Problems with 2012 Ford Escape POWER TRAIN

Vehicle was being prepared to back out of level garage onto driveway with mild downhill slope. vehicle was started, emergency brake released and automatic transmission placed in reverse, driver's foot engaged brake. driver realized wallet with driver's license was left inside house. transmission placed in park, driver removed foot from brake and exited vehicle. vehicle not noted to be moving when driver exited. driver entered house through garage entry, retrieved wallet. when garage was re-entered vehicle was backing out of garage onto driveway on its own. driver attempted to catch up to vehicle on foot and attempt to regain control. vehicle backed down full length of driveway (approx. 100 feet) and backed across road and down fairly steep embankment on other side of road. vehicle then backed into a large tree about 10-15 feet from road and abruptly stopped, and an adjacent tree was side-swiped by the rear/left side of the vehicle. no property damage occurred, scant damage to 2 large trees. driver assessed the damage, re-entered the vehicle. driver cannot definitively recall what gear the transmission was in when vehicle was re-entered. driver was able to re-start the vehicle and move it across the road and back onto driveway. *tr

The car did not shift gears smoothly upon acceleration. the issue increased to the point where it became dangerous to operate because of the delayed response. i would attempt to accelerate and the car would suddenly surge forward as i was braking for a stop sign several seconds later. i took the car in for service multiple times with different results each time. i thought the issue was related to the transmission, but no issue was found the first time and the issue was determined to be related to a problem with the onboard computer communications the second time. i experienced the same issue on the way home from the 2nd service visit and took the car back a few days later. (i drove my mini car in the interim because i did not feel safe in the escape.) this time they determined that the transmission had to be replaced. the response is much better than before, but not completely satisfactory. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford escape. while driving various speeds, the vehicle failed to switch gears without warning. as a result, the vehicle hesitated and accelerated rapidly. the vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the vehicle was operating up to standard. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the failure mileage was unknown.

Vehicle stalls intermittently when driving at various freeway speeds. pressing all the way down on the gas pedal the vehicle recovers acceleration. the vehicle was checked by an authorized dealer at 325 mi. on the odometer and "no vehicle problem found". vehicle has experienced eight freeway incidents of stalls in 3908 mi.on the odometer, the stalls have occurred at different speeds or vehicle maneuvers. *tr

On several occasions the transmission lags, or shifts hard, slips, hesitate when put in reverse, have had the vehicle back to dealer twice, first time was told the computers were not communicating the way they should, the second which was today, was told it was a quart low? vehicle now has 32000 on it does not leak fluid, and was low on fluid when bought new from dealer why is this happening? dealer says it is because of low fluid, but i am not buying that. and probably will not buy another. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford escape. the contact stated that while traveling 20 mph she attempted to depress the accelerator but received no response. the contact mentioned that the gears then engaged which caused the vehicle to lunge forward. after depressing and holdingthe accelerator down, the vehicle began to function normally. the vehicle was able to be driven to the contact's destination. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who was to replicate it twice while test driving the vehicle. the manufacturer was contacted about the issue. the failure mileage was 200 and the current mileage was 5,100. updated 11/07/12*lj the consumer stated the there a definite stronghesitation around 20 mph. there was also a problem at higher speeds.

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford escape. while driving approximately 20 mph, the vehicle began to hesitate while accelerating. the contact also noticed that the vehicle would decelerate when driving at various speeds. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing where the technician was unable to diagnose the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the approximate failure mileage was 500. updated 03/16/12*lj updated 05/03/12