Power steering would fail at highway speed with no warning. It was still possible, although very difficult to steer, and at highway speeds presents a major hazard. This has happened multiple times. A recall exists on this vehicle for the same problem 2008-2011.
2012 Ford Escape electrical complaints
Page 2 of 3: complaints 11 to 40 of 42, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Power steering wheel locking, when making turns while driving. Steering wheel locks on and off, to get it to unlock or back to normal handling, I have to immediately pulled over the side of the road in a safely manner, put car on park turn engine off, then restart car and the steering wheel works again. This is a very dangerous issue taking my car to ford dealer and see hoe they can help me resolve this issue as it seems to be a huge problem with 2008-12 ford escapes.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford escape. The contact stated that there was internal water intrusion around the seals, which affected the liftgate and electrical system. The liftgate had extensive rust and was leaking from the rear. Also, the liftgate was unable to open. The dealer (fred beans ford of boyertown, 525 pa-100, bechtelsville, pa 19505, (610) 367-2081) was notified of the failures and indicated that the vehicle was not included in a recall. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 76,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford escape. The contact stated that the instrument panel gauges failed to illuminate while driving during the daytime. Hawk ford in oak lawn, illinois replaced the headlamp control switch, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that there was no recall on the vehicle. In addition, the manufacturer suggested that the contact find another ford dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 50,850.
While driving, everything cut off. I could not accelerate, the power steering turned off, and I had to try and safely pull over. Luckily, each time I was in a position where I could pull over safely. Restarted the vehicle and everything seemed normal. This is extremely scary and unbelievably dangerous!!! Please ford, do something about this! Have taken it in for service and no code can be found and everything passes the diagnostic tests. What can be done??
The back liftgate will not open, but the glass will . O heard there was a recall on my vehicle 2012 ford escape .
No cold air in air conditioner whole motor replaced in 2014 lock on back hatch replaced broke again . The electrical radio dash broke. Recall power chain wrench light on again. Heating coal replaced
At random points in time when car is on, doesnt matter what speed, steering wheel locks and is unable to be moved untill car is turned off and back on again. I just got into an accident yesterday in brattleboro vt while I was driving home for xmas from college when I went right off the side of the road and into a snowbank. Airbags went off and nobody was hurt and luckly I didnt hit any other cars or property. Car is being towed back home to a mechanic. I had gone to a ford dealership a few weeks ago when I first noticed the issue, in my driveway at low speeds, and after paying a $100 diagnosis fee, the dealership told me there was nothing wrong with the car and that I was imagining things. I've done a lot of research since then and there are a lot of recalls with similar issues but not on the 2012 model.
On two separate occasions, my 2012 ford escape has completely shut off on me while driving at about 40 MPH. I had to coast to the side of the road, one time on a side road and the other on a highway while trying to accelerate, and then turn the car off and back on again. Both times that seemed to correct the problem. This is an extremely dangerous defect that seems to have been reported by many other 2012 escape owners on forums/blogs.
I have had 3 serious incidents with the ford escape 2012. First, twice the car has completely shut off while driving. I was thankfully driving at only about 30-40 MPH and was able to coast to the side and turn the car off and back on again, which seemed to have corrected the problem. Various mechanics have been unable to recreate the problem and have not fixed it. Second, on 11/11/17, I was stopped at a light waiting to turn left on a major road, and upon accelerating and turning, the power steering seemed to go out on me. It became much harder to steer. I pulled over on a side road and again turned the car off and back on again, which again seemed to fix the problem. There are many online forums where these two issues are being reported by many owners with the same result. Mechanics can't seem to recreate the problems and therefor can't offer a fix at the moment. These 3 incidents thankfully did not cause any injury, but they easily could and see to be serious defects that are going unaddressed.
I have trouble with the seat belts, they do not retrack by themselves and sometimes they lock up even though I did not stop suddenly., another problem is with my dashboard the lighting goes dim and them bright while I am driving for no reason I can tell, this is all during city street driving. I also have a strong fuel smell which lasts for about 5 minutes when I start the car in the morning.
Transmission control module causing issues with transmission, shifting. Mechanic said transmission is starting in 5th gear. Jerks very hard when put in reverse. Upon going 45 MPH engine revs to 3 RPM. Cannot take off fast, very slow moving.
While driving at about 35-40 MPH, the vehicle suddenly turned off. I couldn't hit the accelerator and had to coast to the side of the road. I turned the car off and back on again, and it restarted without a problem. It has done this to me a handful of times in the last 3 years, but every time I take it to a mechanic, they cannot replicate the problem and therefore cannot fix it. The ford dealerships offer to "take a look at it" for a high price, and can't tell me what's wrong either. This is extremely dangerous and could easily cause an accident at any given time. There is clearly a defect in the electrical and/or fuel system, but no one can seem to solve the problem. In my opinion, ford should order a recall of the ford escape to address this dangerous problem. There are many online forums stating customer complaints and issues identical to this, all of them stating that no one seems to bad able to figure out what's wrong or fix their vehicles. As consumers, we pay a very high price for vehicles that we depend on daily to be safe and reliable. Ford should stand by its product and fix this dangerous issue to ensure the safety and satisfaction of its customers.
Auto door lock / unlock feature will not allow a person in the rear passenger seat to escape from a disabled vehicle if the driver is incapacitated.
I got this vehicle from a ford dealership almost 2 years ago and have been complaining since about stalling/stuttering when accelerating from park or when stopped at a light. I can't get it to duplicate the problem for the technicians, but I just found out about the electronic throttle body problem (13n03). I contacted ford corporate about it and they made a case with the local dealership for me and said they must work with corporate to help me. Local dealership service manager basically told me there's nothing they can do if it can't be replicated. I have contacted another dealership, and I'm back at square 1.
I have a 2012 ford escape. I have had it for a year and it just started acting up. The first time this happened was sept 12, 16 while I was headed to work. While accerlerating from being in park, the throttle body/ power train light illuminates causing the car to not accelerate like it should and a lot of squeaking comes from the car. So, I have to put the car in park and turn off the egnition. Once I turn it back on it goes back to driving normally. This has happened six times within 45 days.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford escape. While driving 45 MPH, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was diagnosed as having a loose battery wiring harness and that the throttle body needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was approximately 61,000. The VIN was not available.
The ignition on this vehicle randomly will not work. There is apparently a commonly known issue with this vehicles ignition switch with it failing to engage and start the vehicle.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford escape. The contact stated that rodents destroyed the wiring in the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the catalytic converter sensor and the fuel cap sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 51,000. The VIN was unavailable.
The doors lock and won't unlock. This happens at the front passenger door and both of the back seat passenger doors. Sometimes they begin unlocking a week or so later other times they don't unlock ever. This has happened when the vehicle was stopped, some doors then unlock, but not all.
Escape has several issues, ford dealer would review and report no issues found. I bought my escape new in july 2012. 1.front seat belts - within the first year (jan-feb 2013 - mileage 5,000ish) the front seat belts wouldn't retract 90% of the time, causing them to be caught in the door and/or keep the door from closing. 2.transmission issues (nov 2015 - mileage 50,000ish ) it shifts badly, sometimes acts as if its in-between gears when your breaking or accelerating. When you release the peddle and reapply, it'll reengage but at times will lurch again. 3. Electrical issues - jan 2016 -(mileage 65,000ish) the dome light won't go out, had to pull the fuse lights so I could drive unobstructed. 4.(4/18/16 - mileage 73,000ish) rear door will not open. Apparently this is a known issue based on what find on line and here. In the past I did notice water 'drips' on my back window, I couldn't figure out where the 'leak' was, again dealership reported no problem found, I just thought it was pooled water that found its way in when I had opened up the rear window/door. But based on what I see on line and here the rear door not opening is due to the 'water drip/leak' issue because of the rear window gasket isn't correct thickness or something along those lines. Back door not being able to open is a safety concern, all doors should be accessible in case of an emergency. 5. Same date as 4,door locks not locking when you put SUV into gear. 6. April 26, 2016 ' pulling out of my drive way ' no incline what so ever ' warning light for steep grade light came on. 6. Truck will be taken back to a different ford dealer ship, for all the above issues, I don't care to return to where I bought it, since their service department is very dismissive despite me providing reports from this website to them about the various issues I came in with.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford escape. While driving 45 MPH and veering to the left, the engine stalled. The vehicle was restarted. In addition, the contact stated that the vehicle accelerated independently. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 37,782. Updated 12/03/15*lj
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford escape. While driving 30 MPH, the contact noticed a burning odor coming from the air vent. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the seal did not properly protect the vehicle from water. As a result, water entered the vehicle and shorted out the electrical system. In addition, the receiver dryer, blower resister, and gasket cap needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 22,000.
This is the 2nd time this has happened. This time I was attempting to make a u-turn in a loading dock on a busy street, and was going forward, to put the car into reverse to back up a little bit and the car shut off. Again there were no warnings on the dashboard, no sounds and no lights. This time there were cars coming toward me honking at me, and one in the loading dock trying to back up honking at me. I started it back up and backed up to continue where I was going. This is very unsafe. I took the car to my ford dealership where they tested the throttle body and said that wasn't the problem. They also said they couldn't find anything wrong. What am I supposed to do if this cuts off in the middle of a busy intersection? Someone needs to fix this!!!
I was getting ready to back into a my parking space, so I had just pulled into the parking lot (going forward) and came to almost a stop so I could put it into reverse and my car suddenly shut off. There were no warning lights on the dashboard, no sounds, nothing. Because it had never done this before and I had the car for almost 2 years, I thought I had done something to cause it. I started it back up and put it into reverse to back into the parking spot. It started just fine.
So far.. 3 times now, I have been driving and my car has strongly surged forward and stalled! I was almost hit today while trying to put my car in neutral to re-start my car. Once the car was re-started it continued to surge forward quite violently. This is an epic safety hazard and needs to be resolved/addressed asap!!!
Engine died while making a right hand turn onto another street.
As per my vehicle report from the dealership: concern 51: c/s that battery light is on, please check and advise. Cause: verified concern. Found belt thrown. Also found and oil leak at the front cover via a dime sized hole in the cover. Correction: replaced front cover and vbelt. Also replaced motor mount that was stripped out. Verified repair. Battery light is off and no oil leaks at this time.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford escape. The contact stated that while driving 30 MPH, the vehicle stalled and the battery warning lamp illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 21,000. Updated 06/17/14 ma
On 6 different occasions door latches have been replaced, I've been locked in and out of my vehicle, my husband is disable and I had to climb through the hatch back to get doors to open. I am afraid of this vehicle, if it catches fire will I get out? I feel this is a death trap and ford is just soothing my feathers to keep me happy. Also, I was sold a 2012 4x4 vehicle, however my vehicle is not a 4x4. The dealership said they go by VIN, this one is wrong!
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