2009 Ford Escape Hybrid

I WAS DRIVING AT A SPEED OF APPROXIMATELY 45 MPH AND THE THROTTLE WENT OUT. I COULD NOT ACCELERATE ABOVE 40 AND WAS VERY SLOW TO GET TO THAT SPEED. THE ENGINE WAS IDLING AT A HIGHER RPM THAN NORMAL AT STOP LIGHTS. WHEN DRIVING UP HILL THE SPEED WAS ABOUT 20 MPH AND THERE WAS NO THROTTLE TO INCREASE THE SPEED AT ALL. THE YELLOW WRENCH LIGHT CAME ON. ONCE I MADE IT HOME AND TURNED OFF THE VEHICLE, MY HUSBAND TOOK IT TO GET THE CODES PULLED AND THE WRENCH LIGHT HAD GONE OFF AND IT RAN LIKE NORMAL. WE COULD NOT GET THE CODES PULLED. *TR

STOPPED AT RED LIGHT WHEN CAR BEGIN TO RUN EXTREMELY ROUGH, SERVICE ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND WHEN LIGHT TURNED GREEN IT WOULD ONLY ACCELERATE UP TO 20 MILES PER HOUR. VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP THIS MORNING (08/14/2014) AND IT IS THE THROTTLE BODY ISSUE LISTED IN DP12006 FOR FORD ESCAPE VEHICLES. THE REASON FOR THIS CASE IS FORD MOTOR COMPANY / RANDALL REED FORD WANTS TO EXCLUDE A 2009 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID FROM THE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION PROGRAM 13N03 AND HAVE ME PAY FOR THE REPAIR. YOUR HELP IN GETTING THIS RESOLVED IS GREATLY APPRECIATED. *TR

THE SERVICE WRENCH WOULD GO ON AND HOLD AND BUT ALWAYS SEEM TO GO OFF WHEN I ARRIVED AT THE DEALERSHIP SO THEY COULD NEVER CHECK THE PROBLEM. THIS WENT ON FOR A MONTH UNTIL IN ADDITION TO THE LIGHT THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT ACCELERATE ABOVE 40 MPH. I TOOK THE VEHICLE IN AND THE THROTTLE BODY WAS REPLACED AT A CHARGE OF $476.99 SINCE MY VEHICLE WAS NO LONGER UNDER WARRANTY. THIS UPSETS ME BECAUSE I FIND OUT TONIGHT THAT THIS WAS A KNOWN ISSUE AND BECAUSE NO OFFICIAL RECALL WAS ISSUE, I WAS FORCED TO PAY FOR THE REPAIR. HTTP://WWW.LEMONAUTO.COM/COMPLAINTS/FORD/FORD_ESCAPE.HTM. MY VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED NEW AND DELIVERED IN NOVEMBER 008 - VEHICLES PRODUCED AFTER OCT. 15, 2009 HAVE ELECTRONIC THROTTLE BODIES MANUFACTURED WITH A NEW PROCESS THAT RESOLVED THIS CONDITION, THE GOVERNMENT SAID. THE BULLETIN INSTRUCTED DEALERS TO REPLACE THE THROTTLE BODY ON A NUMBER OF FORD AND LINCOLN VEHICLES. DEPENDING ON THE CONDITION OF THROTTLE CONTROL SYSTEM MALFUNCTION, A DRIVER MAY EXPERIENCE VARYING LEVELS OF REDUCED ENGINE PERFORMANCE. IN ADDITION, I WOULD HAVE NEVER KNOWN ABOUT THIS HAD IT NOT BEEN FOR THE FACT THAT I RECEIVED AN OFFICIAL RECALL NOTICE TODAY FOR SOMETHING ELSE. *TR

I OWN A 2009 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID AND ON JUNE 28, 2014 WHEN I WAS DRIVING THE BRAKES SUDDENLY FAILED. THE RED BRAKE WARNING LAMP LIT WITH AN ALARM SOUND AND MESSAGE - 'CHECK BRAKE SYSTEM'. THE BRAKES DID NOT WORK AND REVERTED TO THE FAIL SAFE MODE WHERE IT REQUIRED PEDAL TO THE FLOOR TO STOP THE VEHICLE. I PULLED THE VEHICLE TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND STOPPED. ON RESTARTING THE VEHICLE THE BRAKES RETURNED TO NORMAL OPERATION. THIS WAS VERY CONCERNING AS IT COULD HAVE RESULTED IN AN ACCIDENT/INJURY. IT DID NOT OCCUR FOR 2 WEEKS THEN ON JULY15TH, 2014 WHILE MY WIFE WAS DRIVING THE VEHICLE ON THE HIGHWAY THE BRAKES FAILED AGAIN WITH THE SAME MESSAGE AND ALARM. SHE HAD USE THE HAND BREAK AND PULL THE VEHICLE TO THE SIDE. ON SHUTTING DOWN AND RESTARTING THE BRAKES RETURNED TO NORMAL OPERATION. I HAVE TAKEN THE VEHICLE TO FORD DEALERSHIP AND THEY HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO REPRODUCE THE ISSUE AND THE BRAKE SYSTEMS CHECKED OUT AS WORKING PROPERLY. THERE WERE SOME ERROR CODES BUT THEY WERE NOT ABLE TO PROVIDE ANY CONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE AS TO THE CAUSE OF THIS ISSUE. ALL THEY SAID WAS THERE WAS A COMMUNICATION ERROR AND THEY CANNOT DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. I HAD THE VEHICLE TAKEN TO ANOTHER REPAIR SHOP AFTER THE SECOND INCIDENT AND THEY TOLD ME THE SAME. THEY ASKED ME TO BRING IT BACK WHEN IT HAPPENS AGAIN BUT I DO NOT KNOW IF THEY UNDERSTAND THE RISK OF DRIVING A VEHICLE WITH BRAKE SYSTEMS THAT CAN FAIL AT ANY TIME. I HAVE READ IN INTERNET AND FEW BLOGS ABOUT THIS ISSUE WITH THE FORD ESCAPE HYBRID VEHICLES AND IT SEEMS TO RELATED TO A FLAWED DESIGN. ITS A SHAME THAT FORD IS NOT TAKING ANY ACTION ON IT. I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY ARE WAITING FOR, ANYTHING INVOLVING BRAKES NOT WORKING SHOULD BE CONSIDERED VERY SERIOUS AND ACTIONS NEED TO BE TAKEN QUICKLY. *TR

BACKING OUT OF GARAGE AT HOME BRAKES FAILED. WAS UNABLE TO STOP ALMOST BACKED IN TO A PARKED CAR. SINCE BACKING OUT WAS GOING VERY SLOW AND PUSHED BRAKE AS HARD AS POSSIBLE TO THE FLOOR FINALLY GETTING THE CAR TO STOP. THE ABS LIGHT, PARKING BRAKE LIGHT, AND CHECK BRAKE SYSTEM CAME UP. CAR WAS TAKEN TO SERVICE STATION IN NEIGHBORHOOD AND IGNITION TURNED OFF. STARTED CAR BACK UP AND NO LIGHTS WERE ON AND BRAKE FUNCTIONING WAS ALMOST NORMAL. *TR

WHILE TRAVELING IN VEHICLE AT HIGHWAY SPEED, VIBRATION WAS NOTICED BY OCCUPANTS, AND THEY COMMENTED TO EACH OTHER ABOUT IT, AS THE VEHICLE HAD DRIVEN NORMALLY (NO VIBRATION) ALL DAY. OPERATOR CHECKED GAGE CLUSTER FOR ANY WARNING LIGHTS, AND NONE WERE ILLUMINATED. SOON AFTER, THE STEERING WHEEL BEGAN TO SHIMMY DRASTICALLY. OPERATOR STATED ALSO THAT AT ABOUT THIS TIME, AN OBSERVATION WAS MADE THAT THE LOW AIR LIGHT ON THE GAGE CLUSTER ILLUMINATED. WHILE MANEUVERING TO THE LEFT, A CATASTROPHIC FAILURE (BLOWOUT) OF THE LEFT FRONT TIRE OCCURRED. A LOUD BANG WAS HEARD, AND THE TREAD THAT WAS STILL ON THE TIRE RIM CAUSED MAJOR DAMAGE TO THE LEFT FRONT END OF THE VEHICLE. VEHICLE WAS MANEUVERED TO THE LEFT SHOULDER OF THE HIGHWAY AND STOPPED, OCCUPANTS WERE NOT INJURED, NOR WAS ANY OTHER VEHICLE OR PERSON INVOLVED WITH THE INCIDENT. POTENTIAL SERIOUS INJURY OF OCCUPANTS WAS AVOIDED DURING THE FAILURE OF THE TIRE BY THE ACTIONS OF THE OPERATOR TO MANEUVER AND BRING THE DAMAGED VEHICLE TO A STOP. NO DEBRIS WAS RUN OVER DURING THE COURSE OF THE DAY, AND THAT UNTIL JUST BEFORE THE INCIDENT; NOTHING WAS OUT OF THE ORDINARY WITH HOW THE VEHICLE WAS WORKING. IT IS SPECULATED THAT THE LEFT FRONT TIRE OF THE VEHICLE STARTED TO DE-TREAD AS THE VIBRATION FELT WITHIN THE VEHICLE WAS EXPERIENCED. WHEN THE WHEEL STARTED TO SHIMMY, THE OUTER TREAD MAY HAVE BEEN ALL BUT DELAMINATED FROM THE INTERIOR CORE OF THE TIRE, AND UPON TURNING LEFT, CAUSED THE FLOATING TREAD TO COME OFF CENTER FROM THE TIRE, AND FINALLY SHRED APART DESTROYING THE COMPONENTS OF THE VEHICLE SURROUNDING THE IMMEDIATE AREA OF THE FAILED TIRE. THE TIRES ON THE VEHICLE HAVE BEEN DRIVEN 35217 MILES, AND TREADS ALL ARE EVENLY WORN AND ALTHOUGH NOT MEASURED, SEEM TO BE MORE THAN ADEQUATE DEPTH WISE. CLOSE INSPECTION OF THE TIRES DOES SEEM TO INDICATE THAT THERE MAY BE MINOR DRY ROTTING OCCURRING ON THE SIDE WALL OF THE TIRES. *TR

DRIVING 65MPH ON INTERSTATE, YELLOW WRENCH LIGHT APPEARED ON DASH, VEHICLE LOST POWER DURING RUSH HOUR. FORCED TO CROSS THREE LANES OF 65MPH TRAFFIC GOING 5-10MPH (LIMITED BY VEHICLE'S COMPUTER NO MATTER HOW FAR I PUSHED THE GAS PEDAL.) AFTER SHUTTING CAR IGNITION OFF AND RESTARTING, WRENCH LIGHT STILL ON. SHUTOFF IGNITION AGAIN, REMOVED KEY, OPENED DOOR (INTO TRAFFIC) TO COMPLETELY SHUTOFF ELECTRONICS, RADIO, DRIVING LIGHTS, ETC. RESTARTED VEHICLE AND WRENCH LIGHT WAS NOW OFF. PROCEEDED TO DRIVE WITH THE VEHICLE SURGING FASTER/SLOWER AS I DROVE. A DIAGNOSTIC CODE DTC P2112 WAS RETRIEVED INDICATING "THROTTLE ACTUATOR CONTROL SYSTEM - STUCK CLOSED" WHICH IS COVERED UNDER EXTENDED WARRANTY BY FORD CUSTOMER SATISFACTION PROGRAM 13N03 IN RESPONSE TO NHTSA?S OFFICE OF DEFECTS INVESTIGATION (ODI) ACTION NUMBER : DP12006. WHEN I CONTACTED FORD ABOUT THIS THEY RESPONDED THAT MY PARTICULAR VIN WAS NOT COVERED. THE FORD CUSTOMER SATISFACTION PROGRAM 13N03 EXTENDS THE WARRANTY FOR THE THROTTLE BODY TO 10YEARS 150,000 MILES. MY ESCAPE HYBRID IS 5 YEARS OLD WITH 86,XXX MILES BUT THEY SAY IT IS NOT COVERED. WHY? I HAVE THE DEFECTIVE PART NUMBER THROTTLE BODY 9LE-BC INSTALLED IN MY VEHICLE SINCE NEW, WHICH HAS BEEN SUPERSEDED BY PART NUMBER FORD OEM # DS7Z-9E926-D AND, WHICH FORD IS INSTALLING UNDER THIS PROGRAM TO REPLACE MY DEFECTIVE PART. WHY AM I BEING DENIED WARRANTY REPLACEMENT WHEN I MEET ALL OF THE CRITERIA THEY HAVE LISTED? DURING A CALL TO FORD 1-800-392-3673 ON 6_23_2014 I WAS TOLD THAT THEY DO NOT KNOW WHY MY PARTICULAR VIN VEHICLE IS NOT COVERED EVEN THOUGH I MEET THE CRITERIA FOR THE REPLACEMENT, HOWEVER THEY CAN POSITIVELY CONFIRM THAT IT IS NOT COVERED. I WAS FURTHER TOLD THAT I CAN BRING THE VEHICLE TO A DEALERSHIP FOR DIAGNOSIS, BUT THERE WILL BE A DIAGNOSTIC FEE I WILL BE REQUIRED TO PAY EVEN IF I DO NOT AUTHORIZE ANY OF THE REPAIRS THAT MAY BE NEEDED. *TR

SUDDEN BRAKE FAILURE WITH NO WARNING. VEHICLE WAS INITIALLY TRAVELING AT 55 MPH WHEN A SUDDEN STOP WAS INITIATED BY DRIVER. VEHICLE STOPPED AS EXPECTED. VEHICLE ALSO STOPPED AS EXPECTED 3 MORE TIMES OVER NEXT COUPLE MILES. HOWEVER, WHEN BRAKE PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED PRIOR TO NEXT TURN (NOW FROM 45 MPH), BRAKE PRESSURE WAS LOW, PEDAL TRAVEL WAS LONG, AND VEHICLE DID NOT SLOW. AT THIS TIME 3 DASH INDICATOR LIGHTS ILLUMINATED: ABS, BRAKE PRESSURE/EMERGENCY BRAKE, AND TRACTION CONTROL. NO WARNING CHIME OR DRIVER INFORMATION MESSAGE. VEHICLE DID BEGIN TO SLOW AT SLOW RATE ONCE BRAKE PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED ALL THE WAY TO FLOOR. ISSUE REMAINED FOR DURATION OF 1/2 MILE DRIVE HOME. VEHICLE WAS THEN PARKED, IGNITION SWITCHED OFF, THEN RESTARTED AFTER ~30 SECONDS. WARNING LIGHTS WENT OFF, AND BRAKE PEDAL PRESSURE WAS NORMAL AFTER RESTARTING. BRAKE FLUID RESERVOIR LEVEL WAS OKAY. ALL SYSTEMS FUNCTION NORMAL DURING 1 MILE TEST DRIVE. VEHICLE HAS NO HISTORY OF BRAKE PROBLEMS. *TR