Problems with 2002 Ford Escape ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

Dt*: the contact stated while driving 70 mph on an interstate, smoke was observed to be coming from behind the vehicle and flames were coming from under the hood. there was nothing unusual about the way the vehicle was operating before the fire started. the type of fire was classified as fuel. the service dealer was notified who determined that a rod shot threw the engine and made a large hole that caused the fire in the motor. the service dealer was willing to repair the motor if the contact would make a co-payment. the manufacturer was not alerted. a police report was taken. this occurred in state of arkansas.

Dt*: the contact stated while driving 40 mph, the vehicle stalled. it was maneuvered off the road and restarted however, the vehicle would not accelerate past 20 mph and stalled again when the brake pedal was depressed. the vehicle was towed to the dealer who determined the pcm, six ignition coils and six spark plugs needed to be replaced.

Dt*: the contact stated the check engine light illuminated. the dealership determined the vehicle misfired on cylinder #1 and the engine needed to be replaced.

Dt*: the contact stated the oil light illuminated intermittently during normal braking situations. the vehicle was taken to a service dealer, who determined that the vehicle lost oil pressure due to scoring in the cam journals. the manufacturer recommended a complete replacement of the engine.

For the past 3 months, while decelerating to stop, my vehicle will cut off, also occurring when i decelerate in busy traffic. on one instance while pulling across a highway, my vehicle stalled and i was almost hit in the side by an oncoming car because i could not get the car started again. *jb

Dt*: the contact stated during the night, the vehicle alarm sounded. when the vehicle was approached, it was noticed that smoke was coming from under the hood. the police and fire department were alerted to the scene. a police report was filed. the fire department determined it occurred in the engine compartment and it was an electrical fire. the vehicle was operating normal prior to the fire. the vehicle is currently at a local dealership awaiting further inspection. the manufacturer has been alerted.

Dt: ford 2002 escape caught on fire. the fire was coming from the front driver's side dash engine compartment. this happened on july 27, 2005. the fire department and police department responded to the scene. the fire was contained in the vehicle. the walls in the garage had heavy smoke damage. they had to cut the garage door to get in. the consumer can't sleep in the house due to the smoke damage. *ak *jb *sc phone interview update (november 7, 2005): drove the vehicle for two hours. the vehicle was parked in the town house garage for an hour before it caught fire. the vehicle was totaled. the heaviest damage was at the drive side firewall area. the yellow engine warning light was on three weeks ago; the dealer said bring the vehicle in when the next oil change is due.

On several occasions, my 2002 ford escape has stalled out in the middle of intersections, on the freeway, and at many inopportune times!!!!! i have been quite scared to drive my suv any more. it starts to chug like it is not getting any fuel, the check engine light will come on, and the suv will immediately die. i lose my power steering, my brakes, my everything! and almost get hit. i have taken my escape in for service several times, but they claim that it is just a glitch in the computer, and reset it. then they told me that they could never get it do what i was saying, so i had to come in right when it was doing it, or they wouldn't be able to help. in the mean time, i have stalled out several more times, gone in, and no one can figure out what is wrong. i have heard from several people that this is happening with many ford escapes, and i am scared that the situation will escalate to me being in an accident, or my suv starting on fire when it gets so warm.

Dt: vehicle lost power in the middle of traffic, thought it was fuel injectors. put fuel injector cleaner and better gas but a couple of weeks later. the mechanic said the the idle air control motor was*ak bad. the mechanic did replace it and have the part. the vehicle started doing this around june 1, 2005. have not contacted dealer.

Vehicle would stall at any given time, whether going down the interstate or during city driving. steering would be very difficult and brakes were inoperable. this occurred about two months after we had purchased our 2002 ford escape with 42,000 miles on it. after the fourth "stall", we had the vehicle towed to the dealership where we purchased it. they connected a "black box" underneath the dash and had us drive the vehicle to see if it happened again, which it did a couple days later. they towed it back to the garage. apparently our problem was something to do with, i believe, our harmonic balance or something like that. according to the technician, whatever was not working properly, it caused the engine to not know which cylinders on the engine was firing and that is what caused the engine to shut off. they fixed the problem and we now have 73,000 miles on the vehicle and had no other stalling problems. the work order reads as follows: diag, eec test, no codes present, found sticky ng, r&r iac, retest all okay at this time; also, while they were performing the maintenance they also discovered that our power steering rack was leaking, which was covered by our extended warranty. the power steering rack was replaced. the mileage on the vehicle at the time of repairs was 44,546. i'm very thankful for the folks at our dealership in omaha. they gave us a rental car while diagnosing our problems and stuck with it until they found the problem(s). the extended warranty we had purchased covered all repair costs. *jb

Catalytic converter cracked along welds at around 84000 miles. research on open sources on the internet as found at the v-6 equipped ford escapes are prone to these failures over and over. there have been some reported cases of vehicles losing power while driving and vehicles completely dyeing while driving. *tr

The engine light in the consumer's 2002 ford escape illuminated. *nm the error code read p0401. ford released at least four technical service bulletins covering this issue. the main problem was with the egr/dpfe pressure sensor. after the replacement part was installed, the vehicle ran fine. *sc

Consumer experienced two problem with this vehicle on two separated occasions. first, vehicle stalled while driving, consumer tried to restarted, but was unable to do so. secondly, while traveling vehicle started to accelerate uncontrollably. consumer was able to maintain control of the vehicle. applied the brakes and the pedal went to the floor. consumer was able to pull over. afterwards vehicle was towed on both occasions. mechanic determined that a head gasket blew out, and the speed control cable snapped. the head gasket, and speed control cable needed to be replaced. *ak

My 2002 ford escape with 9,000 miles has a tendency to stall while coasting at an extremely low speed. hitting a slight speed bump is responsible for most of the occurrences. my vehicle has stalled at least 12 times during the last 4 weeks. the problem may be related to an infrequent tendency of a dead instrument panel when starting with a key. if i get out of the vehicle and get back in, it will eventually start except for one time when it had to be towed. but, my complaint is the stalling problem. the dealership has not been successful in fixing anything and they told me that it stalled on them as well. while nobody has hit my dead vehicle yet, it is a concern. thus far, the vehicle has been able to restart after stalling, it is not an easy restart. the stalling has mostly occurred after the vehicle has been driven 3-6 miles and slowed for parking purposes and stalls when i sharpely turn the steering wheel for parking. there is a little speed bump 20 feet from my parking slot in front of my house. i just wish my vehicle would idle faster. *ak

3 years old, 60,000 miles - transmission has completely blown. its in the shop currently. the oil pan is leaking. the rack and pinion steering is leaking fluid. *jb

While driving under 40 mph vehicle stalled. consumer was concerned that the vehicle will be rear ended.

After driving the escape for a few hours...running errands and what not...we park the car for a short time...then the car won't start. it will turn over, but if the gas isn't kept on it stalls. have had the car into the dealer 4 times now and they can't replicate the situation. usually after letting the car sit for several hours, it will start up and run fine. this has been going on for two months now. *jb

vehicle stalls when put into reverse regularly and occasionally when driving and put into drive. until recently was able to restart almost immediately. upon last stall was not able to restart and vehicle was towed to dealer. this is still occurring after the safety recall 04s13, and a flight recorder with 4 recordings of reverse stalls led to replacement of iac valve, mass air sensor, throttle body assembly, eec relay, dpfe sensor, and a reset of keep alive memory. the most recent stall the vehicle would not restart and remains at the dealer until they can figure out what is wrong or make another guess. this has been occurring and seems to be progressing since shortly after vehicle purchase.*ak

The vehicle still stalls after automatic transmission recall, 04v176000, repair was performed. the dealership was contacted and indicated that did all they can do. *la

(1) ce light on again (2) vehicle not idling normally (3) vehicle not advancing from stop (4) smell burning oil from engine when shut off, no visible oil leak found on driveway (5) rattling from lf of the vehicle; speed of rattling directly related to speed of vehicle; starts around 25 mph. (6) driver's seat lurches forward on seat track when braking; only occurs with lighter weight drivers. took vehicle to dealer for the 30k mile check & to have them address the issues. dealer did the following - issues 1-4: engine covered in oil upon inspection (second oil leak); leak coming from the front cover & oil pan; dealer replaced the front cover gasket, oil pan gasket, valve cover gaskets, upper intake gaskets, & oil filter; dealer replaced the catalytic converter monitor sensor again (third time). issue 5: dealer did not hear noise coming from lf of vehicle; heard a noise from rear of vehicle; rear lift door latch loose; adjusted/oiled it. issue 6: dealer compared problem with other escapes; found to be a normal condition of power driver's seat to have some play in it (this is very unsafe; seat lurches forward 1-2in when braking; i'm a short female who struggles to sit a min of 10in from the sw for the ab; moving me forward another 1-2in in a crash is not safe). dealer found front brake pads/rotors below specs; stated that this is normal for 30k miles; seems too soon. several complaints filed to nhtsa regarding excessive brake/rotor wear. vehicle was in the shop 7/16-7/23. dealer paid for a rental car (third time). picked up vehicle & drove it off lot; heard rattling from the lf of vehicle. took it back & a mechanic went on test drive with me, heard noise. took it back & inspected vehicle together. i noticed the weather stripping on the left side of the windshield was cracked & detaching from vehicle. had been slapping outside of apillar when driving, making noise. dealer stated they would order new part & i'd have to bring vehicle back again to have it installed. *ak

When accelerating or decelerating vehicle hesitated and or stalled. recall 94v165000 was issued. however, vehicle's mileage prevented vehicle to be included in the recall. *ak

The check engine light was on again! aving problems with the engine while driving; it will surge and buck. t idle, vehicle would not advance forward once foot was removed from brake. ook vehicle into the dealer; dealer replaced the catalytic converter monitor sensor again!*ak

While driving 45 mph check engine light appeared on the dashboard and remained on. consumer was able to restart vehicle, and took it to the dealer for inspection. mechanic determined that the engine needed to be replaced. *ak

Consumer took vehicle to dealer' 4-5 times for the same problem. when she turned on heat or air conditioner there was a mildew smell. each time that consumer took vehicle dealer she was told to come back if the light came on. dealer could not reproduce the foul smell. also, while driving a wind came into vehicle even though the doors were closed. in addition, consumer complained about the steering wheel making noise. dealer will not look at vehicle again. however, consume complained vehicle was falling apart, and the dealers will not help.*ak

Model: 2002 ford excape xlt.engine stall without warning around 40 miles per hour. power steering and brake failed to fundtion.the latest one happened on 3/31/2004. the last one was in late 2002.*ak i purchased this vehicle from michigan (village ford at dearborn), and use it in texas currently.

Idiot lite for radiator lit - low on radiator fluid - vehicle had been serviced just 1 month prior with a "check and top off all fluids" oil change - why was the low fluid not detected at that time?*ak

My vehicle has suddenly and without warning stalled while driving. loss ofpower steering, brakes, etc. i nearly hit another vehicle as i could not control the car. this happend at speeds arount 30 mph as early as 6000 miles on the car. it has happened a few times at slow speeds or while backing out of the driveway but was not as scary as the ones that happened while travelling on a busy road at 30 mph. first time i brought the car to the dealer they updated the pcm and reset the relay switch. this was supposed to fix the problem. the stalling happened a few more times but then again at high speeds at 37000 miles. brought car to dealer again and they updated the pcm(again) and now say i need a new iac valve. they are not even sure this will correct the sudden engine stalling. i read through the hundreds of complaints on the nhtsa website and discovered this is a very common problem. there is something very wrong with the computer and needs to be replaced/recalled immediately. *ak

While driving air bag light illuminated. dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem. *ak the illumination of air bag light happened in an intermittent basis. consumer was also involved in an accident where his air bags failed to deploy. in addition, consumer experienced noise in steering wheel and rattling noise in exhaust. *la

Engine stalled coming out of driveway. i could not steer or use brakes. all the engine lights came on. i put the truck in park and it started back up with no problems. i am taking the truck to the dealership tomarrow. i wish i knew about the stalling complaints before i put my two children in the back seat.*ak

Intermittent stalling problem occurs with my 2002 ford escape (v-6 engine) at speeds between 30-35 mph and always when i am going down hill and in a decelerating situation. i have a 9 mile commute on a hilly, curvy 2 lane road and during the stall i lose all power steering and braking. i have had some very close calls on curves where i could easily have lost control and gone over an embankment or hit an oncoming car. i have actually learned to become a defensive driver mechanically by keeping my eye on the rpm gauge when i decelerate because i've noticed that the rpm's sometimes drop erratically when the car is about to stall and by giving it a little gas i can avoid the stall. the car has been back to the dealer 3 or 4 times and all tsb fixes have been performed, yet the car has stalled at least 3 more times since the last fix. the dealer wanted to put a flight recorder on to help diagnose the problem, but wanted me to put a $500 deposit on the device!! why isn't ford taking this problem more seriously? from the numerous complaints i have read on this site, it's obvious that a very serious problem still exists with this car. *jb

The driver applied the brakes and the pedal went to floor, the vehicle stalled and the consumer was able to restart the vehicle. the consumer will take the vehicle to the dealer for analysis . when the problem happens again. *jb

2002 ford escape only 2 years old and ford will not honor warranty because rear wipers not working and engine makes and jerk at 3k rpm, not part of warranty. *ak

While commuting to work at very busy intersection, traveling at 20 mph, vehicle completely stalled losing all power utilities engine completely shut down. a number of passing motorists attempted to assist in moving vehicle out of intersection but could not get vehicle out of park key would not turn as well. after a number of attempts vehicle was restarted, and driven to local ford dealership. they stated they were not aware of difficulty--after reviewing the number of complaints on this web site that is very hard to believe--dealer worked on vehicle for 1.70 hrs replacing over 13 parts,such as eec relay,dpfe,airbypassvalve,throtle body,maf,vmv,throttle body gasket per: tsb-02-11-6. recheck ok. according to this web site this situation has occured at least 50 times. this is potentially a very dangerous situation. owners of escapes should be informed as this can& has happened to others at higher rates of speeds with potentially fatal outcomes if the vehicle cannot be coasted to a shoulder...*ak

My wife was coasting (traveling downhill) in our 2002 ford escape xlt (2 wheel drive) when the engine suddenly stopped. the effect was as if the key had been turned off. she lost all power (steering, brakes, etc) and coasted into a sidewalk. it could have been much worse. taking the proper precautions, she had the car towed to the nearest dealership (hayward ford - very helpful, performed the tsb work right away), where they told her of a tsb that described the appropriate steps for the mechanics to take. the supposed tsb included replacement of the following items: throttle body assembly, air charge body, mass air flow sensor, air charge sensor gasket, power relay for pcm, egr sensor, and the purge regulation valve for vapor system. i searched the nhtsa tsb site for the bulletin and couldn't find it. the number we were given was tsb 02-23-01. i noticed that an investigation into the cause of this problem by the nhtsa was closed and reopened in sep 2002. from what i have read here at the nhtsa site, i think it's time for ford to warn their escape owners of this problem before someone is injured.*ak

While driving at any speed, the engine was rumbling. the dealer could not duplicate or correct the problem. *ak there was uncontrollable jumping and or kicking. the dealer replaced one defective part and was told that the rumbling noise would need to be investigated by ford engineers. ford did not know what was causing the noise, but say it was not dangerous. the vehicle would shake at certain speeds and cd's would get stuck in the cd player. *sc the rotors were replaced because they were out of round, the stabilizer end links were replaced *jb

Intermintant screeching noise from engine compartment. dealer replaced drive belt, stating drive belt had glaze; fixed 12/2003 problem has reoccured 08/2004. *ak

While driving at 35 mph, the engine died without warning. this resulted in brake failure. the consumer had to coast the vehicle to a stop. the dealership replaced the idle error control valve, mass air flow sensor, throttle body, eec relay, dpfe sensor and the evap valve. the manufacturer has a new letter ref#02-23-1 on this issue. *ph *jb *nm

The 2002 for ecape that i have owned for 16 months has a defect in the engine that has made it unoporable and the computer system that is supposed to warn you of engine trouble never worked. *ak

My ford escape stalled while driving down an exit ramp. i lost all steering and braking capability. *la

2002 ford escape stalls while being driven. this happened twice in the past week, speed 30 mph. loss of all power steering & brakes.*ak

Ford escape stalled while driving, lost control of steering and brakes at the same time!!! *la

Check engine light came on; took vehicle into dealer; found a faulty catalytic converter monitor sensor; ordered part (10/02/03) took vehicle in again about a week later to have new sensor installed, and an engine oil leak was found; rack and pinion unit was leaking; unit was replaced, and was still found to be leaking so a third unit was installed (10/14/03). *ak

Today, at approximately 11:45 am est, i was driving about 35 mph when all of a sudden i felt the steering tighten up and the brakes as well. i was unaware that my car had stalled out in the middle of the road. i coasted off of the road into a parking lot where i turned off my vehicle and restarted it. i had no problems after that. this is the second stall that has happened to my vehicle. the last one was in may 03. *la

While driving at 50 mph engine failed without warning. *ak

Between july and august of 2003 vehicle has stalled several times intermittently. the dealer kept the vehicle for one week but the problem re-occurred. please provide further information. *nlm

While driving about 45 mph, the vehicle shut down without warning. engine check light appeared on the dashboard. *ak the cause was due to defective engine controls. other problems are as followed: both rear door's body weatherstrips had come loose and were warped and the left rear quarter panel window. *scc *jb

Stiff accelerator pedel. cannot make a smooth acceleration from a complete stop. the pedal doesn't seem to "give" until it's pushed too much. when it's pushed too much. there is a surge of acceleration and usually the tires just spin, whether it's raining, snowing or just plain dry out.

The engine on my 2002 ford escape stalls unexpectedly. it stalls while shifting gears at a standstill and while driving down the road. this last condition especially is quite dangerous as there is a loss of braking and power steering. sometimes it will stall up to 5 times before getting it out of my driveway. it stalls when the engine is both cold and hot. i have had it to my ford dealer, who has even had it stall while hooked up to their computer. and still they have not solved the problem. i have had it in on 4 separate occasions since july 2003. it once stalled while my wife was driving it around a hairpin turn. fortunately no one was coming in the opposite direction. it has been stalling since before july 11, when it was first brought to the dealer for this problem. *jb

I am a consumer who has just purchased a used 2002 ford escape from a ford dealership in raleigh, north carolina. have had a number of problems with the vehicle, including stalling while driving in heavy traffic. i brought the car into the dealership less than 2 weeks ago and specifically asked them to check it due to the sluggish and stalling behavior. i insisted that they do a diagnostic test, which they said they performed, but nothing showed up. yesterday on the way to church, i had problems keeping it running after starting it. i had to maintain pressure on the gas pedal at all times.very time i got to a light or slowed for a turn, the car stalled and shut off, causing complete loss of power.*ak i called the dealership today and got very little help. they informed me that the car does not have a system to maintain record of the problem unless the vehicle has power at the time the problem occurs. they never mentioned anything else. they did say they would be glad to look at it....again. after that comment, i chose to go to your site to look for reports on the make, model and year of my vehicle. (*i researched this site to check for any problems with my vehicle, prior to my purchase but found no reports posted for recalls. today while at the site, i noticed an area called defect investigations. that was quite informative. i never saw this section prior to my purchase. i consider myself a smart person, but i missed it.) the dealership must have been aware of these type of problems at the time of the sale, but did not bring them to my attention or fill me in. even today, the service manager did not inform me of any problems with stalling in 2002 ford escapes. i do not look forward to continuing to expose myself nor my family to a safety hazard every time we get into our vehicle.

2002 ford escape, 23k000miles, stalled for the first time going less than 20 miles per hour onto freeway. at first i thought it was the battery, but then the car restarted immediately. i veered off the road but am very very frightened about this happening in a circumstance where i couldn't veer off the road. does ford require a death before it will recall?*ak