2010 Ford Escape Hybrid

ON SUNDAY, APRIL 22, 2018, WHILE ASCENDING A GRADE ON THE PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAY IN NEWPORT BEACH, CA, THE 'YELLOW WRENCH' WARNING LIGHT ON MY 2010 FORD ESCAPE SUDDENLY ILLUMINATED AND THE VEHICLE RAPIDLY DEACCELERATED AND DID NOT RESPOND TO THE THROTTLE. AT THAT MOMENT I WAS IN THE LEFT LANE OF A 3-LANE HIGHWAY WITH OTHER VEHICLES APPROACHING FROM BEHIND AND PASSING AT 50 MPH. MY VEHICLE SLOWED TO ABOUT 5 MPH AS I ATTEMPTED TO MOVE TO THE RIGHT WHERE I HOPED IT HAD ENOUGH MOMENTUM THAT I COULD MAKE IT TO THE TOP OF THE GRADE AND EXIT THE HIGHWAY. THE RIGHT-HAND EXIT WAS DOWNHILL AND I WAS ABLE TO COAST AND CREEP INTO A MARKET PARKING LOT WHERE I TURNED OFF THE ENGINE AND TRIED TO CALM DOWN. FROM THE VEHICLE MANUAL I LEARNED THAT THE 'YELLOW WRENCH' INDICATED 'THROTTLE CONTROL OR DRIVE TRAIN PROBLEMS.' AS IT TURNED OUT IT WAS A SUNDAY MORNING AND I DID NOT HAVE A PHONE WITH ME SO I DECIDED TO TRY RESTARTING THE ENGINE. IT STARTED AND THE YELLOW WRENCH DID NOT ILLUMINATE. AFTER A SHORT TEST DRIVE IN THE PARKING LOT I DECIDED TO CANCEL MY ERRANDS AND TRY TO RETURN HOME, A DISTANCE OF A FEW MILES. I DROVE AT 25-30 MPH ON RESIDENTIAL SIDE STREETS AND MADE IT HOME WITH NO FURTHER PROBLEMS. THE NEXT DAY I TOOK THE CAR INTO THE LOCAL FORD DEALER AND DESCRIBED WHAT HAD HAPPENED. I WAS TOLD THEY WOULD LOOK INTO IT AND REPORT BACK. LATER I WAS INFORMED THAT THE PROBLEM WAS A DEFECTIVE THROTTLE BODY AND THEY HAD A REPLACEMENT PART. WHEN I CAME IN TO PICK UP THE CAR I WAS INFORMED THAT THERE WAS NO CHARGE BECAUSE THE REPAIR 'WAS UNDER WARRANTY!' THIS WAS A BIG SURPRISE, SINCE I HAD NEVER RECEIVED ANY NOTICE OF A POTENTIAL PROBLEM NOR OF A WARRANTY EXTENSION. SUDDEN DEACCELERATION WOULD BE DANGEROUS ON A FREEWAY IN RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC, NOT MITIGATED BY "LIMP HOME" CAPABILITY

WHILE DRIVING ON INTERSTATE AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS LOST ACCELERATION GOING UPHILL AND WRENCH LIGHT CAME ON. PULLED TO SIDE OF ROAD AND STOPPED. STOPPED ENGINE FOR A FEW MINUTES AND RESTARTED. ENGINE STARTED NORMALLY AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. ACCELERATION ERRATIC AND RPM ON ACCELERATION HIGH BUT NOT IN THE REDLINE. ONCE ON LEVEL HIGHWAY COULD GET TO HIGHWAY SPEEDS AND LEVELED OUT AT A CONSTANT SPEED AND RPM WAS NEAR NORMAL. DROVE TO DEALERSHIP. DEALERSHIP REPORTED NO CODES BUT ELECTRONIC THROTTLE BODY SHORTING INTERNALLY. REPLACED ELECTRONIC THROTTLE BODY. DEALERSHIP STATED THE ELECTRONIC THROTTLE BODY WAS NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. VEHICLE HAD 90, 232 MILES AT DEALERSHIP.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 70 MPH, THE SERVICE ENGINE SENSOR LIGHT ILLUMINATED AND THE SPEED SUDDENLY REDUCED. THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT ACCELERATE WHEN THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED. AFTER STOPPING THE VEHICLE AND RESTARTING THE ENGINE, THE VEHICLE OPERATED NORMALLY. THE FAILURE OCCURRED ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS. THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 61,000.

DRIVING 40 MPH AND MY CAR JUST STALLED. CAR STUTTERED, QUIT AND WRENCH LIGHT CAME ON. LUCKILY IT WAS A SUNDAY MORNING AND ROADS WEREN'T TO BUSY. I COASTED TO A SIDE ROAD, PULLED OVER, WAITED A COUPLE MINUTES AND RESTARTED. I JUST BOUGHT THIS USED 2010 FORD ESCAPE LIMITED A WEEK AGO. I GUESS I SHOULD HAVE GOOGLED THE VEHICLE SOONER. :(

WHILE DRIVING ON A SIDE STREET, MY VEHICLE STARTED TO DECELERATE FOR NO APPARENT REASON. I LOST ALL MOTIVE POWER, AND I HAD TO PULL OVER ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. I TURNED THE CAR OFF, AND THEN, AFTER A MINUTE, I TURNED THE CAR BACK ON AGAIN. IT WORKED BUT I TOOK IT IMMEDIATELY TO THE FORD DEALER. THEY INDICATED THAT IF THERE WAS NO WARNING LIGHT ON (THERE WAS NONE) THEN IT WOULD BE UNLIKELY FOR THEM TO BE ABLE TO DETERMINE EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED. THREE DAYS LATER, THE EXACT SAME THING HAPPENED. THIS TIME ON A BUSY HIGHWAY. LUCKILY, I WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER AGAIN. AGAIN, I TURNED THE CAR OFF, RESTARTED IT, AND DROVE OFF. IT WAS IN THICK TRAFFIC SO WE WERE MOVING SLOWLY FOR THE HIGHWAY, BUT AGAIN IT WAS BETWEEN 40-50 MILES/HOUR. I BELIEVE THIS IS EXACTLY LIKE THE INCIDENTS DETAILED IN THE CURRENT OPEN INVESTIGATION, PE13003, OPENED IN FEBRUARY OF THIS YEAR. A RECALL OF THESE FORD ESCAPES NEEDS TO HAPPEN IMMEDIATELY. IT IS DANGEROUS FOR YOUR CAR TO SUDDENLY STOP FOR NO REASON ESPECIALLY IF THE SUV IS CARRIED SMALL CHILDREN (MINE WAS NOT). I WAS UNAWARE OF THIS ISSUE UNTIL I DID SOME INVESTIGATION ONLINE, AND THE FORD DEALER NEVER MENTIONED IT TO ME AT ALL WHEN I BROUGHT IT IN. IN FACT, THEY SAID IT "JUST MIGHT GO AWAY". THEY DIDN'T APPEAR TO TAKE THE ISSUE SERIOUSLY AT ALL.

I JUST FINISHED A RIGHT TURN AND ACCELERATED TO CONTINUE DOWN THE STREET WHEN MY VEHICLE BEGAN TO SHAKE AND THEN SUDDENLY STALLED. THEN ENGINE CONTINUED TO REV UP/DOWN AS I TRIED TO GET MY VEHICLE TO MOVE OUT OF THE TRAFFIC LANE BUT IT WOULD NOT GO IN REVERSE OR DRIVE. WHEN I PUT MY VEHICLE IN PARK, THEN ENGINE CONTINUED TO REV UP/DOWN FOR ALMOST HALF AN HOUR BEFORE BEING SHUT OFF. *TR

TWO WEEKS AGO I PUT GAS IN MY ESCAPE AND THE MILEAGE TO E READER DID NOT GO UP AFTER I FINISHED PUMPING THE GAS LIKE IT NORMALLY DOES. SO I PUSHED THE VAPOR RELEASE LOCK IN THE GAS CAP, AND IT WENT UP TO WHERE THE READER SHOULD HAVE BEEN, WHICH IM NOT SURE IF THAT IS VALID TO THE ISSUE I AM HAVING WITH MY ESCAPE BUT I JUST THOUGHT I WOULD INCLUDE THIS JUST IN CASE. ANYWAY, LATER THAT NIGHT ON MY WAY HOME FROM THE GAS STATION IS WHEN I HAD MY FIRST INCIDENT WITH THE GAS PEDAL NOT WORKING. I WAS ACCELERATING UP A SMALL INCLINE AND THEN STARTING LOSING POWER AND SPEED. SO I PULLED OVER AND PUT MY CAR IN PARK AND IT WAS SPUTTERING SO I TURNED MY CAR OFF, WAITED A FEW SECONDS AND TURNED IT BACK ON. WHEN I TURNED IT BACK ON I TRIED TO PUSH THE GAS PEDAL TO SEE IF MY CAR WOULD MOVE AND IT WORKED FINE, AND I HAD NO ISSUES WITH IT UNTIL TODAY. WHICH LIKE I SAID HAS BEEN ABOUT TWO WEEKS SINCE THAT FIRST INCIDENT. THEN THIS MORNING WHEN I WAS ON MY WAY TO WORK, IT HAPPENED AGAIN. I WAS ACCELERATING UP A SMALL INCLINE AND STARTED TO LOSE POWER AND SPEED, SO I PULLED OVER TURNED MY CAR OFF AND IT WORKED, I GOT ABOUT 2 MILES UNTIL IT DID IT AGAIN. SO I JUST PULLED OVER TURNED IT OFF AND BACK ON AND TOOK OFF AGAIN. IT PROBABLY STOPPED WORKING ABOUT 30 MORE TIMES WITHIN A 3 MILE TRIP, AND I FINALLY GAVE UP AND CALLED A TOW TRUCK TO TAKE IT TO MY DEALERSHIP WHERE I PURCHASED THE CAR WHERE THEY THEN TOLD ME THAT IT WAS THE THROTTLE BODY ACTUATOR. *TR

I TRAVELED APPROXIMATELY 2.5 MILES WHEN THE CAR STALLED, STOPPED OPERATING AND I HAD NO POWER TO THE DRIVE TRAIN. THE AIR CONDITIONER AND RADIO STILL WORKED SO I STILL HAD ELECTRICAL POWER. I WAS ABLE TO COAST TO A STOP BUT IT WAS DANGEROUS TRAFFIC. I TURNED EVERYTHING OFF AND THE CAR RESTARTED. IT WAS INITIALLY SLUGGISH BUT I TRAVELED THE NEXT 3 MILES HOME. DROVE IT TO DEALERSHIP. DEALER TEST DROVE IT AND IT STALLED AGAIN. DEALER ANALYZED IT AND SAID THE CAR HAD A BAD THROTTLE BODY. NEW PART WILL TAKE A MONTH TO GET AND I CAN'T DRIVE CAR. *TR