While driving my 2009 Ford Escape at around 40-60 mph the car suddenly and without warning lost all acceleration. At the same time the orange wrench came on my dashboard. I was able to pull to the side of the road and when I came to a stop, the engine almost died, but never did. Putting the car in park and turning it off and back on again seemed to alleviate the problem - and the orange wrench went away, until it happened again a few miles down the road. That morning it happened 5-6 times within a half hour or so and the check engine light came on the last time. This problem has occurred once randomly before but the mechanic could find no reason for it to be happening. Since the check engine light remained on this time he ran a diagnostic test and concluded the throttle body was dirty. After cleaning it, the car ran fine for about 5 days when it started happening again.

- Napa, CA, USA

I was driving on the highway when the SUV started to decelerate. I was traveling at 70mph. The RPM did not change when I pressed the gas pedal. The SUV coasted to 0mph. I had to turn the car off for a few minutes. When I restarted it, it drove well enough to get to the Ford dealership. Diagnostics were run and I was told that it was a "hiccup" and nothing registered in the computer as an alert. I was told to return if it happened again but was told again that it was a "hiccup." The following week, it happened again as I was leaving work. I drove to the Ford dealership but this time I took video. I was told it was the throttle that needed to be replaced. Possibly a sensor?? I'm not sure. Because the SUV was out of warranty and it was a Saturday, Ford didn't know if my extended warranty would cover the part. They cleaned the throttle, I think, and told me to come back on Monday. I drove out into the road in front of the dealership and the throttle messed up again. The car decelerated. I turned it off, waited, turned it back on and drove back and paid for Ford to install the part. The car still seems to want to decelerate at times but it doesn't and there are no warning alerts/lights. Again, I do have video of what actually happened the 2nd time the SUV's throttle messed up.

- Raymondville, TX, USA

Purchased used 2009 Ford Escape in August 2012. Ran fine for the first month then started to hesitate when accelerating. We are now having repeated hesitation and engine surging. We are becoming concerned about pulling into traffic and having the engine stall. With only 44000 miles in it, Ford will not pay for the repair because it is out of warranty. First Ford purchased in 30 years, probably the last too.

- Hartwell, GA, USA

Petition for defect investigation into my 2005-2012 Ford Escape vehicles for throttle body failures resulting in a stall while driving event or engine surge event on of the complainants complained of a stuck accelerator pedal. The failure was diagnosed as a failed throttle body with engine codes P2111; throttle body stuck open and P2222; throttle body stuck closed. There was no evidence of any mechanical interference on throttle blade or any carbon build-up.

- Raleigh, NC, USA

Had just come over the tn river bridge on I40 East in tn and was approaching mile marker 137 when the vehicle became non responsive to throttle with no dash indication lights. At first I thought fuel pump shut down because acceleration did not work. I knew the engine was still running by RPM and power steering worked. The vehicle was coasting in the left lane and there was traffic behind, in front and in right lane. I turned on hazard lights in hopes of warning the traffic around me. The semi behind me had to slow also and I could not change lanes at moment. Contemplating going left into the median and maybe striking an upcoming bridge rail or wait for open right lane and get to right side of interstate. I had an opening and turned off hazard flasher and then gave a right blinker, cutting off the semi behind who was trying to go around me. At that moment I thought we would get hit. Pulled over and the wrench light came on and no check engine light. Vehicle idled bad like a misfire and RPM gauge went up and down unsteadily. I videoed the fluctuation while pulled over. Turned car off and restarted no problem. Problem came back again 74 miles later in nashville at 88756 miles. At that point on I440E and I65 split the vehicle, without warning, shutdown again, became non responsive to throttle. Then the wrench light and check engine light came on and I pulled over videoed the fluctuating gauges. Turned vehicle off and restarted and lights went off and proceeded to crown Ford on thompson lane and the service dept was closed. This issue also happened 5 times on 9-3-2012, between mileage 89,9002 to 89,1181, while in Alabama/tn. Example going uphill, and also coasting into someones driveway at night. This vehicle still currently has the trans flare issue even after two PCM reflash. But Ford cant get it to act up. I thought maybe this issue was related.

- Bell Buckle, TN, USA

While traveling at 70mph, vehicle suddenly stalled while driving in the center lane of a highway in heavy traffic. No warning signs were displayed. After pulling to the shoulder, vehicle was able to be restarted and seemed to be fine. Service technician found a failure code for 'throttle stuck closed' with 'freeze data' showing it happened at 71mph. He inspected the throttle and found no problems. As a precaution, he cleaned the throttle blade with a cleaning wipe. A week later, the vehicle stalled again as I was pulling into traffic. In order to keep the vehicle running, I then needed to keep my foot on both the gas and brake while at stops. Return to my technician and he diagnosed the problem as a defective throttle body. He said that the computer data showed the throttle open only 52% when the throttle was wide open. Vehicle has not yet been repaired.

- Raleigh, NC, USA

While driving at a constant speed the throttle control actuator inside the throttle body can become stuck and cause the driver to loose all throttle and speed control. Problem will present itself as a transmission issue as shifting through all the gears will not clear the problem, until engine is powered down and restarted. This is a clear and evident problem that appears at or around 75,000 miles. Ford refuses to acknowledge that this is a problem with the factory model throttle body installed in most Escape model vehicles. Regular engine diagnostics do not display an error code unless the diagnostic computer is connected to the car at the time of incident and warning light is on.

- Carrollton, TX, USA

The contact owns a 2009 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving 30 mph, the vehicle engaged into a rough idle and stalled. The contact mentioned that the check engine warning light and the wrench warning light illuminated. The failure recurred multiple times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed that the throttle body was defective and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of failure who filed a report and did not offer any assistance. The failure mileage was 51,500 and the current mileage was 52,000.

- Dearborn Heights, MI, USA

While driving on us 441. Our car stalled on the mountain between Cherokee, N.C. and gatlinburg, tenn. We pulled to the side of the road, turned the engine off, and were able to restart it and continue for a few miles before the problem recurred. This stop and go occurred about 7 times before we were able to get to sevierville, tenn to get it repaired. My concern is that there are few places to pull to the side of the mountain, so it was dangerous for us and other cars to stop as we did. The dealer told us the problem was caused by a defective throttle body.

- Sugar Hill, GA, USA

The traffic was light; I was driving on rt. 173 going East between hunt club rd and 41. As I passed over the bridge covering I-94, I let my foot off the gas to cruise which allowed traffic to merge and clear. The road changes from two lanes to one lane at this point. I was driving about 40-45 mph and I slowed down to about 30-35 mph. I was driving straight in the left lane. As I started to accelerate after traffic in front of me cleared, I stepped on the gas and there was no response. I repeated and looked down and saw that all the gauge lights were on. The steering was difficult and I applied the brakes slightly and realized that the engine was off. The engine stalled. There were no noises. The windows were open. The ac was off. I shifted the car in neutral and started the engine as the car coasted in a straight line. The engine re-started and I continued to drive to rt. 41. the engine stalled again 2/4/12 with mileage at 33,866. Both times I informed the dealer who said there were no issues found.

- Gurnee, IL, USA

The accelerator of this rental car failed, after accelerating to over 40mph on a highway. It would only begin to work again once we stopped and restarted the car. It failed 5 more times before we were able to park it safely.

- Brooklyn, NY, USA

This is to report a recent issue with my 2009 Ford Escape. I was driving 65 - 70 mph when suddenly my accelerator died. It is like losing the brakes but the opposite. Pressing the accelerator does not do anything and you have to go on the side for emergency stop. This is a safety concern given that it is a possible cause of a crash with any vehicle around you at the time of suddenly losing your speed in a highway. The dash showed a wrench light, which tells me to bring the car to dealer. The dealer on the other hand will not fix it because they cannot find a service code from computer. It happened 4 times and I have to bring the car the 2nd time, then they replaced the throttle body even without getting a service code. So far no repeat of the problem. But I think Ford should investigate this for recall issue and for safety reason since I see similar discussions from other customers in the web.

- Orange Park, FL, USA

Letter from congressman brown on behalf of constituent regarding problems with her 2009 Ford Escape; she has an arbitration date on June 28 in columbus, Ohio; please respond directly to the cleveland office the consumer stated the vehicle has been to the dealer on five occasions because the vehicle would jump/lunge while engaging it into drive or reverse. Within the last year, the vehicle began to lung/jump while driving down the highway. The vehicle has also been to the dealer six times for a rear leaking window. The weather striping was replaced, but the leak continued. Recently, when the consumer filled the gas tank, it only registered a half tank. Also, there was a vibration coming from the vehicle while driving 25 mph.

- Lexington, OH, USA

Vehicle accelerated while on cruise control and cruise had to be disengaged to stop acceleration. Vehicle failed on 2 occasions to accelerate to highway speed after entering merge lane.

- Sault Ste Marie, 00, USA

A few months after I purchased a 2009 Ford Escape, I noticed my accelerator vibrating under my foot. Within a few weeks while accelerating my car felt like it stalled- to explain I would push down the pedal and the car would sound as if it was revving up then nothing! my car would stop, no forward movement, no engine sound, nothing for several seconds. Then my car would kick in and move, this "stalling" almost got me hit by another car. I took it into the dealership where they told me they fixed it. Within a few months this occurred again while merging onto the freeway and I came very close to being hit by a truck. I took the car back where they claimed to fix the car again. This happened a total of four times now, each incident had me just nearly getting into an accident. The dealership has had my car in total for over a month trying to fix this, not including now having had my car for 10 days after my almost getting hit by a bus. So far no one can figure out what is the problem- they have recalibrated the computer, replace the petal twice and made other adjustment without a successful repair. Has anyone had this problem?

- Richmond, CA, USA

At the shift level of 40 to 45 mph the gas pedal vibrates. It is most pronounced during the first shift of the day.

- Waukegan, IL, USA

The gas pedal of the Escape (2009 model) vibrates when accelerates to about 45 mph. It happens frequently.

- Novi, MI, USA