On Feb 14th, 2013, on my way to work, my car radio went complete dead...then as I was approaching an intersection, my car 'surged' like it was going "on & off". I prayed to get to get out of harms way enough to pull my car over, as soon as I did, all the lights started flashing and there was a constant 'clicking sound'. I called a town truck and had my car towed to my car repair place. Turns out I needed an new alternator. After spending $550 + to have it fixed, the following week, on Tuesday, Feb 19th, my car died. Again, having it towed to my car repair again, it turns out that the electrical system needed replacing. I only have 67K on my car and after spending another $600 to fix, I am not a happy consumer! Ford should reimburse me for these costs. Now, my car is fixed and as much as I loved it, I am not confident driving it anymore. Unless Ford reimburses me, I will never buy another Escape again, nor will I tell everyone about how wonderful of a vehicle they are because they aren't and when you spend that much money on a car...well, when something costly happens like that, the vehicle should be replaced by Ford with no cost to the consumer. An extra $1200 out of my pocket means my family has to go without food.

- Chicago, IL, USA

Wife was driving her 2003 Ford Escape 2.3L XLS (fwd, 5-spd manual) at 65mph, practically coasting down a hill. 26 minutes after engine start she heard a loud bang and subsequent popping sounds. This was followed immediately by severe power loss from the engine. She drove it to the next best off-ramp, an additional 2 miles. When she got off the freeway she says she had to rev it up quite a bit to make an intersection to get to the gas station where the car rolled to a stop. That loud bang turned up to be the nbr 3 cylinder blowing its spark plug clean off the spark plug bore. The spark plug bore was completely threadless. The subsequent popping sounds were due to the spark plug not being on the nbr 3 cylinder as the fuel that continued to spray into the cylinder was burning off. The immediate power loss is a direct result of the engine loosing 25% of its chugga-chugga and the loss of the cht sensor signal which both then caused the PCM (powertrain control module) to go into limp mode and further reduce engine power. First thing I did was plug in my obdii scanner and check for codes. I found the following three: P0303 - cylinder 3 three misfire. P0353 - ignition coil 'C' primary/secondary circuit. P1289 - cylinder head temp sensor high input. I then performed a koeo (key-on/engine-off) check with my obdii scanner and found the following two codes: P0119 - engine coolant temperature circuit intermittent/erratic. P1289 - cylinder head temp sensor high input. The cht probe (cylinder head temperature) cover/boot was popped off the engine camshaft cover and the wires were broken off the cht probe electrical connector. The spark plug terminal broke off. The ignition coil pack was severely damaged (looked like an exploded cigar, cartoon style).

- Palmdale, CA, USA

I drove my car around the corner to a friend's house. I started to smell something burning. I pulled into my friend's driveway and stopped, but the car was still running and I saw smoke coming from under the floor area and dash of the car. Smoke filled up the inside of the car. I turned off the car and opened all the doors. Had I not turned it off, it would have caught on fire as it was smoking really bad and extremely hot inside the interior of the cab. The fuse box was blown and all the wiring under the dash was destroyed, so the fire was likely due to an electrical malfunction. The car was able to start but nothing in the dash area was working - the speedometer and gauges will no longer function. I am not driving it due to safety issues and am having it checked by a mechanic.

- Picayune, MS, USA

2 alternators in less than one year. Tired of being left stranded with 3 kids in the car!! and its a lot of $$$$$$$$.

- Hurley, NY, USA

I have a 2006 Ford Escape. My car alarm started going off on it's own for a few days. Then the car "ajar door" light came on while I was driving from a doctors appointment. So I took the car into a Ford dealership to get the problem inspected. I was told that there was a right rear door fault. So I asked him to explain. The tech said that Ford had redesigned the rear door latch and that it requires a new cable which will cost me $404 to replace. Needless to say my jaw hit the floor, because that was just one door. Apparently, after searching online for a cheaper solution, I came across so many complaints of the same problem since 2001. Evidently Ford have not solve the problem. It's a safety hazard. If the rear door latch is likely to go bad then it's jeopardizing the safety of the children that's required to sit in the back seat. It probably would be so bad if it were cheaper to replace, but $404 is ridiculously high. If they knew that they had to redesign the latches a recall should have been made.

- Rockmart, GA, USA

The contact owns a 2006 Ford Escape. While driving approximately 35 mph the gauge began to fluctuate erratically. The ABS and battery light illuminated on the instrument panel and the windows could not be opened or closed. The door locks also would not engage. The failures would occur at the same time and also independently. The failure occurred intermittently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the technicians replaced the PCM board. Immediately after the repairs were made the failure continued to occur. The technicians suggested that the alternator be replaced. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the alternator was replaced; yet, it did not correct the failure. The battery was replaced when the vehicle failed to start. When the cobattery was replaced, the vehicle started but the electrical failures continued. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 54,576.

- Warran, MI, USA

I was driving from work to the bank to make the daily deposits, when I pulled into a parking space in the bank parking lot I noticed a lot of smoke coming out from under my hood, I immediately got the outside security guard to come take a look and when he raised the hood my car was on fire. If you are standing in front of the car looking in it would be the left side, he immediately called the fire department who came and put it out, my car is now sitting at the dealership.

- Fayetteville, GA, USA

I own a 2006 Escape. Since the summer of 2009, the sunroof seems to open 'at will'. I close it with difficulty (the rear part will not close completely; if it does the front part is ajar. When it does close completely, it eventually opens again.

- New Boston, NH, USA

The contact owns a 2006 Ford Escape. While driving approximately between 25-35 mph on normal conditions; the brake warning light indicator illuminated on the instrument panel. In an attempt to apply pressure to the brake pedal there was a grinding noise followed by a low power response. The warning indicator light remained illuminated until the engine was turned off and the four wheel drive light illuminated intermittently. The contact was able to drive with caution. The vehicle has not been repaired. The contact is aware of the safety risk involved. The failure and current mileages were 104,000. The VIN number was unavailable.

- Jamestown, NY, USA

At less than 28000 miles, the 06 Ford Escape limited produced a sharp, short scraping noise at the first turn of the starter. It mostly does it on the first start, but not always. Took it to jones West Ford in reno and their comment was "all Escapes do that". I'm retired, and will be driving this machine for a long time. I'd like it to be dependable. The sound isn't "normal" for any car. The dealership should have found the problem. (the car runs well other than that ). help?

- Reno, NV, USA