2010 Ford Flex: sudden loss of power

Filed Mar 20, 2023 · Transmission · TX

While driving car suddenly losses power and the wrench light comes on. Loss of power with the car transmission wont move the car at all. have to pull over and turn off car about 5min then start it back up and now everything works with no codes. Happened 3 times.VERY DANGEROUS BECUASE CAR LOSSES POWER AND CARS BEHIND YOU ALMOST HITS YOU.

Filed Sep 6, 2019 · Engine · 178,000 miles · UT

Tl* the contact owns a 2010 ford flex. While driving 30 MPH, the contact heard a popping noise coming from the vehicle and the air conditioning began to blow out hot air. The contact also noticed that the vehicle began to lose power, overheat, and the check engine warning indicator illuminated. The contact drove to ken garff west valley ford (4091 w 3500 s, west valley city, ut 84120, 801- 559-0314) where it was diagnosed that the water pump failed and caused the vehicle to overheat. The contact stated that the entire engine was ruined due to the failure and was informed that an engine replacement would cost approximately $8,000. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure mileage was 178,000. The VIN was unknown.

Filed Sep 7, 2018 · Fuel system, Steering · 127,000 miles · KY

2010 ford flex limited ecoboost awd. Electrical power steering. Intermittent loss of power steering with no lights, notifications, or warning. Fixed short term by turning car off and back on again. Very dangerous at low speeds, especially with the weight of the vehicle and size of the tires, specifically for smaller people. Recall from ford for 2011, will not help at all with a 2010 flex. Has already caused one accident in a parking lot resulting in damage to rear driver side quarter panel after steering wheel became stuck while reversing. Fuel pump also not engaging, resulting in stalls and the car not starting (no ticks, humming, buzzing, lights and radio work). Overall, a very dangerous combination if they were to occur simultaneously, especially at speed. Car was purchased around 1 1/2- 2 months ago. Both issues are becoming more and more frequent.

Filed Jan 12, 2018 · Engine · 150,000 miles · TX

The engine shut down during a long-distance drive returning from a vacation. The car was towed to a ford dealership. The techs at the dealership determined that the engine failed due to a faulty (leaking) water pump. This water pump is inside the engine block. Thus, the leak caused corruption of other parts of the engine and complete engine failure. This problem with the internal water pump has been the subject of a recall for other ford models, but not the ford flex. The national database of automotive technicians, identifix, reports leaking internal water pumps to be the number 1 problem with the flex. Here are the specifics of what happened: we had been driving for approximately 6 hours. I was at cruising speed of 75 MPH. As I approached lubbock tx, the temperature warning light came on and the temperature gauge had pegged all the way to 'hot'. I reduced speed and drove to the next exit (approximately 1-2 min away). As I exited the freeway, the engine light came on, and moments later the battery light came on. At that point, I lost power steering and the engine shut down. We were able to push the car into a parking lot on the frontage road. This incident is consistent with the claims that have LED to the safety recall for other ford models:escape suvs from the 2014 model year, plus the 2014 and 2015 compact fiesta st, the 2013 and 2014 fusion midsize car and the 2013 through 2015 transit connect small van (obtained from USA today, 1/3/2018). My insurance will not cover the damage which has resulted in the car being "totalled". This is a known problem for ford, and I believe my car should be covered under the recently announced safety recall. This problem in the ford flex has been discussed for years dating back to at least 2008 (https://www.fordflex.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=17392)

Filed Aug 21, 2017 · Engine · 70,000 miles · IN

Was trying to accelerate around a car and loss all power and check engine light immediately started flashing and the engine started misfiring and loss all power and now the ford dealer says that I need a new engine.

Filed Jul 14, 2017 · Engine · 55,000 miles · IL

While merging onto a highway the engine suddenly lost power and began shuttering/vibrating badly. This loss of power nearly caused a severe accident as the sudden slow down caused cars behind us to take evasive action. The check engine light illuminated immediately. We drove the car to the dealership per instructions from the service rep. The vehicle has the 3.5l ecoboost engine. The service tech first said an ignition coil went bad and replaced it, only to discover that it did not fix the problem. They did a cylinder compression test and were loosing compression in one cylinder. The engine had to be disassembled to diagnose the problem. The service tech found the cylinder rings had failed in one cylinder and now has to replace the whole engine at a cost of $7,800. The engine only has 55,000 miles on it! There were no warning indicators that anything was wrong with the engine, and it has been routinely serviced. Ford is unwilling to help in any way with the repairs as the vehicle is out of warranty.

Filed Apr 7, 2017 · Engine · 113,000 miles · NY

Vehicle was turning off of a state highway into a school entrance. Without warning (no warning lights on dash) engine stopped running. Due to engine shut down all auxiliary systems lost power. Vehicle was making a left turn into a school entrance when engine turned off. In the middle of the turn the loss of power steering and power brakes made negotiating the turn unsafe. The operator was unable to keep the vehicle on the paved entrance and ended up off the should and into the grass. Fortunately there were no pedestrians or obstacles. Failure could cause a safety issue at highway speed due to potential for rear ending due to loss of power. This engine failure is due to ford 3.5 duratec internal water pump design. When the water pump seals fail, all coolant is contained in the motor and collected in the oil pan. By collecting the coolant in the oil pan it caused a p0016 code and the engine to shut off. Their was no warning of this. The car was driven 3.5hrs the previous day with no issues or warning lights. Ford is unwilling to recognize the problem. I filed claims with ford customer service #11792792 and cas-11876774 on this issue. Repair bill was $4100 to replace the motor with a similar used motor. The vehicle repair was just completed yesterday and I still feel unsafe and uncomfortable knowing the same potential for engine failure exists. It is both a safety concern and an financial concern. Their are many documented cases of this happening on fordflex.net (15 cases) also on fordtaurus.net. Please google duratec 3.5 water pump failure. These forums document other the federal safety agency claims filed for exact reasons.

Filed May 27, 2015 · Electrical, Engine · 90,000 miles · VA

As indicated by a number of flex owners, my flex simply died in the middle of the freeway going 70 MPH. No warning - lights on dash went on, lost all power including power steering. After muscling the car to the shoulder, putting in park and sitting for a few minutes, it started back up. Took to dealer who said they could find nothing wrong. Extremely dangerous. I was almost rear ended. How many different people need to be affected by this problem before ford and the federal safety agency take action.

Filed Dec 19, 2013 · Engine, Fuel system · 37,500 miles · PA

Original owner 2010 ford flex, ecoboost engine: sudden loss of engine power with shuddering and stall in fast lane; up hill while passing at speed, 60mph to 20mph in seconds causing near collision from behind. Engine would not recover, 20mph in fast lane with semi's and speeding traffic, no pull-off area. Clear dry day, temperature around 55 degree. Not the first time engine shuddering experienced, but the most dangerous. Always occurs during acceleration (pulling out in traffic or passing, etc.). Began to notice loss of power, whining and grinding noises from turbos about two weeks ago; subsequent catastrophic failure of both turbo chargers with billowing black smoke and oil dripping from exhausts. 38k miles, garage kept, all service points maintained, driven like grandmother since new. Fist the rear brakes locked up while driving at 18k miles, now engine failure at 38k. Do something ntsb before these vehicles kill someone!

Filed May 28, 2013 · Engine · 13,000 miles · VA

2010 ford flex ecoboost we had several incidents where there was a loss of power and shaking upon acceleration. The dealerships were unable to replicate or determine any problems. The most significant incident occurred when accelerating from a toll booth. The car engine lost significant power and died several times. The result after this incident was a dead engine that needed to be completely replaced.

Filed May 12, 2010 · Acceleration · 3,100 miles · NJ

Tl* the contact owns a 2010 ford flex. While driving at 35 MPH, the vehicle began to lose power and stalled. The contact was able to move the vehicle off the roadway and restart the engine. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where the dealer found the throttle body had become defective. The throttle was repaired accordingly and the vehicle was left with the dealer for further diagnosis of any additional failures. The failure and current mileages were 3,100.

Filed Feb 23, 2010 · Engine · 11,500 miles · WV

Going into a turn at approx. 25 MPH and my ford flex shut off. Lost power steering and power brakes. Put it in neutral and restarted. Have approx. 11,500 miles on the car. This is the only time this has occurred.