10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 5
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
50,642 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.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2011 Ford Escape:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #127

Oct 262013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 27,550 miles
Complete loss of power, no throttle response, loss of speed on highway. Dash shows wrench, check engine light. Was able to pull off road, turned off engine. Restarted car. Same situation within another 3 miles of restart. Auto zone verified code P2111. This failure put the family into a very dangerous situation at highway speeds.

- Louisville, KY, USA

problem #126

Oct 222013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 45,000 miles
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

problem #125

Oct 202013

Escape

  • 43,000 miles
While driving on interstate vehicle went into limp home mode. I was able to navigate to the side of the road without incident but could have been seriously injured. After restarting the vehicle everything appears fine. I believe Ford is already under investigation for incidents like this and I wanted to add mine to show the severity of this issue. A recall is needed asap.

- Fenton, MO, USA

problem #124

Oct 182013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 40,000 miles
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

problem #123

Oct 062013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 60,827 miles
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

problem #122

Oct 102013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 43,741 miles
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

problem #121

Oct 012013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 53,993 miles
I was on the freeway on my 2011 Ford Escape the 4th lane when the car made a sudden noise of loss of power and my dashboard lights when dimmer...the power of my car was diminishing and it felt as if the car engine was going to die on me...scary...I felt my heart drop to my stomach...looked left and had cars coming on the contiguous lane so I could not move to the emergency lane/shoulder, looked right and fortunately no cars were coming immediately (my steering was still ok ) other cars were far away so I moved to my right 3 lanes and even though the car felt that it was going to stop I continued with the momentum it had. I was able to get off the freeway since there was an exit as I moved the 3 lanes. Very scary experience. The car sort of stalled at the corner but I was in a safe spot. I called the dealership immediately to ask for the roadside assistance number and the service department person asked me if I turned the car off would it start again? the car did start again as if nothing had happened. Really crazy! when the dealership checked it they diagnosed faulty throttle body, they fixed it apparently but now I am driving on the slow lane all the time unless I am passing because I have fears it might happen again. I lived a very scary situation.

- San Diego, CA, USA

problem #120

Sep 062013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 33,000 miles
Was driving for about an hour, then came to a stop light. When the light turned green and I pressed the accelerator, the engine died (but the car's electronics stayed on) and the check engine light came on, no movement from the car. I turned it off and back on. The engine struggled to start. I then proceeded to drive another half mile at about 55mph, and the engine stalled again while at driving speed. I managed to pull over, turned it off, waited 5 minutes, then was able to drive 3 miles home. A month and half later, my wife was driving at roughly 30mph and the engine did the same thing(stalled). Turned it off, struggled to start, but managed to drive 5 miles home. I took it to Ford in between the first and second incident, they said there was nothing wrong, but cleaned the throttle body. I have since learned of investigation # PE13-003 which appears to be the exact problem I am having. Ford has not helped me in the matter, but I believe this issue needs to be addressed.

- Drumfries, VA, USA

problem #119

Sep 192013

Escape 4-cyl

  • 36,966 miles
As I was driving down the road, all the sudden without notice, the vehicle went to 1 RPM and 5 miles per hour. Tried to accelerate and it would not, then the wrench light came on. I put on my flashers immediately so I would not get rear ended by cars coming fast behind me. Then, the vehicle stalled out. The check engine light never came on. Sat there in the rain for a few minutes. Then, started the vehicle back up again, to get it home. Then, I was afraid to drive it, called the Ford dealer to get my vehicle in, they could not look at it until Monday of the next week, so had vehicle towed on Saturday to dealer---extra cost involved on a 2 year old vehicle. The service department looked at it, they could not duplicate the problem. I pick up the vehicle on 9/25/2013. Drove the vehicle for 4 days, then happened again on 9/29/13 and it had been raining. Then, drove the next day 9/30/13, again threw the wrench symbol after going to 1 RPM and 2 to 5 miles per hour and bucking, could not accelerate at all. It was dry on this day. Again, put my flashers on this time was going 30 mph on a narrow two lane road. Remember the service engine light never came on, but they were able to find a code this time. They said it was the throttle body, so I began asking more questions as to why Ford has not recalled this since so many across the usa are having issues. No one knows, so as a consumer on a tight budget --like many of us these days....gets to figure out all the money pieces. I guess I will need a third job just for vehicle repairs on a two year old vehicle. This was a very scary experience and Ford needs to do something about this before anyone else is seriously injured or killed. This problem should not be happening with a two year old maintained vehicle. Now because it is over the 36,000 miles more money out of pocket....geez.

- Katy, TX, USA

problem #118

Sep 302013

Escape

  • 30,102 miles
After coming to a near stop, the engine began to surge and the vehicle lurched 6 or 7 times. After touching the throttle, the engine became responsive again.

- Ofallon, MO, USA

problem #117

Sep 272013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 37,401 miles
At highway speed, engine and drive train became totally unresponsive on congested dallas freeway. Wrench light came on, no other indications. Vehicle lost all speed and was forced to cross traffic lanes with no motive power to safety lane very nearly causing three different traffic accidents with other vehicles. Totally limp. Once parked, shut off motor and restarted. Engine started and drive train engaged again. Wrench light no longer appeared, no other indicating lamps or errors. Returned to roadway and within 5 minutes same thing recurred. Pulled over, restarted engine, drive train reengaged, returned to roadway and exited to side roads to home. Once on the side road, same thing happened again in front of a semi coming up from behind and narrowly escaped getting hit from behind before pulling over again. Same routine occurred 4 more times before I could get it into the dealership. Last occurrence in addition to the wrench light coming on and off, the engine light came on and stayed on. Vehicle condition is known, reported multiple times and has been investigated by the nthsb already without a recall. This known condition is extremely dangerous to the operators of affected vehicles and to other unsuspecting motorist and the general public. Pressure needs to be applied to Ford Motor Company to address this matter and notify affected owners and operators of affected vehicles. Today the vehicle is at the dealership and with just a thousand or so miles over warranty, dealer says it is not covered and the estimated $600 repair is my issue.

- Mckinney, TX, USA

problem #116

Sep 282013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 39,670 miles
I bought my 2011 Ford Escape brand new and it has about 40K miles on it. I've never had any issues. It's been a great car with all of my traveling and I've always trusted that it would get me from point a to point B safely. Until today! I got an oil change and check-up last week, no problems. This morning, I was driving on a busy 4-lane interstate when my car lost all power and started shaking and jerking. I was going about 65-70 mph when it stalled and quickly decelerated as cars were swerving around me and speeding past. The engine was still running, the check engine light popped on, and pressing the gas pedal did nothing. It was a miracle that I was able to safely maneuver over to the shoulder without causing an accident and killing someone or myself. I was completely caught off guard and spooked by the whole thing. I restarted my car and the check engine light was off and the car seemed normal. I got off at the next exit to avoid playing car accident roulette on the highway. Everything was fine for the next few miles. Then.. it happened again! this time as I was approaching a busy intersection. Scary, scary stuff. It was like driving a ticking time bomb! this time the check engine light remained on and it took me twice to get my engine to restart. I drove directly to the nearest Ford dealership. I was very caught off guard as my car had just been serviced and had always been reliable in the past. Ford replaced the throttle body. After a simple google search, I discovered how common this issue has been and was shocked. I cannot believe that this part hasn't been recalled yet! I find it to be extremely irresponsible of Ford to be so complacent with a known issue when people's lives are in jeopardy. Turning your back on a problem and ignoring it is not satisfactory customer service. This part needs to be recalled asap before someone is hurt or killed.

- White Hall, MD, USA

problem #115

Sep 222013

Escape

  • 22,400 miles
My vehicle stalled twice yesterday while going though busy intersections and the wrench light came on. I would pull over at a super slow speed and then turn the car off and back on. Finding this rare for a well maintained 2 year old vehicle, I looked up "Escape stalling" on google and found a plethora of complaints. I took it to the dealer today and mentioned what was happening with the car and what I had seen on the internet and he didn't give any credence to it. I am still waiting for a diagnosis and hope the problem can be repaired. Luckily there was no one behind me either time...but this could have easily been a very nasty accident because there is no warning that the car is going to stall. Notes: I purchased the vehicle in NJ February 2011

- Tampa, FL, USA

problem #114

Sep 232013

Escape

  • 42,000 miles
While driving on my morning work commute I was stunned when my 2011 Ford Escape just became unresponsive and was coasting on a 5 lane freeway doing 65 mph. I really did not know what was going on since the only signal that could classify a problem was the little wrench light at the bottom left of the dashboard that was on. I did not do anything out of the ordinary, and I did not notice anything out of the ordinary with the ride. My observations - rpms dropped below 1,000, speed was coasting but dropping since there was no acceleration, electrical was on, steering was sluggish like something was wrong, and a small shaking of the vehicle occurred. The only thing I could do is put my blinker to move to the shoulder but my fellow commuters did not respect that very well. So I promoted my desired to get off the freeway by turning my hazard emergency lights and that's when they started to move away from me to get to the shoulder. My experience did rattle me since I felt hopeless in a sense that I wanted to hit the brake and remembered that I was on a freeway which would be really bad. After pulling over to the shoulder I did manage to turn the vehicle off completely pull the key out and give it about a minute. After I started it up again I figured it was a single occurrence, which I was wrong when it happened again on the way home but I was down the street from my house.

- San Antonio, TX, USA

problem #113

Sep 182013

Escape

  • 46,000 miles
The car stopped responding to the gas pedal as I was merging into traffic. I pulled over, turned the car off and waited 15 minutes. I turned it back on, had the same behavior when I tried pulling out of the parking lot. I had to toe the vehicle to the dealership. The mechanic knew right away what the issue was, mentioning that it was common. The dealer replaced the throttle body and charged a $100 premium to use my warranty, despite it being a "known" issue.

- Pflugerville, TX, USA

problem #112

Sep 172013

Escape 4WD 6-cyl

  • 53,227 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving approximately 45 mph, the vehicle hesitated to accelerate. In addition, the vehicle sporadically failed to respond to acceleration attempts. The contact referenced NHTSA action number: DP12006 (engine) and stated that the parts were not available to complete the repair under the technical service bulletin. The approximate failure mileage was 53,227. The consumer stated the vehicle went into limp mode causing the vehicle to accelerate at 5 mph.

- Albuquerque, NM, USA

problem #111

Sep 202013

Escape

  • 50,100 miles
While driving down the highway my vehicle went straight to limp mode with no warning at all. I had to pull to the side of the highway while traffic was stopping behind me and trying to pass me. A wrench light and check engine light came on and I could not throttle my vehicle at all. I cut the ignition off, let it sit a minute and cranked it again. The problem went away. This has happened numerous times the last 2 days. It has happened while trying to go through intersections and while turning across traffic. The diagnostics at advanced auto shows throttle body stuck open. This is a very dangerous situation that seems to be happening to a lot of these vehicles.

- Williamston, NC, USA

problem #110

Sep 192013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 44,400 miles
My daughter was entering an intersection preparing to turn left. When she got enough of a clearing between vehicles to turn she went to accelerate to go thru with the left turn and she had no gas to go. The peddle hit the floor and the car died. She was able to coast thru the light with out being hit. But after that the car had to be towed home. We had to replace the throttle body on the vehicle. She was very lucky not to be in a serious crash because of this part going bad!

- Willard, OH, USA

problem #109

Sep 172013

Escape

  • 38,000 miles
This following incident happened both yesterday and today. Driving around 20 mph and service light came on immediately dumping me in "limp mode". took the vehicle to both autozone and another private repair shop with better diagnostics, neither could pick up a defect code. Research on Ford Escapes today, shows that this could be a problem. I do not want the vehicle to go into limp mode while driving down the road. Hoping the NHTSA recalls the Escapes to resolve this issue.

- Somerset, PA, USA

problem #108

Apr 152013

Escape 6-cyl

  • 26,000 miles
On several occasions my engine has stalled. Each time it happened I was at a stop and when I started to go through the intersections the engine stalled. It would start again but the stall put me in very dangerous situations.

- Aloha, OR, USA

Read the next 20 complaints »