Owner-reported complaints naming the driver-assistance system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming forward-collision avoidance, lane keeping, back-over prevention, cruise control and related electronic driver-assistance systems. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2009 Ford Escape submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 300 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
The 25 most recent of 300, in the owner's own words
jUST BACKED OUT OF A PARKING SPACE AT A SHOPPING PLAZA AND PROCEEDED FORWARD. APPLIED THE BREAKS TO ALLOW ANOTHER CAR TO ENTER THE PARKING LOT WHEN MY BREAKS FAILED. THE ABS WAS FLASHING ON THE DASH AND I COASTED SLOWLY AND FINALLY PUT IT IN PARK. THE OTHER DRIVER WAS UPSET THAT I DIDN'T STOP. i RESTARTED THE CAR, AS IT STALLED AND PROCEDED SLOWLY TO MY HOME WHERE I PARKED IT.
I started to hear a grinding and cracking and popping sound I checked the vehicle and the front left ball joint is bad there is an obvious crack in the joint that is easily visible when inspecting the area of the front left wheel and it’s components
WHEN DRIVING POWER STEERING GOES OUT. POWER ASSIST LIGHT COMES ON. CALLED FORD AND THEY STATE THIS VIN IS NOT AFFECTED AND ITS ONLY ON A SELECT # OF VIN'S. FIND THIS HARD TO BELIEVE WHEN THERE ARE 591 COMPLAINTS WITH THE SAME ISSUE. MILEAGE IS AT 122,000 FOR THIS ISSUE. VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN REPAIRED YET AT THIS TIME.
AUTO CREDIT NEVER FIXED THE RECALLS. *TR
MY WIFE AND I WERE DRIVING HOME FROM WORK WHEN JUST BEFORE I GOT ON THE FREEWAY AT A STOP LIGHT MY STEERING WHEEL BEGAN TO VIBRATE AND THEN I LOST ALL POWER ASSIST WITH THE VEHICLE THANKFULLY WE HADNT ENTERED THE TRAFFIC. THE POWER ASSIST IS NOW OFF AND ON
WHILE DRIVING ON THE INTERSTATE IN JULY OF 2017, THE CAR SUDDENLY LOST POWER STEERING AND LOST SPEED. WE WERE BARELY ABLE TO GET OFF ON THE SHOULDER AND CUT THE CAR OFF. WHEN WE STARTED UP THE CAR AGAIN, EVERYTHING WAS BACK TO NORMAL. HOWEVER, THIS HAPPENED 2 OR 3 TIMES IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. I CALLED FORD MOTOR CO. TO REPORT THE PROBLEM, AND THEY OPENED CASE #CAS-12676591. I FOUND A RECALL NOTICE ON THIS PROBLEM DATED 09/03/2010, RECALL #10E043000 AND ANOTHER RECALL NOTICE #14S05/NHTSA RECALL 14V-284 DATED JULY 2014. HOWEVER, FORD MOTOR CO. REFUSED TO REPAIR THE PROBLEM TELLING ME IT WAS A DIFFERENT MANUFACTURER. MY COMPLAINT IS THAT THE PROBLEM WAS IDENTICAL TO THE RECALL REGARDLESS OF THE MANUFACTURER. IT COST US $1,868.04 TO REPAIR THE VEHICLE. THEN IT HAPPENED AGAIN IN JULY OF 2019, AND COST US ANOTHER $776.60 TO REPAIR. I WOULD HAVE FILED THIS COMPLAINT SOONER BUT JUST FOUND OUT HOW TO REGISTER A COMPLAINT WITH THE NHTSA.
HIGHWAY SPEEDS. WRENCH LIGHT COMES ON AND VEHICLE LOSES ALL POWER/THROTTLE RESPONSE. PULL OFF ROAD, PUT VEHICLE IN PARK, RESTART AND COMPUTER SEEMS TO RESET. HAD BEEN 1-2 TIMES PER YEAR OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS AND STRUGGLED TO DIAGNOSE PROBLEM. HAPPENED 8 TIMES IN 150 MILE TRIP TODAY.
IN MAY 2015,I PURCHASED MY 2009 FORD XSCAPE FOUR-CYLINDER HYBRID FROM A FORD DEALER. THE CAR HAS BEEN DRIVEN BY AN OLDER WOMAN AND MOSTLY KEPT IN A GARAGE SO THE MILEAGE WAS LOW AT ABOUT 45,000 MILES. AT APPROXIMATELY OCTOBER 2018, AT 70,000 MILES I ENTERED THE FREEWAY AND WHEN I ACCELERATE THE WRENCH LIGHT WENT ON AND I COULD NOT ACCELERATE . THIS HAPPENED A FEW MORE TIMES RANDOMLY UNDER COMPLETELY DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCES BUT MOSTLY WHEN I NEEDED EXTRA POWER. I WOULD PULL OVER AND TURN OFF THE IGNITION, TURN IT BACK ON AND THE WRENCH LIGHT WOULD BE OFF. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER AND THEY COULD NOT DETERMINE VIA COMPUTER WHAT THE ISSUE WAS. COULD NOT FIND A CODE FOR THE PROBLEM. THEY COULD NOT REPLICATE THE PROBLEM.THEY SAID IT MIGHT'VE BEEN BAD GASOLINE. HAVE NOT HAD THE WRENCH LIGHT OR 'LIMPING HOME' ISSUE SINCEJULY 2019 WITH VEHICLE CURRENTLY AT 79,000 MILES. OUT OF NOWHERE THIS MONTH, I AM NOW HAVING THE SAME ISSUE WITH WRENCH LIGHT AND LIMPING HOME. ENGINE LIGHT IS ON NOW, WITH WRENCH LIGHT. IF I PULL OVER TURN THE CAR OFF AND ON THE WRENCH LIGHT GOES AWAY. S. I HAD BEEN ABLE TO DRIVE BACK ROADS BUT ENTERING THE FREEWAY, OR NEEDING TO ACCELERATE BEYOND 30 MILES AN HOUR CAUSES THE WRENCH LIGHT TO GO ON, AND 'LIMP MODE' WHICH IS VEHICLE IS UNABLE TO ACCELERATE NO MATTER HOW FAR I PRESS THE GAS. I HAVE READ MANY COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS SAME ISSUE. AND THERE WAS A RECALL IN SOUTH CAROLINA? AND A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT. LOTS OF COMPLAINTS THAT THE 2009 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID OUTSIDE OF THAT STATE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE LAWSUIT.
VEHICLE SHUT DOWN WHILE IN MOTION.
WHEN YOUR DRIVING ASS "GO POWER" IS LOST AND A WRENCH LIGHT ILLUMINATES IN THE LOWER LEFT CORRNER. IT DOES NOT MATTER WHERE IM DRIVING BUT IT JUST DECIDES TO DO IT WHEN IT WANTS TO. HAS HAPPENED 3 TIMES IN THE PAST MONTH OR SO ITS HAPPEND WHEN I WAS GOING 10MPHS AND 30 MPHS AND ABOUT 45MPH...SUPER SUPER SCARY LUCKLY NO ONE WAS BEHIND ME ALL TIMES... LAST TIME THIS HAPPEND WAS ON 7/23/2019
ON JULY 9, 2019 I WAS EXITING THE EXPRESSWAY AND MY VEHICLE BEGAN STALLING AT WHICH TIME THE ODOMETER WENT DOWN FROM 50 DOWN TO 0 IMMEDIATELY CAUSING ME TO PULL OVER TO THE SIDE. THANK GOD I WAS ALREADY IN THE PROCESSING OF EXITING. NO WARNING LIGHTS ON THE DASHBOARD AT ALL. I TURNED THE CAR OFF, AND THEN TURNED IT BACK ON. I TOOK MY CAR TO FIRESTONE WHO WAS UNABLE TO PERFORM A DIAGNOSTIC AT THE TIME, AND SUGGESTED THAT I BRING IT BACK. THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS AND OF GREAT CONCERN. THIS VEHICLE HAS ONLY 42,460 MILES OR SO ON IT, AND I DON'T FEEL THAT I SHOULD BE ENCOUNTERING THIS PROBLEM. I HAVE HAD IT SINCE 2010 AND AT THE TIME PURCHASED AT 18,000 MILES OR SO. I DRIVE MY VEHICLE LOCALLY ONLY. I HAVE READ THAT THIS A PROBLEM WITH FORD ESCAPES, AND I BELIEVE THAT THIS ISSUE SHOULD BE LISTED AS A RECALL. PLEASE HELP!
POWER STEERING WENT OUT WHILE DRIVING WITH NO WARNING SO THERE WAS A RECALL ON SOME BUT NOT ALL ESCAPES ON A CITY STREET WHILE I WAS TURNING AT AN INTERSECTION
POWER STEERING ASSIST FAULT. AND ALSO TIRE PRESSURE SENSOR FAULT ESCAPE 4WD V6 W/ ~172,XXX. DASH NOTIFICATION APPEARED ON 02/09/19 BUT QUICKLY WENT AWAY. POWER STEERING WAS FINE, NOT ONE ISSUE EVER. THEN ON 02/11/19 ON THE WAY HOME, THE DASH ALERT SHOWED "POWER STEERING ASSIST FAULT" AND IT WOULDN'T GO AWAY AND BEEPED MULTIPLE TIMES. I PARKED IT AT HOME IN DRIVEWAY AND WENT TO MOVE IT INTO THE STREET A LITTLE BIT LATER AND THE POWER STEERING WAS NONEXISTENT. TOOK FULL BODY WEIGHT TO JUST GET IT TO IN FRONT OF THE HOUSE. LUCKY THAT I WASN'T DRIVING OR DELIVERING FOR MY JOB LIKE I USUALLY AM DURING THE WEEK. BUT TO MY LUCK, MY VIN ISN'T UNDER THE RECALL EVEN THOUGH MY ESCAPE WAS BUILT IN MAY 2009, WELL WITHIN THE RECALL TIME PERIOD. I THINK HIGHLY OF FORD AND AM VERY DISAPPOINTED AT THEIR ATTEMPTS TO SILENCE AND CURB CUSTOMER ISSUES... AND THIS IS A DANGEROUS MANUFACTURING ISSUE! ANY FORD EXECUTIVE OR HIGHER UP WOULD HAVE THIS DONE ASAP IF SOMETHING BAD HAPPENED TO THEIR OWN FAMILY. WE NEED TO ALL STAND UP AND FILE A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT. THEY DON'T CARE ABOUT OUR SAFETY OR OUR FINANCIAL WELLBEING. MOST CAN'T AFFORD THESE $1-2K FIXES.
TAKATA RECALL SINCE I BOUGHT THIS CAR A LOT OF PROBLEMS WITH ELECTRICS ISSUE SENSORS, POWER STEERING, IGNITION, SPEEDING SENSORS, (ALL ELECTRICS) THE WORST ONE IS POWER STEERING. THERE WAS A RECALL ON LINE FOR THIS MODEL BUT NOT FOR MY CAR. (WHY NOT MY CAR?) THERE ARE IN RECALL ALL 2008 - 2011 FORD ESCAPES
I WAS ON MY TO WORK ONE MORNING ENTERING THE INTERSTATE ON RAMP AND I LOST POWER STEERING WHICH ALMOST CAUSED ME TO HAVE AN ACCIDENT. MAKING IT EXTREMELY HARD TO STEER THE VEHICLE. UPON TAKING IT TO MY LOCAL FORD DEALERSHIP THEY TOLD ME MY POWER STEERING TORQUE CONTROL MODULE WAS FAILING. THIS WAS A RECALL ON ESCAPES FROM 2008 / 2011, BUT THEY SAID MY PARTICULAR VIN WAS NOT PART OF THE RECALL??? UPON FURTHER INVESTIGATION MYSELF I'M SEEING WHERE NUMEROUS FORD OWNERS WERE HAVING THE SAME ISSUE AND LIKE MYSELF HAD TO PAY FOR THIS REPAIR OUT OF POCKET...NOT CHEAP I MAY ADD. IT SEEMS THAT SOMEONE WILL HAVE TO LOOSE THEIR LIFE AS A RESULT OF THIS DEFECT BEFORE A RECALL IS ISSUED FOR (ALL) MODELS IN THIS TIME FRAME... WHAT A HORRIBLE THING FOR FORD TO PUT THEIR CONSUMERS AND THEIR FAMILIES IN JEPORDY DUE TO THESE DEFECTIVE PARTS. I WOULD LIKE TO SEE FULL RECALL ON ALL MODELS BETWEEN THIS TIME FRAME. ALSO VEHICLES TO BE FIXED AT FORDS EXPENSE BEFORE SOMEONE LOOSES A LOVED ONE. AND REIMBURSE THOSE OF US WHO HAVE HAD IT FIXED AT OUR EXPENSE....
ON A SNOWY MORNING THE BRAKES WERE APPLIED NORMALLY AND THE SLIPPERY CONDITIONS CAUSED ANTI-LOCK BRAKES TO ACTIVATE. THEY SEEMED TO WORK NORMALLY, BUT AFTER THAT ACTIVATION THE BRAKE PEDAL FELT VERY SOFT AND WOULD NOT ENGAGE THE BRAKES UNTIL THE VERY END OF THE PEDAL TRAVEL. THE VEHICLE WOULD STILL STOP, BUT THE BRAKES WERE UNPREDICTABLE AND UNSAFE. THE PROBLEM WAS DIAGNOSED AS A BAD HYDRAULIC CONTROL UNIT (HCU) AND WAS REPLACED WITH THE ABS MODULE AS A UNIT ($1700). THE NEW UNIT REQUIRED REPROGRAMMING AND BLEEDING AT THE DEALERSHIP ($200). BECAUSE THIS IS A SAFETY COMPONENT WITHIN A REASONABLE MILEAGE (140,000 VEHICLE MILEAGE), THIS SHOULD BE ADDRESSED BY THE OEM WITH AT LEAST A TSB.
WHILE DRIVING WITH MY WHOLE FAMILY. 2 LITTLE GIRLS 12 AND 6 AND THANKFULLY MY HUSBAND DRIVING AND NOT ME, WE WERE RETURNING A RENTAL CAR WHEN MY CAR FLASHED OUT OF NO WHERE GOING ABOUT 45MPH POWER STEERING ASSIST FAULT UPON MY RESEARCH; THERE HAS BEEN CERTAIN VEHICLES RECALLED. COME ON FORD! WHATEVER THE DEFAULT IS, CAN YOU AT LEAST GIVE US OWNERS INSIGHT ON THIS STUFF TO GET IT FIXED? IS THIS SOME KIND OF MONEY MAKER FOR YOU ALL? TO SET UP CERTAIN TIMERS FOR THIS STUFF TO HAPPEN? I'M JUST SO THANMF THAT I WASN'T DRIVING. I WOULD HAVE NOT HAD THE POWER MY HUSBAND DOES TO OVERTAKE THE WHEEL. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DO SOMETHING!
HAPPENED THREE TIMES IN 20 MINUTES ON 08/16/2018: VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION EACH TIME, SUDDENLY AND WITHOUT WARNING ENGINE STOPPED, ALL WARNING LIGHTS LIT UP ON DASHBOARD AND LOST COMPLETE CONTROL OF STEERING, SPEED CONTROL. WHEELS LOCKED UP AND ALMOST CAUSED MULTIPLE ACCIDENTS. HAD TO PULL OVER AND TURN ON VEHICLE AGAIN.
MY CAR TURNS OFF WHILE DRIVING. THIS HAS HAPPENED 3 TIMES SINCE APRIL 2018. AFTER THE CAR STALLS, I AM ABLE TO RESTART IT AND IT RUNS AGAIN. I'M EXTREMELY CONCERNED THIS WILL HAPPEN ON A MAJOR HIGHWAY AND PUT MY FAMILY AND OTHER DRIVERS AT RISK.
ENGINE TURNS OFF WHEN DRIVING. THIS HAPPENS AT DIFFERENT SPEEDS IN VARYING CONDITIONS; IE. DRIVING SLOW, DRIVING FAST, ON THE HIGHWAY ON SIDE STREETS.
WHILE DRIVING ON FREEWAY AT 70MPH, WRENCH LIGHT AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND CAR SUDDENLY SLOWED TO 40MPH. THIS HAPPENED TWICE IN A WEEK. THE TROUBLE CODE SHOWS P2112. DEALER SAYS THAT MY VIN IS NOT COVERED BY THE CONSUMER SATISFACTION PROGRAM 13N03, BUT I HAVE EXPERIENCED THE SAME PROBLEM. DEALER SAYS ETB MUST BE REPLACED. I WILL HAVE TO PAY FOR IT.
TAKATA RECALL, WITH DRIVING MY 2009 FORD ESCAPE, I REALIZED WHENEVER I AM PROCEEDING TO PRESS ON THE GAS AT A STOP SIGN OR AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT, THE ACCELERATION TAKES TIME TO PICK UP SPEED, AND WHEN TRYING TO PICK UP THE MINIMUM SPEED LOCALLY IT FEELS LIKE I HAVE TO PRESS HARD FOR THE TRUCK TO ACCELERATE MORE. AND WHEN I'M MERGING ON THE HIGHWAY IT IS VERY SCARY BECAUSE WHEN PRESSING DOWN ON THE GAS IT STALLS, ALOT LET ALONE WHEN I HAVE TO PRESS ON THE BRAKES, IT TAKES LONG TO PICK UP SPEED AGAIN. ALSO WHEN DRIVING UP A STEEP HILL, THE TRUCK APPEARS THAT IT CAN'T ACCELERATE FAST ENOUGH,THE ACCELERATION IS HORRIBLE, AND I AM STARTING TO BECOME VERY AFRAID DRIVING MY OWN VERY, NOT KNOWING WETHER SOMETHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN TO ME, WHEN DRIVING.
SUDDEN LOSS OF POWER STEERING ASSIST EVEN AFTER THE RECALL REPROGRAMMING. MY VEHICLE WAS PREVIOUSLY TAKEN IN FOR FOR RECALL NUMBER 14S05 IN JULY. 2014. TROUBLE CODES WERE NOT FOUND AT THAT TIME SO THE DEALER SUPPOSEDLY DID A REPROGRAMMING WHICH WAS DESIGNED TO PREVENT THE LOSS OF POWER ASSIST. OUR VEHICLE HAD A COMPLETE LOSS OF POWER STEERING ASSIST WHILE DRIVING ON 11/7/17 I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO MY LOCAL FORD DEALER AND THEY FOUND TROUBLE CODE B1342 WHICH IF FOUND DURING THE 2014 RECALL APPOINTMENT, IT WOULD HAVE RESULTED IN THE STEERING COLUMN BEING REPLACED. I WAS TOLD BY THE DEALER THAT THE STEERING COLUMN NEEDS TO BE REPLACED BUT THAT MY VEHICLE WAS NO LONGER ELIGIBLE FOR THE RECALL DUE TO THE PREVIOUS REPROGRAMMING, EVEN THOUGHT IT WAS COMPLETELY INEFFECTIVE IN RESOLVING THE CRITICAL SAFETY ISSUE. CLEARLY, MY VEHICLE EXPERIENCED THE EXACT POWER STEERING LOSS AND FAILURE CODE THAT WAS RELATED TO THE RECALL. THE REPROGRAMMING DID NOT HAVE THE INTENDED RESULT WHATSOEVER - I STILL EXPERIENCED THE POWER STEERING LOSS. I HAVE TRIED TO ESCALATE THIS ISSUE WITHIN FORD CUSTOMER SERVICE BUT THEY ARE DENYING ANY RESPONSIBILITY TO RESOLVE THIS KNOWN DEFECT UNDER THE RECALL WARRANTY DUE TO THE PREVIOUS REPROGRAMMING. I'M HOPING NHTSA CAN HELP RESOLVE THIS CRITICAL SAFETY ISSUE - I'M SURE WE'RE NOT THE ONLY ONES AFFECTED! IM A SINGLE MOM AND DO NOT HAVE THE $1300 TO REPLACE THIS PART WHICH SHOULD OF BEEN REPLACED THE FIRST TIME!!!!!
LOSS OF POWERING STEERING IN VEHICLE GOING 55 MPH ON A BUSY HIGHWAY. NO ENGINE LIGHTS OR SAFETY SIGNALS APPEARED ON THE DASH WHEN THIS OCCURRED, THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NO WARNING. LUCKILY, I WAS NOT IN A SERIOUS ACCIDENT WHEN THE LOSS OF POWER STEERING OCCURED AND I WAS ABLE TO TAKE THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALERSHIP TO HAVE IT LOOKED AT. AT THIS POINT THEY SAID THE RECALL SHOULD HAVE FIXED EVERYTHING REGARDING THE ELECTRICAL POWERING STEERING ISSUE, BUT NOW THAT THE RECALL HAS BEEN CLOSED THERE IS NOTHING THEY CAN DO AND I AM NOW RESPONSIBLE TO HAVE THE POWER STEERING COLUMN REPLACED. WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN IN THE RECALL INITIALLY, IT TOOK THEM 2 MINUTES TO COMPLETE THE CHECK LIST CHECKING FOR DTCS AND TO REPROGRAM THE PSCM AND INSTRUMENT CLUSTER. THE CUSTOMER INFORMATION SHEET POSTED WITH THE SAFETY RECALL BULLETIN WAS NEVER GIVE TO ME EVEN THOUGH ALL DEALERSHIP SERVICE MANAGEMENT SHOULD HAVE PROVIDED A COPY TO THOSE WHO ONLY HAD REPROGRAMMING COMPLETED ON THEIR VEHICLE.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 FORD ESCAPE. WHILE THE CONTACT'S SPOUSE WAS DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE STEERING WHEEL SEIZED AND THE POWER STEERING FAILED. WHILE MAKING RIGHT OR LEFT TURNS, THE STEERING FAILED WITHOUT WARNING ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS. ALSO, WHEN THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED, THE VEHICLE LUNGED FORWARD WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC, BUT THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE COULD NOT BE DETERMINED. THE LOCAL FORD DEALER AND THE MANUFACTURER WERE NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 124,000.
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
Data on this page last refreshed .