2011 Ford Escape: harsh or hard shifting

Filed Jan 4, 2017 · Engine, Fuel system · 130,000 miles · WI

Bought 2011 ford escape xlt used 5-27-2016 (private sale, chicago il). Upon purchase, serviced at milwaukee area ford dealership, found front control arms & bushings torn/loose. Next, front sway bars, outer tie rod ends, brakes and rotors needed replacement. In oct. 2016 engine/transmission major issues: leaking oil and trans fluid -no oil lamp or check engine light- car would run out of oil, pulled over added more. Trans slipping during accel/weak accel. Hard shifting w/high rpms. Rough idle. Ticking noise under hood when brakes applied. 12-6-2016 ford dealership replaced gaskets & seals in engine & transmission- $2,000 repair. Upon driving car, issues continue, new issues present: trans slipping worse/bucking, car not accelerating when gas pedal depressed, car stalling in traffic, car lurching forward, car losing gasoline/smelling of gasoline. Broke down 12-8-2016 in parking lot due to fuel leak. Contacted aaa roadside assistance, returned to dealership, turned away. Fire dept cleared car for towing, fire hazard. Researched VIN, found recall for fuel delivery modulator flange, and field service action for electronic throttle body. Contacted ford customer support, verified recall for my VIN. Advised to not operate vehicle. Area ford dealerships refused to diagnose w/o charging. A service manager at a mazda dealership diagnosed additional undisclosed repairs: A/C line ruptured, front driver's side sway bar snapped and control arm bushing separated; ford mechanic had also left bolts & hoses loose/unclamped in engine. Steering and rear suspension deteriorating. Returned to dealership once more- turned away. Missed 1 month of work (driving is job). No rental provided, unwilling to reimburse. Filed dealer complaint. Filing consumer protection & disclosure lawsuit. Seeking class action lawsuit against ford motor company. Car is dangerous, I refuse to operate it.

Filed Sep 25, 2014 · Acceleration, Transmission · 95,000 miles · PA

While driving at 71 MPH with the cruise control on, I noticed a slowing down feeling, the cruise control light went off, the wrench light illuminated. I pulled to the berm. I turned off the engine. According to the manual it was the throttle. It took 2 tries to restart car, the wrench light went off. A ford dealership was 5 min. From incident. According to invoice, they performed throttle body update. I was told if the light came on again, it might need a throttle body. I asked if they could perform the work, they stated without the light being on, they couldn't do the work under the warranty. Meanwhile I was over 200 miles from home, and needed to get home. It felt so unsafe for 5hours of driving. The car has surges of power, downshifts with jolts, and clunking sounds when it does shift. This is how it drove from the beginning, I began to think it was normal so never reported it. Also, since the work was done I noticed the rpms at idling are high, I can pull into the garage without putting my foot on the gas the rpms are at 2 at 30 miles an hour, same as at 70 miles an hour. I'm contacting ford about the rules of the warranty and how unsafe it feels to drive the vehicle. How many accidents, deaths will it take to get the real work done, not a patch up job.

Filed Sep 23, 2014 · Transmission · 92,000 miles · MI

I was driving along the highway at 70 MPH, when I felt a 'clunk'. The engine lost power and the 'wrench' light lit up. I was able to get the car to the shoulder of the road. I then turned the engine off, waited a couple minutes and then re-started the engine. The 'wrench' light did not return. I do not feel it is safe to drive until this issues is resolved.

Filed Jun 26, 2014 · Engine · 18,296 miles · TX

Vehicle bucked violently and stalled. Called ford to have it towed. Before tow truck arrived, vehicle restarted and drove 2 miles to nearest ford dealer. Throttle body was found to be faulty and replaced. I had made numerous complaints about poor shifting, bucking, bad mileage, etc. And dealership always told me it was not broken in yet, and nothing could be done unless it "threw a code". Well it threw one this time. Since the replacement, software updates have been made, a warranty extension issued, and the problems with rough shifting, bad mileage and an occasional feeling like I have been rear ended (when no one is around) have continued. I have just gotten a case number from ford. We'll see where this goes.

Filed Jun 26, 2013 · Acceleration, Electrical · 19,800 miles · GA

At approx. 19,800 miles was driving along the interstate and the escape started losing power. I went from running 75 MPH to 40 MPH. The escape now has approx. 33,000 miles and is a total nightmare. As of april 28, 2013 it has been in the shop for a total of 46 days and has had 8 repair attempts. No warning lights nor the check engine light has ever come on. This escape clunks, surges, loses power, cut's off and at times will not even crank. The transmissions has been reprogrammed, the throttle body and motor asy - throttle body air intake has been replaced, the vapor management valve has been replaced, the torque convertor has been replaced. Lost in arbitration with the bbb because ford said in their last repair attempt that the vehicle has operating as normal. June 5, 2013 car was back in shop because at 7:45 am stopped at a red light, while my foot was on the brake the RPM's surged up to 4000, could hardly keep it from running the light, once the light changed took off and within 4 tenths of a mile lost power and shut off. It took me 8 minutes to get it to crank, drove about 15 miles, surging all the way, and the car died again, taking me 10 minutes to get it to crank. Took the car back to the shop, they kept it for 7 days, returned it and said they could not duplicate problem. June 20, 2013 tried to crank the car at 10:00 am, it would crank, but go dead, finally at 11:10 am it stayed cranked, drove at 3 tenths of a mile, car goes dead. Takes me 5 minutes to re-crank went straight to the shop. This car is dangerous and ford needs to re-call.

Filed Mar 22, 2013 · Transmission · 30,000 miles · AR

When the weather started getting colder, the transmission started out hard to shift. I travel for work and when I am in heavy traffic it is dangerous, because it takes a while for the car to shift out. When it does finally shift, it is a hard shift and hard to control.