Tl* the contact owned a 2001 ford escape. While driving approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle suddenly accelerated and failed to slow down, even though the brake pedal was depressed numerous times. As a result, the contact lost control of the vehicle and its rear end crashed into a tree. A four year old passenger seated in the rear was fatally injured due to the massive impact to the vehicle. The driver lost consciousness and suffered a minor concussion. The front seat occupant sustained a spinal injury. A police report was filed. The vehicle was destroyed and towed to a police facility. The vehicle was included in three recalls under the federal safety agency campaign number: 00v210001 (vehicle speed control), the federal safety agency campaign id number: 07e023000 (service brakes, hydraulic) and the federal safety agency campaign id number: 12v005000 (service brakes, hydraulic). The contact never received notification of the recalls and experienced the consequences mentioned in each recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unavailable.
2001 Ford Escape: sudden unintended acceleration
20 of the 996 complaints about the 2001 Ford Escape describe sudden unintended acceleration.
- owner complaints
- 20
- of this car's complaints
- 2%
- typical mileage
- 83,570
- recalls
- 2
Sudden unintended acceleration by model year
What owners say
Tl* the contact owns a 2001 ford escape. The contact stated that the vehicle suddenly accelerated without warning while driving 55 MPH. The contact applied the brakes but to no avail. The contact then lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a ditch. The contact was not injured. The vehicle was towed to the contact home and was not repaired or inspected to determine the cause of the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure and current mileage was 155,000.
Sudden, unintended acceleration of my vehicle on 2 occasions now, in last 2 days.
After stopping to possibly take a left turn, I realized I needed to go one more block so I pressed the gas to continue forward. However right as I did that the light turned yellow so I took my foot off the accelerator and pressed on the brake instead. The car shot forward at full throttle and the car went through the intersection and the red light. The street was clear in front of us and I had a full long block to try to regain control of the vehicle's acceleration. I calmly shifted the car into neutral and was very surprised that the car continued to accelerate. I started worrying as the car continued to speed up. I was able to shift the car in reverse and park (which normally isn't possible). All the while the vehicle sped up. My foot was on the brake for almost the whole block and wasn't slowing the vehicle at all. I decided that since the transmission and brakes were not responding, that I might be able to use my foot to get under the gas pedal and lift it up (because it felt from the full acceleration like it was stuck on the floor). However, the pedal easily came off the floor but would flop back down as soon as I moved my foot out from under it. It was definitely not stuck by a foreign object or floor mat though. Had to avoid a pedestrian that was crossing the street and the road ahead was obscured because it went down a steep hill so I chose to turn right. The car ended up hitting the curb, hitting 2 small trees. And flipping upside down before also hitting a parked car. The engine continued to "rev" at high speeds, even upside down, for a few seconds before it finally cut off. My wife and I were very lucky to survive this incident and to not have injured any others in the area. Possibly part of : the federal safety agency campaign id number: 00v210001 for stuck throttle problems.
Tl* the contact owns a 2001 ford escape. The contact was driving approximately 15 MPH approaching a stop signal and when driving from the complete stop the vehicle unexpectedly accelerated up to 58 MPH and crashed into a nearby utility pole. The contact sustained severe injuries. A police report was filed of the incident. In addition, the air bags did not deploy. The vehicle was towed to a savage facility and declared as destroyed. The contact planned to notify the manufacturer of the unintended acceleration. There was a recall associated with the federal safety agency campaign id number 00v210001 (vehicle speed control); however the contact did receive a recall notification. The approximate failure was 137,000.
Tl*the contact owns a 2001 ford escape. The contact stated that while driving 60 MPH up a hill the cruise control system was activated and the vehicle continued to accelerate beyond the set speed on the cruise control. The contact was not able to deactivate the cruise control. The contact was able to slow the vehicle down when the brakes were applied but the rpms continued to increase excessively. The contact was able to bring the vehicle to a complete stop without incident. The contact removed the cruise control fuse in an attempt to prevent the failure from recurring. When the vehicle was restarted, the RPM's continued to increase; therefore, the vehicle was towed to a dealer. The dealer stated that the throttle control cable caused the sudden acceleration and it was replaced. The contact was concerned that sudden acceleration could have resulted in a crash while driving. The failure mileage was 99,405.
2005 gas pedal acceleration accident in 2001 ford escape . Upon starting car it accelerated by itself , and I could not get it to stop. It sped up to at least 40mph with a mind of its own. I crashed into a brick wall and it took the jaws of life to tear open the car to get me out. I am totally disabled now with a severely shattered foot and ankle. I have a metal plate in my leg now.
Tl* the contact owns a 2001 ford escape. The contact's daughter was driving and the vehicle suddenly accelerated to 85 MPH. She put both of her feet on the brake pedal but there was no response. She tried the emergency brake which also did not response. After a long while, she was able to get the vehicle to decelerate to 40 MPH. She then put the vehicle in neutral and was then able to pull over and turn the ignition off. She had the vehicle towed to a repair shop. The vehicle had not been inspected at the time of the complaint. The contact called the manufacturer who told her that they could not assist with repairs. The current and failure mileages were approximately 135,000.
Dt*: the contact stated that the vehicle experiences sudden acceleration from 0-45 MPH after releasing the brake pedal while in the stopped position. The vehicle experiences increased braking and jolts forward when braking is applied. When the vehicle is placed in park, the engine revs on its own. The vehicle must be turned off for the engine to quit revving. This problem was initially sporadic, but is now getting progressively worse and occurs more often. The dealership replaced the accelerator cable but the problem still occurred. An independent repair shop determined that the problem might be the speed control servo. There is an the federal safety agency recall, #00v210001, regarding the: vehicle speed control. The VIN was not included in the recall.
Vehicle experienced sudden acceleration while being driven. Owner had to apply brakes several times in order to slow down. Taken to dealer for cleaning of the throttle body.
While stopped at a traffic light the vehicle surged forward violently without warning. The consumer stated two weeks later while parked the same thing occurred and the vehicle collided into a store window. *jb the vehicle collided into a store window.
Intermittently while driving at 35 MPH, the vehicle accelerated on its own. While the consumer shifted from drive to park, the vehicles rpms went up. The vehicle was taken to independent shop and the mechanic cleaned the air idle control. *ak when placing the vehicle in park, the RPM's accelerated between 4000 and 5000. *sc
Service bulletins that may apply
Related recalls
Vehicle speed control: cables
- What is wrong
- Ford Motor Company is recalling certain model year 2001 through 2004 Escape vehicles equipped with 3.0L V6 engines and speed control manufactured from October 22, 1999, through January 23, 2004. Inadequate clearance between the engine cover and the speed control cable connector could result in a stuck throttle when the accelerator pedal is fully or almost-fully depressed. This risk exists regardless of whether or not speed control (cruise control) is used.
- Risk
- A stuck throttle may result in very high vehicle speeds and make it difficult to stop or slow the vehicle, which could cause a crash, serious injury or death.
- Remedy
- Ford will notify owners, and dealers will repair the vehicles by increasing the engine cover clearance, free of charge. The safety recall began August 3, 2012. Remedy parts are expected to be available in mid-August 2012. Until then dealers will disconnect the speed control cable as an interim remedy, if parts are not available at the time of an owner's service appointment. Owners may contact Ford at 1‑866‑436‑7332.
Recall number 12V353000 · Recall details
Vehicle speed control
- What is wrong
- Vehicle description: sport utility vehicles equipped with speed control. The speed control cable can have a cracked or missing speed control cable servo cap locating tab. The locating tab could enter the servo clutch cavity and interfere with the speed control servo clutch. Also, water could enter those units that contain a cracked or missing servo cap locating tab, eventually causing corrosion that could interfere with the function of the speed control.
- Risk
- If either of these conditions occurs and the speed control is used, the speed control could prevent the throttle from returning to idle, resulting in a stuck throttle. A stuck throttle could result in a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect the speed control cables. Vehicles with speed control cables from cavities 3 and 4 will have the cable the speed control servo replaced.
Recall number 00V210001 · Recall details
Questions about the 2001 Ford Escape sudden acceleration
Is sudden unintended acceleration a common problem on the 2001 Ford Escape?
20 of 996 owner complaints about the 2001 Ford Escape (2%) mention sudden unintended acceleration. The model year with the most reports is 2010.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2001 Ford Escape?
There are 2 recalls and 2 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2001 Ford Escape
Stalling 236Loss of power 65ABS 56Fire or smoke 48Check engine light 36Power steering loss 35Fuel smell 29Transmission failure 28Door locks 24Brake failure 22Ball joint 21Adaptive cruise 20No deployment 20Airbag light 17Grinding brakes 17Hesitation 15Engine failure 14Wipers 12Won't start 12Harsh shifting 9Seat belt 9Jerking 8Won't shift 8Tire blowout 8Fuel pump 7Headlights 7Shudder 7Steering lock-up 7Pulling 6Warning lights 6Knocking 5
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2001 Ford Escape?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history