Problems with 2008 Ford Escape POWER TRAIN

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 ford escape. the contact stated that once the vehicle was turned off it could not be restarted. the radio also failed and the vehicle exhibited a reduction in power. the failure recurred on 5 different occasions. the vehicle was towed and the transmission, alternator, front axle and battery were all repaired however, the failure recurred. the manufacturer was not notified. the failure and current mileage was unknown. the vin was not provided.

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 ford escape. the contact stated that while driving 55 mph, the wrench warning icon illuminated as the vehicle lost acceleration power. the vehicle was diagnosed by both an authorized dealer and an independent mechanic, who both advised that the transmission gear shifter failed and the transmission needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the failure and current mileage was 73,000. updated 03/01/13*lj updated 03/07/13

After driving 10 miles with the vehicle functioning correctly and then coming to a complete stop at a red light, upon starting back up the automatic transmission would not switch gears until the engine got up to 5000rpm. when it did switch it seemed to change into 3rd gear instead of 2nd because i had almost no power and had to very slowly accelerate from there. further, it remained in 3rd gear and would never switch to 4th. this created a very dangerous situation on an open highway at night where the cars behind me expected a continuous acceleration to 50mph. i came very close to being rear-ended. my mechanic has determined that 2nd gear and 4th gear are gone. this appears to be a very, very common problem amongst 2008 ford escapes and a $2500 repair. this is a manufacturer's defect should be the subject of a recall before this causes a serious accident or fatality. *tr

Driving along and the wrench icon comes on while the vehicle stalls and decelerates. this issue reoccurs consistently and appears to be that the vehicle is unable to smoothly transition automatically into 2nd/3rd gear. vehicle diagnosed by authorized dealer who advised the transmission needs to be replaced. vehicle has not yet been repaired since dealer claims it is not under recall and is no longer under warranty. *tr

December 17, 2012 with only 97,000 miles on this car it completely stalled while driving, vehicle had to be towed and complete transmission replacement. july 22,2014 vehicle starting to excel while driving and lose power ....wrench light is on.....124,000 miles recall needs to include 2008 it includes 2009---2013 for throttle body replacement and extending warranty to 150,000. *tr

While driving gas pedal is sticking, electronic throttle body failures resulting in stall/surge while driving. this ia a very dangerous defect that can cause serious injury or death and needs to be addressed by ford motor company . there currently is not a recall to this year model. please help me. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 ford escape. the contact stated the vehicle stalled without warning. the contact took the vehicle to the dealer and was told that the air conditioning condenser and the transmission cooling system failed, causing a loss of transmission fluid. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and the current mileages were 44,000.

While driving at 65 mph on i-10, toward armstrong international airport, the vehicle, with no pre-warning began to decelerate (slow down). the vehicles speed did not respond to depressing throttle pedal; the vehicle would not maintain speed. fortunately, there were no vehicle in the right lane and i was able to get to the shoulder of the road. there, by turning off the ignition and restarting the vehicle i was able to continue the trip until the second and third occurrence. this situation occurred three more time on the return trip home. all on the interstate highway. needless to say, after the first occurrence i proceeded in the far right lane where i could get to the shoulder easily. after doing some investigation, i have found that this has been occurring on ford escorts since 2004 at least. i find it difficult to believe that such a potentially dangerous design flaw in an automobile has persisted so long. imagine what would be the consequences of having this occur while driving in the middle of a six lane interstate with 18 wheelers all around. at best there would be an accident, there is a very high probability of fatalities. *tr

tl* the contact owns a 2008 ford escape. the contact stated that while sitting at a traffic light, the vehicle suddenly accelerated without any warning. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the transmission cooler needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure who did not offer any assistance. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and current mileage was 90,000.

Transmission lunging back and forth for about three seconds. these happen at least once a week and are becoming more frequent. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 ford escape. the contact stated that while entering the vehicle, she noticed that the transmission was leaking fluid. the contact also noticed that the transmission was slipping sporadically while driving. the vehicle was taken to a private mechanic where it was confirmed that the connector that linked the transmission to the air conditioning unit failed. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was called about the issue. the failure and current mileages were 71,000.

2008 ford escape with 76500 miles. started vehicle and proceeded to place the vehicle in drive, when i did it shifted real hard and made a squeeling noise. i placed the car in park and then back into drive and it did it again. the vehicle does the same thing when placing in reverse. *tr

Transmission issue: starting revving high on 1st gear skipping 2nd to 3rd. "slipping" took it in and was told after a scan that it would have to be rebuilt. was told this also by ford as well as another 3rd party transmission place. all 3 of them admitted this is a very common issue. paid 3000 to rebuild the unit. i was 3,000 miles over my ford esp. ford refused to help me out at all. many forums also list this as a problem. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 ford escape. the contact stated that the vehicle would hesitate and jerk abnormally when shifting gears. the vehicle was taken to a transmission specialist where a diagnostic was performed. the failure was located at the transmission, which needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the vin was not available. the failure and the current mileage was 71,000.

Failure of 2nd and 4th gear in the transmission. *tr

My escape only had 65000 miles on it when we started to have issues with the transmission. while driving the torque converter went out , and the clutch pack went bad.i ended up having to replace the transmission and torque converter. the mechanic i spoke with told me that there was an issue with the clutch pack in the transmission and mine was one of many he has seen with the same issues. no more than 6 months later the transmission is slamming in to gear and shifting hard. we had it looked at and the mechanic said we will need to have the transmission replaced. ford denied any claim to issues with the transmission and refuses to help. *tr

The rpm gauge on the 2008 ford escape seemed to be "idling" high. the rpm's did not match how fast i was going in mph like it usually does. it was like the car was hesitating to move. the wrench light came on and i looked up what that meant in the owner's manual. it said powertrain fault/default, take to dealership immediately! the back window stopped working too. i am sooooo disappointed in this vehicle!!! i'm still making payments, as i bought the car barely 4 years ago. with so few miles, it should not have these types of problems. *tr

Vehicle wrench light came on the dash in the morning going to work. on the way home i was stopping by local auto parts store to have code tested. the auto parts tech said that there were no codes popping up. as i left and pulled away from the store the transmission jumped in rpms before it lurched into the 2nd automatic gear causing the vehicle to shudder. every time i accelerated from a stop to higher speeds the rpms would jump up to 3-4 thousand before it would jump into the next gear. took the vehicle to a dealer garage. they said it was giving them codes related to tsb 12-4-8. the estimate for the repair is $2200. ford has issued this as a tsb knowing that it is an issue. they should take care of the repair. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 ford escape. the contact stated that the vehicle was parked when he noticed a puddle of transmission fluid underneath. the vehicle was not inspected. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not notified. the failure mileage was 85,000.

Transmission has previously been repaired for leaking transmission fluid at approx. 25,000. now, at about 60,000 miles the transmission has seized. it appears many owners are having problems with the transmissions on this vehicle and ford is trying to say that abnormal noise and failures are typical. *tr

I have a 2008 ford escape, 3.0l v6 engine. we purchased the extended warranty and service contract with ford and had the car serviced at ford until 6 months ago when the service contract ran out. the car is just over 4 years old at 105,000 miles and the 2nd gear in the transmission went out while trying to merge into traffic on a highway. i reached out to ford to request a good will repair given the fact that this is an ongoing issue and there are numerous complaints on the message boards as well as given the fact that we have diligently had the car maintenance and repair done by ford and they refused. looking at the message boards, this seems to be a significant recurring problem with the escape and i believe ford needs to be held accountable. this presents not only a hazard to the driver but also to other drivers as when the problem occurs, the car looses speed and the rpms rev out. *tr

Vehicle would not shift and made a noise. this was the first time which involved first and reverse gears. that time the vehicle was covered under the warranty. this time my wife was driving when the car started to make a funny noise. she pulled into a parking lot and called me. when i got there and started the car the noise i heard was very bad coming from under the car. the car was towed to our ford dealer and was checked. now we are being told that the transmission and cooler needs replaced at a cost of almost $5000.00. the car now as 62000+ miles and not under warranty. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 ford escape. the contact noticed that transmission fuel was leaking onto the driveway. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer. the manufacture was contacted and they advised that there were not any recalls on the transmission. the failure mileage was 62,000 and the current mileage was 62,972.

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 ford escape. while driving 45 mph, the engine revved and the wrench warning light illuminated. the failure recurred on multiple occasions. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 150,000. the consumer stated the vehicle lost power steering while driving. she was able to pull over, and re-start the vehicle. the power steering failure occurred between may and november 2012. the consumer then received a recall letter in the mail, regarding an issue with the power steering. the dealer informed the consumer, she needed to get prior approval from ford. updated 12/15/14*bf updated 01/12/15

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 ford escape. while driving approximately 65 mph, the vehicle began to decelerate and the transmission warning light illuminated. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for inspection where the mechanic advised the contact that the transmission would have to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the vin was not available. the approximate failure mileage was 80,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 ford escape. the contact noticed that there was a fracture in the air conditioning condenser, which was causing transmission fluid to leak. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer, but the technicians were unable to determine the cause of the leak. the vehicle was not repaired. the current mileage was 58,930. updated 04/19/12*lj updated 04/25/12

On, or about the date listed above, and several incidents later, our 208 ford escape continues to stall unexpectedly at various speeds. the car was brought to the mechanic who was unable to reproduce the stalling. computer diagnostics yielded no codes. after almost two weeks in the shop, we needed our car back, so i have decided to drive it and let my wife and daughter drive my honda because of safety issues. i would like to say, and document on this official website, that the stalling problem is known by nhtsa and an investigation to this problem was started in february 2013 by your agency. this problem, as noted by so many others, is a serious safety issue and people have been injured in mvas as a result. not sure if anyone has been killed yet, but that is inevitable due to the nature of the stalling incidents. someone needs to initiate legislature or a mandate, or whatever it is you do, so that ford is forced to recall and repair this problem. i am personally holding ford, and the nhtsa responsible if something is not done about this problem in an expeditious manner. god forbid that there should be anymore injuries, or anyone killed as a result of this defect that is already documented and being investigated. remember: once you start an investigation, you have acknowledged that there is significant evidence of a problem. *tr

I was driving at approx 25 mph and the vehicle started to make a whining noise. the vehicle then accelerated by it self. it was taken out of gear to stop the vehicle from crashing. the vehicle was towed to repair facility. they determined that the a part in the transmission failed and then causing failure of the whole unit. *jb

My car appeared to go into neutral while driving, then revved up and shot forward. putting myself and passengers at danger of getting into an accident. this appears to be a common flaw in the power train (transmission) of the ford escapes. there should be a recall issued before a fatality occurs due to ford negligence. i called ford immediately upon arriving at work and will take it in at the end of the day but, having looked for complaints/recalls on line i see that this is very common and ford is not taking responsibility. *tr

I noticed a transmission fluid leak toward the front of the vehicle. the car was beginning to shift erratically, and slipping between gears at highway speeds. was causing some concern while driving in the fast lane of the interstates. it was beginning to spray up under the hood, and i was worried about it getting on the exhaust manifold and starting a fire. after doing tons of research on line, if find out about a trans cooler defect. i see this has happened to 100's if not 1000's of people that owned 2008 escapes. i was told ford did do some repairs on these cars that where built early 2008, and that a csp (customer satisfaction program) was sent out march 2010, and expired in august 2010. my escape was built in sept. 2007, which should have covered it. ford sent a csp #09b10 to owners for a replacement because of the know defect to the cooler. since i didn't not own the vehicle until november 2010, i had no idea of the problem, and since the original owner never took it in for repair, i have to pay the price. i called ford customer care, and both them, and the ford dealer acknowledge the defect, but would not cover it. since there is no recall, and the csp is over, i had to pay $644.41 out of my pocket. this is ridicules i am paying for a defect that ford knows about. they both told me to hold on to my receipt in case there is a recall i can get reimbursed. i think this is the last ford i will own. even though this is connected to the drive train, and keeps your transmission from failing, its not a drive train part, and ford will not cover cause its not internal. as far as i see it! its power train related, and if it unknowingly fails, the transmission will fail. hopefully ford does the right thing, and repairs or reimburses the customer that had it repaired for the mistake ford made with the defective part before someone gets hurt. *tr

Found puddle of transmission fluid on driveway. transmission cooler is leaking just like all 2008 ford escapes. not covered by warranty. dealer charges $816. why isn't it covered by a recall? we are disappointed. *tr

I purchased a 2008 ford escape new in september 2008. after 50,000 miles i noticed a buzzing sound from the engine compartment. after searching the internet for probable causes, i discovered a tsb stating that idler pulley may fail prematurely. i purchased and replaced the pulley and noticed a transmission fluid leak near the radiator. after searching the internet some more, i discovered another tsb stating that the transmission coolers crack due to a flawed design. i contacted ford through the website and they stated their are no recalls for my vehicle and directed me to the dealership that sold my vehicle. the repair estimates are between 800-1000 dollars. i have exceeded my warranty and multiple persons have stated that ford does not honor it anyway for this component. i have owned 3 fords with the similar issues. ford posts tsbs not recalls even though the defects are caused by poor designs. if the cost benefit analysis doesn't add up in their favor, expect to pay out of pocket. i no longer allow my wife to drive this vehicle and fully expect to trade it in shortly. *tr

I was in my car and when i stepped on the gas to accelerate and pull out on to the road, my engine raced and i only rolled forward, down the small slope, into traffic. after about 3 seconds my transmission caught and the car jumped forward and i momentarily lost control, barely missing another car in the other lane. turns out almost all of the transmission fluid had leaked out from the transmission cooler, causing a malfunctioning transmission. after bringing the vehicle in to get inspected, and talking to multiple dealers, they all say that they consistently fix this issue on the 2008 ford escape. some even say they have trouble stocking the part because they do so many. the vehicle has a faulty transmission cooler/ac condenser that consistently breaks and causes the vehicle to lose transmission fluid, resulting in unsafe vehicles. *kb

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 ford escape. the contact stated that she was unable to shift from second gear. there was an increase in engine rpms as she attempted to accelerate but the vehicle would not respond. the dealer advised the contact to replace the transmission and the manufacturer was made aware of the failure however did not offer any assistance since there were no recalls for the failure. no repairs were performed. the current and the failure mileages were 76,000. the vin was unavailable.

Purchased 2008 ford escape in june 2007. after around 25k miles the transmission was leaking fluid according to the ford service center we took it to. they repaired this at no cost since this was under the 3 year/36,000 mile warranty. had a minor issue back in august with the air fan not blowing air properly. the fan had to be placed on high before it would blow out any air. this was fixed and cost approx. 200 dollars since the warranty was out in june 2007. no big deal. then on october 30, around 73k miles on the car, it started stalling while driving and shaking violently. put on brakes it would start to stall and when giving gas it would shake and then stall. took it to the ford service shop which is also the dealer where we have purchased around 5 or 6 vehicles and who has always serviced our ford vehicles and were told that it needed a brand new transmission and since it is out of warranty this will cost $4,900.00. have checked on numerous websites and this is a common issue with ford escapes. i actually know someone who bought her vehicle at the same dealer, the same year vehicle and had the same exact problem with around the same mileage when her transmission went out as well as the fan problem. i do not feel that i should have to pay for this since we had the same issue back when the car only had 25k miles on it. this car is only 3 1/2 years old and we should not have these many issues with this car. i cannot afford to have it fixed so it will sit in my driveway. *tr

Http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6xq2zyqmoi - this video depicts exactly what is wrong with the ford 2008 escapes. my vehicle started to leak transmission fluid profusely last week; which is not only a problem in major traffic if the ford escape 2008 transmission has no fluid, but also is an safety issue to those who walk in parking lots where my car has leaked fluid; it may cause a fall... especially with so many ford escapes 2008 having this exact problem. how many ford escapes 2008 must abruptly run out of transmission fluid before this does become a dire safety problem? side note: ford hq states this is an ac problem; however, if my car leaks out all the transmission fluid, isn't it a drive line problem? *tr

While driving to work,a wrench light illuminated. my car then had difficulty shifting and seemed to struggle to shift into gear. i took the car to my mechanic the next day and ended up having to spend $3,400 on a complete transmission overhaul. i do not think this should be since i service my car including transmission service on a regular basis.there was a recall on the condenser a while back. this was corrected. *tr

I had purchased this truck new from the dealer in march of 2008, this truck has had many problems in the past starting with the day i bought the truck. now a few year's later the "a.c. condenser" was leaking transmission fluid and the dealer is now telling me that it is not covered under my "drive train warranty". i am not a mechanic but the several mechanic's that i have spoken to said that, that part is vital to the power train. i am a young struggling nurse trying to pay off school loans, and they are telling me that this is going to cost $700.00, i cannot afford it and i need my truck. i bought this new with the impression that these things will not be an issue and if they were they would be covered by ford's warranty. i have done some research on the internet and this is a major problem with this specific year and truck. i am hoping that you guy's will be able to help with this matter. thank you and god bless. *tr

Defective transmission cooler fails and leaks transmission fluid. the vehicle lurches while low on transmission fluid. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 ford escape. the contact stated that the transmission cooler fitting fractured, causing transmission fluid to leak. the contact took the vehicle to the dealer and the dealer replaced the entire transmission condenser. the contact had not driven the vehicle since the repair. the failure mileage was 57,550. kmj

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 ford escape. the contact stated that while reversing from a parking space, the vehicle lunged backwards. the contact mentioned that the failure recurred more than ten times. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for a diagnosis and the contact was informed that they would need to update the power control module. the manufacturer was notified, but offered no assistance. the vehicle had not been repaired. the failure and current mileages were 82,000.

2008 ford escape has 68,000 miles on it, the transmission is jerking when shifting into first and second gear. it is really bad shifting to second, it's almost like the motor is dropping. my a/c also just started having issues, the fan only works on high. *tr

The ford escape 2008 with 76,559 was making a noise in the transmission when placing the reverse. also there was a noise in the motor like a zoom . i took the suv to the ford dealer and they checked and found a problem with the transmission and the motor pulleys, bearings as well. the estimated repair cost $3,099. i decided to take the car home. while driving a distance of about 58.2 mileage i was waiting in the road, the light change from red to green and when i press the pedal to pass the highway the ford escape 2008 make a huge noise and did no moved. the drive and reverse did not engage and the parking was making a huge crank noise. there was not way no move then i wait in the side of the road until the road service came to take the suv. i contacted the ford customer service and they required the unit to be taken back to the ford dealer for evaluation and support. they will need to repair the transmission and make pulleys, belts abd bearings changes. so far the dealer will cover 25%, the ford 50% and the customer the 25%. the ford escape noise in the transmission and motor started about the same week of the august 04, 2011. the ford escape 2008 was taken to the ford dealer on august 04, 2011 in the morning about 10:00 to 11:00 am and the failure occurred the same day in the afternoon about 5:30 pm. *tr

I purchased a 2008 ford escape limited edition for my son in college, first, there were problems with the tires which sounded like the tires were going to explode. the noise was so loud and took it to my local dealership and they did nothing. i had the vehicle for approximately six months. the second issue pertained to the steering/suspension and that cost me $900. the dealership constantly states, "just keep your receipts." today, i contacted sheehy ford in springfield va regarding the new problem which is the throttle. the vehicle lost power and he could not shift the vehicle at all. the customer service representative looked up the vin number and informed me my vehicle was not covered. i explained to the gentleman that i was on line and found information that ford has issued an extended warranty for defective throttle body assemblies and sensors for 10 years or 150,000 miles based on an investigation by the national highway safety administration (nhtsa) for a defect investigation of alleged throttle body failures in 2005-2012 ford escapes (complaints from nc). i was informed my vehicle was not covered because only specific vin numbers were included. i am a single parent and i have put too much money in this vehicle. after reading the comments on line, this vehicle appears to have numerous defects. what does it take for our government to take action, lost of lives? is the dollar more important than people lives? we need to start holding these companies accountable. there is clearly issues with this vehicle and i want ford to pay for my repairs.

I took my 2008 escape limited in for an oil change and was told transmission fluid was leaking. i then noticed the car was hesitating between switching gears. i took it to an auto repair shop that noticed the transmission fluid was being pushed out. when they called ford they were told the problem was not covered by warranty because i've had the car 3.5 years eventhough there are only 14,065 miles on the car. now i'm reading about a recall for this exact problem online but i was never notified. hopefully this means i won't have to pay though being without a vehicle for several weeks is extremely aggravating. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 ford escape. the contact stated that after parking the vehicle, fluid was observed leaking from the vehicle. the vehicle was taken to a private mechanic where the mechanic confirmed a trans core leak in the transmission. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure and the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 35,000 and the current mileage was 40,842.

Tl*the contact owns a 2008 ford escape. the contact stated that after moving the vehicle from the driveway, he noticed a large amount of fluid on the ground. the vehicle was inspected by a dealer and they advised him that the transmission coolant line had fractured causing the leak. the manufacturer was contacted and advised him that there were no recalls on his vehicle. the vehicle had not been repaired. the failure and current mileages were approximately 28,700. the vin was unavailable.

Last year ford had a recall on 2008 ford escapes, which i was never informed about. the issue of the recall was that the transmission fluid was leaking through the ac system (cooler). this makes the drive very hard, and when one is stopped at a red light the vehicle hesitates to go, then jerks back and forward when the gas pedal is pressed, i was always scared someone would hit me from behind, and cause a crash, i believe this may lead to crashes. apparently the vehicles start doing this when it is over 40,000 miles driven, and i am currently right around that range, and my issue started about 3 weeks ago. i took it to the dealership and am told i am not covered under the recall because my vehicle did not qualify; however, i am having the very issue that the ford 2008 escape was recalled for last year, so it is my belief that there are more vehicles who will demonstrate this issue, and ford has missed some vehicles and should extend that recall to cover the new vehicles that are also demonstrating this very issue, because this is a serious problem if that fluid runs out the vehicles may stop in the middle of the road cause a number of crashes, as well as the jerking motions when the vehicle hesitates to move when at the stopped position. *tr

My ford escape just started leaking fluid one day. even thought ford admits its a huge huge problem that will effect my transmission its not recalled or covered by the warranty. the tranny cooler/ac condenser is leaking. *tr

My 2008 ford escape transmission cooler (part 19712) went bad at 36,451 miles. ford would not cover the cost as i was 451 miles over my warranty and there was no recall issued. i've read over 50 complaints from multiple websites that deal with the same issue. it is a safety hazard to have parts in a car that do not hold up and begin leaking transmission fluid. why is nothing being done for this? *tr