2004 Ford Escape: check engine light

Filed Jan 18, 2019 · Body, Engine · 95,000 miles · WI

Recently purchased car, check engine light came on. Diagnostics scan shows 2nd cylinder misfire, ignition coil faulty. Went online to check common issues with this model..it is a common issue with most 04 escapes. Lots of complaints for wheel well rust..upon inspection, mine too is corroded and the shock is coming through the floor board in the hatch. I heard noises while driving but hadn't inspected it until now, as I just bought this vehicle. The corroded spots were concealed under the carpet. Unsafe to drive. My photos are too large to upload.

Filed Jan 24, 2018 · Engine · 65,000 miles · NY · fire

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford escape. While driving 65 MPH, the vehicle spontaneously caught fire under the hood and the check engine indicator illuminated. The air bags did not deploy. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic. There were no injuries. The fire department was called to the scene. A police report was filed. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified and did not assist. The VIN was unknown. The failure mileage was approximately 65,000.

Filed Nov 2, 2016 · Electrical, Engine · 72,000 miles · CA

Abs light and engine light came on while driving and vehicle shut down completely. Towed to shop to have replaced the alternator and battery bad. Since then 3- alternators, 2- batteries, 3- o2 sensors, and an airbag light that blinks on and off and illuminates when you honk the horn on the steering wheel. Also when turning on headlights, all dash lights and stereo console lights dim to almost invisible. Took to 4 different ford dealerships and no one can figure out the problem!!!! This company should realize this car is a lemon, and back their workmanship. And blow this car up !!!

Filed Aug 2, 2016 · Brakes, Engine · 160,000 miles · MA

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford escape. While driving approximately 35 MPH and depressing the brake pedal, the brakes malfunctioned and the vehicle would not stop. The contact also indicated that the check engine light illuminated during the incident. The cause of the failure was not diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 160,000.

Filed Jul 21, 2016 · 135,004 miles · VA

In april 2016, I purchased a used 2004 ford escape with approximately 130,000 miles on it. The vehicle had a recent state inspection sticker verifying that it passed all state safety standards. However, after driving the escape for only a few days, the check engine light would come on intermittently and the vehicle would quit running properly and stall. This would occur intermittingly while the vehicle was in park and other times while driving in traffic. I brought the vehicle into two different mechanics and they could not properly diagnose the problem due to the complexity of the stalling issue. The check engine light no longer comes on, but the stalling problem keeps getting worse. My spouse no longer drives the vehicle because of the safety issues of stalling on the highways and it store parking lots. On july 21, 2016, I drove the escape for a 200 mile round-trip. During the first 100 miles, going to the destination, the vehicle ran great without a single problem. Unfortunately, during the return trip home, I became scared as the vehicle began intermittently stalling in 4 lanes of interstate traffic that was traveling at 55+ miles per hour'and I had to try restarting my vehicle several times, while traveling in neutral in the middle of 4 lanes of interstate traffic. I plan to bring our vehicle back to another mechanic, so they can try to properly address this safety issue'hopefully before someone gets hurt accidentally with the vehicle intermittently stalling in heavy traffic or in a dangerous situation. Unfortunately, diagnosing the problem seems to be an issue. I have read several articles online about this intermittent stalling problem with escapes and realize that the stalling problem is quite prevalent. Personally, I believe this is a serious safety issue that needs to be addressed by ford, with a safety recall done to fix the problem.

Filed Feb 25, 2015 · Engine · 96,000 miles · NY

I purchased this vehicle 11 months ago, on feb 13,2015 as I was driving my car began to make a very loud noise as well as causing the vehicle to drive unstable. The mechanic report stated that 3 separate spark plugs had blown out and ejected causing extensive damage to multiple mechanical mechanisms to my vehicle. My vehicle is currently un drivable, also the check engine light did not come on the dash board or the machine. Also prior to this incident my vehicle would accelerate while driving and also in park.

Filed Sep 16, 2014 · Transmission · 45,000 miles · NJ

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford escape. The contact stated that the check engine warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a private mechanic who diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 45,000.

Filed Feb 21, 2014 · Engine · 130,000 miles · NY

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford escape. The contact stated that while driving 55mph, the vehicle failed to accelerate. The check engine warning light illuminated after the failure occurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where a diagnostic was performed, which located a failure at the catalytic converter. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The VIN was not available. The failure and current mileage was 130,000.

Filed Nov 4, 2013 · Engine · 19,500 miles · FL

At approximately 65 MPH on a crowded interstate highway, the vehicle lost power and the "check engine" light illuminated the vehicle slowed and I was able to pull off the highway. After switching the engine off and waiting a few minutes, I was able to start the car and move forward for about a mile when the same thing happened. After the third time this happened, I decided the car was too dangerous to drive in traffic and pulled over to call a tow truck. The car has less than 20,000 miles on it. The local ford dealer indicates no recall has been issued for this specific problem. Losing speed in fast-moving highway traffic is extremely dangerous; thankfully there was no accident or injury in this case.

Filed Feb 11, 2013 · Electrical, Engine · 82,000 miles · IL

Car's engine vibrated violently and completely stalled going 45 MPH down a highway, accident avoided as car behind me slammed on the brakes. Car would not start, check engine light on. Towed vehicle to ford dealership who fond two engine coils defective and all spark plugs replaced. This vehicle has repeated issues with defective coils and dangerous to travel on a highway when engine abruptly stops. This is poor engineering on ford's part and demand the us government force a recall!

Filed May 21, 2012 · Engine, Fuel system · 120,000 miles · PW

At first, my escape only started hesitating on rainy days when I got to about 45-55 MPH. At first I thought I had bad gas so I stopped at auto zone to get dry gas for it. This seem to work like a charm and I thought the problem was fixed. Then it happened again; spudering, not accelerating, car shaking, and engine light began to flash once I reached 45mph. This had been an issue for a few months on and off, then one sunny day its began hesitating and misfiring very badly now not only in 5th gear but at idle and 1st gear. It misfired and hesitated every time I drove it for a week before the mechanic could get it into the shop. I did a lot of research on the two codes that the engine was pulling p0305 and p0316 pending. I found out that there were a lot of people who had the same problem as me when their escapes reach 90,000 miles or higher, some even worse. People are saying that the issues being caused are a result of ford putting in the wrong spark plugs which is causing the computer chip to burn out leading to misfires in the coil packs. My mechanic just informed me that it will cost $400 to fix two of the coils and there is only a 50/50 chance that it will fix the problem (for now). He said it will probably happen again but there is no telling how long that might be, it might be right away, a week from now, or a year. Will all these people having the same issue with no way to tell if it is actually going to fix the problem there should be a recall or at least a warning to owners saying what may happen once the car gets over 100,000 miles.