I have been single all my life. I have always wanted a Ford Escape. Was thrilled when I got one. It was slightly used but it was mine! 72XXX miles later the f'ing transmission is shot. Emission light comes on first. Replace O2 sensor. I had noticed the gears didn't seen to shift correctly. Then the overdrive lite came on. I knew I bought a flipping lemon!!!!

Update from Dec 13, 2014: Diagnostic said 02 sensor needed replaced. Did it. Then overdrive sensor is now on with emissions lite. Replaced pigtail wiring. Lites came on again and tranny is slipping. Go to hell Ford. I need a new tranny now.

I bought my Escape in November of last year, have had this issue since beginning (60,500 miles, approx.). Took it to mechanic, who checked after engine light went on. Told me it could be solenoid. At first it was mildly annoying, had to warm car up for at least 15 minutes in the morning when temps were cool out. Summertime was fairly ok, except when I traveled to Montana in August. Started again on August 11th on the highway. Had to pull over and turn off vehicle so O/D light would turn off. Engine light went on again at that time. Called mechanic (AGAIN) and was referred to tranny shop. Had tranny fluid drain & fill. Less than 1 month later, O/D light is going off & tripping engine light, which will turn on, then turn off after a few days. Today, O/D light went on 3 times in 1.5 hours. Of course, engine light was triggered. Getting estimate for replacement/rebuilt or used tranny. Now at 73,400 miles. I plan on getting fixed and trading in for DIFFERENT make of vehicle. (Although I doubt I will get much with history of 2006 Escapes.) I am a mother of 2, on my own, needing reliable vehicle. I will NOT be purchasing a Ford, EVER again. I will also tell everyone I know that Ford does not have decent Warranty for their vehicles. No wonder more people are buying foreign vehicles!

Bought the car 2 years ago with about 55000 miles on it, with minor problems if any at all, but now that i hit 80000, my overdrive light is flashing on and off and the transmission is slipping. When i talked to a transmission mechanic there is a possibility that the transmission could be destroyed or about to be! I still have car payment that needs to be done!

I have noticed several of the same complaints and I think a recall is def warranted. 80000 miles and the car is basically destroyed and having to have a rebuilt transmission?! That’s total bullshit.

How do we get this problem recalled? I like many don’t have money to pay for a rebuilt trans at the moment, let alone buy another car, and still make payments on a problem that Ford caused.

I hardly travel as well, i work 3-5 miles from home, and occasionally go down south, very rare, maybe 10 times within a year.

Driving on the highway. Transmission revved into a high gear and stuck there (1st gear). Light came on the dash - saying "O/D Off". Had to limp home, limited to about 60km/h to keep the RPMs within a reasonable range. Contacted dealership. Took 5 days to finally get a service appointment. Had to rent a car in the meantime. Final verdict was that the 2nd and 3rd transmission band had failed. Parts were $250, but it was 10 hours labor, so total was about $1500 and 2 days in the shop to fix.

Add to the cost, the $300+ car rental. I was lucky that my business was able to cover the rental, due to commitments I had to visit customers. On any other week, it would have been me footing the bill.

Worst part was that I HAD complained about slipping transmission, twice before. The shop even recorded that I had complained. My last request for an inspection was only 1 month before the failure. Seemed as though they didn't believe me. I contacted the dealer after the failure, they admitted that they "didn't drop the pan", they had "likely only done a road test and didn't notice the problem".

I was lucky I didn't get stranded, but it was a serious pain in the butt and possibly a more expensive fix than if it was diagnosed earlier. The general comment was that these are supposed to wear-out, yet another service rep told me that the transmission should be designed to last the life of the vehicle without major repairs. Seems like this type of failure is a common problem. When it happens, you're stuck.

To me, the general purpose for Vans, SUVs is to be a capable vehicle for traveling with family - not a vehicle that is overly prone to transmission failures and stranding its occupants. I don't have excessive mileage on the car and have always been prompt in getting it serviced regularly.

I did file my complaint with Ford, they offered to do nothing, it is out of warranty and they claim the problem is "not common". They reiterated that each Dealership is independently owned and they can't comment on what diagnostic methods were used to inspect my transmission.

After 65K miles on my Escape, I noticed slipping and a squeal. As it turns out, I am having to replace to torque converter and the drive train. 65,000 miles!!! Are you kidding me!!! Of course this is only a few thousand miles outside the warranty and Ford will not help. Had to come up with $3,700 to have it fixed, and that was not even at the dealership which I am sure would have charged me much more. I have bought Fords for years and it just seems that they are getting worse and worse in quality.

There has been a problem with the escape since i got it . I thought it was just normal seeing the mechanics at dealership when i talked to them about it seemed to think it was fine an said there was No recalls on the vin number for my truck so there for there is no problem. It runs good other then this shifting thing it has been doing since i bought it. like a trouble shifting. if driving i most of the time just let off the gas an coast until the truck is able to stop doing what ever its doing (seems to struggle in the engine with shifting or something). I had brought it up to several people but again they say the vin number isnt one that has been recalled. What are we suppose to do about this?pay out of pocket to fix it???

Update from Aug 8, 2012: Transmission Is not good !! Ford should be recalling on theses Ford Escapes! I have one paper that says 2005 title says 2006. thought was 2006 but hum. What ever it is is a ford that has issues..an has since was bought. just ford never recalled to have fixed or corrected.

I've owned my "06 Escape for 3 1/2 years and it has 78,000 miles. While driving to work the OD Light began to flash on and off and it felt like the vehcile wasn't staying in gear. I got to work and it sat for about 5 hours until I took it to a garage to be looked at after lunch. The Escape barely made it the two miles to the garage before dying in their parking lot, unable to go in forward or reverse. Long story short, I had it towed to a local mechanic and he diagnosed it as needing a completely rebuilt transmission. I sent the Escape for another "tow ride" to the Transmission shop and I am waiting. They gave me an estimate of $3,000 to fix. I am extremely unhappy with a transmission failing after such a short amount of time and mileage.

I am outraged! I have been driving Toyota's and Hondas for the last 10 years practically trouble free. Just purchased a 2006 Ford Escape XLT attempting to help out our own economy for a change. Had it for about 3 months and 7k miles, and out of nowhere, the transmission starts to slip and not shift upon acceleration. I'm still driving it but judging by the amount of others in my situation I am anticipating the worst...complete transmission failure and a steep mechanics bill.

I guess that's what I get for trying to be patriotic. I love my country very much and it saddens me to say this but we suck at building quality reliable vehicles. How many times must this happen before Ford steps in and does the right thing?