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2005 Ford Escape electrical complaints

Page 4 of 6: complaints 71 to 100 of 153, newest first, as owners wrote them.

See the summary of 2005 Ford Escape electrical problems: which part fails, at what mileage and related recalls.

Filed Jul 19, 2013 · Electrical, Engine · 90,150 miles · MA

Within 1/4 mile of starting and driving from home, the engine began to run very rough, misfiring, idling rough, etc. Pulled over, opened hood, engine was idling very rough. No check engine light. Brought it back home. Total trip was less than 1 mile. Next day, started it up again, ran smoother, but had no power; very difficult to get above 20-30mph. Brought it to repair shop. They determined that all three catalytic converters were clogged up from broken/melted catalytic converter internal parts. Replaced all three catalytic converters, but repair shop could not determine the cause of the initial misfiring and catalytic converter damage. Check engine light never came on at any time. Total repair cost $2350.00. Car had been in the same shop earlier that week for state inspection and lube-oil-filter. No issues found at that time. Battery had failed two days before the problem, and was replaced the morning of the problem. The issue appeared upon first driving the car after the battery was changed.

Filed Jun 10, 2013 · Electrical, Engine · 100,000 miles · WI

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford escape. The contact stated that while driving 45 MPH, the engine began to operate roughly. The vehicle was taken to a certified mechanic for inspection where they stated that the computer needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 100,000. The VIN was unavailable.

Filed Apr 3, 2013 · Electrical · WI

Cpsc: i1330416a. 2005 ford escape. Consumer stated the computer on the truck has gone bad twice in less than a month.

Filed Mar 22, 2013 · Acceleration, Electrical · 130,000 miles · VA

It was two days after I got the car, I was driving home from manassas to fairfax, all of a sudden the engine light came on the truck started to sputter and I lost acceleration in my truck. I was on 495 at night and the dash board stated that the car would shut down so that the engine would not over heat. I had to call a tow truck to pep boys in annandale, va and they fixed the problem. But, I still have acceleration problems after it was fixed. I will take it back to pepboys to find out if it is the same problem.

Filed Mar 19, 2013 · Electrical · 72,000 miles · IL

Tl- the contact owns a 2005 ford escape. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle stalled with the illumination of the ignition interlock warning light. The vehicle suddenly restarted independently. The failure recurred intermittently as the contact was driving at various speeds. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 72,000. Kmj

Filed Mar 4, 2013 · Electrical, Engine · 73,000 miles · PA

While driving the car completely went dead. Everything turned off. Had to drift to side of the road. Technician told me it was a PCM problem and needs to replace, coils, plugs and PCM.

Filed Feb 27, 2013 · Electrical, Engine · 155,000 miles · KS

This is being resubmitted, since I believe the reevaluation of the 09 and newer ford escapes is the same problem that has been occurring with the earlier year ford escapes, but has not received review. A defective PCM which causes complete auto shutdown, burning out the coils, etc. Has documented complaints all over the internet in car complaint and buying sites for this vehicle. The PCM is defective on the escape and when it stops functioning all power is lost, and this occurs without warning leaving one without brakes, power steering, etc. This has been a known problem with ford and yet ford refuses to correct the problem and the bill is in the neighborhood of $2500-3000 to be shouldered by the customer. Malfunction, however, has more ominous sequelae than monetary cost, in that it may cost lives from crashes. Ford should recall these vehicles to repair the causation, but obviously ford needs pressure from the public and in particular the federal safety agency !

Filed Feb 27, 2013 · Electrical · 95,000 miles · MO

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 50 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to restart the vehicle on the shoulder of the road. The failure continued intermittently. The vehicle was towed to the dealer for diagnostics. The vehicle was repaired. The contact was not aware of the repairs performed. The approximate failure mileage was 95,000.

Filed Feb 17, 2013 · Electrical · 98,562 miles · HI

I am just glad that when the car died, I was just pulling into a parking garage. All I could think of was what could have happened if I was going the 55 MPH speed limit minutes earlier. Very heavy braking, manual steering. I think ford wants someone to die in a few crashes before they will come out with a recall. I had to wait 2 weeks for a re-manufactured computer as they were heavily back-ordered. This indicates that a lot more people than just 32 or so have had this problem. I had to pay for 3 weeks or car rentals and only got to pay what I did because of family ties to the ford dealer. It would have been over $2800 dollars if parts and labor were charged retail. Ford knew there were problems by issuing two tbs, yet they preferred to let us pay for their error. I found out that ford may repair it if it had less than 80,000 miles and less than 8 years old. How many people need to be in accidents before this vehicle is recalled?

Filed Jan 22, 2013 · Electrical, Transmission · 85,013 miles · PA

Was driving my car at 45 miles per hour the car began to sputter and came to very quick halt in the middle of traffic. I had the car towed to my local garage, it was hooked up to a computer diagnostic tool. The trouble codes came up p0351, p0352, p0353, p0354 which I'm being told it will cost me $ 750.00 to replace all 6 coils, $1100.00 to replace the PCM module and I will need 6 new spark plugs. These prices don't include labor or diagnostic costs either. In doing some investigation this is a known issue with ford motor company and the emission warranty only covers you for 8 years/80,000 miles. Not sure what a PCM module is or what coils do. Thank you ford motor company for installing faulty parts in my motor when they built it in 2005. Now this is my problem and at my expense...... Ford sent out a tbs regarding the wrong plugs were installed which leads to this issue. Tsb 09-2-6 and tsb 10-18-10 is evidence enough they new there was clearly an issue with the factory installed spark plugs causing rfi damage to the cop's and subsequently the ECM. It appears they were betting that most vehicles would have issues outside the 80,000 mile federal warranty.

Filed Jan 9, 2013 · Acceleration, Electrical · 115,000 miles · PA

While traveling northbound on interstate 476 car suddenly lost power and would refuse to accelerate over 10 MPH. Luckily it was early on a sunday morning, and not high-traffic time, we successfully pulled the car over to the shoulder. Our mechanic has been working on and researching the issue. Turns out ford is aware and has issued a "service bulletin" that the computer is faulty, and affects the catalytic converters, spark plugs, and coils. A quick search on car complaints told us we were not the only ones, and it appears to be a time rather than mileage failure. While most are complaining about the minimum $2,000 fix, we are thankful it did not cause harm to us or anyone else. How many 2005 ford escapes are on the roads these days?

Filed Jan 2, 2013 · Electrical, Engine · 160,000 miles · KS

After luckily just exiting interstate 70, but entering highway 40 my vehicle completely died with all electrical functions inoperative (obviously including power brakes, steering, etc). This occurred on an upgrade with a city bus directly behind me which was forced to swerve into the adjacent lane. Auto would not restart and it was towed to a neighboring ford dealership. There was absolutely no warning of a check engine light etc. At the dealership I was informed that an "electrical engine module" had burned out which also completely fried all the engine coils. (a complete electrical tune-up,etc. Had been performed about a year earlier). I was also informed that the diagnosis was possible because of a ford internal memo indicating what could happen if the module malfunctioned. The good news is that I had just exited an interstate, but this could have been disastrous and it seems that ford was aware of the possibility of this problem. The cost now to fix the problem is $2600 and I have no assurance that this couldn't happen again with more severe squealed.

Filed Jan 2, 2013 · Electrical, Engine · 45,000 miles · CA

I own a ford escape 2005 four door 4wd that has been every 2-3 years in the shop for coils and computer damage. Ford has a problem with these cars and the problem is that last friday I was driving on a main road when all of a sudden my car just died while I am driving in a 50 mile zoned road. Luckily, I was able to quickly maneuver the vehicle to a safe spot. I was informed that it will cost $2700 to replace the computer that was shorted out due to the coils going bad - I had the coils changed two times since 2007 ford knows about this problem ford srb 09.2.6 and tsb 09-2-6 ignition coil problem that so many others are having with this car - the car stalls always when driving 50 or more on a main road or highway and it is very dangerous to all of a sudden lose power on a highway at high speeds and not being able to even move the steering wheel to glide your car safely to the side of the road due to the steering locking up because the car dies totally. The computer codes that show up are p0351 -p0354 and some other ones that I didn't write down when I was talking to the thompsons mechanic. I cant believe that this year and model wasn't recalled - according to thompsons, there is a back order for the computer module for this car, two weeks minimum due to so many escapes 2005 needing this same computer because it was shorted out prematurely and unsafely. It never happens when you drive less than 50 so this is strange and very dangerous.I would like ford to repay us the damages and costs that us customers, have dished out recurring every 2-3 years. Coils should not have to be replaced that many times nor should the plugs and absolutely not the computer. Please look into this and make ford do a recall and retroactive since they already have so many complaints about this same problem but they don't want to or refuse to do a mass recall.

Filed Dec 4, 2012 · Driver assistance, Electrical · 123,000 miles · MS

I was driving on the interstate at 70mph at night when my 2005 ford escape started jumping and then completely lost power with no warning. I immediately pushed the flasher button and coasted off of the interstate, I was able to crank the vehicle back up and get to the nearest exit and call for help. The repair shop found the # 4 ignition coil had burned up. Thank god there was not an 18 wheeler knocking on my back door, would not be here to complain and no one would have ever figured out what happened.

Filed Nov 18, 2012 · Electrical, Engine · 75,000 miles · CA

Prior to the incident in question the car had a few days of abnormal behavior including hesitation and rough idle. The incident occurred on christmas eve while I was driving down a two lane highway. While traveling 50 MPH the car lost power and although I was terribly scared, I managed to get off the highway safely. I was told that the computer failed (PCM) which is very expensive to fix hence the reason it has been almost a year. I am a retired widow raising my 12 year old granddaughter feeling stuck between a rock and a hard place; not able to afford the repairs and unable to do things without a car. I see that many many others have had this same issue, please help ford face their neglect with regard to this issue. Thank you

Filed Nov 16, 2012 · Electrical, Engine · 131,000 miles · VA

On way home, car shut off while going 35 MPH. Coils started to smoke. Towed to nearest dealer and was told all coils, plugs and powertrain module needs to be replaced at $2500. Researched legitimate websites and found many owners with same problem that had fixed more than once at $2500. Was told by dealer that the federal safety agency only recalls for safety & emissions. This is clearly a safety issue, especially if going a high speed on interstate and car shuts off without warning. Thankfully my kids were not in car.

Filed Nov 9, 2012 · Driver assistance, Electrical · 108,000 miles · VA

While driving 45mph the car just cut off is a high traffic area. The car behind me had to swerve to miss rear-ending me! I had my 3 year old daughter w/ me at the time! Our mechanic has informed us that apparently ford motor company is aware that bad plugs were installed in these cars and would cause computer failure! Nothing was told to us regarding this issue when we purchased the car! When emailed fmc they informed me that this is not a safety issue & a recall is not required. How can this not be a safety issue when the car completely dies w/out warning???

Filed Nov 7, 2012 · Electrical · 65,000 miles · PA

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford escape. While driving at approximately 55 MPH the contact stated the theft warning light illuminated and the vehicle began to decelerate. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and did not offer any assistance since the vehicle was not included in any recalls. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure and current mileage was 65,000.

Filed Nov 7, 2012 · Acceleration, Electrical · 65,000 miles · PA

Driving down highway at aprox. 55 MPH. Theft light came on in vehicle and vehicle quickly decelerated. From the research that I gathered, this is a known problem to ford. Faulty spark plugs were installed in some 2005 escapes. The spark plugs emit a radio frequency that cause the coils to basically fry your computer. Ford has released a bulletin about this (tsb 09-2-6) but refuses to issue a recall. This is a huge safety issue, as decelerating on a major highway without brake lights has the potential to cause a terrible accident. Contacted ford's corporate office and was offered no assistance. I would like to have my spark plugs at least checked at no charge. The cost, for only checking the spark plugs to see if they are the ones affected is $90. I believe that this should be a recall. Ford is well aware of the problem but refuses to take any steps to fix this.

Filed Oct 25, 2012 · Electrical, Engine · 131,000 miles · NC

My daughter was driving our 2005 ford escape on the highway at 55 MPH when it completely cut off on her. Luckily she was able to get to the side of the highway without incident. She got the car back on and made it home, however, it was jerking and misfiring all the way home. We took it to a mechanic who said it needed spark plugs and 2 coils to the tune of $700.00. When we went to pick it up we were told that the computer was shot and that we had to take it to the ford dealership. The ford place is replacing all 6 coils and the computer for $2300.00. Apparently there is a known problem with ford installing the wrong spark plugs in these models at the factory causing the coils and the computer to go out. I don't understand why ford has not recalled this problem. Going down a highway at 55 MPH and you car cuts off is a safety issue in my eyes!!

Filed Oct 18, 2012 · Electrical, Engine · 110,000 miles · PA

I was driving home from work and the car stalls out of nowhere. Then the check engine, oil, and ABS warning lights all lit up. After about 20 min I tried starting up the car again and it started up and slowly made it home. The following day it happen again! Luckily no one was behind me, otherwise I would have been rear ended. Immediately looked online describing the issue to see if I could find out what could be causing this, and come to find out an overwhelming amount of people have experienced the same thing! This is a safety hazard and had I been on a major highway the result could have drastically different. It is appalling that this has been a know issue and ford has done nothing to remedy the safety of it's customers.

Filed Oct 11, 2012 · Driver assistance, Electrical · 104,000 miles · PA

Driving at 55 MPH and car began to lurch and buck. Car shut off 3 times in busy intersection with no warning and almost caused an accident. Took to mechanic, and learned that the computer system had shorted out due to manufacturers using incorrect spark plugs. Apparently, this is a common issue with this year and make. This is a dangerous problem, and can occur anywhere, doing any speed! The computer system must be replaced and it is very expensive.

Filed Aug 26, 2012 · Electrical · 110,000 miles · NC

Driving down the road on my way to work when the car suddenly stalls. The mechanics said there is a tsb tsb 09-2-6 out for this problem. Ford installed bad plugs that short out the coil packs and then fries the computer costing the poor consumer around $2000 dollars giving codes po351-po354. I was a ford person for life but not anymore they should do a recall this is bad business.

Filed Aug 12, 2012 · Electrical, Suspension · 106,880 miles · OH

Driving my ford escape 2005, 35mph, heard a thump/bang then very loud rattling from the back of the vehicle. Arrived home, found that the right rear shock, shock mount, and a dinner-plate-sized chunk of wheel well had punched up into the back of the vehicle. Opened the liftgate, saw the shock mount flopping around inside the car and a dangling cluster of wires that had been shredded by the jagged metal. Entire right side of the rear compartment had been shoved up 10cm. Husband was shocked, sure I must have hit something, but I had not. Right rear wheel well had completely rusted out underneath the undercoating. Could not see the rust from the outside, so did not know it was happening. Checked left rear wheel well, saw no rust, but undercoating lifts right off to reveal terrible rust underneath as well. Vehicle is not safe to drive, no shock, water and road debris would fly right up into the car through the huge hole. This kind of damage is incredible. Estimate for repair from dealership (brondes ford, toledo) was $5752.34. Certainly can not afford that. Researched online for repair alternatives and found dozens of other people with the same type of damage to the same vehicle make and model. Reported the damage to ford customer relationship hotline, was informed that no recall has been issued for this vehicle, and that they were unaware that this was a common, frequent, or widespread problem. They did not consider it a defect. This is extremely dangerous. My children were afraid we were going crash. Easily could have lost control if this had happened while turning a corner, merging into traffic, driving 65mph on the highway, etc. I am certain, however, that once ford motor company realizes the potential harm this defect can cause to life and property, they will be determined to do right by their loyal customers.

Filed Jul 29, 2012 · Electrical, Engine · 141,300 miles · FL

Was on an access road onto interstate 4 in tampa, car completely shut down and I was able to barely steer it to the side of the road, since it was a large overpass I had more than typical room to get the car stopped. Later I was told by the ford dealership that coils were damaged and PCM computer went out. I checked carcomplaints.com and I found numerous complaints for this same issue with cost to fix it from $1300 to $2700. Evidently ford is aware of this total engine shut down problem that is caused by a computer failure. In most cases people are driving the car and it completely stalls with little or no warning and minimal maneuverability. I was fortunate it happened on the overpass and not on the busy interstate.

Filed Jul 25, 2012 · Electrical · 100,000 miles · TX

My escape began missing and then died at 65mph, narrowly avoided accident. Towed to dealership: bad coils, bad computer. Dealership replaced these items. Problem quickly returned. This time more bad coils. (some bad coils are same ones they just replaced). Dealership replaced sparkplugs this time. Problem returned the next day. Dealership has had vehicle a week and a half this time and has no clue how to repair.

Filed Jul 23, 2012 · Electrical, Engine · 130,000 miles · FL

While driving at approximately 40 MPH, the car shook and died. I pulled into the turn lane and some helpful people assisted me in pushing my car to the nearest parking lot. I had my car towed to the mechanic that told me that I needed to have my engine coils and plugs replaced and that ford had put out a bulletin explaining this problem. After they fixed that, I learned that I also had to have the computer replaced because the engine coils and plugs caused a problem with the computer. I decided to search the internet to see if anyone else was having the same problem. I found many websites and forums explaining the very same problem occurring in other 2005 ford escapes. It seems that if this many people are having the same exact problem (enough for ford to put out a bulletin explaining how to fix it), then ford should take steps to rectify the situation. From the information I have found, there is a manufacturing defect that does not show up until well after the warranty is no longer good. This is a problem that is occurring to many people who have the exact same car and ford should do more than explain how to fix it. A recall is necessary because the problem is the caused by faulty manufacturing.

Filed Jul 11, 2012 · Electrical, Engine · 94,587 miles · AR

We were accelerating to get on the interstate when the vehicle suddenly died without warning. No telling what would have happened if we were driving at freeway speeds. We coasted to the breakdown lane and had the vehicle towed to the ford dealer who stated the computer (PCM), all the coil over plugs (cop) and spark plugs were damaged and needed replacement. This is a known issue as it is described exactly in ford service bulletin tsb 09-2-6. The spark plugs in the 2005 and 2006 cause radio frequency interference with the PCM which damages the PCM and the other components. The least ford could have done was notify us that replacing the spark plugs could have prevented this very expensive repair. The problems don't end there. A few days after the repair we were again accelerating to get on the interstate when the vehicle lost power and would not go over 50mph. We brought the vehicle back to the ford dealer who stated the catalytic converters (there are 3 of them) were clogged due to raw fuel coming in contact with the converters probably due to the previous engine problems. The cost to fix the converters is even more than the cost of the initial repair. We've decided to not have the dealer repair the vehicle as the total cost of all the repairs would exceed the value of the vehicle. We called ford customer service and they were of no help in this situation. I think ford should cover the costs of these repairs for an issue knew existed. I don't understand why there hasn't been a recall for this problem as I see that it has happened to a lot of other 2005 escapes listed in your database. I imagine we will more of these failures as these vehicles age.

Filed Jun 20, 2012 · Electrical, Engine · 151,000 miles · NY

While driving down the road car just quit towed to dealership only to find out the computer shorted out which also destroyed all the coils. I just printed out 13 pages of this having happened to other escape owners and that a ford service bulletin (09-2-6) was at one time issued--- this will cost a ton of money to correct for a problem ford has known about for some time. When mine quit I had smoke pouring out from under the hood so there was a potential for a fire and just quitting with no warning-- why has ford not had a recall on this issue for what could have been a life threatening situation?

Filed May 3, 2012 · Electrical, Engine · 97,600 miles · PA

I was on my way to work in the morning on a busy highway. Just got into the passing lane and the whole thing died right there in the passing lane. Thank god no one was very close to me and that there was a policeman coming down the mountain and saw me. He pulled behind me to block the lane. This was a very unsafe situation. If someone would have been close in back of me, they would have ass-ended me or would have had to quickly get in another lane or oncoming traffic. I had to have the vehicle towed to the garage. Replaced the spark plugs, all 6 coils and the computer was fried. After a bit of research online, I saw that there are many complaints about this unsafe issue with the 2005 escape. Some suddenly stopping on the interstate. From what I have read, it is due to the spark plugs ford installed in the 2005 escape. Not understanding why there is no recall. This is a very unsafe situation, that ford can stop by putting out a recall. Would they rather have a law suite when someone loses their life due to their negligence that can be prevented. This was a quite an expensive bill that I had to pay which could have been prevented if ford would have issued a recall. I will think twice before buying another ford.

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