2005 Ford Escape

SMART JUNCTION BOX FAILURE. PART# 5L8Z15604GA THIS PART CONTROLS MANY OF THE ELECTRONIC ELEMENTS OF THE VEHICLE; DIRECTIONAL SIGNALS, HAZARD LIGHTS INSTRUMENT PANEL, HORN, LOCKS, WINDOWS, SECURITY SYSTEM. VARIOUS ELECTRICAL ELEMENTS FAIL INTERMITTENTLY BECAUSE OF THIS DEFECTIVE PART. THE PART IS ON BACK-ORDER AND CONTINUES TO BE PUSHED TO A LATER DATE. AS OF 11/16, THE PART IS ON BACK-ORDER UNTIL JAN 17, 2011. I HAVE SEEN OTHER COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS ISSUE, AND SEE THAT THE PART HAS BEEN ON BACK-ORDER SINCE (AT LEAST) AUGUST 2010. THERE IS OBVIOUSLY A HIGH DEMAND FOR THIS PART, OR IT IS BEING REDESIGNED AND FORD IS TRYING TO AVOID A RECALL. *TR

I AM WRITING IN CONCERNS TO A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE THAT FORD MOTOR COMPANY HAS FAILED TO ADDRESS. I AM AN OWNER OF A 2005 FORD ESCAPE WHICH I PURCHASED NEW IN NOVEMBER OF 2004. I HAVE BEEN WAITING TWO MONTHS TO HAVE A FAULTY ELECTRICAL PART, THE SMART JUNCTION BOX, REPLACED. SINCE AUGUST 23RD MY VEHICLE HAS BEEN UNSAFE TO OPERATE WITHOUT THIS PART AS MY TURN SIGNALS, HEAD LIGHTS, AND HAZARD LIGHTS ARE INOPERABLE, AS WELL AS POWER WINDOWS, INTERIOR AND DASH LIGHTS, POWER LOCKS, RADIO AND CLOCK DISPLAY AND MY ABILITY TO UNLATCH THE REAR DOOR. AFTER RESEARCHING THE INFORMATION MYSELF I WAS FORCED TO WAIT ANOTHER WEEK TO BE SCHEDULED TO HAVE MY VEHICLE SCHEDULED FOR REPAIR. ON SEPT. 7TH THE FORD MECHANIC CONFIRMED THE PART I TOLD HIM I NEEDED WAS CORRECT AND SAID PART WAS ON BACK ORDER AND SHOULD BE AVAILABLE IN TWO WEEKS. ON SEPT.21ST, I CALLED TO ASK IF THE PART WAS AVAILABLE. IT WAS THEN THAT THE MECHANIC SAID THAT HE NEGLECTED TO MENTION THE PART WOULD NOT BE ORDERED UNLESS I PAID IN ADVANCE. I PAID FOR THE PART ON SEPT23. ON SEPT. 29TH THE GENERAL MANAGER AT WORDEN-MARTIN CALLED TO SAY THERE WAS NOTHING HE COULD DO. I ASKED IF IT WERE POSSIBLE TO HAVE A USED PART PUT IN TEMPORARILY WHILE I WAIT. I RECEIVED A REPLY THAT I WOULD HAVE TO PAY $350 TO HAVE THAT PART PUT IN WITH NO GUARANTEE THAT THE PART WOULD FUNCTION PROPERLY AND NO COMPENSATION IF THE REPLACEMENT PART WERE TO FAIL. NOT WANTING TO THROW AWAY $350 FOR A FAULTY PART, I FELT I HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO WAIT ANOTHER WEEK FOR THE PART TO ARRIVE. AFTER WAITING TWO WEEKS I NEVER RECEIVED A CALL, SO I CALLED THE DEALER TO INQUIRE ON THE PART. I WAS TOLD THE PART MAY NOT BE AVAILABLE UNTIL OCT. 25TH. I CALLED FORD MOTOR COMPANY'S CUSTOMER SERVICE WHO TOLD ME IT WAS THEIR DISTRIBUTOR AND NOT FORD'S RESPONSIBILITY AND THE PART SHOULD BE AVAILABLE BE AVAILABLE OCT. 15TH BECAUSE THE PART, ORDERED BY MANY, WAS BEING REDESIGNED. ON OCT. 19TH I CALLED AGAIN AND WAS TOLD THE PART MAY NOT BE AVAILABLE UNTIL NOVEMBER. *TR

I OWN A 2005 FORD ESCAPE AND HAVE NUMEROUS ISSUES SINCE I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE IN NOVEMBER 2004. THE TRANSMISSION HAS BEEN REPLACED AND ONE COIL PACK. THROUGHOUT THE TIME I HAVE OWNED THE VEHICLE THE THEFT LIGHT COMES ON AND TRIED TO SHUT THE VEHICLE DOWN WHILE I WAS DRIVING (40+MPH). IT CLEARED FOR A LITTLE WHILE AFTER THE TRANSMISSION WAS REPLACED, THEN IT RETURNED. FORD CHANGED ONE IGNITION COIL AND SAID THAT IF WE CHANGED THE SPARK PLUGS IT WOULD PROBABLY FIX THE THEFT SHUT DOWN PROBLEM. WELL WE CHANGED THE SPARK PLUGS AND THE VEHICLE CONTINUED TRYING TO SHUT DOWN THE VEHICLE WHILE I WAS DRIVING(40+MPH). NOW THE VEHICLE WILL NOT START AT ALL. THERE IS JUICE FROM THE BATTERY, ALL THE LIGHTS AND RADIO COME ON, BUT THE CAR REFUSES TO TURN OVER. WE HAVE CHECKED EVERYTHING POSSIBLE, INCLUDING: THE BATTERY, FUSES, AND HAVING IT TESTED BY A CERTIFIED MECHANIC. THE ANTI-THEFT SYSTEM OR FORD PATS II SYSTEM SEEMS TO BE DEFECTIVE WHICH ALSO BE CONNECTED TO THE PCM. THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF COMPLAINTS REGARDING THE 2005 FORD ESCAPE PATS II SYSTEM AND PCM. I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY A RECALL HAS NOT BEEN FORCED. THE 2005 FORD ESCAPE WERE INITIALLY RELEASED WITH THE WRONG SPARK PLUGS WHICH CAUSES DAMAGE AND THEY DID NOT RECALL THE SPARK PLUGS. WITH THESE VERY EVIDENT MANUFACTURER DEFECTS, AND TSBS THAT HAVE BEEN DISTRIBUTED THROUGH FORD - THERE NEEDS TO BE A RECALL AND ITEMS REPAIRED. CONSUMERS SHOULD NOT HAVE TO PAY TO FIX THE PROBLEMS THAT FORD CAUSED AND WILL NOT TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR. MY VEHICLE IS A 2005 FORD ESCAPE XLT V6 3.0L PURCHASED AT UKIAH FORD LINCOLN MERCURY IN UKIAH, CALIFORNIA. *TR

MY WIFE WAS GOING TO THE BANK IN OUR 2005 FORD ESCAPE WITH 39150 MILES. SHE HEARD A NOISE AND STOPPED TO SEE IF SHE HAD A FLAT. EVERYTHING SEEMED OK SO SHE CONTINUED ON. BEFORE GOING ONE BLOCK THE DASH WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON SO SHE DROVE AROUND THE BLOCK AND PARKED THE CAR IN THE GARAGE. UPON EXITING SHE NOTICED SMOKE COMING FROM THE HOOD AREA. WHILE SHE WAS TRYING TO CALL ME AT WORK, MORE SMOKE BEGAN POURING OUT, SHE HEARD A POP AND FLAMES AND SMOKE BEGAN COMING OUT. A NEIGHBOR SAW WHAT WAS GOING ON AND CALLED 911. THANKFULLY THE PROMPT RESPONSE OF THE FIRE DEPT. LIMITED THE DAMAGE TO THE VEHICLE AND THE HOME ONLY SUFFERED SMOKE DAMAGE. WE ARE CURRENTLY LIVING IN A MOTEL WHILE THE HOUSE GETS CLEANED. THE ESCAPE WAS A TOTAL LOSS. UPDATED 11/03/10*JB *TR

WHILE DRIVING 50 MPH WITHOUT WARNING THE VEHICLE SHUT OFF BY ITSELF. IF IT WERE NOT 5:30 IN THE MORNING I MAY HAVE CAUSED AN ACCIDENT OR BEEN KILLED. I WAS ABLE TO RESTART IT, BUT THE ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND IT RAN VERY HARD. IT THEN GAVE ME A SERVICE EMISSIONS WARNING. THE MECHANIC STATES THAT ALL 6 SPARK PLUGS AND 6 COILS NEED REPLACED AND THAT THE COMPUTER SYSTEM WAS FRIED (SMV).FURTHERMORE, HE STATED THAT IT WAS AN ERROR IN MANUFACTURING IN REGARDS TO THE SPARK PLUG INSTALLATION. I NOW FIND THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THE 2005 FORD ESCAPES BUT NO RECALLS OR NOTICES HAVE BEEN MADE. *TR

VEHICLE FIRE ON 2005 FORD ESCAPE (VIN [XXX]) ON 3/23/2010, I NOTICED THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY (WHEN DRIVING) BEGAN TO RUN ROUGH. (LIKE A SPARK PLUG HAD FAILED). WE IMMEDIATELY PULLED INTO A GAS STATION AND INSPECTED THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT (FOR BROKEN BELTS AND THE LIKE) NO OBVIOUS ISSUE WAS OBSERVED. WHEN I STARTED THE VEHICLE AGAIN, I NOTICED THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WAS ON. IMMEDIATELY I DROVE THE VEHICLE HOME AND CONTACTED A SERVICE GARAGE. I WAS ON MY WAY TO TAKE THE VEHICLE INTO SERVICE WHEN I NOTICED AN ELECTRICAL SMELL. I PULLED INTO THE NEXT GAS STATION, OPENED THE HOOD, AND NOTICED A SMALL FIRE LOCATED AT THE #1 CYLINDER COIL PACK. I USED THE GAS STATION FIRE EXTINGUISHER TO PUT OUT THE FIRE. CAR WAS TOWED THE REST OF THE WAY TO THE GARAGE. CAR HAD BEEN DRIVEN NO MORE THAN 10 MILES AFTER FIRST SIGN OF FAILURE. FIRE WAS SMALL ENOUGH TO NOT INVOLVE POLICE OR FIRE DEPARTMENTS, SO NO FIRE OR POLICE REPORT IS AVAILABLE. NO ONE WAS INJURED AND NO PROPERTY DAMAGE OCCURRED OUTSIDE THE VEHICLE. GARAGE SAID THAT IF I HAD LIMITED THE DAMAGE BY EXTINGUISHING THE FIRE WHEN I DID. GARAGE REPLACED COIL PACK, WIRE PIGTAIL (MELTED), AND INTAKE MANIFOLD (ALSO MELTED BY FIRE). OLD PARTS ARE AVAILABLE FOR INSPECTION. CAR WAS REPAIRED BUT CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME BACK ON AFTER 50 MILES. CARE WAS IMMEDIATELY SHUT OFF AND WILL BE TOWED BACK TO GARAGE. FAILURE CODE IS P0351. (SAME COIL THAT WAS REPLACED IS SHOWING BAD AGAIN) CAR HAD APPROX 117,000 MILES ON IT WHEN FIRE TOOK PLACE. NO OTHER MAJOR SERVICE EVENTS IN ITS LIFETIME. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

CAR WAS DRIVING FINE, PARKED FOR SEVERAL HOURS AND THEN IT WOULD NOT START. TOWED TO A SHOP AND ALL COILS WERE OUT. AFTER MORE DIAGNOSIS, THE SPARK PLUGS, THE COILS (POCS) AND THE POWERTRAIN COMPUTER MODULE HAD TO BE REPLACED FOR A TOTAL COST OF $2600 ON A 5 YEAR OLD CAR WITH 63,000 MILES ON IT. MOST LIKELY THE SPARK PLUG RF CAUSED THE PCM TO CRASH. HAD TO REPLACE THE PLUGS, COILS AND PCM INCLUDING SOFTWARE AND PROGRAMMING. I HAVE READ ON SEVERAL COMPLAINT BLOGS THAT FORD KNOWS OF THE PROBLEMS (DEFECTIVE PLUGS) AND HAS ISSUED 2 TSB, 05111 AND 0926. PROBLEM SHOULD BE UNDER THE EMISSION WARRANTY, BUT FORD SAYS IT IS A IGNITION PROBLEM. I THINK IT IS FORD'S PROBLEM AND THEY SHOULD BE COMPELLED TO REPAIR THE PROBLEM. I HAVE READ NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS ON BLOGS FOR THIS PROBLEM WHERE THE CAR JUST STOPS REGARDLESS IF YOU ARE ON THE FREEWAY OR IN YOUR DRIVEWAY.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 FORD ESCAPE. WHILE DRIVING 65 MPH THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT AND PRIOR WARNINGS. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A LOCAL REPAIR FACILITY. THE MECHANIC REPLACED THE PCM, IGNITION COIL, AND THE SPARK PLUGS. TWO WEEKS AFTER THE REPAIR, ALL OF THE ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS, INCLUDING THE PARTS THAT WERE REPLACED HAD MELTED. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 110,000.

I WAS DRIVING ON THE NEW YORK STATE THRUWAY AT ABOUT 65MPH. MY CAR RAPIDLY DECELERATED AND ALL THE PANEL LIGHTS LIT UP. THERE WAS NO CRASH, BUT THAT WAS JUST LUCK- HAD I BEEN IN HEAVY TRAFFIC AT THE TIME OF THE INCIDENT I PROBABLY WOULD HAVE BEEN REAR ENDED. WHAT ULTIMATELY FAILED IS MY POWER TRAIN CONTROL MODULE ( PCM) ON MY 2005 FORD ESCAPE. TURNS OUT THERE IS A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN DESCRIBING THE FAILURE I EXPERIENCED; REFER TO FORD'S BULLETIN 09-2-6, WHICH SUPERCEDES 05-11-1. I GOT LUCKY, AS I SAID, BECAUSE I JUST HAPPENED TO BE IN A BREAK IN TRAFFIC, WHICH UP TO THAT POINT HAD BEEN BUMPER TO BUMPER. THE RAPID DECELERATION WAS THE RESULT OF LOSING 3 CYLINDERS, SO IT OCCURRED WITHOUT THE BENEFIT OF BRAKE LIGHTS COMING ON. RAPID DECELERATION, WITHOUT BRAKE LIGHTS, IN HEAVY TRAFFIC, DUE A PROBLEM WHICH FORD KNEW ABOUT SINCE 2005 (THE YEAR I BOUGHT THE CAR) SURE SEEM LIKE A SEVERE ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN. NO NOTICE WAS PROVIDED OF THE FAILURE PRONE SPARK PLUGS WHICH INITIATE THE FAILURES. *TR

I WAS ON MY WAY TO CONNECTICUT FROM MAINE ON 12/24/08. I NOTICED THAT WHILE WE WERE TRAVELING ON THE HIGHWAY THE CAR STARTED RUNNING ROUGH AND SKIPPING. I IMMEDIATELY PULLED OVER TO THE BREAKDOWN LANE WHERE THE CAR STALLED. THE CAR WOULD START BUT NOT KEEP RUNNING. CALLED AAA AND HAD TO HAVE THE CAR TOWED TO THE NEAREST FORD DEALERSHIP IN PLAINFIELD CT. VEHICLE COULD NOT BE IMMEDIATELY REPAIRED DUE TO THE HOLIDAY. THE CAR WAS REPAIRED ON DEC. 26, 2008. THE DEALERSHIP REPLACED THE POWER CONTROL MODULE AND ALSO REPLACED 2 IGNITION COILS # 2 AND 3. COULD NOT SAVE PCM BECAUSE THERE WAS A CORE CHARGE FOR IT, BUT I DO HAVE THE IGNITION COILS. VEHICLE HAD 38,711 MILES WHEN THIS HAPPENED. THEN ON MAY 17, 2009 THE #5 COIL FAILED AND HAD TO BE REPLACED. I STILL HAVE THAT COIL ALSO. THE DEALER SAID THAT THE COILS WERE NOT WARRANTIED UNDER THE EMISSION CONTROL WARRANTY WHICH IS 5 YEAR 50,000 MILES. THE REPAIRS DONE IN CT TOTALED $729.48. THE SUBSEQUENT REPAIR WAS DONE BY ME. THE COST OF THE COIL WAS $79.99. *TR