Car has throttle body issues which is now common - where is the recall?

- Spring, TX, USA

Vehicle "jerked" and lost all throttle. Open ended wrench light came on in the instrument cluster. Luckily was able to coast into small service center who scanned the computer and it had the faulty P2111 code (throttle actuator control system stuck open). Code was cleared and car restarted. Died another 6 times on the way home, each time restarting after turning the key off. I see that this is currently under investigation and wanted to bring yet another instance to your attention. If this would of happened on the interstate or a large left hand turn lane during rush hour it wouldn't have been pretty.

- Fort Wayne, IN, USA

The electronic throttle body on my 2009 Ford Escape failed while I was traveling at a high rate of speed on the highway causing my engine shut down.

- Bridgewater, MA, USA

The electronic throttle body on my 2009 Ford Escape failed causing my car to stall at a high speed and pull over to the side of a busy highway.

- Bridgewater, MA, USA

The contact owns a 2009 Ford Escape. The contact stated that he attempted to accelerate but the vehicle would not respond and would not gain power. The vehicle was restarted and the vehicle functioned properly. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection and they stated that the throttle body needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 40,000.

- Carolina Beach, NC, USA

I was driving on the highway when suddenly the car made a very hard jerk; it felt like the engine fell to the ground, and then no power when I put my foot on the gas peddle. I coasted to the side of the road which put me at the end of an entrance ramp onto the highway. I was so scared because of where my car ended up. I waited a few minutes and turned the car back on and drove about 30 ft and then the same thing happened... the terrible jerk and no power. I pulled over and waited for at least one hour for a tow truck. I am thankful it was not dark out. I was told by the Ford dealer that it was the throttle body. I have seen many reports on line of the same defective part. Besides this being a costly experience [if you do not have a warranty] it is very dangerous when this part goes out. This should definitely be a recalled item and people reimbursed for having to have this part replaced.

- St. Louis, MO, USA

While driving, the vehicle stopped accelerating, the check engine light came on and car began to idle. I turned it off and back on five minutes later and it accelerated for 1/4 of a mile before doing the same thing again. I turned it off and back on and drove it straight to my mechanic. After running diagnostics it was determined to be the throttle body as well as the processor.

- Kennesaw, GA, USA

While driving on I55 in Chicago going 60 mph the gas peddle went soft. There was no accretion, I was force to move to the shoulder. I turned the car off and then on and it ran fine for 20 miles then the same thing happened again, and then again. I was able to get my vehicle to the Ford dealer who told me it was the throttle body and it would take 2 weeks to have a replacement part.

- Joliet, IL, USA

While driving at normal speeds the car completely lost acceleration and the accelerator became unresponsive. The check engine light came on and the car reduced to idle. After placing the car in neutral and rolling to a stop the car was turned off and I waited for 5 minutes. Once restarted the car ran normally but continued to have the problem with no warning. When taken to the dealership they stated it was a faulty throttle body assembly.

- Dallas, TX, USA

The contact owns a 2009 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving 50 mph, the vehicle decelerated independently with the illumination of the wrench warning icon. The contact stated that the failure had occurred several times prior to the recent failure. The vehicle was taken the dealer, who diagnosed that the throttle body was defective and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 54,000 and the current mileage was 55,000.

- Utica, OH, USA

On 5 different occasions while driving anywhere from starting from a stop light to traveling up to 70 mph on a major interstate my Ford Escape has suddenly lost power. The engine does not lock up, just all power is lost. I press the accelerator and there is no revving of engine. I have been able to get the car to a stop, but it will start to jerk and stall. Finally I turn it off, then restart it but it I having difficulty in starting. Thus far I have spent $240 for a tow and have had 3 mechanics investigate, one had no idea but had "heard about throttle body problems", a second told me to take it to the dealership and charged about $40 to clean the throttle body. The dealership has told me its the throttle body and will be charging about $365 to replace.

- Clayton, NC, USA

In September of 2010, the check engine light on my Ford Escape would come on and off, on and off. Some times it would stay on for weeks and then just disappear. Sometimes it would stay on for a day or two and then disappear. And whenever I need to take it to the repair shop, the check engine light was never on. Pep boys could never find anything wrong because they check engine light was never on, and no codes appeared. When pep boys drove the car, it never stopped on them. In April of 2012, as my son was home from college and driving the car, it shut off on him on the freeway on many occasions. He would explain to me that the engine went off and the car would not accelerate. He would have to pull over and either restart it or wait an hour for it to start sometimes. This happened on numerous occasions at fast and slow speeds. The check engine light and maintenance lights would come on. The car began stopping on me with the exact same problems stated above. Every time I took the car to pep boys, they would drive it for hours and it never stopped on them. On April 29, 2012, I took the car in to pep boys, and the stop engine code read that the cam sensor needed to be replaced. I got the car back on may14, 2012, and it immediately stopped on me. Then it ran good for two weeks, then it began stopping again on a regular basis. On June 21, 2012, I took the car in and the codes read throttle problem. They replaced the throttle and I got the car back on June, 29, 2013. I have spend over $3500 on this problem and would like to get reimbursed. One thing to not is that the original check light began to come on around August of 2011 and there never was a clear diagnosis until may and June of 2013.

- Vallejo, CA, USA

The contact owns a 2009 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving approximately 10 mph, the vehicle stalled with the illumination of the wrench warning icon. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the electronic throttle body needed to be replaced but the parts were not available. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure and current mileage was 47,000.

- Flower Mound , TX, USA

The contact owns a 2009 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving 15 mph, the vehicle stalled. The failure recurred twice with the illumination of the check engine light. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis where it was stated that the throttle needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired and the manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 57,000.

- Philladelphia , PA, USA

While traveling at 60 mph on the highway I suddenly lost all power. I coasted the car across a lane of traffic to the right lane of the highway. I could not pull out of traffic because this part of the highway has no shoulder and is bordered by a concrete wall or fence. The right-lane traffic came to a stop while I restarted the car. After I restarted the car, I proceeded down the freeway, but before I arrived at the next exit, the car stalled again. I feared for my safety and for the safety of other drivers. I experienced a similar incident on 6/20/13 and reported it to safercar.gov. At that time, I took my car to the local Ford dealer who services my car. The dealer stated that the problem is related to the throttle body. The problem is so common to Ford Escapes that there is a 3 week backlog for ordering a replacement part. In the meantime, the dealer reprogrammed the PCM (power control module?) ' for $118 ' as a temporary fix. Apparently, the 'fix' was very temporary. My car is too dangerous to be driven until the throttle body is replaced. For the safety of myself and other drivers, I cannot risk driving the car to work. How many lives must be placed at risk before a recall is issued to correct this defect?

- Dallas, TX, USA

I purchased a 2009 Ford Escape from suncoast Chrysler Jeep Dodge on 5/7/13. My salesman [xxx]took me on test drive in the vehicle, which had 79818 miles on it. Right away, the vehicle began to putt-putt, and act like it doesn't want to accelerate, yet the RPM shot up. It ended up cutting off on us around the corner from the dealership. Rob managed to get it back started and told me he will have service dept check it out while I worked on paperwork with finance guy. From May 7th until the vehicle finally broken down for good on June 27th, the vehicle has continued to have problems, and cut off 5X since my purchase. I called [xxx] and told him that car is still not running well and he came to my job and pick up vehicle for service. He brought it back with a clean bill of health and even said don't worry, it has a warranty. Two weeks ago I called and spoke to [xxx], the used vehicle manager and told him that the vehicle had cut off on me at least (4) times and although they gave it a clean bill of health, I am still convinced that something is wrong. He told me to bring vehicle back in. I know that a vehicle should not get up to 4-5rpm's, especially a newer model vehicle, so I decided that I wanted to take the vehicle to a Ford dealer or anybody else because I didn't trust them to tell me the truth about what was really wrong with the vehicle. Unfortunately, I didn't make the time to get the car checked out and the result is that the vehicle is broke down, incapable of not moving except for a few feet before cutting off. I had the vehicle towed into the dealership on 6/27 I was told by the service dept that the throttle body was defective, and a new throttle body was not available and they are on back order with a month wait and that over 900 of them were being requested at this time and they don't understand why Ford has not put a recall on them. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Clearwater, FL, USA

Electronic throttle body failure - 2009 Ford Escape [xxx] first time: Driving 35 mph and all of a sudden nothing...no power, no acceleration. Luckily I was not rear ended when the vehicle lost power. I had to coast into a parking lot, shut off the truck for 5 minutes, restart and drove home which was less than 1 mile away. Next day ran okay, next day no power, no acceleration. Took to dealer on June 7, 2013 and they did a diagnostic test and gas fuel induction flush because the electronic throttle body part was unavailable for replacement. Second/third time: Leaving for vacation. Got about 5 miles from home and nothing, no power, no acceleration. Coasted into a parking lot and the car lurched...luckily I had my foot on the brake. Took vehicle to dealer and the truck is still there because they do not have the part to fix it. It has been parked at the dealership waiting for the electronic throttle body part to fix the issue for over a week. So far I have spend $278.37 for a diagnostic test and gas fuel induction flush and still have an unsafe vehicle due to an electronic throttle body failure. Ford you need to fix this and reimburse our expenses related to this dangerous safety issue. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Lorain, OH, USA

I was driving and came to a stop sign, turned left and pressed the gas and my car wouldn't go, all lights and gauges were normal but the gas pedal all the way to the floor wouldn't make the car go so I coasted off to the shoulder and almost made it out of the road. I tried calling several tow truck company's for roadside assistance and didn't get an answer. After about 20 mins, I tried cranking the car. All parts ran normal, all gauges normal, so I drove it to work and then called the Ford dealership where they told me that is was the throttle body.

- Lugoff, SC, USA

I was on the interstate, approximately 6:30am, going 70 in a 65 zone. The radio was on, so I heard nothing strange, but suddenly, with no warning, my car lost the power moving it forward. I did not lose control of my 09 Escape. The steering remained ok, as did the brakes, but my car suddenly lost power in the engine to keep my car moving forward. As if maybe I had run out of gas - but there was no sputtering and I was not low on gas. I kept pressing the gas pedal thinking maybe there was trash in my gas line, but there was no change in the way my vehicle behaved. I was slowing down fast, but could steer myself to the shoulder of the highway. I turned the engine off, waited a minute or 2, and tried to start again. It took a minute to catch, but it finally did and I drove off. 5 miles down the highway, it did it again. Again, I struggled to the shoulder in heavy traffic, turned the engine off and waited. I was 50 miles from home in a rather remote area and I was scared. Again, I started my Escape - again it took a minute, but it did start and I made it all the way home without another problem. I drove directly to my local Ford dealership and my car his been there 36 days. I call every other week to check on the status of the part. They never have any news of the part coming. They have given me an excellent loaner car to drive, but this is not right. They tell me 1000's of people had the same part go bad across the us. We're all waiting. Just this morning, they say they now have a shipping number for the part we all need. They tell me 7 of us are waiting for the same part here in my small town. They hope the part will be here today or tomorrow. My local Ford estimates the repair cost to be $450. Surely this should be a recall item.

- Goldsboro, NC, USA

While traveling at 45 mph on a busy road, the engine stopped responding to the accelerator and began decelerating. The throttle/power-train warning light was activated. I had to pull over the the shoulder of the road to avoid being hit by other traffic. The car began jerking forward as though it was trying to accelerate on its own. I shut off the engine for a minute and once I restarted the car, the warning light was no longer illuminated. The next day (6/23/2013) I drove to my closest Ford dealer and they diagnosed the problem as a faulty throttle body. The service advisor informed me that the part was currently backordered and that they had 15 other Ford vehicles currently waiting for inventory to arrive. The cost of repair is $473. The mechanic cleaned out the carbon from my throttle body as a temporary fix until the part arrived. Two days later (6/25/2013), as I was driving 55 mph, the same problem occured and I was forced to pull over and restart my vehicle. While driving back to the Ford dealership the next morning to get a rental car, my car stopped responding as I was crossing train tracks (and I was able to restart the vehicle). Now my car is currenly sitting at the Ford dealership and I am paying an additional $33 a day for a rental car while I wait for the part to arrive (estimated to be 10-13 days). NHTSA action # DP12006.

- St. Petersburg, FL, USA