Problems with 2002 Ford Escape ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

While traveling about 35 to 40mph and without prior warning . the vehicle will stall please provide additional information dealer is aware of the problem. ts

On four separate occasions my 2002 ford escape has stalled while driving, creating extremely unsafe situations. each time the vehicle has been proceeding downhill at approximately 40 mph, and then stalls as foot is lifted off gas pedal. stall causes loss of brakes, power steering, etc. dealer has been unable to diagnose-- on first visit they suggested possible fuel contamination might have caused a stall. on second visit (8/15/02), dealer unable to recreate problem, no diagnosis made, although dealer did install software upgrade. car has failed twice since then (8/16 and now on 9/30). have notified dealer of most recent incident and bringing car in for service. to date there have been no accidents or injuries, but have been extremely lucky each time. problem only occurs within first 5-10 minutes after engine start after prolonged rest. mr

Consumer stated that while driving approx 40mph engine stalled w/o warning. vehicle checked by dlr who advised can not duplicate problem. nlm *yh

Engine stalled without any warning. no power assist for power steering and brake. i used park brake to stop the vehicle. after i shifted to park position and restarted the engine, everything was back to normal. this is very dangrous if other vehicles follows, especially on highway. mr

Vehicle stalls intermittently while driving. vehicle is currently being checked by dealer.*ak

Consumer states vehicle will stall at anytime. took to dealer and dealer replaced computer. please provide any further information. ts

Engine suddely quit while driving. shifted to neutral while coasting, turned ignition off then on again. vehicle immediately restarted.*ak

Vehicle intermittently stalls while driving.*ak consuemr was travelling 35 mph down hill with foot on the brake. when attempting to accelerate, the stall resulted. the problem has not been duplicated. ford replaced suspected parts per technical service bulletin. *jg

Consumer states that the vehicle has stalled on two separate occasions within 35-40 mph. dealer made some ajustments and repairs on two separate occasion and the problem is still reoccurring. feel free to provide any further information.*jb

No summary listed for above vehicle. *aki

While traveling on the highway and without prior warning. the vehicle will stall and will not restart at all. the dealership is aware of the problem. nlm

Consumer states while driving 35 mph the vehicle would stalls. vehicle been to the dealer on two occasions and the problem is reoccuring. feel free to provide any further information. mr

The engine failed, which caused the brakes and steering to lock up.*dt *jb

While driving brakes and steering locked up and engine shut off without any warning .driver lost control of vehicle, resulting in an accident.*ak the consumer stated that the manufacturer had issued two technical service bulletins on defects of the vehicle, and the problems occuring were the result of one of those defects. *yh

Consumer says that engine had shut down without warning and with foot off of the accelerator while descending a shallow hill at 30 mph. consumer is concerned about the safety implications of losing power steering and power brakes without warning if heavy traffic. *scc

2002 ford escape will stall while driving. steering wheel and brakes locked at the time of the stalling. the car becomes unmanuverable and the driver has to put the car in park in moving traffic in order to restart the car. have brought this car in to the dealership 4 times now. each time the dealership has attempted to repair the car by "re-calibrating" which means updating the software. the software updates have done nothing for the car as of yet. confidence in the escape is no longer there and the driver(s) are stuck with a lemon that ford will not buy back. car is very unsafe for driver and other driver's on the road. mr

While driving down hill 25-35mph the vehicle stalled out without warning. the dealer has replaced the relays in the engine, and the problem has reoccurred again. provide further information. *mr

2002 escape stalled twice without warning - dangerous, as you are unaware when this happens except that the steering becomes tight, difficult to steer and braking is difficult. happens while traveling at 40 mph. no lights come on in the dash to let you know - very scary.*ak

Consumer states that while driving at 35mph on flat surface and no warning the vehicle will shut off and the consumer is force to pull over and it becomes hard for the consumer to control the vehicle. dealer notified

On three separate occasions while driving between 35-40 mph the car stalled in traffic. the engine light came on, the oil light came on and i lost power steering and power brakes. each incident occured after the car had not been driven for a long period. the first time was after i had been at work all day and was going home. the second and third times were first thing in the morning after the car had been running approximately 10 minutes. the dealer and manufacturer have been notified.*ak

Problems with power assist, engine and brakes. mr

I purchased a 2002 ford escape. it currently has 10k miles on it. while going down a hill, the engine stopped, power steering went out and the power brakes didn't work. luckly i managed to pull over, put the car in park and restart the engine. the same problem, same situation occur a couple of days later. both times occurred while i was going down a hill at about 30-35 mph. i noticed that the rpm reading when the accellerator isn't depressed is very low. it sometimes dips close to zero. normal rpm for sitting in idle is around 1. it's currently at the dealership.

Consumer states that while driving vehicle intermittenly stalls when gas pedal is depressed. checked by dealer who advised can not duplicate problem.

While traveling on highway and without prior warning vehicle will shut down and willnot restart. dealership is aware of the problem.*ak

This is my 2nd incident in 2 months. *ak

Vehicle stalled while bringing home from dealer going down the driveway. no control over the vehicle. week later while travelling on expressway at 60mph, vehicle stalled again. was able to steer over side of road, barely, and vehicle restarted.*ak

I have owned a 2001 and 2002 escape both have engines with the same problem - the engine shutting down on a hill going 40 mph, losing brakes and steering leading to a life threatening situation!!*ak

On march 30, 2002, i purchased a brand new ford escape xlt at hayward ford in hayward, ca. i had taken the vehicle previously to the ford service department for a loud knocking noise that the vehicle had been making and ford was unable to verify my complaint. on july 20, 2002, i attempted to drive the vehicle to los angeles for a family reunion with four small children in the car which included my two daughters, my neice and my nephew. going at a speed of about 65 miles per hour, the engine caught on fire and all aspects of the vehicle shut down including the power steering and the brakes. i had to struggle to get the vehicle to the side of the road. the car is now sitting at magic ford in valencia, ca where i had it towed. ford has refused to pay for the rental car that i am forced to drive. ford has not bothered to contact me. out of concern for the saftey of my family and others, the ford escape needs to be recalled before someone is killed or seriously injured.*ak

The first incidence (may-2002), while driving approximately 40 mph the engine shut-off and the steering lock. luckily the vehicle came to a stop at the side of the road with no injuries. the vehicle eventually restarted and was returned to the dealership. they reprogrammed the pcm and said the problem was fixed. the same thing happened about 6-weeks later along the same stretch of road, and luckily again nobody was hurt. the vehicle was again returned to the dealer. this time they said that they can't find anything wrong and gave it back to us without a fix. i am afraid that next time it happens it will be in traffic and someone will be injured or killed. this vehicle should not be on the road.*ak

Driving at approx. 35 mph, engine stalled, losing control of steering, brakes, and acceleration. happened on 2 seperate occasions, within about 1 month. car has been taken to dealership to investigate problem, dealer could not find anything wrong.*ak

On two occasions, my 2002 ford escape has stalled for no apparent reason. the first time the vehicle stalled i was slowing down from approximately 45 miles an hour. the second time it happened i was exiting the interstate. both times the vehicle stalled i lost the power steering capablilites, but was able to immediately restart it. this matter needs an immediate investigation before injuries or fatalities are reported. i had heard numberous complaints being filed with the nhtsa about this problem, and i have contacted ford about the problem only to be told ford is not aware of any problems. *ak

Vehicle stalled twice while driving at 40 to 45 mph possibly caused by iac motor that failed. manufacturer notified. *tt

Engine stalled traveling 30 mph, foot off pedal. *jb *****dimsii ivoq entry posted after 12/12/02 cut-over to artemis****764292

Vehicle stalled at 25 mph, dealer replaced wiring harness, vehicle has been at dealership for 3 weeks.*ak consumer states that several weeks prior the vehicle would not start. *slc

While traveling on highway and without prior warning vehicle will shut down, and willnot restart. dealership is aware of problem.*ak

My 2002 ford escape xlt's engine has now failed three times while i've been driving. i experienced a loss of power, loss of speed, and loss of power-steering. the last driving condition was on i-95 south at 55 mph on a conjested highway. without prior warning each time my escape's engine failed, and only briefly (a few seconds) afterwards. i thought first two times were a fluke, but am now concerned for my and other's safety. the local ford dealership's service manager said, when asked, he really hasn't heard of this problem. i've just today researched th nhtsa's website and have found, so far, 55 other shockingly similar reports. who has to die?*ak

While driving motor would stall without any warning. vehicle was taken to dealership numerous times for stalling, but the mechanic wasn't able to duplicate and repair failure. please describe details. *ak

Consumer stated on july 2, 2002 the vehicle was taken back to the dealer for a broken headlight and missing equipment from the vehicle, on july 23, 2002 the vehicle began experiencing stalling, brake and odometer problems, the brakes were replaced due to a flaw, the stalling and the odometer problems could not be duplicated, also there were problems with the speakers and the clutch sticking, consumer stated while the vehicle was parked, the parking brake disengaged and the vehicle rolled into a hotel.*jb

Vehicle was purchased new in june 2001. in august 2001 vehicle experienced total engine failure. consumer has taken vehicle to dealer 4 times for repair, but problem continues to occur and vehicle stalls.*ak

While my wife was driving our 2002 ford escape the engine stalls go down hill 30-40mph no power steering--engine light & oil light comes on. escape towed back to dealer . dealer unable to duplicate the problem, dealer did not know of any problems like this with the 2002 escapes, i told him to look it up on the nhtsa consumer complaints database.lots of them like this one . called ford motor on there 1-800 line to let them know about it.

Purchased 1st escape 6-7-02. dealer had car 7 out of 11 days for stalling issues and hatch lock repairs. dealer replaced vehicle with new vehicle 6-25-02. on 6-26-02 new car stalled on deceleration between 6-6:30 pm going down an incline on pearl drive. on 6-28-02 car stalled on deceleration around 5 pm on downhill slope of muegge road. the car was placed in neutral and restarted immediately. contacted ford customer service to request all tsb tests be performed by dealer at one time to remedy issues. am currently waiting to hear back from ford to see if that is going to be possible.

Consumer noticed that the power steering was not working as she turned around a bend, and her brakes were not either.(vehicle had turned off without knowledge) consumer feels that this could be very dangerous if vehicle turns off and she is not able to restart it in time to use the brakes. *scc manufacturer notified. *tt

I own a 2002 ford escape and only one month of having it all of the lights lighted up on the dash board and the engine stop while going down an interstate ramp. the second time it happened i was in traffic going at about 10 mph when it shut off causing to rear-end the car in front of me. it's a problem that has not been fixed, i brought it to the dealer they claim that nothing is wrong with it. the dealer checked it and said it has happened to other cars, but that the problems had been fixed that it was only on the ones from 2001. the dealer also said that they couldn't award the warranty that the engine shutting off wouldn't happen again, but since april 2002 it has happen at least 5 times with 1 accident . *la

Vehicle stalls while driving. occurs going uphill or downhill. (3 out of 4 times on same block of a main street). has occurred 4 times this year already. results in loss of power steering, and power brakes. to date no accidents, but probability for a fatal incident to occur is very high! have taken vehicle to the dealership twice already. they are unable to duplicate problem or discover cause.*ak

Engine stalled during normal operation of the vehicle. luckily, no accident insued. dealer towed car to dealership but found no problem. received bulletin from ford the following day identifying the problem and detailing corrective action.*ak

Engine suddenly stopped while going around clover leaf. power steering went out along with brakes. stopped vehicle, immediately restarted and vehicle has been running properly since. dealer (suntrup ford) stated they have no idea what could have caused problem and to continue driving and see if it happens again.*ak

This is the second time that engine stalled while driving and this time i was almost rear ended. all functions suddenly locked up. i had no functionality in steering, brakes, and acceleration. i had no control of the car and car slowly died. after a few minutes i was able to restart car with no problems. this could be a life threatening problem if on a highway the next time this happens. *ts *jb ***dimsii ivoq entry posted after 12-12-02 cut over to artemis***763065

Vehicle will stall while driving, and vehicle will have to come to a complete stop before it will restart. consumer very concerned about potential accident. vehicle has been checked by dealer 3 times, and problem still occurring.*ak

Owned the vehicle for only two weeks and 165 miles. noticed stains on my driveway. took vehicle to dealer and was told that the engine was leaking oil. ford told the dealer to install a new engine (on my brand new car). they gave me a cheap rental car to drive while my new one is being repaired. i paid cash for the car. now i'm without the car and without the money. lemon laws don't even protect me at this point.*ak

Vehicle stalled while traveling downhill without warning. this is a new replacement vehicle that i got from the manufacturer because my previous vehicle had the same problems. very dangerous and needs to be taken seriously. *ak