2002 Ford Escape: fire, smoke or burning smell

Filed May 30, 2022 · Body, Brakes · NC · fire

Vehicle was manufactured 04/2002 recalls state that from oct99 to jan04 multiple states had issues with rusting with suspension causing the car to crash. My vehicle was made in one of the states and has alot of underbody rusting. Back hatch latch gets stuck often and will not open. Drums on the back are sticking causing the vehicle to drag at take off, abs had a recall ford dealer "fixed" the issue abs light stays on. Radiator light stays on constantly even though fluids are at correct level radiator is not damaged. Battery light constantly stays on as well brand new battery and alternator wire are connected free of corrosion. Interior lights caught on fire and melted the plastic housing so I had to take out the small bulbs. Everything is available for inspection if needed.abs was looked at by Ford dealer and "fixed" but problem is still there. Problems have not been inspected by anyone other than the abs, no warnings at all. Events happened at different times during the time I got the vehicle. 2022 Jan

Filed Jun 18, 2018 · Acceleration, Brakes · 145,000 miles · MT · fire

Tl* the contact owned a 2002 ford escape. The contact stated that the vehicle caught fire while parked in her driveway. The fire department extinguished the fire and filed a report. The fire department stated that the master brake cylinder and the cruise control cables were melted. The vehicle was deemed a total loss, but was not towed from the contact's residence. The dealer (lithia ford of missoula, 3943 brooks st, missoula, mt 59804) and the manufacturer were called and the contact was awaiting a call back. The contact stated that she had not received notification of the federal safety agency campaign numbers: 12v005000 (service brakes, hydraulic) and 12v353000 (engine and engine cooling, vehicle speed control). The failure mileage was 145,000. .*bf

Filed Jan 17, 2017 · Electrical, Engine · 150,000 miles · NC · fire

Tl* the contact owned a 2002 ford escape. After the vehicle was parked, the driver smelled a burning odor. The contact noticed black smoke coming from the engine compartment and the vehicle exploded. The fire department extinguished the flames. The fire department assessed that the wiring harness was defective and caused the fire. The contact stated that the fire damaged the garage and the sidewalk concrete. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The contact referenced the federal safety agency campaign number: 07v156000 (service brakes, hydraulic) as a possible reason for the failure; however, the VIN was not provided there were no injuries and a police report was not filed. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000. The VIN was not provided. Updated 04/12/17lj

Filed Oct 19, 2015 · Brakes, Engine · 151,703 miles · OH · fire

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford escape. While parked, the vehicle caught fire. The details of the fire were not available. The contact mentioned that the ABS warning light illuminated intermittently. The vehicle was included in the federal safety agency campaign numbers: 14v165000 (structure), 12v353000 (engine and engine cooling, vehicle speed control), and 12v005000 (service brakes, hydraulic). The contact stated that there was an abnormal noise coming from the front of the vehicle and the suspension was unstable in the front. While parked, the vehicle caught fire on a second occasion. The fire department had to cut the hood open and inspected that the master cylinder was on fire. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was awaiting diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 151,703.

Filed Apr 2, 2015 · Electrical · 163,000 miles · OH · fire

Tl* the contact owned a 2002 ford escape. The contact walked outside and discovered that the vehicle caught fire. The engine was not turned on and the key was not in the ignition switch at the time of the incident. The fire department was called to the scene to extinguish the flames. The vehicle was destroyed. The cause of the incident could not be determined. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 163,000.

Filed Jan 28, 2015 · Brakes · 196,000 miles · AR · fire

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford escape. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, the brake pedal depressed to the floor and there was smoke emitting from the vehicle. The vehicle caught on fire which was extinguished by the contact. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The technician diagnosed that the ABS electrical system had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was included in the federal safety agency campaign number: 12v005000 (service brakes, hydraulic). However, the contact did not receive the recall notice. The dealer informed the contact that the vehicle had surpassed the statue of limitations for the recall. The approximate failure mileage was 196,000.

Filed Nov 21, 2014 · Brakes, Electrical · 172,000 miles · TX · fire

Neighbor woke me saying my car was on fire. Car wasn't on, the key was not in, and it had sat overnight. Called fire department and fire put out. Car is totaled because the firemen had to break into the engine compartment. Engine area burned with nothing but metal visible and a melted battery. I have pictures.

Filed Jun 24, 2014 · Brakes · 150,000 miles · TN · fire

The car was sitting in the driveway. A couple hours before I had run the car idle in the drive to add coolant. At around 3 pm my neighbor called the fire department and notified us of smoke under our carport. Fire department said it looked like the brakes caught fire. After the incident the research and talking to the dealer brought to my attention safely recall notice 11 s24 that would have prevented the fire. I never got recall info as I bought the car second hand. Called ford and they said there is nothing they could do.

Filed Dec 12, 2013 · Acceleration · 190,179 miles · KY

I was driving at 70mph on a highway. I went to take my exit and pushed the button to turn the cruise control off, but that did not slow the vehicle down at all. It kept accelerating all the way up to 90mph. I tapped the brakes but it did not slow the car down. I was afraid to keep my foot on the brakes due to heating the brakes up so much that it would catch my car on fire. I put it in neutral but the rpms revved between 5000-6000 so I switched back in to drive. When I finally had an area where there were no other cars around me I slammed on the brake pedal to slow it down as much as I possibly could before putting it into park. When it was in park the rpms jumped all the way up to 5000 and sounded as though the car was going to blow up so I turned the car off. Then I opened the hood and removed the cruise control cable. I have had the recall done on this vehicle and never had a problem with this til now. My car is no leaking oil and smells like something is burning. I have contacted ford and they seemed as though this was an unimportant issue. They stated that they were not responsible for repairs. This should be an issue for them since they are the ones who fixed it in the first place with the last recall they had on this issue.

Filed Nov 7, 2013 · Electrical, Engine · 144,000 miles · OH · fire

Arrived home, parked vehicle in driveway and shortly after my wife took our puppy outside and saw my car was on fire under the hood, I was able to open the hood and saw flames and sparks coming from the drivers side firewall area, called fire dept after my fire extinguisher failed to fully put out the fire fearing it would catch the house on fire as I was parked less than 10 ft from it.

Filed Aug 30, 2013 · Brakes, Electrical · 127,243 miles · CA · fire

My escape was parked in driveway when we went to go to town and it was smoking then on fire this was in the evening about 8 if we hadn't gone out we would have had a huge fire witch could have involved 3 other cars not to mention our house we live in ramona ca 92065 and its fire season we are in a rural area..

Filed Aug 7, 2013 · Engine · 100,000 miles · TX · fire

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford escape. The contact stated smoke emitted from under the hood of the vehicle. The vehicle was removed from under the carport and flames surfaced around the drivers side of the engine. The fire department extinguished the fire. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure and current mileage was 100,000. The VIN was unavailable.