I was driving on the interstate at 70mph at night when my 2005 Ford Escape started jumping and then completely lost power with no warning. I immediately pushed the flasher button and coasted off of the interstate, I was able to crank the vehicle back up and get to the nearest exit and call for help. The repair shop found the # 4 ignition coil had burned up. Thank god there was not an 18 wheeler knocking on my back door, would not be here to complain and no one would have ever figured out what happened.

- Meridian, MS, USA

Prior to the incident in question the car had a few days of abnormal behavior including hesitation and rough idle. The incident occurred on christmas eve while I was driving down a two lane highway. While traveling 50 mph the car lost power and although I was terribly scared, I managed to get off the highway safely. I was told that the computer failed (PCM) which is very expensive to fix hence the reason it has been almost a year. I am a retired widow raising my 12 year old granddaughter feeling stuck between a rock and a hard place; not able to afford the repairs and unable to do things without a car. I see that many many others have had this same issue, please help Ford face their neglect with regard to this issue. Thank you

- Forbestown , CA, USA

On way home, car shut off while going 35 mph. Coils started to smoke. Towed to nearest dealer and was told all coils, plugs and powertrain module needs to be replaced at $2500. Researched legitimate websites and found many owners with same problem that had fixed more than once at $2500. Was told by dealer that NHTSA only recalls for safety & emissions. This is clearly a safety issue, especially if going a high speed on interstate and car shuts off without warning. Thankfully my kids were not in car.

- Richmond , VA, USA

While driving 45mph the car just cut off is a high traffic area. The car behind me had to swerve to miss rear-ending me! I had my 3 year old daughter w/ me at the time! our mechanic has informed us that apparently Ford Motor Company is aware that bad plugs were installed in these cars and would cause computer failure! nothing was told to us regarding this issue when we purchased the car! when emailed fmc they informed me that this is not a safety issue & a recall is not required. How can this not be a safety issue when the car completely dies w/out warning"?"

- Glen Allen, VA, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Ford Escape. While driving at approximately 55 mph the contact stated the theft warning light illuminated and the vehicle began to decelerate. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and did not offer any assistance since the vehicle was not included in any recalls. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure and current mileage was 65,000.

- Highspire, PA, USA

Driving down highway at aprox. 55 mph. Theft light came on in vehicle and vehicle quickly decelerated. From the research that I gathered, this is a known problem to Ford. Faulty spark plugs were installed in some 2005 Escapes. The spark plugs emit a radio frequency that cause the coils to basically fry your computer. Ford has released a bulletin about this (tsb 09-2-6) but refuses to issue a recall. This is a huge safety issue, as decelerating on a major highway without brake lights has the potential to cause a terrible accident. Contacted Ford's corporate office and was offered no assistance. I would like to have my spark plugs at least checked at no charge. The cost, for only checking the spark plugs to see if they are the ones affected is $90. I believe that this should be a recall. Ford is well aware of the problem but refuses to take any steps to fix this.

- Pittsburgh, PA, USA

My daughter was driving our 2005 Ford Escape on the highway at 55 mph when it completely cut off on her. Luckily she was able to get to the side of the highway without incident. She got the car back on and made it home, however, it was jerking and misfiring all the way home. We took it to a mechanic who said it needed spark plugs and 2 coils to the tune of $700. When we went to pick it up we were told that the computer was shot and that we had to take it to the Ford dealership. The Ford place is replacing all 6 coils and the computer for $2300. Apparently there is a known problem with Ford installing the wrong spark plugs in these models at the factory causing the coils and the computer to go out. I don't understand why Ford has not recalled this problem. Going down a highway at 55 mph and you car cuts off is a safety issue in my eyes!!

- Wake Forest, NC, USA

I was driving home from work and the car stalls out of nowhere. Then the check engine, oil, and ABS warning lights all lit up. After about 20 min I tried starting up the car again and it started up and slowly made it home. The following day it happen again! luckily no one was behind me, otherwise I would have been rear ended. Immediately looked online describing the issue to see if I could find out what could be causing this, and come to find out an overwhelming amount of people have experienced the same thing! this is a safety hazard and had I been on a major highway the result could have drastically different. It is appalling that this has been a know issue and Ford has done nothing to remedy the safety of it's customers.

- Horsham, PA, USA

Driving at 55 mph and car began to lurch and buck. Car shut off 3 times in busy intersection with no warning and almost caused an accident. Took to mechanic, and learned that the computer system had shorted out due to manufacturers using incorrect spark plugs. Apparently, this is a common issue with this year and make. This is a dangerous problem, and can occur anywhere, doing any speed! the computer system must be replaced and it is very expensive.

- Wrightsville, PA, USA

Driving down the road on my way to work when the car suddenly stalls. The mechanics said there is a tsb tsb 09-2-6 out for this problem. Ford installed bad plugs that short out the coil packs and then fries the computer costing the poor consumer around $2000 dollars giving codes PO351-PO354. I was a Ford person for life but not anymore they should do a recall this is bad business.

- Randleman , NC, USA

Driving my Ford Escape 2005, 35mph, heard a thump/bang then very loud rattling from the back of the vehicle. Arrived home, found that the right rear shock, shock mount, and a dinner-plate-sized chunk of wheel well had punched up into the back of the vehicle. Opened the liftgate, saw the shock mount flopping around inside the car and a dangling cluster of wires that had been shredded by the jagged metal. Entire right side of the rear compartment had been shoved up 10cm. Husband was shocked, sure I must have hit something, but I had not. Right rear wheel well had completely rusted out underneath the undercoating. Could not see the rust from the outside, so did not know it was happening. Checked left rear wheel well, saw no rust, but undercoating lifts right off to reveal terrible rust underneath as well. Vehicle is not safe to drive, no shock, water and road debris would fly right up into the car through the huge hole. This kind of damage is incredible. Estimate for repair from dealership (brondes Ford, toledo) was $5752.34. Certainly can not afford that. Researched online for repair alternatives and found dozens of other people with the same type of damage to the same vehicle make and model. Reported the damage to Ford customer relationship hotline, was informed that no recall has been issued for this vehicle, and that they were unaware that this was a common, frequent, or widespread problem. They did not consider it a defect. This is extremely dangerous. My children were afraid we were going crash. Easily could have lost control if this had happened while turning a corner, merging into traffic, driving 65mph on the highway, etc. I am certain, however, that once Ford Motor Company realizes the potential harm this defect can cause to life and property, they will be determined to do right by their loyal customers.

- Toledo, OH, USA

Was on an access road onto interstate 4 in tampa, car completely shut down and I was able to barely steer it to the side of the road, since it was a large overpass I had more than typical room to get the car stopped. Later I was told by the Ford dealership that coils were damaged and PCM computer went out. I checked carcomplaints.com and I found numerous complaints for this same issue with cost to fix it from $1300 to $2700. Evidently Ford is aware of this total engine shut down problem that is caused by a computer failure. In most cases people are driving the car and it completely stalls with little or no warning and minimal maneuverability. I was fortunate it happened on the overpass and not on the busy interstate.

- Indian Rocks Beach, FL, USA

My Escape began missing and then died at 65mph, narrowly avoided accident. Towed to dealership: Bad coils, bad computer. Dealership replaced these items. Problem quickly returned. This time more bad coils. (some bad coils are same ones they just replaced). Dealership replaced sparkplugs this time. Problem returned the next day. Dealership has had vehicle a week and a half this time and has no clue how to repair.

- Waco, TX, USA

While driving at approximately 40 mph, the car shook and died. I pulled into the turn lane and some helpful people assisted me in pushing my car to the nearest parking lot. I had my car towed to the mechanic that told me that I needed to have my engine coils and plugs replaced and that Ford had put out a bulletin explaining this problem. After they fixed that, I learned that I also had to have the computer replaced because the engine coils and plugs caused a problem with the computer. I decided to search the internet to see if anyone else was having the same problem. I found many websites and forums explaining the very same problem occurring in other 2005 Ford Escapes. It seems that if this many people are having the same exact problem (enough for Ford to put out a bulletin explaining how to fix it), then Ford should take steps to rectify the situation. From the information I have found, there is a manufacturing defect that does not show up until well after the warranty is no longer good. This is a problem that is occurring to many people who have the exact same car and Ford should do more than explain how to fix it. A recall is necessary because the problem is the caused by faulty manufacturing.

- Oviedo, FL, USA

We were accelerating to get on the interstate when the vehicle suddenly died without warning. No telling what would have happened if we were driving at freeway speeds. We coasted to the breakdown lane and had the vehicle towed to the Ford dealer who stated the computer (PCM), all the coil over plugs (cop) and spark plugs were damaged and needed replacement. This is a known issue as it is described exactly in Ford service bulletin tsb 09-2-6. the spark plugs in the 2005 and 2006 cause radio frequency interference with the PCM which damages the PCM and the other components. The least Ford could have done was notify us that replacing the spark plugs could have prevented this very expensive repair. The problems don't end there. A few days after the repair we were again accelerating to get on the interstate when the vehicle lost power and would not go over 50mph. We brought the vehicle back to the Ford dealer who stated the catalytic converters (there are 3 of them) were clogged due to raw fuel coming in contact with the converters probably due to the previous engine problems. The cost to fix the converters is even more than the cost of the initial repair. We've decided to not have the dealer repair the vehicle as the total cost of all the repairs would exceed the value of the vehicle. We called Ford customer service and they were of no help in this situation. I think Ford should cover the costs of these repairs for an issue knew existed. I don't understand why there hasn't been a recall for this problem as I see that it has happened to a lot of other 2005 Escapes listed in your database. I imagine we will more of these failures as these vehicles age.

- Little Rock, AR, USA

While driving down the road car just quit towed to dealership only to find out the computer shorted out which also destroyed all the coils. I just printed out 13 pages of this having happened to other Escape owners and that a Ford service bulletin (09-2-6) was at one time issued--- this will cost a ton of money to correct for a problem Ford has known about for some time. When mine quit I had smoke pouring out from under the hood so there was a potential for a fire and just quitting with no warning-- why has Ford not had a recall on this issue for what could have been a life threatening situation?

- Pavilion, NY, USA

I was on my way to work in the morning on a busy highway. Just got into the passing lane and the whole thing died right there in the passing lane. Thank god no one was very close to me and that there was a policeman coming down the mountain and saw me. He pulled behind me to block the lane. This was a very unsafe situation. If someone would have been close in back of me, they would have ass-ended me or would have had to quickly get in another lane or oncoming traffic. I had to have the vehicle towed to the garage. Replaced the spark plugs, all 6 coils and the computer was fried. After a bit of research online, I saw that there are many complaints about this unsafe issue with the 2005 Escape. Some suddenly stopping on the interstate. From what I have read, it is due to the spark plugs Ford installed in the 2005 Escape. Not understanding why there is no recall. This is a very unsafe situation, that Ford can stop by putting out a recall. Would they rather have a law suite when someone loses their life due to their negligence that can be prevented. This was a quite an expensive bill that I had to pay which could have been prevented if Ford would have issued a recall. I will think twice before buying another Ford.

- Drums, PA, USA

I was headed home from work and got on the free way I noticed when I would accelerate my car would start shaking. I called my mechanic and he said to try and make it home when my car died twice but luckily I was able to get it started again to make it home. I got a diagnostics done on it to find out that the computer had burnt out along with 4 of the 6 coils.

- Antioch, CA, USA

March 2011. I was driving down the highway and my vehicle acted like a hiccup or misfire. I thought it was a fluke, but it happened again a few miles later then all of the sudden, it started chugging really bad and eventually died. It was after midnight on a very low traveled area and I had my two year old in the car with me. Luckily it started back up and I was able to drive a few more miles (thank god) to a hotel for the night. If this would have happened 45 minutes earlier. I would have been an hour to the nearest town! not a great feeling with a toddler in the car, an unfamiliar road, and after business hours. Come to find out it was the coil packs at first, so we replaced two of them like the mechanic suggested. Then they called and said that didn't fix the problem and we now needed a new computer. Not knowing any different, we replaced the computer. Just last Friday the same exact thing happened to me. So this would be six coil packs and two computers in a year. Not happy! we do not have the money to keep making repairs like this. Not a huge Ford fan at this point...and very sick to my stomach to read soooo many complaints about similar situations from others all across the country. There are a lot of hard working people out there who can't afford to have vehicle malfunctions like we're having. Someone is going to get killed if they haven't already with this uncertain problem occurring! please do something!

- Fullerton, NE, USA

Sudden engine failure while driving approximately 50 mph. Told by mechanic it was a "fried" computer caused by incorrect spark plugs (original factory-installed). Will have to replace PCM, coils and plugs.

- Elma, WA, USA