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2008 Ford Escape electrical complaints

Page 4 of 6: complaints 71 to 100 of 136, newest first, as owners wrote them.

See the summary of 2008 Ford Escape electrical problems: which part fails, at what mileage and related recalls.

Filed Jul 23, 2015 · Electrical · 150,000 miles · OR

I think my vehicle has some kind of electrical short. After I take the key out sometimes the car will start by itself and today the locks started locking unlocking by themselves. I was in the vehicle and it was running. Also the back windshield motor cover fell off and no longer works. I can no longer lock my back window and it opens and shuts the whole time I am driving. Such a disappointment. My last ford escape I had 10 years and racked up over 250,000 miles - that car was a dream. This used 2008 I bought seems to be a lemon :

Filed Jun 2, 2015 · Electrical · 72,000 miles · OK

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 ford escape. While the vehicle was parked, the vehicle would not start after multiple attempts. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed as a flinge that connects to the ignition switch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The VIN was unavailable. The approximate failure mileage was 72,000.

Filed Apr 26, 2015 · Electrical · 1,575 miles · GA

This problem started about 2013 my car ignition was not starting the car I have to press in then turn so that my car can start this was getting so aggravating so I took it to a shop and they switched out the ignition switch and that did not last long. I am now dealing with this issue again and it is expensive. I am so tired of my car not starting when I turn the key. I had to get my car towed because of it and I sometimes get stuck after shopping or at work and I have to keep turning the key until it start. I believe this has something to do with the recall I had last year on my car I hope that ford look into this issue I believe it is something going on deeper than the switch and ford need to fix it. I need help with this issue.

Filed Feb 12, 2015 · Electrical, Steering · 66,000 miles · MO

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 ford escape. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency campaign number:14v284000 (steering); however, the dealer diagnosed that there was nothing was wrong with the vehicle and stated that the recall was closed. The contact stated that after the recall was closed, the vehicle had to be jumpstarted and the steering wheel seized. The failure occurred multiple times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the battery would fail after three days and that the power steering control module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 66,000.

Filed Feb 3, 2015 · Electrical · 78,000 miles · TX

Key is difficult to turn in ignition. You have to push and turn really hard. Been ongoing for over a year. Every time I have my car serviced, I have to help the mechanics and I'm a woman. Ford dealership said the ignition switch and lock need replacing. $220 for parts with $734 as the total estimate with labor. It's getting harder to start which can be scary if I get stranded. I've never had this problem with a car. I've read at least 30 of the same complaints on the internet. Where is the recall,?

Filed Jan 29, 2015 · Electrical · 124,000 miles · KY

2008 ford escape faulty ignition in order to start the car the key must be pressed hard into the ignition while turning otherwise the car won't start.it has been getting worse and I feel there should be a recall so it can be fixed.

Filed Dec 5, 2014 · Electrical · 142,359 miles · MI

Vehicle will not start ,had to be towed to dealer to be fixed costing over $300.00 and on 12/01/2014 it happened again and was towed in to be fixed again costing over $700.00 and the service manager just laughed and said that happens alot and at leased the fords won't shut off like gm ,they just don't start. There should be a recall on ford's ignitions too.

Filed Nov 22, 2014 · Electrical · 56,000 miles · MO

The ignition switch moves in it's housing. Making the driver have to crack the wheel back and forth and/ or turn the key very hard to get it to start. Sometimes getting it started is nearly impossible. This part is faulty. There should be recall on this ignition switch. I have been doing some research online about this problem and am not the only one to encounter this issue with the 2008 ford escape. It is not a part that should fail after only 6 years on the road.

Filed Nov 17, 2014 · Electrical, Transmission · CO

My wrench light came on, feels like I have no power. It will only go about 20 MPH, RPM's go high and then all of a sudden it will kick in and start driving normal.

Filed Nov 14, 2014 · Acceleration, Electrical · 92,000 miles · WA

Throttle body actuator system failure. Surging, unnecessary revving at low speeds. Inconsistent acceleration and gear change. Trouble code "p2112 throttle actuator system stuck".

Filed Nov 13, 2014 · Acceleration, Electrical · 155,900 miles · NY

Driving down the road the power cut out to the vehicle, and the throttle stopped responding, the engine continued to run but very labored. At the same time the wrench light lit up on the dash. Using the forward momentum I was able to pull the vehicle over, where it stalled. I was able to re-tart the engine where it ran labored again, and stalled out, the throttle was not responsive during this time at all. After approximately 10 re-starts with the last coming after the vehicle sat awhile, I was able to re-start it and drive it normal. Throttle response returned, and the wrench light was off. This issue occurred for my wife again on 11/12 with a similar result.

Filed Oct 17, 2014 · Acceleration, Electrical · PA

As I was exiting a ramp, the car stopped accelerating completely. .forcing me to pull over, as I continue on it does not accelerate when gas is pushed completely down. Wrench light came on but leaves when car is off. Driving aprox. 3 blocks before wrench light comes on again...

Filed Sep 23, 2014 · Electrical, Steering · 99,812 miles · OH

I was driving my car when a light came on the dashboard. It stated power steering assist default. My steering was ok at the time. The power steering stopped working by the time I got to my street. I struggled to turn the wheel onto my street and into my driveway. I took my car to a ford dealership and they replaced the torque sensor. I checked on the internet and found that this was a recall in may, 2014. The recall was stopped. I did not receive a notice about this. The recall stated that the power steering will go out around 100,000 miles and the torque sensor would have to be replaced. I was lucky that I was not on the freeway or going very fast when the power steering went out.

Filed Aug 4, 2014 · Electrical · 93,000 miles · CA

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 ford escape. The contact stated that the power steering failed without warning. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing. The mechanic stated that the ignition switch and ignition cylinder needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was repaired but the failure persisted. The failure mileage was 93,000.

Filed Jul 27, 2014 · Driver assistance, Electrical · 60,000 miles · FL

I am having trouble with my 2008 ford escape the ignition switch won't start my car. Since about 6 months ago I have to keep pushing my key in further and further to try to get my car to start. Sometimes it take 10-15 min before I can actually get it started. Reading comments about the car this is a major issue and there should be a recall done.

Filed Jul 24, 2014 · Electrical · GA

When trying to start the ignition, it sometimes will not start. I have to push in with the key and try this several times before it will crank.if I need to be in a hurry,I can't,because it takes about 10 minutes to get crank..

Filed Jun 13, 2014 · Electrical, Steering · 165,000 miles · FL

For almost a year, to start my car I had to push key in very firmly, then turn. For about one month now, I have to push in, then jiggle in and out until it connects and starts car. Sometimes it takes 5 minutes to find the connection. I don't know if this is related to the problem of having no power steering (power steering comes and goes - usually none) which I understand is also an electrical problem.

Filed May 27, 2014 · Electrical, Transmission · NY

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 ford escape. The contact stated that once the vehicle was turned off it could not be restarted. The radio also failed and the vehicle exhibited a reduction in power. The failure recurred on 5 different occasions. The vehicle was towed and the transmission, alternator, front axle and battery were all repaired however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure and current mileage was unknown. The VIN was not provided.

Filed Apr 28, 2014 · Acceleration, Electrical · 106,000 miles · WA

While turning the wheels the ABS light blinks on and off and the car seemed to be slowly losing power. When wheels were straightened again it ran as normal. This happened three times on the drive home from the grocery store, each time when I was turning, the electrical panel was dimming and the gas pedal lost ability to propel car.

Filed Apr 10, 2014 · Electrical, Steering · 152,100 miles · ME

At first the power steering didnot work upon starting car, restarted and it worked. As time went on this got worse, having to restart several times and now once power steering works it will go off anytime even just driving straight on the highway. Also when power steering is working the steering wheel shakes. This should be a recall as there have been so many complaints that ford has offered a torque sensor kit instead of having to replace the whole steering column.

Filed Apr 5, 2014 · Acceleration, Electrical · 49,000 miles · WI

I own a 2008 ford escape xlt , v6 3.0 engine. At about 49,000 miles, it started having acceleration issues . This has been an on going problem, but never trips any service lights. I go down the drive way pretty good, but when I get on the highway, I have to hammer on the gas pedal to get it to go and the rpms go way up. The ford dealers can't find anything wrong with it. We know that it's fuel related and have cleaned the throttle body and several sensors. It helped for a short time, several thousand dollars later. But its right back to stalling out. I've never received any recall notices at all. This vehicle is a coffin on wheels ! P.s. This is in regard to the electrical throttle body.

Filed Apr 4, 2014 · Electrical, Steering · 110,000 miles · NC

I was driving down the street and my power steering stopped working for the third time in a month causing me to run off the road because I couldn't make the next turn. If I pull over, turn off the car, and restart then it works fine. If I was going any faster, this could have been fatal.

Filed Apr 1, 2014 · Electrical, Steering · 79,000 miles · UT

When I start the ignition en various occasions I don't have power steering I have to turn the ignition on and off multiple times until I regain power steering. While I'm driving my steering wheel starts trembling and shaking. When that occurs and I come to a stop I loose my power steering. I have to turn the ignition on and off multiple times until I regain power steering.

Filed Mar 24, 2014 · Brakes, Electrical · 108,000 miles · PA

For the last couple of days, whenever I put my car in reverse and begin to back up, I lose my steering ability. The only way I can get my steering wheel to work again is if I turn my car off and then turn it back on again. Well, today, it happened again, but this time I tried multiple times to turn my car off and turn it back on and my power steering would not kick back in. I have read through many complaints on here as well as other sites and see that a lot of people are having the same issue with their 2008 escape. I have seen that it can cost over $1400 to get it fixed!! I do not have that kind of money right now!! The fact that there was no warning light to tell me that something in the power steering was going is ridiculous!! In the past 2 years I have had to replace the transmission, get a new battery, get brakes, tires,new gas tank, new sensor for the heating control, and the list continues. This car is only 6 years old and just past 100,000 miles!!! I should not have had to replace all these things already!! I am not about to put another $1400+ in this vehicle especially since it seems to be an ongoing problem with many other escapes. Time to do a recall people or you can gladly take this car back!!

Filed Mar 19, 2014 · Driver assistance, Electrical · 166,395 miles · NC

When I was driving and then going to make a turn the car gas and steering shut down and the car would not move any longer. The steering wheel also got stuck in the process of turning and. The gas peddle also have been getting stuck before this incident it has been going on for at least 3yrs 2011 until 2014 the present we have gone to check it put no diagnosis was done to let us know the steering column system was out until this year when the car went out completely. This is not an acceptable problem and I should not have to pay to get it repaired.

Filed Mar 13, 2014 · Electrical · 92,000 miles · CA

The fan switch and relay box has a electrical melt down according to the service advisor at the ford dealer. The fan switch was replaced once before. The last time it cost me about $250.00 with extended warranty. Now the warranty has expired and will cost me about $1000.00 to replace. I feel ford did a patch job during the extended warranty and it was never correctly fixed. I checked one website and there was 923 complaints about the faulty fan switch. This is a potential fire hazard and ford needs to recall and replace the defective fan switch and relay box on the 2008 ford escape.

Filed Mar 12, 2014 · Electrical, Steering · 80,000 miles · MI

I was heading to work one morning, and I started the car up and didn't have power steering. I shut the car off, and the steering came back. (at the beginning, shutting the car off would fix the problem right way.) I pulled out of my driveway and drove down the road with the steering wheel shaking. There was also a quiet grinding noise coming from the steering column. As the car slowed down (at stop lights etc.), the steering wheel shook more and the noise grew a little louder. As the days went on (3-4 days later), the shaking and noise got worse until it was an uncontrollable, constant shaking of the steering wheel and the noise became so loud and horrid that I thought the car might break down. Within that week, as I started my car, the power steering went out about a total of 10 times, and I had to shut off the car and restart it. Unlike at the beginning, by the end of the week, I had to shut my car off 4-5 times before the steering would come back. The last day of driving the car, the steering wheel was so loose that it was hard to control on the back roads/highways/freeways and over pot holes. At one point, I made a right hand turn, and I almost thought I was not going to be able to bring the steering wheel/car back. Thankfully, I (and no one else) has died from this manufacturer defect in the 2008 ford escapes, but is that what it is going to take in order for something to be done?

Filed Mar 9, 2014 · Electrical, Steering · 197,000 miles · NJ

Steering wheel started to shake from side to side then lost power to steering wheel like it went from easy to very hard to steer. Turned car off the restarted and it was ok. Now it happens all the time. When I start car up no power, while I'm driving and I loss power.

Filed Feb 26, 2014 · Electrical, Steering · 141,000 miles · IL

Power steering works intermittently steering wheel has a slight twitch most definitely a safety hazard when it just randomly stops seems to be a common issue among ford escapes.

Filed Feb 16, 2014 · Electrical, Lights · 36,178 miles · TN

When I started my vehicle, a warning light in the shape of a wrench stayed on. I look in the manual and this said powertrain. Upon further checking, I found this is a problem in these escapes. When I stop at the railroad track or at a red light, the vehicle will surge forward when I take off. The shifting is rough at times. I also just had to have the dome light in the vehicle replaced. This, too, I was told was a common problem. The lights would not work when I opened the door and also the dash lights would go off and on. This was a 103.88 repair job and the dome light, after being replaced, is loose and does not fit properly. When this having to be replaced frequently, I would think there would be a replacement light that fit the roof correctly.

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