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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
71,083 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.

2009 Ford Escape engine problems

engine problem

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2009 Ford Escape Owner Comments (Page 9 of 13)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #91

Jul 192013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 60,150 miles

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

I was driving 35 mph in town when vehicle seemed to be losing power. I pulled over to the side of the road. The engine was running at a very rough idle. I tried to accelerate but it would barely move. I turned the engine off and restarted it. It did the same thing, no acceleration. I did this several times before it would run properly. It seemed rather jerky while driving. I was about 10 miles from home when this happened. On the way home I was driving at 55 mph and it died completely. The check engine light came on this time. I got it restarted and made it home. I have a code reader at my house. I checked and codes P2111 and P2112 were stored in the computer. I checked with a mechanic and was told the codes relate to the throttle body assembly. I was going to have it repaired but the mechanic told me that the part is on national back order. This is my only vehicle and I' M afraid to drive. What can I do.

- Smithton , IL, USA

problem #90

Jul 202013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 68,000 miles
Driving on highway at about 65 mph. Driving for about 30 min. When vehicle started to stutter and slow down. Pushing the accelerator and no response -RPM and speed dropping quickly. Almost run over by other vehicles on highway. Wrench light came on the dash panel. Car was pulled over to side of road and barely going at 900 RPM and ~ 2 mph. Needed to ha E car towed. This is a very dangerous issue that needs to be fixed immediately!

- Hockessin, DE, USA

problem #89

Jul 032013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 45,145 miles
Car goes into limp mode and you have to get off of highway and turn off car and restart to reset computer. This works for about 10 miles and then it starts all over again. My dealership has the car and is replacing the throttle body so we can drive the car and not be in danger.

- Ooltewah, TN, USA

problem #88

Jul 012013

Escape

  • 46,806 miles

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

I was driving on the freeway going 70 mph. The gas pedal suddenly went all the way to the floor but the car was getting no power. Luckily the freeway was not crowded and we were able to coast to the side of the freeway. I turned the car off and restarted it and the pedal seemed to be working. But 30 miles later it happened again. I brought the car to the Ford dealership where they said the problem was the throttle body. The part is on back order for 3 weeks.

- Lakewood, CA, USA

problem #87

Jul 162013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 40,000 miles
This is the 3rd time this problem happened. I'm driving normally, at a constant speed, and all of a sudden, wrench light comes on, rpms do weird things, gas pedal doesn't do anything, putting it in neutral in a drift downspeed does nothing, park does nothing. Putting it in park and shutting the engine, and starting again makes the light go away and run fine again. This is a huge safety concern as I travel with young children and this will happen with no warning at all. Very disappointed Ford will not recall and fix this very common problem.

- Louisville, LA, USA

problem #86

Jul 042013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 65,000 miles
While driving at various speeds, conditions, the wrench warning light appears and the car becomes limp and non responsive. Engine was running hard. Had to turn off vehicle and restart (which was difficult). This occurred again within minutes, this time with the check engine light coming on. Went directly to repair shop and had it checked. Was told that error code P2111 was being shown. The throttle body was cleaned and the gas pedal assembly was replaced. The next day, the same problems continued. I am scared to drive this car, especially with my children in it as I am worried it will die while pulling out in traffic or that someone will rear end us.

- Granger, IN, USA

problem #85

Feb 192013

Escape 4-cyl

  • 80,000 miles

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

Was driving about 25-30 mph on a side street, vehicle started to sputter and stall, felt like the engine was dying, so was able to pull off into a parking lot and turned the car off, sat for a few mins, then restarted and pulled out and everything was fine. Approximately 6 months later, similar issue, was driving about 25 on a side street, car sputtered, stalled, so pulled over, turned off, waited then restarted. A few days later, was driving about 35 on a side street, same issue, then the check engine light came on, so pulled over and called for a tow. Car is currently being serviced at the Ford dealership and have been notified that it was a throttle body issue, which I am having to pay $550 to fix.

- Kansas City, MO, USA

problem #84

Jul 092013

Escape

  • 133,000 miles
While driving on the beltline, the vehicle stopped responding to the accelerator. I put on hazard lights, changed two lanes to get to the right-hand shoulder, and stopped. Fortunately the traffic was not heavy at the time (9:30pm). Restarting the vehicle fixed the problem, and I was able to drive home. However due to the safety hazard, I have not driven it since.

- Raleigh, NC, USA

problem #83

Jul 032013

Escape

  • 57,501 miles
I was driving down the highway and the gas pedal stopped working and my car wouldn't go I pulled off the road and turned my car off. I restarted it and continued to drive it did it again and I went to the dealership, it did it all the way there I had to keep pulling over and restarting. The code came up throttle stuck open. I am not waiting for a new throttle body that is on back order and will take around 5-8 days, it is day 7 and the part is still not there.

- Jacksonville , NC, USA

problem #82

Jul 082013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 60,700 miles
Vehicle looses power and must pull to the side of the road. The engine continues to run roughly but no power goes to the wheels. Once stopped I turn vehicle off for a minute. Once restarted the vehicle seems to run okay. But it happened 3 times on 7/8/2013. The code is P2111. I took it to the dealer and the part is on back order so I do not know when this will be resolved. This is my only car and I feel it is unsafe. According to your websight there are 2 action reports. #S PE13003 & DP12006. And 2 technical service bulletins #S 09-23-5 & 10-21-6.

- Rockford, IL, USA

problem #81

Jul 012013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 120,000 miles

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

The electronic throttle body on my 2009 Ford Escape failed while I was traveling at a high rate of speed on the highway causing my engine shut down.

- Bridgewater, MA, USA

problem #80

Jun 252013

Escape

  • 88,300 miles
A week after I bought a 2009 Ford Escape from a used dealership, I began having problems with the SUV. First the battery died, leaving me, my boyfriend and his 3 year old nephew stranded in Malibu until 10pm. The next day, we replaced the battery at an auto zone. As we started to drive home, my car surges and stalls. I turn the car off and on again and continue to drive but in about 20 feet, the car surges to a stop again and the "wrench light" turned on indicating a throttle control/powertrain problem. I have my car towed to the nearest body shop and the next day they tell me they cant fix my car and that I needed to get it towed to a Ford dealer. I contact the privately owned dealership where I bought my car (which is 40 mins away from my home) and they tell me they will get someone to tow my vehicle to them. A couple days later they tell me its a throttle body issue and that I needed to get it replaced. After they gave me a quote on how much repairs would cost, I told them I couldn't afford it so they tried cleaning the throttle body. After they cleaned it, they said my car was operable again but I would need to replace the throttle body as soon as I could. Since then I have driven my car almost 300 miles with no problems but I am still weary that my car will stall on me again so I will definitely have the part replaced once I have the money to do so. For a week while my car was in the shop(s) I did a lot of researching on my make and model SUV and I have read many complaints of people with a similar issue. What I don't understand is why the government hasn't issued a recall yet. Anyway, I'm just thankful I wasn't on the freeway or a busy street when my Escape decided to crap out on me. I could have been in a way worse of a situation.

- Santa Clarita, CA, USA

problem #79

Jul 042013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 52,000 miles
I was driving on the highway when suddenly the car made a very hard jerk; it felt like the engine fell to the ground, and then no power when I put my foot on the gas peddle. I coasted to the side of the road which put me at the end of an entrance ramp onto the highway. I was so scared because of where my car ended up. I waited a few minutes and turned the car back on and drove about 30 ft and then the same thing happened... the terrible jerk and no power. I pulled over and waited for at least one hour for a tow truck. I am thankful it was not dark out. I was told by the Ford dealer that it was the throttle body. I have seen many reports on line of the same defective part. Besides this being a costly experience [if you do not have a warranty] it is very dangerous when this part goes out. This should definitely be a recalled item and people reimbursed for having to have this part replaced.

- St. Louis, MO, USA

problem #78

May 302013

Escape

  • 46,000 miles
I purchased a 2009 certified used Ford Escape limited in October 2012. In February 2013, my vehicle began to stutter when slowing down at stop lights, etc. I took my truck into a Ford dealership and they said it was an issue with the engine and it was covered under my warranty. In may, my vehicle started exhibiting the same symptoms except this time it actually began to shut off when slowing down at stop signs and stop lights. One day I was driving and it began to slow down, stutter to the point of jerking, and it completely shut off. I ended up having to pull over, even on the freeway. After it shut off, it would turn on after leaving it off for a minute or two. I took my vehicle back into the same dealer that repaired it in February because I thought it was the same issue but worse. They examined it and said that it was an issue with the throttle body and that it is not covered under my warranty. They also informed me that the part was on back order. I paid $106 to have it examined and was told that it would be approximately $508 total to repair and that the part was on back-order and would not be for two weeks. I called back and advised the customer service rep that I wanted to proceed with having my vehicle repaired. We got off the phone and later that afternoon, I received a call stating that part was never ordered and that I needed to pay for the part in advance, $172. I researched online and saw that Ford has had multiple complaints regarding throttle bodies. It seems as though I'm paying for a repair that I should not have to. I have not been able to drive my car for two weeks because it is too dangerous to drive. The dealer offered no other alternatives outside of renting a car which is extremely expensive for a two week rental. Thankfully, I've been able to borrow a car.

- Southfield, MI, USA

problem #77

Jul 012013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 96,500 miles
Vehicle randomly slips into limp-home mode at slow speeds and highway speeds. The wrench light turns on and the accelerator is non-responsive. If the vehicle is put into park and the engine is shift off, it restarts with no problem...until a random time further down the road. Monday it happened 5 times; Tuesday it happened 3 times.

- Crestview, FL, USA

problem #76

Apr 262013

Escape

  • 81,336 miles
In September of 2010, the check engine light on my Ford Escape would come on and off, on and off. Some times it would stay on for weeks and then just disappear. Sometimes it would stay on for a day or two and then disappear. And whenever I need to take it to the repair shop, the check engine light was never on. Pep boys could never find anything wrong because they check engine light was never on, and no codes appeared. When pep boys drove the car, it never stopped on them. In April of 2012, as my son was home from college and driving the car, it shut off on him on the freeway on many occasions. He would explain to me that the engine went off and the car would not accelerate. He would have to pull over and either restart it or wait an hour for it to start sometimes. This happened on numerous occasions at fast and slow speeds. The check engine light and maintenance lights would come on. The car began stopping on me with the exact same problems stated above. Every time I took the car to pep boys, they would drive it for hours and it never stopped on them. On April 29, 2012, I took the car in to pep boys, and the stop engine code read that the cam sensor needed to be replaced. I got the car back on may14, 2012, and it immediately stopped on me. Then it ran good for two weeks, then it began stopping again on a regular basis. On June 21, 2012, I took the car in and the codes read throttle problem. They replaced the throttle and I got the car back on June, 29, 2013. I have spend over $3500 on this problem and would like to get reimbursed. One thing to not is that the original check light began to come on around August of 2011 and there never was a clear diagnosis until may and June of 2013.

- Vallejo, CA, USA

problem #75

Jun 272013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 47,195 miles
As I pulled out of my driveway my car appeared to stall. A wrench warning light came on and the car had very little power. It felt as if I was in neutral. I was able to pull it in front of my house and called a Ford dealership who had it towed. The problem is the throttle body but the part is on back order. I was told that there are 8,000 requests for the part but it is currently not being produced so the wait could be months or longer. I was told that I would have to pick up my car and drive it as is, as a replacement car was not available. I asked if it was possible to get the part threw a different company and was advised that the part cannot be found anywhere but I may be able to get a used one from a wrecked car. When I picked up my car and drove it home it stalled twice. I did as I was advised by Ford, I turned off the car, waited a few minutes and then restarted the car. This worked both times but is not a very safe way to drive. Fortunately I had someone following me and we both had our hazards on as the cars behind us were not happy when I had to stop in the middle of the road.

- Flower Mound, TX, USA

problem #74

Oct 112010

Escape 6-cyl

  • 55,000 miles
We bought the SUV used at a Chevrolet dealership in. June 2010, and in October we started having issues. The vehicle wouldn't start. We had it towed to a Ford dealership where they had it for 10 days and couldn't. find a problem. We drove it for approximately 7 months, 14,000 miles then it happened again...we had it towed to another garage, and they had it a couple of days with no problems found.in June 2012 it wouldn't. start again. This time it restated after 40 minutes. It went into a safe mode, where I drove it home at 5 mph. Waited 30 minutes unhooked the battery cables waited 15 minutes and hooked them back up, ,and it started and ran fine for a few days then started dying while driving at any speed. Took it to auto zone to read any codes...none were identified. This is happening more frequently now. Is going back to Ford on tuesday7/2/13. This is a very dangerous problem, that needs to be addressed.

- Laporte, IN, USA

problem #73

Jun 292013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 60,000 miles
About a year to year and a half ago I lost all forward motion while driving, could not get the car to respond to the accelerator, and the "wrench" light came on. I made it to the side of the road and a few minutes later it started it right up. This happened several times over a couple of weeks period, I took it to our Ford house but they could not find any issues. I then took it to my local mechanic and he said he thought it was a throttle issue but couldn't find the exact problem, so he suggested we take it back to the Ford house and let them "put it on the computer" and look again. I did but they said although they unplugged and reconnected several things they still could not find anything wrong. I didn't have any problems for a few months and now it has started happening again, 5 times in the last 2 weeks. Now it sputters some when I restart it but so far it has started. I have a toddler and depend on my car to get us around and this is a very real safety concern. Getting rear-ended or run over while trying to get off the road is a huge fear. It sounds like when I take it back to the Ford house, and I will, the wait on the part will still mean I'll be driving an unsafe vehicle for a while.Ford needs to pay attention before there is a fatality and then the whole world will know how much they care about their customers.

- Cleburne, TX, USA

problem #72

Jun 222013

Escape

  • 69,115 miles
While traveling at 45 mph on a busy road, the engine stopped responding to the accelerator and began decelerating. The throttle/power-train warning light was activated. I had to pull over the the shoulder of the road to avoid being hit by other traffic. The car began jerking forward as though it was trying to accelerate on its own. I shut off the engine for a minute and once I restarted the car, the warning light was no longer illuminated. The next day (6/23/2013) I drove to my closest Ford dealer and they diagnosed the problem as a faulty throttle body. The service advisor informed me that the part was currently backordered and that they had 15 other Ford vehicles currently waiting for inventory to arrive. The cost of repair is $473. The mechanic cleaned out the carbon from my throttle body as a temporary fix until the part arrived. Two days later (6/25/2013), as I was driving 55 mph, the same problem occured and I was forced to pull over and restart my vehicle. While driving back to the Ford dealership the next morning to get a rental car, my car stopped responding as I was crossing train tracks (and I was able to restart the vehicle). Now my car is currenly sitting at the Ford dealership and I am paying an additional $33 a day for a rental car while I wait for the part to arrive (estimated to be 10-13 days). NHTSA action # DP12006.

- St. Petersburg, FL, USA

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