7/30/2013 started up after stopping at an intersection. About half a block later, I stepped on the accelerator and nothing happened. Then it sputtered, the wrench light came on and the car would not move. I coasted to the side of the road, turned on hazard lights and turned it off. It started right up after a few seconds and proceeded normally. About a month later, the same thing happened driving home at night. After stopping at a stop sign, I accelerated and the car lost power, the wrench lit up and I coasted over to the side again. Again, it started right up. A week later, it did the same thing in heavy traffic. I put on the hazard lights and coasted to the edge of the road. It started up, but did the same thing after a few yards. I made it very slowly into a parking lot and it stayed there until that evening. When I tried it later, it died a couple of times and I drove it home on the back streets late at night when there was no traffic. After researching the problem on line, I saw what others had done and had the throttle body replaced. That was 6 days ago. So far, so good. However, my confidence is gone and I won't be driving it in freeway traffic anytime soon.
2009 Ford Escape fuel system complaints
Page 5 of 8: complaints 101 to 130 of 203, newest first, as owners wrote them.
The car was driving at about 35mph and with no warning... I heard a popping sound and lost all throttle control. Thank goodness I was on a back road with no other cars. This could be very dangerous if I were on the highway or I was passing a car, hauling a trailer. The car will reset after the car is off for a time and will work again for a several minutes. This is the same issue as several other of the ford products have been recalled for but my year has not been recalled, yet. I called ford to look for a recall and I was told none were listed but that she takes calls all day long for this issue and could even tell me the cost of the fix $500.00 plus.
Traveling on highway 58 doing approximately 65 MPH. There was a lunge - accelerator didn't function - drifted to side of road - vehicle was idling very rough. Noticed the little wrench was lighted on the instrument panel. I turned the vehicle off for a couple minutes - then it started right up. Thought it was a glitch - approximately 5 miles further it did it again. Wasn't sure what it was so I had it towed 50 miles to my residence. The next morning I contacted the ford dealership from where I had purchased it. Took it in for a diagnostic - $134.40 only to be told they could find nothing wrong. On june 22, 2011 during evening traffic it occurred 5 times within approximately 8 miles. The 5th time I called the dealership again - they had me bring in right in. Next day told me the throttle body and motor assembly had to be replaced. Well $406.35 and two years later it's happening again. Three (3) times in the past two weeks -first time on the interstate - traveling approximately 65 MPH - in the rain - made my way to the side of the road - turned it off for a couple minutes and started right back up. Last week on a residential road and today september 10, 2013 as I was pulling out of a store parking lot. Ford needs to be held responsible for this and have the vehicles recalled to fix the on-board computer problem they have admitted to. I am not lucky enough to have that kind of money to have the parts replaced again only to possibly have to do it again!!
While exiting a parking lot at low speed, the vehicle shut down completely. The vehicle was restarted a few minutes later with no apparent problems. The dealer diagnosed a faulty throttle body and replaced the part.
Car started shuttering while maintaining a constant speed. Car was taken to the dealership and I was told that it was not covered under warranty, throttle body was the problem and the part was replaced.
I bought my car new in 2009. Summer of 2011, it started dying when stopped at red lights or any stops. It did this mostly when it was .25 tank of gas or less and the warmer the weather. I took it to three different mechanics and no one could figure out what was truly wrong. When they plugged it in all it says is emission problem. It happened so inconsistently it was hard to explain or diagnose. I had ford replace a vapor sensor of some sort in summer of 2012 when it was doing it again. It has never ran the same since 2011 when I first had problems. Now it is losing power as I drive down the road. It loses power completely, you push the gas and there is nothing and I have to pull over or let it roll to a stop and it jerks or dies. I am taking it to ford service tomorrow and once it is fixed I am trading it in and not buying another ford again.
2009 ford escape 40k miles. Driving down the road in normal driving conditions the vehicle started shaking slightly the idle started fluctuating and the tachometer started rapidly spiking up and down as well as a loss of acceleration. The vehicle also is stalling. Shutting the engine off and restarting vehicle temporarily fixes the problem. It would appear it is the same throttle body issue everyone else is having. Brought the vehicle in for service the dealer said it was not covered under warranty or my extended warranty that I purchased.
While driving the 2009 ford escape down highway, experienced a brief lurch then complete and immediate loss of throttle control. Engine speed decreased to approx. 1000 RPM making it impossible to continue driving and forcing an emergency stop on shoulder. While stopped on shoulder, engine was completely unresponsive to throttle, and remained roughly idling at 1k rpms. Shut off engine, and restarted the vehicle. After restarting, throttle control appeared to be working normally. There were no obvious symptoms immediately prior to the failure: engine appeared to be running fine, and throttle control was working normally until the incident. The unexpected loss of throttle control and corresponding decrease in vehicle speed was disorienting, and could have easily resulted in an unsafe situation or accident if surrounding traffic were heavier or driver had panicked. Vehicle was diagnosed by dealer as having a "failing throttle body". Codes retrieved were p2111 and p2135, and pinpoint tests showed that "the throttle actuator control motor is failing". Throttle body assembly was replaced.
When slowing down engine would stall at any speed. Slowly progressed into a hesitation from a red light. Sparatic idle after stopping. Wrench light would come on every time. Now check engine light and wrench light on together.
[xxx] I was driving 25-30 MPH when motor went to idle, gas pedal didn't work and no power to transmission. This caused me to almost wreck. My fast thinking saved my life. I was able to steer the vehicle to a safe place in a major intersection. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
Running down hwy at and car stalled . Made it to side of road. Sat there 10 min started again and made it home.
Same as others, the engine keeps running but will not go do the throttle body actuator not opening.
While driving on the expressway at 70 MPH the RPM dropped to approx. 900rpm. Pushing on the accelerator pedal didn't do anything. A indicator light on the dash came on it is the shape of a wrench. I had to pull the vehicle off the road. After I parked on the side of the road I shut off the engine and waited about 30 seconds then restarted the engine and everything was working fine. I went back onto the road and drove approx. 12 miles and it happened again. I repeated what I had done earlier and the vehicle was ok again. I got back on the road and I made it around 8 miles and I had another occurrence, again I repeated the shut off the engine on the side of the road and it again started and ran ok. Then I made it home!
While driving on the freeway the engine dropped to idle and throttle became no responsive. Had to perform evasive maneuvers without power to safely pull over. I was lucky that I was not hit. After calling the dealer service department they informed me that it would likely need to have the throttle body replaced at over $600. This issue has become worse in only a few days and occurs at a variety of speeds. Research on the web leads me to believe that this is a common issue and I am concerned for safety of drivers with all this type of vehicle.
I was on my way to work and was luckily on a frontage road when suddenly my 2009 escape wouldn't accelerate. I pushed on the gas pedal, but nothing happened. Luckily I was able to coast down the hill and turn off onto a side road. The wrench symbol lit up and my car sputtered and shook. I said a prayer, waited a few minutes, started the car again, and was able to drive. I drove it about a mile down side streets to try and get it to my mechanic, but it did the same thing again and the check engine light came on. I said another prayer, started the car, turned off the A/C and was able to make it to my mechanic w/out further incident. They said that it could possibly be a few different things and since the parts are expensive, they didn't want to replace the part and not have that fix the issue, so I had to call a tow truck ($75) and have it towed to the closest ford dealership. I didn't dare try to drive it to the dealership for fear that it would die on the way there and since the dealership is located off of highway 75 in mckinney, I couldn't risk it dying on such a busy highway w/ my daughter in the car with me. The dealership called and said it's an issue w/ the electronic throttle body. My car only has a little over 58,000 miles on it. As a single divorced mom who is struggling to make ends meet, it makes me very upset that I have to spend my hard earned money ($674) on fixing something that is obviously an ongoing issue w/ this make and model. This is completely unacceptable to not have a reliable vehicle when this is a known problem. I am not a happy customer. I shouldn't have to rely on luck and have to worry and stress every time I drive my car that it will die on me. Ford needs to step up and do the right thing and get this issue fixed as part of a recall b/c it is obviously unsafe and lots of ford escape owners are experiencing the same thing.
Vehicle stuck in the intersection waiting for a red light. Engine light kicked on. Error code p2111, throttle stuck. Would been in an accident if on highway. Ford needs to address this issue.
My 2009 ford escape xlt (this is my third escape, and the only one that has ever caused me any problem) has never accelerated as it should, from the day I drove it new off of the lot. It has always hesitated, lurched, lunged, jerked; most frequently when accelerating from a full stop or a rolling stop. It had never "limped" until at approximately 50k miles, when the throttle body failed twice while traveling at approx. 50mph (wrench symbol lit up). After having the throttle body replaced by my dealer in late june-early july 2013, the lunging, jerking, hesitating continued. On 8/8/13, when accelerating from a rolling stop, the vehicle died while attempting a "michigan left" onto a 4-lane highway (this time the battery light and service engine lights came on). If the traffic signal for oncoming traffic had not been green, I was at risk of being struck by several vehicles traveling at rates of speed up to 70mph. I was able to let the vehicle roll back into the turn lane; turned it off and then back on; but acceleration is still not operating as it should. The rpms are all over the place. I feel as though I am driving a "death trap". This is a very urgent issue and must be addressed and repaired by ford swiftly and at no cost to the consumer. I had to pay almost $600 to have the throttle body replaced (including a rental vehicle). This is unacceptable and extremely dangerous. If this problem is not satisfactorily repaired at no cost to me when I attempt to take it to my dealer again (I'm considering having it towed because I'm so afraid to drive it), I will never purchase another ford vehicle.
While driving on he interstate at 73 MPH, the vehicle lost all power, warning lights came on, and although the engine appeared to be running, there was no action I could take other than to pull off the roadway, turn off the car and wait. Approximately 2 minutes, I attempted to restart, which it did, but ran rough at idle. I waited a few minutes longer, restarted and it performed normally for about ten miles. Then it did the exact same thing over again. Last year, in my wife's 2010 ford escape, the exact same problem occurred, we took it to the local ford dealership and paid $541.00 (the requested factory assistance was refused). Both problems are dangerous because they problem occurs unexpectedly, at highway speed, at idle waiting for a light to change, or when pulling into traffic. No power, pull off the road, and wait to restart.
Car did not die, basically jumped a bit and would not go over 2 or 3 MPH as I pressed gas pedal- wrench check light came on- had to turn off and restart - this happened again 2 times yesterday 8/9/2013-- no accident as of yet but extremely dangerous.
I am so stressed ! I was driving saturday morning july 27, 2013, on rt 287 south in morris county. Nj . My husband and I were in the middle lane of this very busy highway when he stepped on the gas pedal to accelerate- our 2009 ford escape did not accelerate- it stalled out at 70 miles per hour. The wrench light lit up on the dashboard and we had to pray that we could coast over to the right lane and then to the shoulder while trucks were zooming by. We called aaa for a tow to the local garage. At local garage, vehicle was kept for 9 days, test driving it, but had no incidents because wrench light never went back on. Was advised to contact ford where I purchased vehicle .I called ford.they could not see me for another week. I drove vehicle doing errands- 2 days later at a traffic light, I was making a left turn- truck sputters and dies upon acceleration. Wrench light goes on again. I now have to coast to the side of a busy main road and coast into an exit only shopping center, praying I do not have a head on collision. I spoke to friend who advised me to come to this web site. Lo and behold- over 350 complaints describing the same experience I had! This was clearly a defect in the model. I called ford again, begging for an earlier appointment and was told that if I wanted to rent a car at my expense I could come in. They were out of loners! ( a car dealer-really? ) I waited for appointment, meanwhile check engine light goes on permanently 2 days later. Now I am petrified to drive my vehicle with the fear it is going to drop dead ! Showed all info from this site to ford and was told that this was not included in warranty or a recall. It was the throttle body - it cost me $567.10 for part and labor plus tax = $606.80. I should not have to pay for this- very dangerous situation with this part faulting out! And was told there is no recall at this time. I am angry!
The vehicle jerked and then I started slowing down. I tried to accelerate but my vehicle continued slowing down. I pulled to the side of road & put vehicle in park, turned off the engine and restarted and was able to continue to my destination. It happened again on aug. 2nd, 3rd and 5th, 2013. When it happened on aug. 5th I was a block from home and the engine light came on that time. I turned the vehicle off and started it again & the engine light stayed on so I turned around and went home & parked it. I called my local ford dealership & they picked it up and replaced the throttle body.
While driving on a main highway on vacation out of state the ford escape slowed and would not accelerate to keep up with traffic. "wrench light" light on dash illuminated. It continued to run slowly and we pulled off to the side of the highway. Car restarted and ran normally over 100 miles to final destination. Local repair shop detected no "codes" but suggested a ford dealer examine based upon history. Dealer confirmed computer issue with throttle body faults caused stall and replaced part. Total costs approx $300. No recurrence of stalls on highway.
Came off freeway on multiple occasions after doing 70 MPH. Stopped. Traffic was clear. Went to accelerate and severe hesitation. Have also had many times where accelerating with vehicle and it will hesitate and then surge.
After use and park, the escape 2009 4 cyl. Do not start. Several times in between weeks with this trouble. Several hours later, start as nothing occur. In an electronic diagnostic, sent a code: 1260 and 1681. Starter is good and electronic ignition was recently changed thinking will stop the incidents but without resolving the issue. When the vehicle do the trouble, the antitheft icon keep blinking in the key on position. I changed the main key for the copy and keep doing the trouble.
I was driving on a two lane rt, speed limit 55mph at 9pm, no lighting along rt, accelerating to keep up speed going up a hill, the car started to slow down. Pulling over to my right (off the road ) putting on my flashers, was now at a complete stop was hit in rear left doing damage to my car and the car that hit me.the car that hit me left the seen of the accident. No warning this was going to happen.towed car to a ford dealer and had fixed, internal throttle body failure, lucky to be alive.
I was driving along when the car feels as though it's about to stall. I immediately slow down to pull over, turn the car off, let it sit for a moment then start it back up. The problem has continued to happen until I took it into a garage to find out I need a new throttle body.
While driving down the road, pressed the gas pedal and got no response (no acceleration) tried several more times and still had no response as the vehicle continued to slow down. Fortunately, there was very little traffic and I was able to pull over on a side street; however, this was potentially extremely dangerous had it happened while I was on a freeway or in heavy traffic. Once I turned the vehicle off and restarted it, everything was working again. Took my car to the dealership who then had to replace the throttle body, which was on back order due to this being a common problem with my vehicle.
When driving the truck we lose acceleration and pressing the gas pedal does nothing. This has happened now 4 times. The idle sits between 800 & 1100 rpms when this happens. We took the truck to the service department at pine lake ford in laporte, indiana and they said that the throttle body needs to be replaced at a cost of $383. Our extended warranty just ran out and this seems to be a recall problem when I investigated it. We are afraid this is going to cause an accident given the fact most of our driving is highway driving. Why isn't ford owning up to this problem and recall this part? Does someone need to be hurt or be killed before ford takes action?
Driving about 55-60 MPH down the highway my gas pedal stopped responding and my truck rapidly slowed down. I was able to maneuver to the shoulder & restart. This happened 4 times in the 7 miles to pick up my daughter (toddler son was with me). I had to go to the nearest service shop and almost $500 later its being fixed.
Vehicle died and check engine light came on. We ran the diagnostic and it indicated the fuel actuator was getting stuck. According to the ford dealer, the throttle body needs to be replaced. It appears that many other owners of this vehicle have also had to have the throttle body replaced.
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2009 Ford Escape?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history