Problems with 2009 Ford Escape POWER TRAIN

Transmission is loud. shifts are harsh. significant hesitation when accelerating. transmission hunts for gears. upshifts and downshifts are frequent. when passing vehicles on the highway, acceleration is delayed as transmission shifts up through gears, then drops to a low gear. powertrain light comes on the dash. to dealer for service. they say they cannot locate problem. *kb

While driving during both incidents the vehicle lost all power steering, stalled, and engine started missing. tuned vehicle off then tried to restart and wouldn't click, continued missing. rpms would rise without any movement. turn vehicle off again to restart and it started correctly. while always driving the vehicle it will jolt while moving as if the transmission wasn't catching gears. *tr

Repeated transmission shift issues, vehicle will shift extremely hard, especially in stop and go traffic. sometimes vehicle has a hard time switching into reverse. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2009 ford escape. the contact stated that the vehicle failed to accelerate from a complete stop. the vehicle was towed to a dealer and the manufacturer was contacted. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 22,741 and the current mileage was 22,800.

I was driving at 60 mph up the hill and was trying to pass a vehicle. i tried to increase the speed to 70 mph and there was sudden shift of gears; it went from high to low and then high again. i felt sudden jerk and the powertrain light came on. this thing happened once more after that incident. i took my vehicle to the dealer and it has been there for last 4 days. the latest i was informed is that, they will replace it. the reason i am writing this is that, this is not one sporadic issue. i know at least 2 persons who had the same issue with 2009 escapes. fortunately for me, the transmission did not die, but for them, it died on the freeways. not a very safe situation to be in. thanks for reading. *kb

Tl* the contact owns a 2009 ford escape. the contact stated that a seal blew in the front axle, causing transmission fluid to leak from the vehicle. the dealer did not make an attempt to duplicate the failure. the manufacturer was aware of the failure however, did not offer any assistance. the current mileage was 25,000. the approximate failure mileage was 20,000. ....updated 12/03/12 *bf the consumer two repairs were made in less than five months. the axle seal was leaking transmission fluid. updated 01/12/12

Tl* the contact owns a 2009 ford escape. the contact stated that while driving approximately 60 mph, the vehicle failed to accelerate and the rpm increased. the contact mentioned that the wrench symbol warning light illuminated. also, the contact stated that the failure occurred intermittently. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where the failure was not diagnosed. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the approximate failure mileage was 20,000 and the current mileage was 60,000.

I was accelerating from a stoplight on a two lane road without a shoulder. a vehicle in my lane suddenly slammed on the brakes, so i let my foot off the accelerator to check the next lane to see if i could swerve over at which point i pressed on the accelerator to get in front of the car in the other lane but my vehicle was unresponsive. the rpms didn't change, after a couple seconds and the accelerator to the floor, it finally engaged into gear and jolted forward. i narrowly missed the stopped car. i have experienced these dead spots in acceleration after the mandatory tsb ford released. there have been five times in which it almost caused an accident and i try to avoid making any left handed turns against traffic. my vehicle has also been plagued with other transmission issues, such as slamming into gear, slipping gears, shift flares, harsh shifting and even the transmission being unresponsive and resulting in the vehicle jolting forward when off the accelerator. *tr

Significant safety issue is as follows; 2009 ford escape with a manual transmission will jump out of 5th gear into neutral. this first occurred first in november 2010 at approximately 58000 miles (repaired), then in april 2011 at approximately 72000 miles (repaired), then again in october 2011 at approximately 90000 miles, not yet repaired. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2009 ford escape. the contact stated that while towing the vehicle with an rv, smoke was seen from the engine compartment. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the automatic transmission was defective and needed to be replaced. the contact mentioned that the transmission had been replaced a total of three times. the manufacturer was notified of the failure who advised the contact to have the vehicle towed to the dealer. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 14,000 the current mileage was 23,000. updated 10/18/11*lj updated 3/29/12 *cn on april 3, 2012 the vehicle was taken to the dealer, because the transmission was slipping while shifting. the transmission was reprogrammed for the slipping issues. updated 05/18/12

Tl* the contact owns a 2009 ford escape xlt. the contact was driving 20 mph up a steep hill and attempting to accelerate when the vehicle stalled without warning. the contact immediately engaged the emergency brake to prevent the vehicle from rolling backward. the contact was able to restart the vehicle. the vehicle was taken to the dealer and the technician stated that the transmission oil had burned out and that the transmission would need replacing. the vehicle was repaired. the contact stated that the vehicle would jerk when accelerating at high speeds but had not stalled since repairs. the approximate failure mileage was 24,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2009 ford escape. while driving 60 mph, the transmission exhibited an unusually loud noise just as the vehicle independently decelerated from 60 mph to 50 mph. the contact was able to drive to his residence where the vehicle was parked. the vehicle was not repaired. the contact stated that the vehicle has had a history of transmission issues. the transmission was leaked shortly after purchase and the vehicle was previously recalled under an unknown manufacturer's recall for the transmission. the failure mileage was 4,000 and the current mileage was 7,000.

2009 ford escape xlt v6 with automatic transmission. while driving the vehicle at highway speeds (50-70 mph) the transmission slips into neutral. this first occurred when the vehicle was 7 months old (jan 2010) it was taken to the dealership and the transmission was replaced, according to the service department at the dealership, with a brand new transmission. a couple of months later the same problem resurfaced and the vehicle was again taken to the dealership where it stayed for over a week. the service advisor informed us that there was a bad module in the transmission and that once it was replaced the problem would be solved. the vehicle came out of the dealership supposedly "repaired", however, two days later the same exact problem happened with the transmission slipping into neutral when driving on the interstate. we live in washington dc and have to take the washington beltway and interstate 95 every day to get to work and this issue with the transmission is just a serious accident waiting to happen. this vehicle is not safe to operate! *tr

I purchased a 2009 ford escape in june of 2009. in february of 2010, i had issues with the transmission "slipping" and "jerking" while in transmission. i took the vehicle into the dealership, and was informed my transmission had failed, and they had informed me they had installed a brand new transmission. september 8th, 2010 my vehicle was experiencing the same symptoms with the brand new transmission that was replaced in march, at less than 30,000 miles currently on my odometer. took the vehicle to the dealership september 10th and they informed me on september 12th, that it is indeed transmission failure, and the transmission will more than likely need to be replaced. i am upset that this vehicle continues to have transmission concerns. *tr

After a recall that reprogrammed the powertrain control module my 2009 ford escape began to experience acceleration with out the gas pedal being pressed. the first incident occurred on august 15th. the vehicle was brought in for service on august 20th. no issues or repairable items were found. the car continues to accelerate without the gas pedal being pressed. the vehicle will be brought back in for service. the vehicle did not experience this problem prior to the reprogramming. when the acceleration occurs it feels like the cruise control is engaging even though the system was not on prior to acceleration. *tr

While being towed behind my motor home the transmission began smoking. when i stopped there was so much smoke coming from the vehicle i thought it was on fire and grabbed my fire extinguisher. i had the car hauled to the nearest dealer where a remanufactured transmission was installed at 8260 odometer miles. the second transmission failure occurred while being towed at 10834 odometer miles and after being towed approximately 1000 miles after the first failure. the dealer installed another remanufactured transmission. each repair took 2-3 weeks to complete. although ford maintains that the escape can be towed with all four wheels on the ground there are numerous catastrophic failures reported on the internet under "ford escape transmission problems + towing" which leads one to believe the vehicle can not be towed without great risk. this failure is not only an inconvenience but it is a financial problem for the consumer and a safety problem. depending upon where the failure occurs it might be very dangerous or impossible to pull over and wait for a tow truck. also, at some point the vehicle could conceivably catch fire which would present an even greater potential problem. there is at least one report of a fire on the nhtsa website. the transmission used in the escape is a 6f35 transmission which is also used in the mercury mariner, ford fusion and mazada tribute. so these vehicles may have the same problem if they are towed all four wheels down.

Vehicle accelerated while on cruise control and cruise had to be disengaged to stop acceleration. vehicle failed on 2 occasions to accelerate to highway speed after entering merge lane. *tr

Ford scape transmission no respond, i was driving and to pass another car no respond and i had got out the road. almost crash. i inform this incident. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2009 ford escape. the contact was towing the vehicle with his 2009 fleetwood bounder 35 ft. triton v10 engine with a ford chassis. while driving 55 mph the transmission in his ford escaped caught fire. he stated that he followed the instructions in the users manual which indicated to place the vehicle in neutral, the key in the acc position and turn the vehicle on for five minutes before he began towing a vehicle. the tow bar was installed on the vehicle and the rv. he observed smoke in between the rv and the ford escape. the contact had to drive two miles before he could pull over. when he inspected the vehicles, he observed smoke coming from underneath the hood of the ford escape. he called the manufacturer and was advised that the vehicle had to be towed to the dealer. the vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer. the dealer advised him that the manufacturer would decide whether to replace or rebuild the transmission. the manufacturer was unable to locate the parts was unable to confirm when the parts would be available. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and current mileages were 24,064.

This 2009 ford escape was purchased august 1, 2009. i can't say how disappointed i am in the performance of this vehicle. beginning may 19th, 2010 with a recall, the above-mentioned vehicle began sputtering, stalling and jerking upon acceleration. on august 16th, the vehicle was taken to gene steffy ford in columbus for repair. again, after driving the vehicle for two weeks, the check engine light came on and it started to stall and sputter when driven over 20 miles. three times in september, i took the vehicle to steffy ford in columbus for work. they failed to find what was wrong with the vehicle. i ended up taking the vehicle back to baxter ford in omaha, nebraska. on october 12th, 2010 an intake hose assembly was replaced on the vehicle, after the service department drove the said vehicle over 100 miles. again, the vehicle has still not performed to customer satisfaction. on december 1, 2010 the vehicle was taken to baxter ford for service work. this time the lh trans axle assembly was replaced, the transmission fluid was drained and a case bushing was found to be worn. the vehicle still jerks on acceleration and now the steering wheel is crooked. definitely a safety hazard to drive if the axle was worn at only 31,000 miles. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2009 ford escape. the contact was driving 25 mph when the vehicle failed to shift properly. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where the dealer confirmed that the transmission needed to be reprogrammed. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 9,626 and the current mileage was 11,000.

While travelling at highway speed, transmission slips to neutral (or low gear) and rpms shoot up to near 6000. forward momentum slows dramatically which is quite hazardous on highway. got to dealership right away and within day they "fixed" it by replacing a seal (diagnosis was low fluid). expressed concerns for safety and was told it is fixed and it is safe. next day the exact same thing occurs! in addition to that same problem occuring, also now shifting is occassionally very hard especially when acceleration is harder like merging onto highway or passing another car. bringing vehicle back in but don't have my hopes up right now.

Tl* the contact owns a 2009 ford escape. the contact stated that while driving approximately 15 mph, the vehicle failed to accelerate and the rpms increased excessively. the vehicle also jerked forward without warning. the contact stated that the failure recurred intermittently. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where the failure could not be replicated. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the approximate failure mileage was 4,000 and the current mileage was 65,000. *tr

At the shift level of 40 to 45 mph the gas pedal vibrates. it is most pronounced during the first shift of the day. *tr

Left front axle shaft broke and seal to transmission was leaking fluid car had 14,516 mileage replaced shaft and seal and bushing. *tr

2009 ford escape transmission is slipping out of gear under acceleration at highway speeds. while pressing on the gas at highway speeds the transmission slips into neutral and the engine revs up to 5,000 to 6,000 rpms with no error lights coming on. dealer was advised of the problem and stated that it was low on tranny fluid. however, the problem reappeared two days later and is not fixed yet. the potential for an accident at highway speeds is quite possible.*tr

On october 24, 2009, the rpm needle would stick at the 2000 level. hesitation occurred when accelerating march 2, 2010, the throttle binded on acceleration. on july19, 2011, powertrain control module had to be reprogrammed due to recall.on february 12, 2011, engine died while driving, restarted engine, and would drive, and problem would repeat. throttle body assembly replaced.on december 3 ,2012, engine light would appear and dtc codes were cleared, wiggle test and wiring diagnosis performed. on march 16th,2013, car powered down to slow crawl and engine light appeared. transmission axle leak repaired. on april 5th, throttle /powertrain light appeared and car slowed down to a slow crawl. restarted and drove home. i am concerned for my safety and have no confidence in driving this car. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2009 ford escape. the contact stated that while driving 70 mph, the transmission shifted gears and the rpms suddenly increased up to 6000. when the vehicle shifted back in gear, the contact heard a banging noise. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer several times. the dealer stated that the vehicle needed a valve body which was replaced; however, the failure continued to occur. on march 30, 2010, all of the gears in the transmission were replaced but the failure recurred. on april 19, 2010, the vehicle was taken back to the dealer where it remained for nine days. the dealer stated that the vehicle had to adapt to the contacts style of driving. the dealer stated that they were waiting for a response from the manufacturer who confirmed that they would send a field engineer to inspect the vehicle. the contact no longer wanted the vehicle but the manufacturer refused to accept it. the failure mileage was approximately 5,184. the current mileage was 15,835.

Purchased 2009 ford escape fwd v6 auto trans as a vehicle to be towed behind our motor home. we were assured it was towable (ford owners manual & dinghy towing guides published annually with auto mfr's input). we have blown 2 transmissions in past 4 months, and have more than followed ford's guidelines. i have read of several other rvers who have experienced up to 4 transmission failures - some reported being flagged down by other motorists because smoke was coming from the car while being towed. the wiring harness on ours has been melted both times trans failure occurred. ford refuses to acknowledge their mistake relative towability. ford has abused us (stranded for 2+weeks now with no idea when repairs will be completed) by their customer service policies. on the first trans failure they just told the dealer to replace the transmission - took 10 days. this time they are dragging their feet on ordering transmission replacement, and offering us no financial assistance for our inconvenience and out of pocket costs (rental car, etc). *tr

At the shift level of 40 to 45 mph the gas pedal vibrates. it is most pronounced during the first shift of the day. *tr

2009 ford escape xlt v6. transmission failure. merging into interstate traffic. speedometer read 60mph yet no rpms. could have proven fatal. vehicle was serviced for 1 recall regarding this problem. transmission failed anyhow. alot of other 2009 escapes with the same problem. *tr

Car slowed then accelerated to over 100mph. took it to dealer, told me there was nothing wrong. happened again pulling into my driveway at 5mph, sudden acceleration, and stopped with a bump to my garage door. took it to dealer, told nothing wrong and nothing they could do. now i find out there is a transmission linkage problem with this car and i believe has a recall. dealer wants $100 to look at it. if the part being recalled is fine, they keep the $100, if not they deduct it from my bill or refund it to me. while under warranty nothing could be done, according to them. this has occurred on several more occasions, including the slowing up of the vehicle. you push the pedal down and you lose power, then suddenly it kicks in and you're off and running at high speeds, with the pedal stuck to the floor. i've turned the ignition off to stop and thrown it into neutral and watched the engine tach very high before turning it off (into accessories so i still have brakes and steering) to prevent damage to the engine. contacted ford customer service and they informed me the dealer has the right to charge me the fee but urged me to go to dealer and pay. if the linkage is on recall then why do i have to pay a fee up front? they claim i should get a refund if it is the linkage, but i've been having problems with it since i bought the car. no warning lights, check engine or anything came on. i now have the car up for sale and i am passing this problem onto the next buyer. the dealer has been urging me to have transmission flushes since the warranty expired at 36k miles. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2009 ford escape. the vehicle hesitates prior to accelerating. the vehicle was taken to the dealer and the computer was reprogrammed. the repair did not remedy the failure. the failure mileage was 10,000 . the current mileage is 10,000. updated 1/4/10 *cn when decreasing speed for turns or nearing a light, and then accelerate, the vehicle didn't respond quick, it took a few seconds. the consumer change the grade of gas he was using and the problem improved a little. the dealer reprogrammed the pcm. the consumer stated he and the dealer discussed the possibility of a new transmission because of the acceleration problem as well as the fluid being black. updated 01/06/10. *jb

2009 ford escape 4wd automatic transmission. we experienced failure of transmission while towing the car per instructions in car information book. it was fixed by ford with no problem (we were told it was a defective transmission) took 12 days. reimbursed by extended warranty for out of pocket expenses. then we towed it 1000 miles per instructions on stopping etc. no problems. we had the oil changed by a ford dealer and they "topped" off the fluids. we towed the car 200 miles and the transmission "blew" it was towed again to a ford dealer fixed in 6 days this time and a new dipstick was given with instruction to never let anyone "top" off the fluid and to keep it between hash mark and low line. we have since towed it >9000 miles with no further problem. however everytime we had oil change or tire reputation, the service department did not know about their own service bulletin telling them not to top off fluid. we were also given new towing instructions regarding stopping every 6 hours and running the car for 5 minutes and putting it through all gears before towing again. however, i can't find those instruction anywhere. *tr

My first incident with my 2009 ford escape happened shortly after i bought it. after just starting my truck and driving a short distance, the truck would not accelerate but the rpm's were roaring to over 6000 and my truck finally shot out into traffic. luckily on a very busy street, no one was coming at the time. after that the truck had multiple incidents of not accelerating in traffic and a roaring and rapid rise in rpm's. i learned to immediately turn my car off (in the middle of the road) and then restart and it would usually work properly. it can be very scary. it would often slam into gear when this happened which i know was not good for my transmission. this happened intermittently so i knew it might be hard for a technician to replicate. when i took it to the dealer for 3 years they said everything was fine. when my warranty was up i went in and insisted that they fix my truck. they replaced a tie rod, fixed the sway bar linkage and said it was fine. it started making really loud noises a month later and i took it to my mechanic who again fixed the linkage. i called ford and they kept the truck for a couple weeks and did extensive transmission work. it has had 2 problem since but not as bad. i still worry about front end issues after 3 years of slamming into gear with the engine revving. i bought this vehicle(usually i leased my truck) because i was retiring and now i feel i must get rid of it because of anticipated mechanical trouble. *tr

09 ford escape transmission lost third gear [6 speed auto] then goes into default mode [5th gear only] this is a very harsh event [it causes the tire to skid on dry pavement] ford replaced a pcm now the transmission spews oil out the dipstick tube and covers the back end gate and underside of vehicle [this is a fire hazard as exhaust temps are high] thus far the selling dealers service and warranty is a joke problems started at 2000 miles have 3000 now the truck spends more time at dealership than at our home we do not feel we can be safe with these issues going on. *tr

2009 ford escape purchased april 2009. noticed transmission was slipping out of gear when shifting into reverse to back out of driving. thought this may have been my error for not stepping on brake pedal completely. march 2010, mileage about 20,000 started having problems with transmission when i accelerate at highway speeds. while pressing on the gas at highway speeds the transmission slips into neutral or starts jerking and will not accelerate and the engine revs up with no error lights coming on. called dealer to schedule an appointment, soonest they could get me in is march 22, 2010. when i was making the appointment the service representative told me that the problem was probably low on tranny fluid. checked the tranny fluid when i had my oil changed on march 13, 2010 and it was low, service tech added more transmission fluid but the problem reappeared the same and is getting worse. the potential for an accident at highway speeds is quite possible if you are unable to accelerate when entering the on ramp and a semi truck is in the same lane. i've noticed other complaints addressing the same issue. definitely there seems to be a problem with the 2009 ford escape transmissions. i'll see what the dealer says and if they can fix the problem. more importantly, the service rep told me that there is no recall on this issue but she has been having alot of escapes coming in for the same problem. will update this complaint after my vehicle is looked at and diagnosed. i'll also do some research online to see if there is any other information available to me. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2009 ford escape. the contact stated while attempting to accelerate from a complete stop, the vehicle was hesitant to accelerate and began to accelerate abnormally. the transmission warning light then illuminated on the dashboard. the dealer replaced the transmission however, the failure persisted. the failure mileage was 2 and the current mileage was 7,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2009 ford escape. the contact stated that while driving approximately 35 mph, the vehicle was hesitant to accelerate. additionally, while parked and shifting into park or reverse the vehicle jerked. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the approximate failure mileage was 200. *tr