10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
75,156 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2009 Ford Escape:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #75

Aug 132014

Escape 4WD 6-cyl

  • 74,000 miles
Vehicle suddenly looses power and idles hard. Repeatedly over the past month when trying to accelerate from a stop vehicle will loose all engine power. The vehicle will still move forward as if it was in gear without your foot on the gas/brake. I was almost T-boned when trying to make a left turn in the middle of an intersection and when I went to accelerate suddenly I had no power. I have to turn the engine off then start the vehicle again and it will work just fine. The check engine light comes on once the vehicle looses power but once you turn the car off and turn it back on it is gone.

- Wyandotte, MI, USA

problem #74

Sep 052014

Escape

  • 36,100 miles
At 35 mph and for no apparent reason, engine started sputtering and did not respond to pressing on gas pedal. In less than one minute the engine quit running altogether. I turned off ignition key and waited a few seconds and tried restarting the engine. It restarted and ran properly afterwards. Called local Ford dealer and described problem and they said it was a problem with the electronic throttle body - about an $800 repair. Went on line to research problem and found out there are tens of thousands of complaints about this problem yet Ford has done and is doing nothing about it. My '09 Escape has only a little over 36,000 miles on it. Luckily I wasn't pulling out into or driving in heavy traffic when this thing went out. I hope Ford doesn't wait until someone gets seriously injured or worse before they correct & recall vehicles for this problem. Ford says you have enough "power" left to get over to safety but you really don't.

- Villa Hills, KY, USA

problem #73

May 202014

Escape

  • 58,000 miles
Had car set on cruise control, felt a pop or a snap under car, looked down and cruise went off and I was coasting, I had my foot in the gas and the RPM's were at 1000, gas was not revving and the RPM's didn't move, coasted to side of road. The engine sputtered as if it was going to shut off, but it didn't. I shut the car off and restarted it and it was fine, until 3 days later when it happened again. Have taken it to a Ford dealer 3 times and they claim that it is not tripping a code and that they can't replace the throttle body until they have a code. I don't know what else to do, I have been driving a loaner car since last Friday and they still haven't been able to recreate the incident.

- Murray, KY, USA

problem #72

Apr 292014

Escape 6-cyl

  • 89,000 miles
P2111, throttle actuator control system stuck open, I had to drive to an auto zone to get this code while the car was in this condition. Otherwise these was no error code recorded. The engine run at an idle and will not accelerate when accelerator is depressed.

- Vero Beach, FL, USA

problem #71

Dec 242013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 71,000 miles
As I tried to accelerate the vehicle went into a limp mode. I had no response from the accelerator pedal. The vehicle would move forward at a idle speed. Yellow wrench light came on. After engine was turned off and restarted vehicle ran as normal for a few days and it happened again.

- Glenview, IL, USA

problem #70

Aug 172013

Escape

  • 69,000 miles
Driving down the street and the wrench light came on all of a sudden. Then my car dies. Put it in park then started it and as I tried to accelerate the car started to jerk then died. I repeated this till I got to the nearest repair shop and after $600 later found out it was the throttle body sensor. Ford won't sell the plastic sensor by itself, you have to buy the whole aluminum unit at $400! plus labor! I will never do business with Ford again! horrible quality parts. The worst part is I had my 11 year old son in the car when this happened.

- Carrollton , TX, USA

problem #69

Oct 252013

Escape

  • 90,000 miles
While driving my 2009 Ford Escape (V6) home from work, my car lost acceleration. The engine was still running, the lights still worked, radio on, power steering, but I had no acceleration response from the gas pedal. I was able to coast my car onto a side road without incident, and noticed the service light was on before turning my car off (wrench symbol). I waited for a few moments, and tried to restart the car. To my surprise, the car started up immediately, and I was able to drive home without further issue. I took the car to a local auto shop to have the computer checked to see if the error was still in the system, but it was already cleared. Two weeks later, while driving home from a vacation weekend, the car did the same thing, except this time I was driving on the highway at 70mph, three hours from home with my son in the back seat. To say I was rattled would be an understatement. I was able to get to the side of the highway, turn the car off, restart the car and rejoin traffic. Roughly 1 hour later, the same thing happened. I immediately took the car to the nearest Ford dealership and dropped the car off for inspection and service. The dealer was able to pinpoint the issue to the electronic throttle body, and determined it needed to be replaced. $375 and 24 hours later the car was fixed. No issues after having the car back in my possession for two weeks. I wanted to issue an official complaint, and express my dissatisfaction with Ford Motor Company for knowing about this safety issue, and dragging their feet on issuance of a recall. The delphi manufactured component was known to be flawed, and had issued a technical service bulletin (tsb) 09-23-5, and re-engineered the component. I am a loyal Ford driver, but I fear Ford's lack of ethical conduct on this issue may be cause for reconsideration of future purchases.

- Cincinnati, OH, USA

problem #68

Nov 042013

Escape

  • 29,000 miles
On Friday, November 1, I was driving to work when suddenly the Escape failed to accelerate. The wrench light appeared. I coasted to the right turn lane then stopped. Turned the Escape off, waited a few seconds and then tried starting it. It started but the entire vehicle shook. I was able to get the Escape to crawl to a parking lot. I turned it back off and waited a few minutes longer. After about ten minutes, I tried starting it and it seemed to run just fine. On Monday, November 4, I had a repeat of this. We had the repair shop tow it in, fearing that it would die in traffic and cause an accident. The car dealer says it was the throttle body.

- West Des Moines, IA, USA

problem #67

Oct 252013

Escape

  • 86,432 miles
This has happened twice now. I have been driving my car and all of a sudden I loose gas power, but my brakes and steering still works fine. I have to pull over to the side of the road and come to a complete stop. While at a complete stop I can feel my car/ engine making a jerking "thudding" noise/ motion. I then turn my car off and take my key out of the ignition for the a couple of minutes. After letting the car sit I out my key back in and try to start it. But the car hesitates to start, it cranks for a while and then eventually turns over and starts. When I begin driving again after the incident I can feel that my car is not driving the same. Both times it has occurred I was driving two completely different speeds.

- Worth, IL, USA

problem #66

Oct 152013

Escape

  • 46,000 miles
I was driving on interstate 71 in Ohio when my car lost power totally, it had to be flat-bed towed to mansfield Ford where I was told there was a problem with the throttle body. This was very dangerous and frightening to me, now I am afraid to travel in this vehicle. I had to pay $474 to repair, which I think Ford should reimburse.

- North Canton, OH, USA

problem #65

Oct 042013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 65,324 miles
While driving at highway speed I lost acceleration. SUV shook then lost speed quickly. Was able to pull onto off road. Wrench lite on dash. I turned off SUV then restarted and lite went away. Drove to next turn off so I could turn around to head home. Samething happened on way home but after restarting SUV the wrench lite changed to engine service lite. Was able to get home from there. Took for service which concluded electronic throttle body was dirty so it cleaned. Was able to drive for about 20 days when issues accrued again. Throttle body needed replaced.

- Hudson, OH, USA

problem #64

Oct 152013

Escape

  • 71,000 miles
We have been having issues with the car since August of 2013. The car would lose power while driving slowing down to a crawl without notice. This issue happened about 5 times since that occurrence. Car has been in the shop 5 times since that time with about $2000 in repair bills that included engine work, new battery, new alternator, etc. The car was towed each time to mongos auto repair in cinnaminson NJ. On this occurrence I did a google search and found that this model is having common problems as per the above and the throttle body needs to be replaced to repair the issue. Mongos checked and there was a recall by Ford to repair this issue. We never received a recall notice from Ford. We were informed it would have been covered under the drive train warranty if the car had 60,000 miles or less. My wife drives the vehicle and was put into very dangerous situations due to this faulty defect in manufacturing. Can I contact someone about never receiving the recall and get reimbursed for the $2000 in repairs plus the new bill to replace the throttle body?

- Cinnaminson, NJ, USA

problem #63

Oct 092013

Escape

  • 110,000 miles
While in the left lane of a 3 lane highway (bishop Ford) I was traveling about 65 mph then accelerating to 72 mph the car made a jerk ( felt like the transmission) then there was no acceleration and the wrench light came on. I tried to push the gas and nothing. I slowly moved to the emergency lane which was very dangerous because the average speed on this highway is about 70 and I had to crossover 2 lanes and at this point the car was less than 40 mph. No one wants to slow down to let you over. I had my 2 yr old in the car at the time so I was very nervous about getting hit by another vehicle. I turned off the car and the restarted and it and drove ok without this happening again. This jerk motion has happened several times and when I had it checked at the dealer while under warranty they could not find anything wrong because it did not do it when they drove the car. Anytime I had a complaint while under warranty they could not find anything wrong with the car. This is a hazard and to know so many complaints have been made and nothing has been done by Ford..................................anyone?S death by this will be on their hands.

- Hobart, IN, USA

problem #62

Oct 082013

Escape

  • 42,000 miles
Started to accelerate and the car just has no power to go. Engine runs but touching the gas does nothing. Engine runs around 1K RPM's. the wrench light comes on. If you can live to turn the vehicle off and restart, the light goes out and the vehicle works fine. Seems like a lot of owners are having this problem. This is a life threatening problem.

- North Versailles, PA, USA

problem #61

Jun 012013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 79,338 miles
Car intermittently stalled while driving at speeds from 1-30 mph or following a stop. This continued to increase to the point that the car stalled every few feet. Car had to be towed to Ford dealer for throttle body replacement and reprogram. Dealer charge for labor and parts was $ $732.

- Charlotte, NC, USA

problem #60

Jun 152010

Escape 4-cyl

  • 23,000 miles
Fuel system warning light appeared. Repaired by dealer under warranty. Reappeared September 16,2013. Adjusted. Reappeared September 24,2013 replaced fuel filler pipe. Since this is part of emission controls should be covered under emission warranty.

- San Miguel, CA, USA

problem #59

Sep 222013

Escape

  • 59,300 miles
After waiting at a red light, my vehicle travelled about 100 yards. The engine shuttered, accelerator pedal was unresponsive, and the engine rpms dropped to 900. I pulled to the side of the road and turned off the car then restarted it. Everything was fine, except for my confidence, for the next 6 miles. While driving 45 mph, the engine shuttered, wrench light and check engine light illuminated, and rpms immediately dropped. Same unresponsive accelerator pedal. I then put the car in neutral and coasted to a side road. I turned the car off and waited a couple of minutes, enough time to call my wife and let her know to be ready to come pick me up if my car wouldn't make it home. I restarted the car and 7 miles later I was home with no problems. I have not been to a mechanic or called Ford or anything of that nature as this has just occurred within the last couple of hours.

- Johns Island, SC, USA

problem #58

Aug 312013

Escape

  • 57,471 miles
While exiting a parking lot at low speed, the vehicle shut down completely. The vehicle was restarted a few minutes later with no apparent problems. The dealer diagnosed a faulty throttle body and replaced the part.

- Warwick, RI, USA

problem #57

Sep 022013

Escape

  • 46,199 miles
Car started shuttering while maintaining a constant speed. Car was taken to the dealership and I was told that it was not covered under warranty, throttle body was the problem and the part was replaced.

- Bethel Park, PA, USA

problem #56

Aug 242013

Escape 4WD 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 73,492 miles
While driving the 2009 Ford Escape down highway, experienced a brief lurch then complete and immediate loss of throttle control. Engine speed decreased to approx. 1000 RPM making it impossible to continue driving and forcing an emergency stop on shoulder. While stopped on shoulder, engine was completely unresponsive to throttle, and remained roughly idling at 1K rpms. Shut off engine, and restarted the vehicle. After restarting, throttle control appeared to be working normally. There were no obvious symptoms immediately prior to the failure: Engine appeared to be running fine, and throttle control was working normally until the incident. The unexpected loss of throttle control and corresponding decrease in vehicle speed was disorienting, and could have easily resulted in an unsafe situation or accident if surrounding traffic were heavier or driver had panicked. Vehicle was diagnosed by dealer as having a "failing throttle body". codes retrieved were P2111 and P2135, and pinpoint tests showed that "the throttle actuator control motor is failing". throttle body assembly was replaced.

- Coon Valley, WI, USA

Read the next 20 complaints »