Problems with 2011 Ford Escape VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

Wednesday august 28, 2013-i was going down my street headed to work-i had just pulled out of the driveway. maybe going 15-20 miles per hour. then the escape jolted forward like it was going to stall and shut off. it did not start back up right away like it is supposed to. thursday august 29, 2013-jolted, stalled, and shut off 3 different times today. one of those times, the vehicle was on the highway and a semi truck was coming up behind me and almost hit me! very scary!!! unsafe!! as i have been researching this problem, i have noticed that this is a common problem with this make, model, and year. is it going to take someone losing their life for someone to do something about this problem?! ford needs to step up and right their wrong and quit ignoring it.

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford escape. the contact stated that while driving 70 mph, the vehicle independently engaged into limp mode and decelerated without warning. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and current mileage was 59,286.

Bad throttle body not covered under warranty of 36,000. *tr

Engine loss of power, would. not accelerate,got out of traffic, put on 4ways, engine would only idle very rough, check engine light and wrench were on , shut off engine restarted after long cranking, started resumed trip , about 5 miles happened again, i did same ,after restarted drove 12 miles home. this issue is extremely dangerous . i have found over 2 hundred reports of the same problem upon first try and i was using 2011 escape . ihave since become aware that this problem affects multiple models and years. ford talks about safe mode? how safe is a 5 mph or less vehicle in a 70 mph belt way????? how about a 1 minute to stall mode??? or get off the road now?? it would appear they are aware of the issues and more concerned as to the ones that are in warranty!!! in other words protect the engine let the passenger fend for themselves. this has occurred multiple times at multiple speeds. went to ford they suggested appointment, 1 week was first available, if problem is throttle body part may be on back order, lovely, *tr

While driving home from work on the highway out of nowhere the check engine light came on and the throttle stopped working. i put the vehicle in neutral and still no throttle response, had to pull over on the highway, turn the vehicle off, turned it back on and ran fine o the way home. 2 days later drove the vehicle to work again and drove fine but on the way home from work the exact same thing happened 7 times! after the 4th time it happened on the way home the check engine light stayed on even though the throttle came back after turning the vehicle back on. stopped at the local auto parts store to get the code and found out it was the throttle body stuck closed. the fact that this has happened that many times on the highway is a real danger to myself and others on the road way. *tr

at first, while driving, the car would shut down and not respond to throttle movement, a huge safety issue in traffic. after pulling over and restarting the car, the problem seemed to go away for a while. the problem seemed to be intermittent the first few times. finally the car shut down to an idle and would not respond to throttle movement and the wrench and engine lights came on. the car would only run limp mode. the odb codes read a p2111 and p2112 (throttle actuator control stuck open, and throttle actuator stuck closed) respectively. we had to tow the vehicle to the dealer. we were told that the entire throttle body had to be replaced at a cost of $666. the problem is that the part is unavailable for 2 weeks and maybe up to a month. we have 39000 miles on the vehicle, the warranty ran out at 36000. this issue is also not covered under the power train warranty. this seems to be a widespread issue and i am disappointed that ford is unwilling to make this right and produce a recall. *tr

Vehicle abruptly stalled, wrench light came on, no accelerator pedal. dangerous situation in traffic, leaving driver stranded. forced to call for tow truck and have vehicle towed to dealer for repair. very lucky to be able to steer vehicle to relatively safe location. dealer replaced electronic throttle body. e-mailed ford, but no response at this time. *tr

I was driving back from lunch and as i accelerated up a slight interstate hill, i experienced no acceleration. i immediately went to neutral and tried to rev the engine, nothing. i coasted to the emergency lane where i safely stopped and placed the car in park. once in park, it was vibrating, sputtering and slightly lunging so i turned the car off. i sat for a few minutes, then restarted my vehicle. i was concerned about merging into traffic, so i turned on my emergency flashers and rode with them on for the remainder of my 15 minute drive. i immediately called my dealer and scheduled an appointment for the next morning. on my way home, the same scenario occurred 2 more times. thank heavens for emergency lanes! *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford escape. the contact was driving 40 mph when the vehicle stalled without warning. the vehicle was merged safely off road and restarted. the contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with a throttle body issue. the vehicle was repaired. the manufacturer was not made aware of the incident. the approximate failure mileage was 49000.

I was driving along at about 50mph and i completely lost power to my 2011 escape. the accelerator did not function and would not rev the engine. i tried putting it in neutral and restarting with no success. the engine was still running but i had no power. i pulled off the road and turned off the engine. a couple of minutes later i tried to restart it so i could wait in a better location and the car started. i was able to drive to my destination but in going home the car stalled again. again i had to turn off the engine in order to restart. i took it into the dealership the next morning and they had to replace the throttle at a cost of $505.00. *tr

Engine lost power but did not die. it would still creep along about 2 mph. the gear light was showing on the dash. the obd code was read by a local auto parts shop as p2112 -- throttle actuator control system - stuck closed. recommended action from ford was to replace the throttle body. i purchased the part from a local ford dealer for $324 plus tax and installed myself. problem was resolved. *tr

While attempting to merge onto the highway i lost engine power in my car. i was unable to accelerate or move and when i put the car into park it began to shake. i had to turn it off and try to get it to start several times before it would start again... *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford escape. the contact stated that while driving approximately 45 mph, the vehicle suddenly lost acceleration power as the wrench warning icon illuminated. the vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the electronic throttle body needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the vehicle was repaired. the approximate failure and current mileage was 36,800.

Car died while crossing four lane highway- no throttle response, almost got hit b y semi suppose to have 60000 mile warranty on drive train ford garage said no to warranty claim. throttle body had to be replaced at my expense. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford escape. the contact stated while driving 40 mph, the vehicle stalled and went into limp mode. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where the technician diagnosed that the throttle body was defective and needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and current mileage was 41,000. updated 10/17/13*lj updated 10/25/2013 *js

I was traveling down the road at a constant speed of 55mph. when my ford escape suddenly went dead. luckily i was able to coast to the side if the road in heavy traffic, and call for help. i had my vehicle towed to a ford dealership where they told us it was the throttle body that had went out and wasn't covered under the warranty. i think that after review the throttle body should be recalled in this make and model due to faulty parts. *tr

Driving home on 4 lane highway at posted speed limit of 45 mph. suddenly engine seemed to loose power and began to slow down. pushing down on accelerator had no effect. finally engine died. restarted engine but car only jerked and jolted as it tried to go forward. engine died and restarted a couple more times, then didn't want to restart at all. warning light on instrument panel showed an orange wrench. a city patrolman came soon and called for a tow truck as it was dark and we were on a narrow shoulder of the road. he said we were in a dangerous place. after repairs at ford dealer, we were told it was a failed throttle body. this is the second ford escape in our immediate family to incur this throttle body problem/failure in just a few short months. the other one stopped in the middle of a busy intersection. *tr

Driving to work on the freeway in the express lane and trying to accelerate and got no response from the engine. had to coast over to the side during morning rush hour. shut car off. tried to restart and it worked. took off again and it happened again about three miles down the road. it just cuts off with no warning. happened about 4 more times before i could get it in the shop. it was the throttle body.$291.91 for the parts and $296.0 for labor. *tr

Lost throttle control, pulled over, turned engine off, and restarted to correct problem. this happened three more times over following month at 70mph on freeway, 50mph on surface street and an intersection at a stoplight. exact same behavior (loss of accelerator, turn engine off, restart). dealership replaced throttle body. five months (7,000 miles) later problem occurred again at a busy intersection almost resulting in a serious traffic accident. i took it back to ford, they performed tests, said they already replaced the throttle body with the new one and made no repair even though i told them the car was unsafe to drive with the defect. there will be serious accidents that result from this defect. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford escape. while driving 25 mph and making a right turn, the vehicle slowed down without warning. the failure recurred multiple times. the vehicle was taken to a dealer for diagnostic testing, but was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 45,000. updated 7/16/15*cn the consumer stated no accidents occurred but, there were a few near misses due to loss of speed. the failure occurred every time the vehicle was driven. updated 9/22/2015 *js

While driving at speeds from 50 - 65 mph, my escape will suddenly lose power. the engine remains running, but the accelerator pedal has no effect. the vehicle will continue to move very slowly after moving to the shoulder of the road. the "wrench" light is indicated on the dash. after coming to a stop, turning the engine off and restarting, the problem is temporarily resolved. after some research on the nhtsa site, this same problem occurs in the escape and ford fusion. ford is completely aware of the problem, but has not issued a recall. the problem is the throttle control body. a local ford dealer offered to replace the part for approximately $600. i purchased the part for $350 and will replace myself as it is a simple 10 minute job. this is a very dangerous defect and i wish that ford would take this seriously. *tr

When trying to accelerate into traffic, the engine dropped to idle and the gas pedal had no affect. temporary solution was to pull over, turn engine off, restart (which required excessive cranking) which seemed to resolve the issue. throttle works again. this issue has now happened 3 additional times and we have parked the car as it is unsafe and unreliable. ford dealer has no clue about the issue and can't schedule getting it into the shop for at least 2 weeks. *tr

I was driving on a residential street when my car shuddered, and i no longer had any gas when i pushed the pedal down. the car was still on, so i was able to guide the car to the side of the street, turn the car off and then restart the car. the next day, the same thing happened several times--always a shudder and then no gas--before i was finally able to drive the car to my ford dealership to see what was wrong. they told me the throttle body was bad. they looked for a replacement, but they said the part was on a nationwide backorder. they said i could get the part cleaned (at my expense), but they wouldn't guarantee it. since i frequently have my grandchildren in my car, and since i am frequently on the interstate at much, much higher speeds, i think i'll wait for the new part--which i have been told has been redesigned. of course insurance and extended warranties won't pay for a rental car while waiting for a part, so i'm at home--writing you! the real reason that i'm writing, of course, is that this is such a safety issue. for my car to stop in the middle of the road was a little scary. since there is a backorder on the part nationwide, i assume i'm not the first, or even the second, person to have this problem with their ford car. btw, i called nhtsa, and my reference number is [xxx]. information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr

I was making a right hand turn. then as i came out of the turn the car stalled i could not go. i pressed on the gas but nothing happened. i turned the car off and restarted it. it worked fine until i went around another right turn, and it did the same thing that's when i took it to the ford dealership. *tr

I was driving on the interstate when all of a sudden lost power and accelerator became inoperative and small wrench light came on indicating a problem.. pull over to side of highway and turned off motor. waited several minutes and started vehicle back up and was fine again. drove vehicle several days later in city traffic and same thing occurred. took vehicle to ford dealer and they said it needed an electronic throttle body. this is definitely a safety issue and needs an immediate recall. *tr

While driving at 45 mph, engine cut out but remained idling with no power. pulled to side of road, shut car off then restarted while in "park" gear position. traveled 1500 miles without incident, then engine lost power on 08/12/2013 while traveling 70 mph on freeway. pulled to side of freeway and restarted car while in "park." car ran fine for another 1500 miles, then on 09/06/2013 began losing power several times while going 30 mph (odometer was at 28,944). limped home and called lincoln/ford dealership and arranged for tow. car is presently at dealership waiting for warranty repair; "throttle body assembly" on order. there was no recall notice sent to me regarding this ford escape engine fault. the freeway loss of power incident put family in extreme danger while attempting to get to side of road. *tr

The car went into limp mode while driving... gas pedal would not do anything until i pulled over and restarted. wrench light and check engine come on, but go off after car is restarted. took to dealer today after about 6 occurrences in the past month. it seems to be happening more frequently.

I was driving my 2011 ford escape late at night, when i completely lost power on my vehicle. i was able to safely pull off to the side of the road. as i brought the car to a stop (braking), the car jerked forward before stopping. i shut off the car, and sat for a few moments, wondering what to do. the dash showed a wrench symbol, so i checked the manual to see what it meant. it said something about a fault and the powertrain. i checked to see if the car would restart and it did. i continued to drive, and approximately 10-15 minutes later it did it again. this time at a speed of over 60mph. i made it to my destination and called my husband. he checked the internet to see if anyone else had this problem and was shocked to see all the complaints about this. thankfully, he read that if i stayed under 60 mph and didn't drive too long it shouldn't happen again. i took the back way home and although it was much longer i made it without a further problem. why is this problem part(throttle valve) not recalled. and most importantly, and for safety reasons why aren't the owners of these 2011 escape's made immediately aware of this hazard. this was the closest i came to a fatal accident and not necessarily my own. *tr

Driving on major interstate in downtown houston at rush hour doing 65 mile an hour when car suddenly stalled causing me to come to almost a complete crawl and i kept seeing a flashing wrench in my dash area as the car tugged roughly when i attempted to accelerate. my car was almost hit by several cars as others slammed on brakes behind. i was in the middle of a 5 lane highway and i had to cross two lanes doing 10 miles per hour to get over to the right. i was a very scary ordeal, i was shook up and disoriented by the ordeal. i turned the car off and sat on the median for 10 mins and started the car back up and the flashing wrench was gone. i called ford about a similar incident that i had last fall of 2012 and they assured me that there were no issues reported like this for the vehicle. please research the fact that my vin is stated as invalid. my vin is [xxx]. i gave this # to the ford company when i called last year and now it's showing as invalid?? the bigger issue is that i feel that my car is unsafe after this happening again today and knowing that i nearly caused several accidents on the interstate and put my own life in danger is causing me to reach out see what actions i can take against ford to fix this issue. information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr

I was driving in the far left hand lane on a highway at about 65 mph when all of a sudden my vehicle lost power and would not accelerate when i pushed the accelerator pedal. i immediately put on my flashers and began moving over one lane at a time until finally reaching the shoulder of the road. while doing so, when the vehicle speed was down to about 20 mph, it started shaking (like a jerking back and forth motion). after letting the car rest for about 10 minutes i tried to start it up. the vehicle started, but the check engine indicator light was illuminated. i followed the directions in the vehicles manual and drove slowly to my mechanic, not accelerating or decelerating abruptly. the initial diagnostic test indicated that the mass air flow sensor needed to be cleaned and this was performed. the vehicle seemed to be running normally for about one week, both on highway and local city roads. one week later, driving about 20 mph on a local street, the same thing happened. i brought the vehicle back to my mechanic who after doing the diagnostics told me that the throttle body needed to be replaced. apparently the mechanic followed the bulletins which were issued by the vehicle manufacturer, which by virtue of issuing these bulletins knew of the potential problem. i believe that this issue is a major safety concern. i was lucky, i was able to move my vehicle to the shoulder of the highway because at the time there was not much traffic. definitely, if i was driving at 65mph, and there was a car behind me traveling at the same speed, there would be know way for them to stop, when my car decelerated so rapidly. *tr

Engine cut out while driving at about 55mph and 'check engine' light lit up on the dashboard. i pulled over to side of road and waited about ten minutes before re-starting vehicle. the vehicle started ok but 'check engine' light stayed on. i took it to service station and they ran diagnostic and got code p2111 - throttle actuator stuck open. i made repair appointment at ford dealer for next day. while driving home from work the engine stalled at a traffic light but re-started ok. *tr

The vehicle was on the highway and lost power, this was the second time that this had happened in two weeks. the dealer was not able to determine the problem the first go around. vehicle would start but had no power, engine light and service wrench, had vehicle towed to dealership. they determined it to be a bad throttle body, which was not covered under my warranty. *tr

While accelerating from a stopped position the gas pedal stopped working and the car came to an idle speed in traffic. i exited highway and idled onto the ramp to the nearest parking lot. after turning the car off for a while and tried to restart with hesitation and was able to drive home and to the nearest ford dealership the next day.(crossroads ford- indian trail, nc) the service department cleaned the injectors and fuel throttle body along with a oil change and transmission flush.($300) the car still had a idling issue but i thought it was just left over residue cleaning itself out.( i have complained of shifting problems/acceleration problems with car since purchase in 2011. i have taken it into keith hawthorne ford of belmont (where purchased) several times with this complaint. nothing could ever be found.) the second incident date is 8-2-13. i was on hwy 74 in indian trail and had pulled out ahead of traffic leaving a stop light with plenty of time to accelerate to speed and the gas pedal stopped working again. i put my flashers on and idled to the next parking lot on the right which was a food lion shopping center. i was almost rear-ended by a red & white tractor trailer because he couldn't slow down in time, it just was able to get in the left lane before hitting me. several cars were backed up and slamming on brakes to keep from hitting me. there was no safe place to pull over so i had to idle to the parking lot. i turned the car off as in the earlier incident and got it restarted and was able to drive it the mile or 2 back to crossroads ford. i received a call today from the service staff that the fuel throttle body needed to be replaced and it would cost an additional $500 to which they would deduct $100 for the service performed 2 days earlier. the car remains at the crossroads ford while i await a call from a customer service agent for this issue. *tr

The car is running then the accelerator stops working. *tr

The fuel throttle body failed & the engine died. pulled off the road & restarted the engine, was able to limp home, (10 miles). *tr

Driving at highway speed, lost all power, drive train warning light came on, engine light came on. had to coast across lanes of traffic to emergency lane and shut off car. turned back on and car worked normally, no warning lights. traveled several miles and happened again. ford dealer said it sounded like it was the throttle actuator, they have seen this before and it would cost me $400 to repair. ford has a design problem with this part and refuses to fix it. i do not want to have to keep replacing $400 throttle actuators every 30,000 miles. the code was p2111. this needs to be done before an accident happens.*jb

While driving on parkway at 60 mph lost power was able to coast to side of road. once i shut car off then restarted, it would drive fine. once i hit 60 again it would power off again. i would have to drive under 50 for continuous power. went to sayville ford for repair. they said it was the throttle. turns out its the same problem everyone is having. i paid $486.89 for repair. $171.68 for part and $315 for labor. *tr

I was traveling 60 mph on the highway when the vehicle lost power, i had to coast over to the side of the road, turn off the vehicle and turn it back on. the vehicle would start but then return to idle with no throttle response. this went on repeatedly before i had to have it towed to a dealership. because this occurred on a saturday afternoon the service department was closed and i was unable to speak to anyone. first thing monday morning when i went in they first told me they did not know about the problems with the throttle control unit. upon presenting them with numerous copies of complaints filed on line they finally acknowledged that there was a problem. however with no recall i would need to pay for a replacement which with towing resulted in a $550.00 bill. apparently i was very lucky that there was one replacement in stock (hmmm), otherwise it would be weeks. i hope the replacement works because it has been a chronic problem for months. skeptical to say the least. *tr

I was driving on the highway at about 60 mph for about 50 miles. the car suddenly lost power and went into limp mode. the small tool light came on the dash indicating the throttle. i pulled off the highway and stopped. after a few minutes, i restarted the car, which seemed fine. i drove for about 1/2 an hour, and it did the same thing again. this time it would not go more then 20 mph. i had the car towed to the closest ford dealership. they said the code showed that the accelerator stuck. they reset the code and said they found nothing else wrong. when i got home, i called the dealership i have the car serviced at. they said it was the throttle body assembly and its a common problem. apparently i have to have it happen again for a repair or replacement to be done and it has to be towed to that particular dealership. a recall would be good, as this is very dangerous and i don't want to have it happen again so that i can get it repaired. *tr

Driving pa turnpike at 10:00 pm 7/19/2013 @ 65 mph sb. heard thump, wrench lite came on, then engine lite. no power on acceleration. coasted to side of road. called aaa. couldn't start car kept sputtering. waited for 1 1/2 hours no aaa. tried to start car. started. continued on journey. next day took to dealer. got an appointment for 7/23/2013 @ 2pm. drove car on mon. 7/22/2013. going 35 mph. same thing. thump, wrench lite, engine lite.no power. coasted to off ramp. took to dealer on 7/23/2013 for diagnostic.failed throttle body assy. removed and replaced throttle body and reprogrammed the pcm and retested. cost..$500.68...out of warranty. *tr

When accelerating the car stalls for no apparent reason. i was driving down a busy highway in the left lane, when i accelerated the made a couple of jerks, thru the wrench sign on the dash and lost all power. this has happened to me 3 times, once from a dead stop turning left across traffic and twice while accelerating at an average speed on the highway there was a total loss of propulsion of the car and all you can do is hope and pray you can coast to safety. it is just a matter of time before someone is killed on a busy interstate when the throttle goes out. ford replaced my throttle yesterday for $328 and never said a word about this being an issue with this car! this absolutely needs to be looked at and recalled! *tr

I was driving with my two kids in traffic on 95 when my truck just seemed to stop working. it did not stall, the engine was still working, i could steer but could not accelerate . i quickly had to get over four lanes to the shoulder . when i did, i turned the car off and waited a couple minutes. i turned the car back on and it was a hard start, almost as if it were going to not start. to get .i called my ford dealership and explained as best as i could to the service department~ who in turn ,over the phone diagnosed the problem as electrical and informed me my warranty wouldn't cover it, i should take it to my mechanic. i dropped my truck off and he tried to fix whatever may have caused the problem, costing us $500. my husband picked it up and we took it out that night ~ it happened five more times . this was saturday night, monday i tried to call ford and tell them what happened. i was on the phone off and on for about 3-4 hours trying to have this handled. finally, i was told by my mechanic~not the dealership~ about this being something i could look up, that other owners had this same exact issue. ford told me to bring it in on wed, i had to call ford corporate to find out if i was entitled to a rental and did i have to pay a $100 deductible. it was like pulling teeth to have this handled. on wed when i was supposed to drop it off, after more disconnected phone calls and voicemails~ i asked to speak with a director or manager. in mind experience he was treating me as if i were a child and i had no idea what i was talking about. he had never heard of such a problem with the ford escapes.after telling him what i found out online i was told "if you read anything on the internet, that's simply your research." i am disgusted with my experience,my truck is supposedly fixed. i do not trust a company to fix something they are pretending doesn't exist. *tr

After traveling for a approximately 45 minutes, my car stopped accelerating down the road. at this point my gas pedal would not make a difference in rpm or speed, then my engine began shaking violently. i barely was able to make it to the shoulder of the interstate. then, a wrench light came on the dash of my vehicle. i then turned the ignition off. upon restarting the vehicle, the light was gone and the gas pedal worked once more. i merged into traffic and continued on my trip with slight hesitation on the remainder of my trip. this whole scenario happened again on the 19th of july 2013 only 20 minutes into my trip home. vehicle is currently at ford dealership being checked out. *tr

My wife was taking her mother home on the 18th of july when the escape started to hesitate and surge going up a hill. when she pressed on the gas pedal there was no response from the engine.the powertrain and engine lights came on so she called me immediately. she was afraid to leave it running so she shut it down. what made things worse was the fact that it was 97 degrees out that day and she had her mother with her who is handicapped. after the engine cooled a bit, i was able to drive it the rest of the way to her mother's house. after dropping her off, the vehicle broke down twice on the way to the repair facility. it turned out to be a problem with the throttle body. as a former mechanic and now a parts person i can say with confidence that this is definitely a safety issue. *tr

Driving home from work, i was traveling at aprox. 35mph when it first happened. my rpm gauge started to "bounce" from 1 to 4 repeatedly. make it very hard to stop and could not give it gas. at the same time, my power-train warning light came on along with my check engine light. i was able to pull over and call for assistance. *tr

I was driving down a neighborhood street, when without warning, i suddenly had no power at all. my acceleration was gone, and i thought that the engine had died, however everything was running, and the engine light was not on. i pumped the gas pedal and got nothing, fortunately there was a convenience store coming up on my right, which i was able to turn into. at that point i noticed the "wrench" icon lighted up on the dashboard, i thought it might be a good idea to turn the engine off and see if it was a glitch, since i had just had the oil changed at the dealership earlier in the day. at least i was hoping that was the case. the car started perfectly, it took a few seconds to shake itself, which still worried me, and proceeded to act normally as i drove home, where i currently am. i advised my son about what happened and he checked up on auto defects on the ford escape and brought them to my attention, that is why i am reporting what happened to me today. i will be bringing this to the attention of the dealership first thing tomorrow morning due to my needing the use of my vehicle for work. *tr

At a stop light. step on gas pedal when light turns green, nothing happens. able to get car to side of rode. wrench light on. turn car off and on. wrench light gone and car drives fine. took car to my mechanic that same day and nothing "registered" on the car's computer so no problem identified, although i was told it "might" be the "throttle body," as he'd just replaced one on another ford. as a "safety precaution" i was told that i could put the car in neutral and turn it on/off to get it going if it should happen on the highway. called the ford service people and told them exactly what happened - they also told me that they can not fix anything if nothing registered on the car's computer., i would have to wait until it happened again. two-three weeks go by - car driving ok (when going to work i make sure to drive in right lane "just in case" and i no longer can drive on highway with my child in car). then, it happens: while driving at approximately 40 mph the car loses power again. i get off the road. engine light and wrench light are on. car towed to dealer. there is an issue with the throttle body. i am driving a rental. *tr

Traveling 70 mph on interstate north west of atlanta, georgia at 5:00 in the morning using cruise control. cruise control went off and car had a catastrophic loss of power. no response to the accelerator pedal. the open end wrench emblem came on the dash board. car speed dropped to 2.5 mph with occasional double surges up to 4.5 mph. had to drive on shoulder for 1 1/2 miles at 2.5 mph in order to get to an exit and call for assistance. was on my own and totally unfamiliar with the area. called ford motor assist and they towed vehicle to dealership. this was a sunday so had to spend night in motel before could see service people. diagnosis ended up being throttle control needing replaced. had complained to local dealership about something being wrong with what i thought was the transmission as the care would surge or shift funny several times clear up to just prior to reaching 36,000 mile warranty. since this occurred at 37,195 and 500 miles away from home it was considered an out of warranty repair and cost $478.00. i am thankful it was 5:00 in the morning on a sunday as had this occurred in rush hour in a further left hand lane, the sudden deceleration would likely have cause a bad accident. this is a very dangerous problem!!!!! *tr

While driving at speed the escape suddenly loses power. the engine remains running but the vehicle begins to slow and depressing the throttle has no effect. the only indication on the dash is a small wrench shaped light on the lower left side. once the vehicle is stopped, i turn the engine off and restart. from the point the escape runs fine. this problem started two weeks ago. it has occurred six times. 4 occurrences on the highway and speed and 2 occurrences on neighborhood streets while traveling in the 20 - 25 mph range. *tr

While driving at speed, the vehicle instantly lost power. gas pedal was non-responsive. i was able to pull the vehicle to a safe spot off the main roadway. when the vehicle was put into park, it idled roughly and the orange wrench warning light came on. turned the vehicle off and waited a few seconds. turned the vehicle back on and was able to return home without further incident. took vehicle to local dealer service the next day and was informed that this is a known problem and that the repair part needed is currently on extensive backorder, maybe up to several weeks. the primary concern over this type of issue is that it could occur to someone who is at highway speed and would be unable to reach a stopping point safely. the fact that the part needed to fix the issue is on extensive backorder indicates that this is hardly an isolated incident. *tr