Problems with 2001 Ford Escape VISIBILITY

Tl* the contact owns a 2001 ford escape. the contact stated that while driving 65 mph, the sunroof glass and frame separated from the vehicle. in addition, the sun roof glass shattered. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 109,000.

Sitting at traffic light and rear glass shattered into car. *tr

I was driving down the interstate in wi, and out of no where my rear windshield shattered. the rear defrost was on and the outside air temp was approximately 16 degrees f. there was no collision and no evidence flying objects to cause the shatter. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2001 ford escape. the contact stated that upon starting the vehicle in rainy conditions, she noticed that the windshield wipers would not function. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the contact was informed that a plastic piece within the windshield wiper's motor assembly failed. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was not included in the recall associated with nhtsa campaign id number 00v387002 (visibility:windshield wiper/washer:linkages). the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 120,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2001 ford escape. the contact stated that the glass on the rear door shattered while the vehicle was parked. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the contact was informed that the manufacturer would replace the glass. the vehicle was repaired. the failure and current mileages were 2,000. the vin was unavailable.

The rear window of my 2001 ford escape that was parked in my attached garage exploded sometime during the night. the window was not cracked at any time. i drove it at around 10:30pm less than 1/4 mile the previous night and parked it in the garage. the next day around 1:30pm, upon entering my garage, i noticed something black behind my car - turned out to be pieces of my rear window on the floor and inside the vehicle. i noticed many customer complaints on line regarding this problem. ford has not issued any type of recall or offered any legitimate explanation. called avis ford in southfield, mi - no satisfactory result - only $402 cost of repair - claims never heard of this problem before. i am concerned about the possible danger of injury to passengers in the rear seat if someone had been in the car. *tr

On or around april 15, 2005 my 2001 ford escape vin [xxx]sunroof began to malfunction. that is, the roof did not move forward or backward. i took the vehicle to my local ford dealer to determine the problem. the service advisor notified me that the rack ford part number [xxx]would have to be replaced. i feel that with such little use (maybe a total of 3 hours over 4 years) this ford part should not have gone belly up. in my opinion, under normal use, this part should not need to be replaced in such a short time with such little use. *js information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6)

While parked, the back glass shattered out of the frame. the consumer contacted the dealer and the manufacturer and was told that the vehicle was out of warranty and there was nothing they could do. provide further details.

Control knob for heating/air conditiong switch broke off. *jb

Ford escape 2001, windshield wipers haven't kept windows clear enough to see during rain or snow. *bf the consumer was only getting 10-12 miles per gallon on the highway. the vehicle was hard to drive when it was windy outside. when the consumer attempted to stop the vehicle, the brake went down to the floor and did not come back up for several seconds. the anti-lock brakes did not engage. the consumer spoke to the dealer and he said the brakes must have frozen up. the battery low light was on. *jb

Windshield wiper quits. ford will not honor their recall (nhtsa recall no. 00v387002/ford recall no. 00s49). *ak

While driving in a rain storm windshield wipers failed. a recall was issued. however, the recall had been closed. *ak

The transmission on my 2001 ford escape, went out i had 58,000 miles on the truck. had to put in a new transmission. now 4 months later, the engine light comes on. the engine coolant warning light keeps coming on even though it is full. all of the lighters/sun roof have no power to them they all quit. i have replaced all fuses, with no luck. now the all lights on the radio are gone, but the radio still works. *ak

Maintenance. *jb

I purchased 2001 used vehicle from hertz car sales with 27,000+ miles. transmission had to be replaced second week we had vehicle. also realized that ac/heating system had "whistle" which could not be turned off. major problem has vehicle stalling while driving, losing all power, brakes, etc. fortunate not to have been rear-ended. ford dealer has worked on problem, replacing transmission, fixing ac/heat system and attempted to repair the "stalling" problem. thought it had been repaired, however, it happened again yesterday. car at ford dealer once again. it is strange to me that they do not comment that this has happened not once but many hundred times! i definitely feel there is a major problem with the escape stalling and being unable to control. as we drive on mountain roads, this could cause a major accident. ford has certainly lost my future business by not facing this very serious problem. must there be fatalities before they act? *jb

Consumer states that while driving and no warning the windshield wiper will work intermittently and it will hard for the consumer to see during rainy weather. dealer notified.ts

While driving only at low speeds, steering column will make a loud noise and it could cause future steering problems. dealer notified.*ak the cover on the bottom of the steering wheel was broken. the vehicle shimmys when applying the brakes. the brakes were inspected and the front rotor was machined and the front pads cleaned. consumer states there is a pecking noise in the engine. consumer states the accelerator pedal is hard to push because the throttle body needed replacing. the air conditioner stops while at idle. also, when coming to a stop, the heater is not warm. *jg

Engine has stalled twice while driving 40-50mph. sunroof motor had to be replaced. coolant recorvery jug had to be replaced. sensor asy-egr was replaced after 1st time engine stalled. has since stalled again.

There were numerous problems. the egr sensor (dpfe) was replaced along with the sop driver side outer belt molding, fuel pump, sway bar links and iac. *bf there was a loud noise coming from the driver's side window, water leaked around the tailgate window, the vehicle was hard to start, the iac was sticking, the driver's side window squeaked and rattled, the vehicle hesitated upon starting, there was play in the front sway bar links, the coolant light stayed on, there was a crack around the oil pan and the oil drain plug was problematic, and the accelerator pedal was sticking. *sc *jb

I have spoken with a ford rep. for a new car, too many things have gone wrong. it is currently in the shop have the window and abs brakes fixed. every time it's somehting new! nlm

Nar 02/13/2003. the automatic transmission would shift to drive from over drive, the vents automatically switched to frost. the vehicle completely stalled on a separate occasion, the relay assembly was replaced. the cruise control was inoperative from the time of purchase. the windshield wipers stopped working, the consumer continued to experience problems with the transmission and the gas mileage was poor. *jb

While driving on a downhill slope the vehicle suddenly shut down causing loss of power steering, the driver was able to restart the vehicle,the dealer replaced a valve which controlled air flow, the next day this problem occured again when going up a semi-steep incline, the dealer has been unable to duplicate the problem, the vehicle also has a metallic rattle under the hood when accelerating on a slight incline. nlm

While traveling when and depressing brake pedal, pedal went to floorboard and vehicle lost brake power. *ak consumer also experiencing problems with passenger and driver window, and also a fuel line clip failed causing the motor to loose power and fuel was pumped over the hot engine. *jb

Experiencing an odor and fumes coming in through vents. *ak

We purchased the vehicle named in this complaint in oct. 2000 and within four days of the purchase returned it to the dealer because we experienced gasoline fumes (not exhaust) coming through the air vents with either heat/air or a/c on. the dealer kept the car for over a week and said that nothing was wrong with it, though service people smelled the gas fume smell. we returned the car a second time as the smell was getting stronger. it occurs on warm starts, never when the car is started up cold. the fume smell is apparent for 5-10 minutes, and thins out when the car is running at high speeds and air is coming in. the second time the dealer had the car they kept it a week and could not fix it. they agreed to replace the vehicle with another. ten days later we took ownership of another vehicle exactly like this one. forty-eight hours into driving it the gas smell was noticeable again. we notified the dealer who said that ford has no fix for it. the dealer had no comment or idea on when/if/how this would be resolved. we went out to the internet and in several locations, edmunds.com and yahoo escape club among others, we found testimonial after testimonial of customers owning the v-6 escape, and the mirror car, the mazda tribute, having exactly the same problems we have experienced. this is clearly not an isolated exception with our vehicle. one person experienced his car burning to the ground with 800 miles on the odometer. we want to alert you to this problem and the fact that ford/mazda are being totally uncommunicative to the customer about this serious design flaw. we do not know if the car is even safe to drive. our dealer has no information on a fix and has not offered to take this car back. we intend to meet with them again, but if they follow the same suit as most of the dealers that other troubled escape customers have approached, it will be a problem. *ak

Fuel vapors entering passenger compartment via ventilation ducts. *ak

Consumer was traveling on highway and it was raining, and windshield wipers didn't work at all. dealership was aware of the problem. parts had to be orderdered. *ak

Windshield wipers not operating. dealer notified and waited for parts. please feel free to provide any further information. *ak

When turning rear defogger on inside of vehicle, and when consumer turns vehicle off rear defogger still stays on for days at a time. *ak