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2009 Ford Escape acceleration complaints

Page 3 of 10: complaints 41 to 70 of 279, newest first, as owners wrote them.

See the summary of 2009 Ford Escape acceleration problems: which part fails, at what mileage and related recalls.

Filed Aug 4, 2014 · Acceleration · 50,000 miles · MI

Tl* the contact owns a 2009 ford escape. The contact stated that while the brakes were applied, the vehicle accelerated independently without warning. The failure recurred on multiple occasions. The vehicle was taken to a dealer but the vehicle was unable to be diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 50,000.

Filed Jun 24, 2014 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · 90,000 miles · NC

My family were returning from vacation when the car decelerated with no warning. We were on the interstate and we were inches from being rear ended by the upcoming traffic. I have been told the issue is with the throttle body and that it is not being recalled because you can still drive it. How about you tell that to my terrified girls (ages 6 and under) that it is safe to have cars and trucks flying past you at 70 MPH and you can't accelerate to move out of the way quick enough. A month later, the same thing happened to my wife returning from work. That's twice in 2 months. We have only the one car and have not been on vacation for fear of the car decelerating. I guess instead of being in the business of preventing accidents, people have to die first before anything will be done to protect consumers.

Filed Jun 17, 2014 · Acceleration, Fuel system · 92,000 miles · MD

While driving down the road at 45 MPH the car lost power and began to coast to a stop even with the gas peddle to the floor.

Filed Jun 17, 2014 · Acceleration, Engine · 45,000 miles · FL

Was accelerating when the vehicle seemed to shut off. Vehicle restarted and about a month later did it again pulling away from an intersection. Dealer confirmed it was a faulty throttle body and charged 100 dollars to fix.

Filed Jun 3, 2014 · Acceleration, Fuel system · 60,100 miles · KS

Was driving then felt "back fire" then the wrench light and check engine light came on and I couldn't accelerate at all. Never lost control just hit brakes to turn on road and pull over. Turned off car and restarted it and revved the engine. Went another mile and it did the same thing again. Took it to a local mechanic to have it checked out because I thought maybe I had gotten bad gas but was told it was the throttle body. Taking it too dealership friday june 6th.

Filed May 30, 2014 · Acceleration, Steering · MI

Seems to accelerate unpredictably when turning. No incidents yet, but concerning. Also, my mechanic says the steering motor is leaking. My ford was made in missouri. I do not know if this related to the recall of escapes made in kansas.

Filed May 27, 2014 · Acceleration, Engine · 58,000 miles · KY

Had car set on cruise control, felt a pop or a snap under car, looked down and cruise went off and I was coasting, I had my foot in the gas and the RPM's were at 1000, gas was not revving and the RPM's didn't move, coasted to side of road. The engine sputtered as if it was going to shut off, but it didn't. I shut the car off and restarted it and it was fine, until 3 days later when it happened again. Have taken it to a ford dealer 3 times and they claim that it is not tripping a code and that they can't replace the throttle body until they have a code. I don't know what else to do, I have been driving a loaner car since last friday and they still haven't been able to recreate the incident.

Filed May 23, 2014 · Acceleration, Transmission · 120,000 miles · OH

1st time driving down street wrench light came on, truck lost power. Had truck towed through research new it was throttle body. Two days later truck started, while driving on highway wrench light came on lost power again .truck stopped working in a construction zone. Took truck directly to ford service. They were closed. They looked at truck next day. I had a complete tune up at a different repair shop at 100,000.00. Had all fluids changed and spark plugs. Ford service called, and told me it needed all that done, that it was not throttle body. After I told them I already had all that done, they stuttered and said they would call me back. They called back said it probably was throttle body and gave me a large estimate. I chose to pick up truck. Paid $128.00. Received letter you wrote about from ford regarding throttle body. Called ford. They said they will only replace it if the code shows up when I bring it in, if it doesn't I will have to pay out of pocket. I am upset because I already brought it in with that exact problem. Please advise what I should do now. Thank you.

Filed May 13, 2014 · Acceleration · 66,000 miles · LA

The throttle body became stuck during travel on a busy highway. My car lost all power to accelerate until car could be stopped and the ignition killed.

Filed Apr 23, 2014 · Acceleration, Engine · 123,250 miles · TX

For the past 2 months my 2009 ford escape xlt has been jumping and shifting roughly, I thought it was transmission related despite that I flushed my transmission a little over 1 year ago. On 04/24/14 I was driving 60 MPH cruise control on the highway and the cruise control cut off and my 2009 ford escape xlt began to lose speed, I notice when the 18-wheeler behind me was approaching my bumper rapidly, nearly rear ended me - had to coast 2 lanes over to get to on coming exit to avoid rear ending due to heavy traffic. My SUV would not re-start until the throttle control/powertrain light cut off however the engine light remains on. I had to coast lanes of a busy highway with 8 am traffic to the exit ramp and stopped in the middle of the street and was stranded until my SUV started again.

Filed Mar 23, 2014 · Acceleration, Brakes · 69,500 miles · PA · crash

While coming to a stop at a major intersection with a car in front of me, my 2009 ford escape suddenly accelerated and would not stop, despite my frantic efforts to brake the car; I swerved to my right, went through 6 inches of snow on grass curb and then went up a 5 ft. Ice bank, where my wheels jammed in the ice and I stopped, sitting at nearly a 45 degree angle, 5 ft. Above the road. My front bumper was mangled in the ice bank and my passenger-side mirror was broken off by a stop sign. If not for the snow bank, I would have continued into the very busy intersection, where I and other drivers would have undoubtedly been injured or killed. I want to emphasize that despite hitting the brake, the car with unintended acceleration problem, did not stop, it kept going until hitting the snow-ice bank.

Filed Mar 21, 2014 · Acceleration, Engine · 18,000 miles · CA

I first purchased this vehicle in sep 2010. The problem was when I was stopped or made a turn coasting slowly, when I attempted to accelerate the engine did not kick in for a second or two. When it did it jerked hard and felt like it slammed into gear. The dealer could never id the problem and put it off as normal. Then very recently I have had the vehicle not respond to the gas pedal. It keeps the RPM's at an idling level but does not respond to the accelerator pedal-like you put it in neutral. This has happened twice now. When I shut the engine off and restart it appears to self correct. This happens while I'm driving slowly once and again when I was at a stop and tried to accelerate. I have not yet taken to a dealer yet.

Filed Mar 4, 2014 · Acceleration, Fuel system · 62,000 miles · NC

Car lost power. Pulled off to side of road, engine would idle only. Throttle body had gone bad.

Filed Jan 31, 2014 · Acceleration, Electrical · 43,000 miles · HI

Accelerating from a traffic stop. Taking a right turn, car rumbled and could not accelerate. Car went from 5mph and drop down to 3mph, the wrench light went on. Stopped at side of road and engine still running. Drove a little more and engine still rumbling and would not accelerate.

Filed Dec 29, 2013 · Acceleration, Engine · 71,000 miles · IL

As I tried to accelerate the vehicle went into a limp mode. I had no response from the accelerator pedal. The vehicle would move forward at a idle speed. Yellow wrench light came on. After engine was turned off and restarted vehicle ran as normal for a few days and it happened again.

Filed Dec 20, 2013 · Acceleration, Transmission · 59,000 miles · TN

Headed to work on the interstate driving 70mph and the vehicle goes limp gas peddle does nothing lose all power. Had to get over and avoid 18-wheelers and shift off the vehicle. Turned it off and it's fine for 5 miles or 5 days.

Filed Dec 19, 2013 · Acceleration, Engine · 56,000 miles · PA

I was driving on a 4 line highway in the passing lane. My car lost power and the gas pedal would not work. I had to pull into the turning lane because a car behind me almost rearended me. Had to have car towed. This is the second time this has happened in a year. Last time the garage had my car for 5 days and could not find anything. My car was towed to a local ford dealership. I had to get a loaner car for the second time in two years. Thank god that I was not in a wreck and could get pulled over onto the brim of a 4 lane dangerous highway. After looking o line last eve and today I found that other people have had the same problem some not as lucky as iam. The garage told me today that it is the electronic throttle body and will cost me 300$ or more. I am hoping that something can be down to prevent other serious accidents or even deaths due to this malfunction.

Filed Dec 4, 2013 · Acceleration, Transmission · 60,637 miles · MA

I was driving down a small highway at about 45mph when suddenly the engine lost its power. I put my foot on the accelerator and absolutely nothing happened (rpms did not increase, speed did not increase) except that the car continued to decelerate. I pulled over to the side of the road and the car started to shake violently. Also the yellow wrench indicator light signaling that there is a power train issue came on. I put the car in park and shut it off for five minutes. When I turned the car back on, the indicator light was off, the car was not shaking, and the accelerator worked fine. I took it straight home, then straight to the ford dealer the next day and was told that I needed to replace my throttle body. Further, I was told that although the throttle body was not normal wear and tear, it was still not covered under my warranty. So I had to pay $500 to fix an issue that I now see is quite common in ford escapes; I am unclear what it will take for a recall to be issued on this potentially very serious problem. I am very grateful that on this particular day I was not on a 4-lane highway as I usually am when traveling.

Filed Dec 4, 2013 · Acceleration, Engine · 77,000 miles · TX

While driving on highway at a speed of around 60mph my truck beeped and signaled a wrench light on the dashboard and my vehicle just stopped and lost speed and I couldn't accelerate to continue to move to a safe area. My vehicle just completed stopped in the middle of the highway while vehicles are coming at the same speed behind me. This has happened several times once entering a ramp on to highway accelerating on to the highway the vehicle just turned off. Also once driving heavy traffic the vehicle just stopped and a vehicle has to brake and swerve to avoid hitting me from behind. Just to know the highway incident was the most horrifying experience for me and my family. We were so shaken up from it thinking a car was going to hit us since they were coming up from behind us at the same rate of speed 60mph when my vehicle just turned off. Please look into this as it can cause a serious an accident resulting in someone or family being critically injured or loss of life. I have been reading all over the internet of the same problems and situation that occur because of this vehicle failure. Please make this a recall from the throttle body I've been reading about on these vehicles. Under affected parts didn't know what to put but have read its the throttle body.

Filed Dec 3, 2013 · Acceleration, Electrical · 59,000 miles · OH · crash

I was stopped waiting at a red light at the top of a very steep hill. The light changed to green and I let my foot off the brake and went to push the gas and my ford escape lost all power and stalled. The battery light and oil light came on as it stalled and I started rolling backwards down the steep hill. I had no ability to steer the car and I also didn't have any brakes, I tried to slam the brakes as we were accelerating more quickly downhill but I had no control. In a matter of seconds my SUV veered off the road and hit a brake wall and at that impact my entire vehicle flies over onto the drivers side and stopped. The side airbags deployed and I was unable to open any doors. A passing car stopped and helped my son and I out of the back hatch.

Filed Dec 2, 2013 · Acceleration, Transmission · 60,000 miles · GA

I own a 2009 ford escape. While traveling at various speeds, the vehicle loses power and the wrench light comes on. Accelerator pedal pushed, but no response. Shut down vehicle and restarted car driven without incident, until it happened again 2 days later.

Filed Dec 1, 2013 · Acceleration, Engine · 39,998 miles · FL

My car lost acceleration in an intersection going about 15 MPH. The engine was running slow and rough. The throttle had no effect on engine speed. After about 10 minutes of rough idling, the vehicle was turned off and I was then able to immediately restart the engine and it was able to drive home. This appears to be a known fault with the ford escape and could result in accidents. My understanding is that this is a known design problem with the throttle control system on the escape.

Filed Nov 27, 2013 · Acceleration · 25,000 miles · OH

Tl* the contact owns a 2009 ford escape. The contact stated that while traveling various speeds, the vehicle erroneously accelerated. The contact also mentioned that the vehicle intermittently stalled. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was found that the throttle body had failed. The vehicle was repaired but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was contacted about the failure. The failure mileage was 25,000.

Filed Nov 17, 2013 · Acceleration, Electrical · 90,000 miles · OH

While driving my 2009 ford escape (v6) home from work, my car lost acceleration. The engine was still running, the lights still worked, radio on, power steering, but I had no acceleration response from the gas pedal. I was able to coast my car onto a side road without incident, and noticed the service light was on before turning my car off (wrench symbol). I waited for a few moments, and tried to restart the car. To my surprise, the car started up immediately, and I was able to drive home without further issue. I took the car to a local auto shop to have the computer checked to see if the error was still in the system, but it was already cleared. Two weeks later, while driving home from a vacation weekend, the car did the same thing, except this time I was driving on the highway at 70mph, three hours from home with my son in the back seat. To say I was rattled would be an understatement. I was able to get to the side of the highway, turn the car off, restart the car and rejoin traffic. Roughly 1 hour later, the same thing happened. I immediately took the car to the nearest ford dealership and dropped the car off for inspection and service. The dealer was able to pinpoint the issue to the electronic throttle body, and determined it needed to be replaced. $375 and 24 hours later the car was fixed. No issues after having the car back in my possession for two weeks. I wanted to issue an official complaint, and express my dissatisfaction with ford motor company for knowing about this safety issue, and dragging their feet on issuance of a recall. The delphi manufactured component was known to be flawed, and had issued a technical service bulletin (tsb) 09-23-5, and re-engineered the component. I am a loyal ford driver, but I fear ford's lack of ethical conduct on this issue may be cause for reconsideration of future purchases.

Filed Nov 16, 2013 · Acceleration, Fuel system · 54,000 miles · MA

Was pulling out of gas station to merge onto busy street, car began to roll forward upon acceleration then lost all response and lurched into road stopping there. Engine shut off and check engine light came on. Attempted to restart vehicle, car would rev but not respond with any acceleration. During this time incredibly loud harsh shifting occurred , sounded as though transmission fell out of car. Dealership replaced defective throttle body, currently still investigating transmission issues.

Filed Nov 15, 2013 · Acceleration, Engine · 48,220 miles · DE

Drive south on I-95 at rush hour heading home. With no warning engine power just goes away, check engine light came on and no matter how much the gas pedal was push there was no power from engine, hurried as it slowed down to the right lane and was able to exit. Shut off engine for 5 minutes started it up and all was good. 2nd time was light came on and engine just fluttered, service tech stated that the codes in computer were throttle actuator open.

Filed Nov 12, 2013 · Acceleration, Engine · 117,000 miles · MI

On monday november 5th, 2013 I was driving my 2009 ford escape down the freeway at 9pm going home. I had been driving for about 10 minutes when the engine felt like it hesitated and stumbled. I realized that I could not get the vehicle to accelerate so I pulled off to the side of the road. There was a wrench symbol on the dash board. I experienced the same issue on sunday november 11th, 2013 I was driving for about 15 minutes and the vehicle stumbled again and the symbol came on the dash. I turned the car off and waited 5 minutes. It started up and did not have any issues until today tuesday november 12th, 2013. I was driving on the freeway at about 70 miles an hour and the engine stumbled again. I pulled off the side of the freeway and turned the vehicle off, waited 10 minutes and the car started up with no fault code on dash. I drove home the back roads. After investigating online I came across the article that this is a recurring event for the ford escapes.

Filed Nov 8, 2013 · Acceleration, Brakes · 78,800 miles · MI

Driving and vehicle kept acting like it was stalling while trying to drive. Knew that the gas was not low, so wasn't sure what the issue was. Made it to destination and called mechanic. Brought it in to the shop, still with intermittent stalling while driving. Ran a test and said that the throttle actuator control system was stuck open - this has seemed to be a problem with ford escape vehicles. Got it fixed with no incidents, but could have been worse.

Filed Nov 5, 2013 · Acceleration, Engine · 50,000 miles · MA

Vehicle lost power up steep hill almost resulting in rolling backwards down hill. Car had previously and intermittently lost power surge when accelerating onto highway into a merge situation.

Filed Nov 4, 2013 · Acceleration, Fuel system · 45,000 miles · TX

I've had to replace the throttle body for my vehicle once before approximately in august 2011. The car would stall and then turn off. Fuel didn't seem to be passing thru while I was driving and when I was at stop lights. Often times, it turned off and I would have to wait a while for it to turn back on. When I was at stop lights and this happened, I would have to press on the brake and the gas at the same time to try to avoid the car turning off. My car was not safe to drive because I never knew when it was going to stall or turn off in the middle of the road. I finally was able to get this fixed. I am now having the same problem again with this car. It hasn't been that long ago when I had this fixed. I keep checking to see if there are any recalls for this vehicle and part and have not seen anything. I don't understand why there is no recall for this part. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to have the dealer pay for this repair.

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