the car is driving fine again.
3 hours to repair at the mechanic shop. Had to remove the tires and axles just to get to the part. Ford says to run the A/C on low with the light on. Alternator is over worked causing it to stop working. A TSB from ford says to install a dual fan motor for the A/C might help. Ford need to design a better way to just get to a part without removing axles.
- Tracy M.,
Hudson Oaks, TX, US
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2001 FORD ESCAPE HAD ORIGINAL ALTERNATOR FOR 140000 MILES NOW 2 NEW ALTERNATORS IN 7 MONTHS AND NOW A THIRD .I hope Ford goes out of business.First of all they purposefully mounted the alternator in such a place as to make it 5 hour job to remove $600 each time for a $ 100 part.Every time I work on Ford which I have three,ford escape, ford ranger, and 1993 ford escort all of them have major design flaws that make it almost impossible to replace parts,and I know they design them like that on purpose so you'll be forced to go to the dealer for service. For example the escape they put the catalytic converters inside the exhaust manifold so when the converters go bad you have to remove and replace the exhaust manifolds. And you wonder why no one wants to buy a ford their cars and trucks suck I will never buy a ford as long as I live. In today's market Corporate America doesn't understand how Americans think.All they care about is how they can screw you over and get a dollar out of you. This is off the subject but for example I use to work for Sears in the 70s and 80s and they decided to get rid of all the full time employees that worked there until they retired selling shoes tools etc and Sears replaced them with teenagers part time with no benefits or profit sharing they were the Walmart and retail powerhouse at that time. I told our general manager that would be the end of Sears I even wrote as letter to the corporate office .Of course the rest is history that was the start of their decline when customers couldn't get good service or even waited on .America lost faith in how they did business and the rest is history. That gave way to the rise of Walmart and Sears almost went out of business several times and is still limping along barely able to stay a live when they were the American institution.The point is Ford is doing the same by designing their cars the way they do Americans aren't as stupid as Ford thinks.When you take one of the most frequently replaced appliances on the car in this case the alternator and put it in an inaccessible place just to force the customer to return to the dealer for service that cost 5 times the normal price then there's something wrong with that picture.America was known for its ingenuity but that's all lost now .And you wonder why Toyota is the number one sold car in America year after year .its a sad day in America
- jcusa, Loganville, GA, US