The contact owns a 2011 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 40 mph, the vehicle stalled and went into limp mode. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the technician diagnosed that the throttle body was defective and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 41,000. Updated 10/17/13 updated 10/25/2013

- Chapin, SC, USA

At a stop light. Step on gas pedal when light turns green, nothing happens. Able to get car to side of rode. Wrench light on. Turn car off and on. Wrench light gone and car drives fine. Took car to my mechanic that same day and nothing "registered" on the car's computer so no problem identified, although I was told it "might" be the "throttle body, " as he'd just replaced one on another Ford. As a "safety precaution" I was told that I could put the car in neutral and turn it on/off to get it going if it should happen on the highway. Called the Ford service people and told them exactly what happened - they also told me that they can not fix anything if nothing registered on the car's computer., I would have to wait until it happened again. Two-three weeks go by - car driving ok (when going to work I make sure to drive in right lane "just in case" and I no longer can drive on highway with my child in car). Then, it happens: While driving at approximately 40 mph the car loses power again. I get off the road. Engine light and wrench light are on. Car towed to dealer. There is an issue with the throttle body. I am driving a rental.

- Long Beach, NY, USA

I was driving on a residential street when my car shuddered, and I no longer had any gas when I pushed the pedal down. The car was still on, so I was able to guide the car to the side of the street, turn the car off and then restart the car. The next day, the same thing happened several times--always a shudder and then no gas--before I was finally able to drive the car to my Ford dealership to see what was wrong. They told me the throttle body was bad. They looked for a replacement, but they said the part was on a nationwide backorder. They said I could get the part cleaned (at my expense), but they wouldn't guarantee it. Since I frequently have my grandchildren in my car, and since I am frequently on the interstate at much, much higher speeds, I think I'll wait for the new part--which I have been told has been redesigned. Of course insurance and extended warranties won't pay for a rental car while waiting for a part, so I'm at home--writing you! the real reason that I'm writing, of course, is that this is such a safety issue. For my car to stop in the middle of the road was a little scary. Since there is a backorder on the part nationwide, I assume I'm not the first, or even the second, person to have this problem with their Ford car. Btw, I called NHTSA, and my reference number is [xxx]. information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Goose Creek, SC, USA

I was driving on the interstate when all of a sudden lost power and accelerator became inoperative and small wrench light came on indicating a problem.. pull over to side of highway and turned off motor. Waited several minutes and started vehicle back up and was fine again. Drove vehicle several days later in city traffic and same thing occurred. Took vehicle to Ford dealer and they said it needed an electronic throttle body. This is definitely a safety issue and needs an immediate recall.

- Conover, NC, USA

When trying to accelerate into traffic, the engine dropped to idle and the gas pedal had no affect. Temporary solution was to pull over, turn engine off, restart (which required excessive cranking) which seemed to resolve the issue. Throttle works again. This issue has now happened 3 additional times and we have parked the car as it is unsafe and unreliable. Ford dealer has no clue about the issue and can't schedule getting it into the shop for at least 2 weeks.

- Buena Vista, CO, USA

I was driving my 2011 Ford Escape late at night, when I completely lost power on my vehicle. I was able to safely pull off to the side of the road. As I brought the car to a stop (braking), the car jerked forward before stopping. I shut off the car, and sat for a few moments, wondering what to do. The dash showed a wrench symbol, so I checked the manual to see what it meant. It said something about a fault and the powertrain. I checked to see if the car would restart and it did. I continued to drive, and approximately 10-15 minutes later it did it again. This time at a speed of over 60mph. I made it to my destination and called my husband. He checked the internet to see if anyone else had this problem and was shocked to see all the complaints about this. Thankfully, he read that if I stayed under 60 mph and didn't drive too long it shouldn't happen again. I took the back way home and although it was much longer I made it without a further problem. Why is this problem part(throttle valve) not recalled. And most importantly, and for safety reasons why aren't the owners of these 2011 Escape's made immediately aware of this hazard. This was the closest I came to a fatal accident and not necessarily my own.

- San Antonio, TX, USA

I was making a right hand turn. Then as I came out of the turn the car stalled I could not go. I pressed on the gas but nothing happened. I turned the car off and restarted it. It worked fine until I went around another right turn, and it did the same thing that's when I took it to the Ford dealership.

- Excelsior Springs, MO, USA

I was driving in the far left hand lane on a highway at about 65 mph when all of a sudden my vehicle lost power and would not accelerate when I pushed the accelerator pedal. I immediately put on my flashers and began moving over one lane at a time until finally reaching the shoulder of the road. While doing so, when the vehicle speed was down to about 20 mph, it started shaking (like a jerking back and forth motion). After letting the car rest for about 10 minutes I tried to start it up. The vehicle started, but the check engine indicator light was illuminated. I followed the directions in the vehicles manual and drove slowly to my mechanic, not accelerating or decelerating abruptly. The initial diagnostic test indicated that the mass air flow sensor needed to be cleaned and this was performed. The vehicle seemed to be running normally for about one week, both on highway and local city roads. One week later, driving about 20 mph on a local street, the same thing happened. I brought the vehicle back to my mechanic who after doing the diagnostics told me that the throttle body needed to be replaced. Apparently the mechanic followed the bulletins which were issued by the vehicle manufacturer, which by virtue of issuing these bulletins knew of the potential problem. I believe that this issue is a major safety concern. I was lucky, I was able to move my vehicle to the shoulder of the highway because at the time there was not much traffic. Definitely, if I was driving at 65mph, and there was a car behind me traveling at the same speed, there would be know way for them to stop, when my car decelerated so rapidly.

- Edison, NJ, USA

The car is running then the accelerator stops working.

- Clermont, FL, USA

While driving at speeds from 50 - 65 mph, my Escape will suddenly lose power. The engine remains running, but the accelerator pedal has no effect. The vehicle will continue to move very slowly after moving to the shoulder of the road. The "wrench" light is indicated on the dash. After coming to a stop, turning the engine off and restarting, the problem is temporarily resolved. After some research on the NHTSA site, this same problem occurs in the Escape and Ford Fusion. Ford is completely aware of the problem, but has not issued a recall. The problem is the throttle control body. A local Ford dealer offered to replace the part for approximately $600. I purchased the part for $350 and will replace myself as it is a simple 10 minute job. This is a very dangerous defect and I wish that Ford would take this seriously.

- Indianapolis, IN, USA

While accelerating from a stopped position the gas pedal stopped working and the car came to an idle speed in traffic. I exited highway and idled onto the ramp to the nearest parking lot. After turning the car off for a while and tried to restart with hesitation and was able to drive home and to the nearest Ford dealership the next day.(crossroads Ford- indian trail, nc) the service department cleaned the injectors and fuel throttle body along with a oil change and transmission flush.($300) the car still had a idling issue but I thought it was just left over residue cleaning itself out.( I have complained of shifting problems/acceleration problems with car since purchase in 2011. I have taken it into keith hawthorne Ford of belmont (where purchased) several times with this complaint. Nothing could ever be found.) the second incident date is 8-2-13. I was on hwy 74 in indian trail and had pulled out ahead of traffic leaving a stop light with plenty of time to accelerate to speed and the gas pedal stopped working again. I put my flashers on and idled to the next parking lot on the right which was a food lion shopping center. I was almost rear-ended by a red & white tractor trailer because he couldn't slow down in time, it just was able to get in the left lane before hitting me. Several cars were backed up and slamming on brakes to keep from hitting me. There was no safe place to pull over so I had to idle to the parking lot. I turned the car off as in the earlier incident and got it restarted and was able to drive it the mile or 2 back to crossroads Ford. I received a call today from the service staff that the fuel throttle body needed to be replaced and it would cost an additional $500 to which they would deduct $100 for the service performed 2 days earlier. The car remains at the crossroads Ford while I await a call from a customer service agent for this issue.

- Indian Trail, NC, USA

Whether I driving in downtown traffic or highway my Ford Escape would start hesitation. Could not get a charge from to drive SUV. Or my Escape would power and the engine would die while driving or when I was pulling out from intersection. I took Ford Escape to a Ford dealership they did whatever test and told me they would have to order part. Two weeks of waiting for part to arrive and still no part dealership told me part was on a state order because I was in Florida when this happened and I was from Illinois with my trip ending and needed to get home. I felt dealership was giving me run around so I called main headquarters in detroit, Michigan and was told the throttle body was on back order because Ford was having problems figuring out problem and therefore could not send part because they didn't have a corrected throttle body part to send. I asked if Ford was doing a recall on Escape and was told not at this time. I received a called from Ford Motor Co. About 2 days later telling me the part would be sent to dealership by Wednesday of following week and that a call was also placed to dealership to inform them the part was for my Escape not the two Ford Escapes with same problem that were ahead of mine. By the following week on Wednesday my Ford Escape was repaired and I was able to drive home back to Illinois. To this day I am not sure if I have a replacement part that has fixed the problem or if Ford Motor Co. Sent me the same part that will again break down on me. I have kept track of all phone calls I made date time and who I spoke with and also the calls from Ford Motor Co. To me. Needless to say I am very disappointed with the whole matter and I am filing this complaint.

- Ofallon, IL, USA

The vehicle was on the highway and lost power, this was the second time that this had happened in two weeks. The dealer was not able to determine the problem the first go around. Vehicle would start but had no power, engine light and service wrench, had vehicle towed to dealership. They determined it to be a bad throttle body, which was not covered under my warranty.

- Dayton, OH, USA

I was driving with my two kids in traffic on 95 when my truck just seemed to stop working. It did not stall, the engine was still working, I could steer but could not accelerate. I quickly had to get over four lanes to the shoulder. When I did, I turned the car off and waited a couple minutes. I turned the car back on and it was a hard start, almost as if it were going to not start. To get.I called my Ford dealership and explained as best as I could to the service department~ who in turn, over the phone diagnosed the problem as electrical and informed me my warranty wouldn't cover it, I should take it to my mechanic. I dropped my truck off and he tried to fix whatever may have caused the problem, costing us $500. My husband picked it up and we took it out that night ~ it happened five more times. This was Saturday night, Monday I tried to call Ford and tell them what happened. I was on the phone off and on for about 3-4 hours trying to have this handled. Finally, I was told by my mechanic~not the dealership~ about this being something I could look up, that other owners had this same exact issue. Ford told me to bring it in on wed, I had to call Ford corporate to find out if I was entitled to a rental and did I have to pay a $100 deductible. It was like pulling teeth to have this handled. On wed when I was supposed to drop it off, after more disconnected phone calls and voicemails~ I asked to speak with a director or manager. In mind experience he was treating me as if I were a child and I had no idea what I was talking about. He had never heard of such a problem with the Ford Escapes.after telling him what I found out online I was told "if you read anything on the internet, that's simply your research." I am disgusted with my experience, my truck is supposedly fixed. I do not trust a company to fix something they are pretending doesn't exist.

- Philadelphia, PA, USA

Driving on major interstate in downtown houston at rush hour doing 65 mile an hour when car suddenly stalled causing me to come to almost a complete crawl and I kept seeing a flashing wrench in my dash area as the car tugged roughly when I attempted to accelerate. My car was almost hit by several cars as others slammed on brakes behind. I was in the middle of a 5 lane highway and I had to cross two lanes doing 10 miles per hour to get over to the right. I was a very scary ordeal, I was shook up and disoriented by the ordeal. I turned the car off and sat on the median for 10 mins and started the car back up and the flashing wrench was gone. I called Ford about a similar incident that I had last fall of 2012 and they assured me that there were no issues reported like this for the vehicle. Please research the fact that my VIN is stated as invalid. My VIN is [xxx]. I gave this # to the Ford company when I called last year and now it's showing as invalid?? the bigger issue is that I feel that my car is unsafe after this happening again today and knowing that I nearly caused several accidents on the interstate and put my own life in danger is causing me to reach out see what actions I can take against Ford to fix this issue. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Pearland, TX, USA

Engine cut out while driving at about 55mph and 'check engine' light lit up on the dashboard. I pulled over to side of road and waited about ten minutes before re-starting vehicle. The vehicle started ok but 'check engine' light stayed on. I took it to service station and they ran diagnostic and got code P2111 - throttle actuator stuck open. I made repair appointment at Ford dealer for next day. While driving home from work the engine stalled at a traffic light but re-started ok.

- Joppa, MD, USA

Going down road, first no gas pedal control, then starts to make engine and whole vehicle pulsate. Starting to get worse and dangerous, about 3 TO4 times a trip. Dealer has told us the part is on backorder, meanwhile trying to deal with it.

- Northeast, PA, USA

I was about two blocks from home, driving the SUV and slowed down to turn the corner, when I tried to hit the gas to accelerate, the car wouldn't accelerate past 5mph. A few lights came on the dashboard and I was able to drive it home. When I restarted it, it worked fine. I had the car towed to the dealership, which said they couldn't duplicate the problem. I had only owned the car for 6 months at the time.

- Greenbelt, MD, USA

Driving at freeway speed when engine lost all power. Unable to accelerate. Engine light and wrench light came on. Was able to pull to the side of the road. Restarted vehicle and proceeded back on to freeway. Incident repeated 5 times in 10 miles of driving. Finally located a Ford dealership. Computer code indicated faulty throttle body. Unable to repair same day because dealership did not have the part. Called 7 different dealerships within a 200 mil radius and advised no one had the part in stock. Appears this is a popular problem. Finally found the part the following day and dealer installed. No problems since. Was forced to drive the vehicle until the part arrived as I was out of town on business when this occurred. The loss of acceleration resulted in dangerous situations. I experienced this not only at highway speed but also when trying to enter the freeway. I was almost hit twice.

- Conroe, TX, USA

While driving on parkway at 60 mph lost power was able to coast to side of road. Once I shut car off then restarted, it would drive fine. Once I hit 60 again it would power off again. I would have to drive under 50 for continuous power. Went to sayville Ford for repair. They said it was the throttle. Turns out its the same problem everyone is having. I paid $486.89 for repair. $171.68 for part and $315 for labor.

- Sayville, NY, USA