2013 FORD ESCAPE Complaints

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 FORD ESCAPE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT SHE WAS STOPPED AT A LIGHT WHEN THE ENGINE RPM'S STARTED TO INCREASE AND THE VEHICLE ERRONEOUSLY ACCELERATED INTO TRAFFIC BEFORE STALLING. THE VEHICLE WAS DIAGNOSED AT THE DEALER AND THE TORQUE CONVERTER WAS REPLACED. THE CONTACT ALSO STATED THAT THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS WOULD INTERMITTENTLY FAIL WHILE BEING UTILIZED IN INCLEMENT WEATHER. THE VEHICLE WAS DIAGNOSED AT THE DEALER BUT THE FAILURE WAS UNABLE TO BE DUPLICATED. NO REPAIRS WERE PERFORMED TO THE WIPERS. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED IN REFERENCE TO THE DEFECTS. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 23,850.

THE HEAT SHIELD ON THE UNDERCARRIAGE OF THE CAR IS VERY CHEAPLY MADE AND IS FALLING APART. IT IS BASICALLY FIBERGLASS INSULATION COVERED WITH SHINY ALUMINUM FOIL. IT IS VERY FLIMSY AND EXPOSED TO THE ELEMENTS. THE SHIELDING HAS COME LOOSE AND THE MORE I DRIVE, THE MORE THE WIND PULLS IT AND TEARS IT FROM THE CAR. IT IS NOW HANGING DOWN FROM THE UNDERCARRIAGE AND ALMOST TOUCHING THE GROUND, LAYING OVER THE EXHAUST AND DIRECTLY TOUCHING IT. THIS SEEMS TO BE A VERY HAZARDOUS SITUATION. IT SEEMS TO BE A VERY POOR DESIGN TO HAVE SOMETHING THAT IS SO DELICATE AND FLIMSY TO BE DIRECTLY EXPOSED JUST INCHES FROM THE GROUND ON THE UNDERCARRIAGE WHERE ANY SORT OF ROAD DEBRIS COULD EASILY DAMAGE IT AND CAUSE IT COME INTO DIRECT CONTACT WITH A HOT EXHAUST PIPE. I'M SURE ONCE IT CATCHES ON SOMETHING IT WOULD BE EASILY RIPPED FREE OF THE VEHICLE AND LEAVE ABSOLUTELY NO HEAT SHIELDING BETWEEN THE EXHAUST AND THE FLOORBOARD. *TR

THE TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM ON THE VEHICLE IS A HAZARD. WITH NO MORE THAN 3-4 INCHES OF SNOW THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT ACCELERATE TO GET ME AND OCCUPANTS OUT OF ONCOMING TRAFFIC. A CLOSE CALL WHEN MY ONLY OPTION WAS TO BACK UP AND THE PEOPLE BEHIND ME TO OFFER ME ROOM. THE VEHICLE SITS WITH THE ACCELERATOR FLOOR OR MODULATED BUT WILL NOT MOVE. AFTER READING THE OWNERS MANUAL IT TELLS ME " IN SOME INSTANCES OF DEEP SNOW" (NOT!) TURN OFF THE TRACTION CONTROL VIA THESE 4-5 STEPS. HOW THE HELL ARE YOU GOING TO DO THAT WHEN YOUR GOING TO GET HIT. IN MY ESTIMATION THIS IS A HAZARD! THEIR TRACTION CONTROL IS A DANGER IT DOES NOT WORK PERIOD. MY WIFE AND I WERE SCARED NEEDLESS TO SAY. TRY IT, YOU'LL SEE WHAT I MEAN. *TR

ON 12/14/13 AT APPROX 6:55PM I WAS TRAVELING AT 40MPH. I HEAR DING DING DING AND NOTICED MY VEHICLE IS LOSING SPEED AND IMMEDIATELY LOOKING AT GAUGES MY TEMP GAUGE IS ON HOT. ERROR MESSAGE DISPLAYS HIGH TEMP, SLOW DOWN, STOP SAFELY, ENGINE SPEED HAS BEEN REDUCED.!! I WAS SO ALARMED AT WHAT WAS HAPPENING HAD I THOUGHT QUICKER I SHOULD HAVE TAKEN A PICTURE WITH MY PHONE OF THE MESSAGE. I WAS ON A HIGHWAY WHERE I COULD NOT GET OFF THE ROAD, ONLY SLOW DOWN AND PULL TO THE RIGHT. I GOT STOPPED AND SHUT CAR OFF. WAITED A FEW MINUTES AND STARTED CAR BACK UP. MESSAGE INSTRUMENT DISPLAYS THE SAME MESSAGE. THEN MESSAGE DISAPPEARS AND I DRIVE TO MY DESTINATION 3 MILES AWAY VERY SLOW . REACHING MY DESTINATION I GET OUT OF THE VEHICLE AND THE SMELL OF ENGINE COOLANT IS VERY STRONG. NO LEAKS OF ANY KIND OBSERVED. IT HAS NOW BEEN 15 MINUTES LATER AND THE SMELL OF ENGINE COOLANT IS STILL VERY PUNGENT. I HAD CONTACTED THE DEALERSHIP THIS PAST WEEK ON MONDAY 12/9/13 REGARDING THE SMELL OF COOLANT AND A RECALL I WAS TOLD ABOUT. I WAS ADVISED BY THE SERVICE ADVISOR FOR THE RECALL PARTS WERE NOT YET AVAILABLE AND TO CONTINUE DRIVING THE VEHICLE AND IF I ENCOUNTERED A ISSUE TO IMMEDIATELY STOP DRIVING THE VEHICLE AND HAVE IT TOWED TO THERE FACILITY AND I WOULD BE PLACED IN A LOANER VEHICLE UNTIL MY CAR WAS FIXED. NOW AT THIS POINT I DO NOT FEEL SAFE TO CONTINUE DRIVING THIS VEHICLE. THE RECALL I WAS INFORMED ABOUT IS RELATED TO A ENGINE OVERHEATING ISSUE AND POSSIBLE FIRE COULD RESULT DUE TO SOMETHING WITH OIL. PLEASE HELP. THIS ISSUE WAS WITNESSED BY MY PASSENGER. *TR

MY FORD TOUCH / SYNC PROGRAM AND DISPLAY SCREEN ARE ERRATIC, UNRELIABLE AND DANGEROUS TO USE. THE SYSTEM WILL RANDOMLY CEASE OPERATION RESULTING IN A BLANK DISPLAY SCREEN. OCCASIONALLY IT WILL RESUME OPERATION AND REBOOT ITSELF. MOST OTHER TIMES, THE VEHICLE MUST BE STOPPED AND RESTARTED FOR THE SYSTEM TO RESUME OPERATION. WHEN THE SCREEN IS BLANK, THE DRIVER MUST TAKE THEIR EYES OFF THE ROAD TO OPERATE RADIO, CLIMATE CONTROL AND OTHER VEHICLE FUNCTIONS OR AT TIMES CANNOT OPERATE THEM ENTIRELY. MY DEALER HAS TWICE UPDATED THE SOFTWARE TO NEWER VERSIONS AND NOW TELLS ME NO NEW UPDATES ARE AVAILABLE, BUT THESE PROBLEMS CONTINUE. THE VALUE OF THIS VEHICLE HAS GREATLY DIMINISHED DUE TO THIS ONGOING SIGNIFICANT DEFECT. *TR

UPON TAKING OFF DRIVER SIDE SEAT BELT, IT WOULD NOT RETRACT. PULLING OUT AND FASTENING THE SEAT BELT IT WILL NOT RETRACT AND TIGHTEN. TOOK TO FORD ON NOV. 26TH. SAID IT IS A KNOWN PROBLEM. HAVE TO ORDER PARTS BUT WAS TOLD THAT SEAT BELT DOES NOT FUNCTION PROPERLY BUT HAVE AIR BAGS IF ANYTHING WAS TO HAPPEN. A MALFUNCTIONING SEAT BELT IS NOT A WARM FEELING TO DRIVE AROUND WITH. BIG SAFETY ISSUE. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 FORD ESCAPE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 2 MPH, THE ENGINE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE FAILURE RECURRED SPORADICALLY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER THREE TIMES WHERE THE TECHNICIAN WAS UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE DEFECT. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 6,150. ..UPDATED 01/23/2014 *BF

IN SEP 2013 ESCAPE WITH ECOBOOST ENGINE DIED EITHER WHEN SLOWING FOR A STOP SIGN OR (WORSE) WHEN SLOWING DOWN VIA COASTING ON TRANSITION RAMP BETWEEN TWO FREEWAYS AT ABOUT 30 MILES PER HOUR. THIS REQUIRED STOPPING CAR AND PUTTING IN PARK SO THAT ENGINE COULD BE RESTARTED. SERIOUS SAFETY CONCERN: I AM VERY CONCERNED THAT I COULD BE REAR ENDED ON THE FREEWAY DUE TO THIS. FORD CLAIMED THIS WAS A KNOWN PROBLEM FIXED BY FORD TSB 13-7-5 WHICH INDICATES THIS ISSUE IS DUE TO CORROSION OF CONNECTION TERMINALS OF THE SUPERCHARGER FOR 1.6L OR 2.0 L ESCAPE ENGINE. RESULT WAS REPLACEMENT OF WIRE HARNESS WHICH APPEARED TO MAKE ENGINE RUN BETTER. IN NOV/DEC 2013 ENGINE DIED AGAIN TWICE WITHIN ABOUT TWO WEEKS AT ABOUT 30 MPH WHEN SLOWING AND TRANSITIONING BETWEEN FREEWAYS ON RAMP. LATER, AFTER GETTING GAS, CAR EXHIBITED "ENGINE FAULT - SERVICE ENGINE NOW" MESSAGE WHEN I STARTED THE CAR AFTER FUELING. HAD CAR TOWED TO FORD. FORD STATES PROBLEM IS FIXED BY TSB 13-12-12 (APPLIED YESTERDAY) WHICH SUPERSEDES TSB 13-7-5 . I AM NOT CONFIDENT THIS WILL FIX THE ISSUE AND BELIEVE THERE MAY BE A PROBLEM WITH THE COMPUTER WHEN SLOWING DOWN VIA COASTING RATHER THAN BREAKING. *TR

NOW THAT IT IS COLDER OUT, MY CAR HAS GONE FROM OVERHEATING TO MISFIRING FROM THE DEFECTIVE CAC/TORQUE CONVERTER IN THIS CAR. I'VE NOTICED THAT THE MISFIRING DOES NOT SHOW UP ON THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT OR WAS ABLE TO BE READ BY MY OBD READER. MISFIRING CAN RUIN THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER AND CAUSE EMISSION ISSUES. IT IS ILLEGAL IN CALIFORNIA (WHERE I'M A RESIDENT) TO NOT FOLLOW THE OBD II PROTOCOL FOR REPORTING EMISSION PROBLEMS SINCE WE HAVE THIS INSPECTED FOR REGISTRATION. WHEN MY CAR HAS OVERHEATED, ONLY FORD WAS ABLE TO PULL THE CODE & I ALSO DIDN'T GET A CHECK ENGINE LIGHT. IT'S APPARENT NOW THAT FORD HAS RIGGED THE OBD IN THIS CAR SO THAT ONLY THEY CAN RETRIEVE CODES. MISFIRING IS EASY FOR YOU TO REPLICATE TO VERIFY MY STATEMENT. UNPLUG ONE CYLINDER, START THE CAR, SEE IF YOU GET A FLASHING CHECK ENGINE LIGHT AND A P030X CODE. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 FORD ESCAPE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE STOPPED, THE FRONT COLLISION CHIME BEGAN TO SOUND. THE CONTACT STATED THERE WAS SNOW ON THE FRONT END OF THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSIS WHERE THE TECHNICIANS WERE UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE FAILURE. THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED WHERE TO DISCONNECT THE FUSE IN ORDER TO STOP THE CHIME FROM SOUNDING. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 11,000.