10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 2 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 3 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 51,675 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.
« Read the previous 20 complaints
Driving normal speed, without warning, "wrench icon" appears and gas pedal fails to respond. Coast to stop in a parking lot. Shut off engine, restart vehicle and it drives normal for remainder of 2 mile trip. Start next errand and same thing happens. Sounds like the throttle body failure and limp mode that I have been researching online.
- Quincy, IL, USA
Driving in the center lane of a 3-lane highway I heard a loud "thunk" from the engine compartment & felt the vehicle suddenly slowing down. When I stepped on the accelerator, I felt no response & looked at the dash to see the wrench light on. I looked over to make sure the gear shift was still in drive, thinking maybe it has slipped into neutral. I stepped on the accelerator again - nothing. Vehicle had a strong shaking/vibration I was able to coast to the shoulder out of traffic. I shut the car off & was able to able to restart without the wrench light coming on again. I will be taking the car to Ford dealer to be checked because "stalling" on a major highway is not something I want to experience again. Hope they fix this problem!!!!
- East Brunswick, NJ, USA
Throttle body needed to be replaced driving on the highway at about 65mph, the car gave a small jerk and the wrench icon illuminated, the car appeared to still have power but there was no ability to accelerate. Luckily I was able to move over two lanes of busy, speedy traffic (as there was no left side shoulder) and pull off without causing an accident. I turned the vehicle off then restarted it, it appeared to run okay after that until about 3 miles later the exact thing occurred again. This happened three times on the highway and once I was able to exit it happened once again on a rural road at about 35-40mph. I called for service and took the car in the next day, while on the way to the dealer, the car did the same thing once more - at about 45 mph. This was an extremely nerve-wracking experience, especially while in heavy traffic on the freeway - it could have easily cause an accident and turned out much worse. Once the dealer called me to tell me what the issue was I looked online to see if I could find any information and came across hundreds of other complaints, almost exactly the same experience I had. I feel, based on the number of complaints I have read and the need for so many people to have this part replaced it should be a formal recall by Ford and not something that the consumer has to pay for, as I am now. It's only a matter of time before this situation occurs and causes serious injury or death, if that hasn't already happened.
- Lancaster, NY, USA
My wife was driving her car home when the wrench light came on and the car went into limp mode dramatically reducing the cars speed to 15 mph. Good thing she had gotten off the interstate before this happened. The check engine light came on I read the code it was P2111 throttle stuck open. Turning the car off reset the throttle body for about 5 miles then the car went back into limp mode and it even quit. This happened on 9/27/13 on Monday 9/30/13 I called the local Ford dealer they said the car was out of warranty by mileage and the throttle body was not covered. The Ford dealer had 2 throttle bodies on hand my wife took my car the Ford dealer and bought a throttle body for her car at a cost of $181. After I installed the new throttle body the check engine light and the wrench light have went out and the car runs like new. My biggest concern if this had happened wile she was on the interstate and the car went into limp mode this could have cause a major accident maybe even killing her and my niece who was with her.
- Gauley Bridge, WV, USA
About 12:30 pm October 17th I was attempting to pull out of a parking lot onto the feeder road of a freeway. As I stepped on the gas to pull out, I got a surge and then my car stalled leaving me stranded on the side of a busy road. The wrench light came on and while my car still had power, it would not accelerate. My vehicle was almost hit 3 times by drivers who were not paying attention. After about 10 minutes I was able to get the car restarted and I drove to my destination. About 7:30 am on October 22 this happened again in my neighborhood as I was driving down the street going 20 miles an hour. Wrench light was on. October 28th about 11:00 am, I was doing 40 mph down a two lane road and the car did not surge, but I did lose all acceleration and had to stop and turn my car off and wait about 5-10 minutes to restart. The wrench light was on. October 29th about 12:30 pm, I was making a right hand turn onto a busy street and the car stalled and I had to turn off the engine. The wrench light was on. I restarted the car and less than a mile later it happened again, but this time the service engine light came on.
- Cypress, TX, USA
While driving on I75 North near dayton, oh my 2011 Ford Escape all of a sudden lost all ability to accelerate. The RPM's dropped down to 0 and the power train/transmission light came on. There was no ability to do anything other than brake and get off the highway. I was traveling at 70mph on a busy highway at the time. On the shoulder I shut off the car, and restarted it. Everything seemed normal. I needed to get back to toledo, oh. About 30 miles later the car did the same thing as before. Once again, I was fortunately on a section of I75 with a shoulder. I was able to pull over and shut off the vehicle and restart. I was able to make it the rest of the way on the trip. If this incident had happened in an area with no shoulder, in construction, in the middle of the highway with no way to get to the shoulder, on a hill.....etc the results could have been disastrous. The Ford dealer determined that the throttle body had failed. Once again, this could have been a terrible accident under different circumstances. To lose all power on the highway traveling 70mph in busy traffic is a safety issue. This part should be recalled and removed from other vehicles before someone suffers a terrible accident due to this failure.
- Perrysburg, OH, USA
Just left highway sitting at red light. Light turned green and proceeded to go when a tool light that looks like a wrench lit up on the dash. Car would not go just coasted along. I was able to slowly coast the car over to the side of the road after I turned my hazard lights on to alert the other drivers that I was having problems. I put the car in park and turned the car off. I was able to restart the car and continue to drive to my destination. I called the Ford service department that I take my vehicle to and was told that it sounds like the car needs a new throttle body.
- Alexandria, VA, USA
While driving down the interstate at aprox. 65mph my car lost all speed and quit responding to the gas pedal. I was able to make it to the side of the interstate. My car was still running (rough) so I turned it off. After several min I tried to restart the car (per my mechanic knowledge) and it started right up. I drove to the nearest Ford dealer and after they inspected my car was told I needed a throttle body. So needless to say $461 later my car is fixed but really annoyed that 9000 miles out of warranty things are already falling apart.
- Providence Forge, VA, USA
Was driving down the highway at 55 mph and all of a sudden my vehicle would no longer accelerate. Luckily I was able to safely pull over and once I came to a stop I noticed my vehicle was idling rough and would not respond to the throttle and noticed the light with a wrench was also on. I turned the vehicle off and was able to start it back up and make it home and after doing some research this seems to be a very common problem with the Ford Escape. Will be taking to a dealer to see what they can do.
- Saint Paul, VA, USA
I was driving down I-80 at 65 mph and all of a sudden I had no power with my gas pedal and my engine light (wrench) came on. My car was still running, but when I pressed the gas pedal it did nothing. I pulled off to the side of the road and called for road assistance. Sitting there my RPM's was around 1,000 and my car would shake. While waiting for a tow truck, I shut my car off and then started it again. When I pressed on the gas it started to go again. However, when I tried to get back on the interstate I had no power again and my engine light came back on. I had my car towed to a Ford dealership and they checked it and they said that the throttle body was the problem.
- Papillion, NE, USA
Traveling at a speed of around 50mph and all of a sudden the car jumped and lost power. When I pushed the gas pedal, there was nothing and even the tachometer would not move. Was able to coast into a parking lot and turn car off. After a few minutes, the car cranked and all dashboard lights went crazy. Was able to continue home, but car was running very sluggish. Thank goodness I was on a quiet country road. Had this occurred on a more heavily traveled road, it would have been very dangerous considering I had 6 and 7 year old grandchildren in my car.dealership diagnosed as throttle body problem. Even though the throttle body is part of the power train, it is not covered under warranty??a $800 repair at 45K miles is not something you look forward to.
- Hiram, GA, USA
Today on nearby interstate highway, suddenly my throttle pedal acted useless with no power, engine idled down. Throttle pedal useless in any position. Engine outline light came on as well a open end wrench. Wrench warning light in listed in owners manual as "throttle control / powertrain fault, please contact dealer." I called the Ford dealer service department, he knew pretty quickly the defect I was describing. He informed me that my 2011 Ford Escape is a couple thousand miles over the 3yr 36,000 mile warranty. But he also said I may be covered under an extended emissions warranty. My car is just over 2 years old. This is a dangerous defect in the car which is documented as being under investigation in these NHTSA.gov websites. Please raise the status of this defect to be an official recall before someone dies.
- Berkeley Heights, NJ, USA
On 9/23/13 I was driving from houston tx to hendersonville nc. Outside mobile al just before dusk, it felt like the transmission fell out. I left exxon after fueling. At a traffic light, engine suddenly gushed and paused. Wrench light came on. Engine light came on. I applied gas, but engine wouldn't respond. Put car in park, turned off engine. Turned back on, wrench light gone. Check engine light still on. Drove across intersection, pulled into parking lot. Car seemed fine except for check engine light. Drove out, entered freeway, went one mile, car repeated problem: Suddenly gushed, paused, regardless of amount of pressure to gas. Wrench light on. Pulled off freeway, turned off car, turned back on. Check engine light appeared. Drove one more mile on side of freeway. Now full dark, no other place for me but edge of road or ditch. Pulled into truck weigh station, called Ford. Ford representative and I determined car was drivable, so drove to montgomery al, planning to visit Ford dealer. Next morning when I started car, no lights on dash. Continued trip. Thought it was issued with gas capless system, perhaps not completely sealed when finished gassing. I discussed with Ford rep, he said there had been reports similar, but he did not go into detail about throttle body. If he had, I would have accepted his offer of tow immediately. Never would I have continued to drive, especially at night (and as a woman by myself).
- Houston, TX, USA
At highway speed, vehicle's 'maintenance required' light came on and the throttle pedal became unresponsive. Engine held steady at approx. 1000rpm. Pulled off to the side of the road and turned the vehicle off. Restarted vehicle and throttle was responsive again. This incident has occurred an additional three times since the initial occurrence. Each time, turning the vehicle off and restarting has temporarily fixed the problem.
- Timberlake, NC, USA
Throttle quit working.would only idle and check engine light and wrench light came on.pulled off on the side of the road and had to cut engine off and back on to get throttle working. Happened again one week later.just lucky was not on interstate in heavy traffic doing 70 mph. Both times engine code was P2111, throttle actuator stuck open. Vehicle has 60000 miles on it and dealer said throttle body was not under power train and was only covered under the 3/36 warranty. Purchased new throttle body at dealer and parts manager said it was the fourth revision to the part number. Hope they got it right this time, it could put you in a very dangerous situation.
- Dublin, VA, USA
Had just stopped at an exit and was pulling back out on the interstate when suddenly my car quit accelerating. Thankfully, I wasn't going full speed yet and could pull over on the side of the interstate out of traffic. Had I been going full speed, this could have been really bad, even fatal. My wrench and engine lights came on. After some time of sitting, the car drove fine and I was able to get to a repair shop that performed a diagnostic test and the error came up "throttle body stuck closed". after researching, I've found this seems to be a common problem and is very dangerous. I've also had times where after stopping and then pressing the gas to go, the car would accelerate forward suddenly. Because of this defective part, my son and I were stranded for several hours and were traveling home so we were about 4 hours from home. We had to depend on strangers to help us. Ford needs to take responsibility for this and fix this. We do not have several hundred dollars to fix this.
- Alcoa, TN, USA
At 65 mph in rush hour traffic my vehicle transmission disengaged and my vehicle started coasting. I could not accelerate, the engine vibrated roughly when I tried to accelerate, and I had to pull over to the side of the road. It is my understanding the throttle body stopped working and caused this to occur. The same thing happened 3 more times on this same day. Once at 10 mph, once at 45 mph, and once at 55 mph. Each time I was able to pull over, shut off the vehicle and restart it. The transmission would re-engage and I could continue on my way.
- Kansas City, MO, USA
I was taking my father to the emergency room when my vehicle stared to slow down. When I tried to accelerate it wouldn't move. The wrench light came on. I turned the ignition off, restarted the engine, the wrench light was gone, and started driving again. Same thing happened and I had to coast to a nearby parking lot to avoid getting into a wreck. It had to be towed to the nearest Ford dealership where I was told, after having it for several days, they thought it was the throttle body and of course was not covered as the warranty had run out. They didn't have the part and had to order it. It was in the shop for eight days waiting for the part so it could be fixed. I had to rent a vehicle because I couldn't drive the Escape and that cost a fortune not to mention the $406 I paid to have the throttle body and motor assembly replaced. Ever since the replacement my Escape has not been the same. I was told there would be a recall and I would be reimbursed, but of course that hasn't happened yet.
- Lenoir City, TN, USA
I was driving down the hwy and my truck just abruptly slowed to 10 or less mile per hour. I had to cost over two lanes of traffic to the shoulder. This was very dangerous as the cars around me had no idea that I was having car troubles and just whizzed by at hwy speeds. Once I made it to the shoulder I was able to turn the truck off and restart it and get it to the dealership without a tow. Once at the dealership, they said there was no codes on the computer so there was nothing they could do until they had a code. This has happened four times and I still have not been able to get it fixed.
- Garland, TX, USA
- Acworth, GA, USA