My daughter was driving on interstate at 70 mph when the Flex totaling shut down. She had no power steering, brakes or lights. It started back up after a couple of hours and was giving bogus messages on the display. Ford dealer says there are no codes showing up, so they won't be able to determine what caused this. We cannot drive anymore without knowing what happened, since it might happen again and would be very dangerous if going over a mountain pass at the time it happens. We live in Montana.

- Belgrade, MT, USA

Car stalled at low speed. Started again when stopped and in park. During event, no power steering / brakes available. Not a safe condition.

- Virginia Beach, VA, USA

I purchased this vehicle in may, 2014 as a used vehicle w/warranty (powertrain). While traveling from St.louis, Missouri in stop and go traffic, the car overheated. After speeding up to get out of traffic it suddenly cooled back off. Now, during this same time, the air conditioner stopped blowing cool air until we sped up to get out of traffic. After that, it didn't happen again until I was stuck in traffic. Same problem. The fans stopped working. Here recently, I was stuck in traffic and the car overheated and the check engine light came on. Only this time, when I sped up the car didn't cool down. The coolant was fine but the car still over heated. I took the car to the dealership today and was told that it is the cooling fan module and it should be replaced. Now, I've read in several different places that this is a problem with 2008-2012 Ford Flex vehicles. A recall was issued for the 2011-2012 series but not earlier models. Owners of these vehicles should not have to be responsible for faulty materials used to make these vehicles. The same recall that was afforded to the 2011-2012 models should also be afforded to owners of earlier models. The dealership wants $600 to repair this because my warranty only covers powertrain. Please address this asap. I have 6 children and cannot afford to spend $600 on something that is not even my fault or the fault of normal wear and tear.

- Fort Wayne, IN, USA

Engine stumbled and then lost power. It re-started but idled at 750rpm. Car would not accelerate. Placing the car into neutral and depressing the accelerator did not increase the engine speed. This persisted about 3-4 minutes. Afterwards, the engine speed responded to the accelerator, and when placed in gear, accelerated normally. This has happened three times in the past year.

- Vienna, VA, USA

Vehicle has had radiator cooling fan(s) failure(s) resulting in loss of power and overheating.

- Roseville, CA, USA

Vehicle overheated on several random occasions. Air conditioning blows hot air when not moving. Vehicle stalled in intersection on several random occasions. The cooling fan relay was replaced which temporarily corrected all related problems. This exact same problem has now developed after 8000 miles. After looking on the internet it is obvious this is not an isolated problem. A recall has been issued for 2011 and 2012 models but not the 09. This is a serious problem that could destroy the vehicles engine or worse get some one killed if it stalls while crossing traffic.

- Tega Cay, SC, USA

Driving stopped at a stop sign noticed the wrench light on (happens often while this happens will not accelerate like normal until it hits 2-3rd gear). I press the gas to accelerate after making the turn I had to make another turn about 1/4 mile up the street. I released the gas to make the turn but my car kept accelerating it was not going very fast but the engine was accelerating pushing the rpms up to 6000. My foot was not on the gas and nothing was pressing the gas no floor mat or items in the way of the pedals. I pressed on the break (with the engine still accelerating) put the car into neutral and pulled over. Turned the engine off and restarted the car. The car ran fine after restarted it. No check engine light was on at any point just the wrench light. The light did go off after I restarted the car. I drove it about another 40 miles since this has happened and has not recurred since. I did have the car taken in to check the codes at about 90K miles (without the wrench light because it goes off as soon as you restart the car) nothing came up for codes.

- Glen Burnie, MD, USA

While drive on the highway with my youngest son, my car suddenly decellerated and eventually the car's engine completely died. Fourtunatly I was able to get out of the lanes of traffic and onto an exit ramp. The ramp had a wall on the passenger side and fast exiting traffic on the drivers side. I could not safely exit the vehicle in this location. After about 5 minutes, I was able to start the car enough to move it to a safer location 30-40 yards off the exit (where the car again died). There was no indication on either my temp guage or any warning lights that the engine had overheated to the point of a cracked head/block. At the time of this incident, Ford was aware that there were issues with the control module for the cooling fans not working and had a customer satisfaction program 12B36 in place. I never heard of the program until this week (9/18/13). I should have been informed as an owner of this poorly engineered vehicle that it had such an unsafe defect. Since I was 40K miles out of warranty Ford's solution was for me to buy a new engine at the cost of $8000. I have been saving up for the past 4 months to purchase a used engine and have a local garage install it. I am not happy about this vehicle putting my and my son's lives in danger. I hope others with this vehicle do not have to be put in harms way as well.

- Montgomery, TX, USA

The contact owns a 2009 Ford Flex. The contact stated that while driving approximately 50 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was towed to the dealer for diagnosis. The technician stated that the wiring harness and PCM would have to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 70,425.

- Northville, MI, USA

Check engine light went on and when diagnosed it was one of the oxygen sensors. It had to be replaced in order for the rest of the safeties to operate properly. It was a defective part that cost over $400 to replace. Warranty was declined, however, the design life of the part must be in excess of 150000 miles. If this part were failing all the time, there would be a recall. My defective part was not replaced by Ford as it should have been. There are no moving parts, it should not wear out.

- Bloomfield Hills, MI, USA

Smell car exhaust fumes inside the car when under acceleration and the heater is going.. took it to Ford dealership to service writer. He did not accept the car for service or write it up because he could not smell it himself. The problem comes and goes. Smelled it as recently as today.

- Chattanooga, TN, USA

Drove 30 miles at highway speed. Then in shopping mall engine quit suddenly at 20 mph without any warning. No power brakes, no power steering. It was if someone had turned off the ignition. I was able to muscle the car out of traffic and was thankful this sudden failure did not occur at speed or while making a turn across traffic. This seems to be a problem identical to those reported by other 09 Flex owners, but Ford ( or at least my local dealer) is not interested in addressing the problem. Considering that the car had a loss of control, it is puzzling that this defect is not being taken more seriously. In terms of severity of the problem, this sounds like a '10'. the proposed fix is new throttle body, reprogram computer, clean injectors. Since no fault codes appeared and since this is intermittent, the mechanical breakdown policy does not cover what is clearly a manufacturing defect on these early builds. So the problem is twofold: The car dies suddenly and the computer does not recognize this as a fault.

- Davidsonville, MD, USA

This vehicle experienced failure of both radiator cooling fans. The engine entered reduced power mode due to high temperature while my wife was entering a busy street. Just prior to this the vehicle had been idling for approximately 10 or 15 minutes. Temperature light did not illuminate until engine entered reduced power mode. Check engine light did not illuminate. Loss of power without warning could be very dangerous under certain conditions. After some research I have found that this is not an isolated incident. Usually the first sign of a problem is the air conditioner blowing warm air when stopped and engine is at an idle. Ford has the customer satisfaction program (#12B36) that is covering the repairs regardless of mileage for the same problem on 2011 and 2012 Ford Flex vehicles at no cost to owners. The 2009 and 2010 model years are excluded from this program. A letter was sent to 2011 and 2012 Flex owners offering this repair. Both fans have been tested and found to be inoperative. Fan control module appears to be ok. I spoke to Ford customer service today (case #[xxx]) 01/21/13, and they verified that the customer satisfaction program (12B36) is covering 2011 and 2012 model Flex vehicles. An internet search shows that other models may also be covered. I believe this program should cover the 2009 and 2010 model vehicles for safety reasons or a maybe a safety recall should be considered. I will be purchasing a new fan assembly and installing it myself but have no way to reprogram the PCM to help prevent this from happening again. I will also take the vehicle to the dealer to have them inspect it before replacing the fan assembly as asked by Ford customer service. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Owasso, OK, USA

Twice while driving my Ford Flex, I had spontaneous total shut downs of the engine. The first time, my car was only a few months old and I was idling in front of a friend's house when all the lights came on and it completely died. I started it right back up (and it subsequently performed perfectly) and I drove it to Ford where they did some diagnostics checks and found no anomaly. It concerned me but thinking it may be a fuel injection issue while only idling, I went about my business. On July 20, 2012, at 38K mile, my Ford Flex died again! total shutdown of the engine and all the lights came on while I was driving approximately 30 miles per hour with my daughter in the car! no power steering, no power brakes, no power anything! because I was on a slight downhill, I was able to get the car over to the side of the road without catastrophe, thank god. The engine started up again as if nothing occurred. I drove direct to Ford where they did 10 minutes of diagnostic testing and told me once again that there was no anomaly. I went a little crazy, informed them that I was leaving for a 10- day vacation the following morning and that they had the full 10 days to fix the car or that I wasn't going to be picking it up ever again. A Ford tech drove my car with a computer plugged into the car, typed in the problem and after maneuvering the car to try and get a repeated response, the car did indeed shut down while he was driving it! apparently, the throttle body was binding internally and needed to be replaced. After replacing part # 1 7T4Z 9E926 fa, Ford walnut creek ca is telling me it is fixed. Let's hope so. I pray that no one has been involved in a fatal or injury accident as a result of this part's failure. I am writing this as an alert and a heads up to anyone who has had the same scary experience.

- Lafayette, CA, USA

The contact owns a 2009 Ford Flex. The contact stated that the driver was driving the vehicle and the coolant temperature light illuminated on the instrument panel. The driver stopped the vehicle and noticed that it was overheating. The driver also noticed that the air conditioner failed. The vehicle was able to be driven to the residence after resting for thirty minutes. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was notified and stated that the vehicle was not included in any recalls. The failure mileage was 65,000.

- Champaign, IL, USA

The contact owns a 2009 Ford Flex. The contact stated that while driving approximately 20 mph, the engine stalled without the illumination of warning indicators on the instrument panel. The engine restarted and the vehicle resumed as normal. The failure occurred four times when driving at a low speed. The contact was in the process of taking the vehicle to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 35,000.

- Marrero, LA, USA