CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2004 Ford Escape looks pretty good compared to other Ford Escape model years, but still has a trend of transmission problems, and engine problems from the NHTSA complaint data — so it's not a model year we can recommend.
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 4
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
105,698 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.
The contact owns a 2004 Ford Escape. The contact stated while traveling approximately 80 mph, the vehicle continued to accelerate although the accelerator pedal was not depressed. The failure was not diagnosed nor was the vehicle repaired. The manufacturer advised the contact that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA recall campaign number 12V353000 (engine and engine cooling, vehicle speed control). The failure mileage was 140,000. The VIN was unavailable.
At approximately 65 mph on a crowded interstate highway, the vehicle lost power and the "check engine" light illuminated the vehicle slowed and I was able to pull off the highway. After switching the engine off and waiting a few minutes, I was able to start the car and move forward for about a mile when the same thing happened. After the third time this happened, I decided the car was too dangerous to drive in traffic and pulled over to call a tow truck. The car has less than 20,000 miles on it. The local Ford dealer indicates no recall has been issued for this specific problem. Losing speed in fast-moving highway traffic is extremely dangerous; thankfully there was no accident or injury in this case.
Could not turn car heater on as the interior filled with engine fumes especially when idle. Took vehicle to 2 different Ford dealers and they could not locate the problem. Now, summer of 2013 when the ac is turned on the same thing happens. It is a safety concern that myself and 3 year old son are breathing these fumes in just driving to the grocery store! also, took the car to an independent repair shop without any positive results! I have been driving with no heat and no ac for almost a year now. What can solve this problem?
The contact owns a 2004 Ford Escape. The contact stated that after driving the vehicle a small distance, she smelled a burning odor from under the hood. The manufacturer was notified but offered no assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was unavailable. The failure and current mileage was 129,790. The VIN was not available.
Car's engine vibrated violently and completely stalled going 45 mph down a highway, accident avoided as car behind me slammed on the brakes. Car would not start, check engine light on. Towed vehicle to Ford dealership who fond two engine coils defective and all spark plugs replaced. This vehicle has repeated issues with defective coils and dangerous to travel on a highway when engine abruptly stops. This is poor engineering on Ford's part and demand the us government force a recall!
- Oswego, IL, USA
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The contact owns a 2004 Ford Escape. The contact was driving approximately 40 mph downhill and the contact depressed the brake pedal repeatedly however, the vehicle failed to decelerate until the gear lever was shifted into neutral. The failure occurred only after the vehicle was serviced under NHTSA campaign id number 12V353000 (engine and engine cooling). The manufacturer was not notified of the problem. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 215,198.
The contact owns a 2004 Ford Escape. The contact was driving 65 mph when the vehicle began jerking and jumping abnormally. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis. The dealer advised that they needed to replace all of the spark plugs. The vehicle was repaired but the failure continued. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 111,000 and the current mileage was 111,500.
I made a left turn from eastbound stewart road onto the inside lane of northbound M125 (N. monroe street), monroe, mi at approximately 09:00. When approaching frenchtown mall area on the left, cars ahead were stopped for others making left turns into the mall. I took my right foot off of the gas pedal to coast so as not to have to brake. Suddenly my car accelerated (sped up); my right foot was still off of the gas pedal and on the floor. I hit the brake hard with my right foot and the vehicle did stop. (I never use my left foot to brake. I always use the right foot to drive and to brake.) I thought of all of the incidents of sudden acceleration; now knew how it felt. Researched, found info as to recall issued. We never received recall notice. Put VIN # in Ford site. Our vehicle, 2004 Escape 3.0L V6 not recalled. The cruise control quit working may, 2011. We had the Escape in for regular service recently and we told the service advisor, who is also the assistant service manager at the dealer, that the cruise control no longer worked. He said it could be checked but it would be expensive to fix. We chose not to incur additional expense given the age of the vehicle. This vehicle has consistently had all service, oil changes, repairs done at the Ford dealer. We did not know about the recall, nor of the technical service bulletin issued to all dealers by Ford. Interesting note: We own and drive a 1989 Ford F150 and the cruise control works fine!
As I was accelerating to pass a slow moving vehicle, I pressed on the gas petal and after I was back in my proper lane, my vehicle kept speeding and not backing off on the gas. I then put the car in neural and the engine continued to keep racing. I tried to stomp lightly on the gas petal to see if it would come back up but it didn't. I then shut off the engine and called the tow truck company.
I would like to add my complaint to the acceleration problems of the 2001-2004 Ford Escapes which my 2004 has also experienced. There have been a few situations over the last 2-3 years where my cars engine would suddenly start racing while parked at idle. When the issue first began I was able to tap the gas pedal with my foot and the car would return to a standard idle. The more recent instances now require turning the vehicle off and it would idle normal again after being restarted. I believe this problem is connected to a current investigation and the letter dated 7/10/12 written to Ford from the center for auto safety. This may also be connected to a prior recall 04V-574 that I was recently made aware of. Please keep me advised of your efforts or anything I can do to help. Thank you
At first, my Escape only started hesitating on rainy days when I got to about 45-55 mph. At first I thought I had bad gas so I stopped at auto zone to get dry gas for it. This seem to work like a charm and I thought the problem was fixed. Then it happened again; spudering, not accelerating, car shaking, and engine light began to flash once I reached 45mph. This had been an issue for a few months on and off, then one sunny day its began hesitating and misfiring very badly now not only in 5th gear but at idle and 1st gear. It misfired and hesitated every time I drove it for a week before the mechanic could get it into the shop. I did a lot of research on the two codes that the engine was pulling P0305 and P0316 pending. I found out that there were a lot of people who had the same problem as me when their Escapes reach 90,000 miles or higher, some even worse. People are saying that the issues being caused are a result of Ford putting in the wrong spark plugs which is causing the computer chip to burn out leading to misfires in the coil packs. My mechanic just informed me that it will cost $400 to fix two of the coils and there is only a 50/50 chance that it will fix the problem (for now). He said it will probably happen again but there is no telling how long that might be, it might be right away, a week from now, or a year. Will all these people having the same issue with no way to tell if it is actually going to fix the problem there should be a recall or at least a warning to owners saying what may happen once the car gets over 100,000 miles.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Dayton, OH, USA