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2011 Ford Escape owners are reporting

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Comments

  • printerman1printerman1 Member Posts: 68
    Go to Ford website...at the bottom...contact us! go through the web. Then go to facebook. These boys check to see what the masses think of their products.
    If the vehicle wanders, when you take your hand off the steering wheel, thats an alignment problem or bad tire construction. They have had problems with the OEM manufacturer of the tires & the bearings. Everything for the escape is made in Asia. BUT assembled with Pride in Kansas.

    Considering its a $30K purchase, I would hope the service manage & owner would be most diligent in earning customer satisfaction, OR just tell them, you go to the newspaper. Public embarrassment does wonders.
  • ngillisngillis Member Posts: 2
    I have a 2011 Ford Escape I have owened for 16 months and it has 27,000 miles on it. It has been back to the dealership twice for no power and not wanting to change gears. The first time I took it to Ford they reset the transmission because they could not find anything wrong with it. The second time 9/5/12 I got a call from the rude service manager telling me that my transmission fluid was black and had a foul oder and needed to be flushed. So I asked him why on a new car did the fluid need to be flushed. He proceded to tell me that it was because we lived in the mountains and the fluid breaks down when sloshed around. I called another Ford dealership and spoke to their service manager and he told me he had never heard of that. Really just wish ford would fix the problem!!! Or recall it. :sick:
  • printerman1printerman1 Member Posts: 68
    Ford.com.
    look for the link to email. something like: ccran@ford.com

    I did this awhile back, and they WILL call the dealership.
    but you tell them how ticked you are with the current service.
    they DO have problems with the tranny.
    rough shifting (lemon aid guide calls it, gear hunting), it literally slams the escape.
    plus the aircraft cable they use can break.
    Contact ford, but you still have to go through the dealership..and yes the guy at the other dealership is full of bull. This is NOT an uncommon problem
  • barbara48barbara48 Member Posts: 1
    Just found this conversation - my sister purchased a 2012 Ford Escape in December 2011. From the beginning, she too would have a dangerous "pause" in the car while accelerating to enter a high-speed highway. This continually happens. The car at the present time has less than 4,000 miles on it.

    Many trips to the dealership told her that they would not admit there was a "problem" and, therefore, was nothing to fix. She contact Ford in Dearborn, MI and spoke w/a customer service person, which eventually resulted in her visiting another dealership ending in the same frustration. A meeting was then set up for her with a Ford "engineer," and a Zone manager of some type. They took the car for a test drive, and the engineer also experienced the pause/hesitation, though he did not include that fact in his report. Nothing, she was told, could be done. It was suggested by the dealer that she trade it in at a substantial financial loss.

    She then contacted her State Attorney General's office who directed her to the Better Business Bureau. They have a unit located in VA that handles difficult automobile cases. Most auto mfrs. participate. She was set up for an "arbitration" hearing with an "arbitrator." It was during this process that she learned that the "engineer" had not reported having experienced the pause/hesitation during his test drive.

    The "arbitrator" concluded that, since the car actually was equipped with a modified MANUAL transmission that had been adapted to automatic usage, this type of hesitation/pause was normal, as if it were a manual transmission. Her claim for relief from Ford from this dangerous situation was denied by the "arbitrator."

    Incidentally, at no time, including when the car was purchased, was she informed that this was a manual transmission conversion. She certainly was never made aware of the fact that, due to this, there would be idiosyncrasies in the operation of the car.

    Unfortunately, BBB does not require these auto "arbitrators" to be experienced with auto mechanicals, so his conclusion, was IMO not professional. His response says that his negative decision was based on the fact that Ford said the car was "designed" to operate that way because of the MANUAL TRANSMISSION ADAPTATION.

    I guess Ford has to wait for enough people to DIE as a result of this dangerous defect before they will take any action towards correcting it.
  • ngillisngillis Member Posts: 2
    Wow. Kinda funny how they changed the transmission for 2013!! I hate to hear that your sister is having issues also. This really suck!!! I don't think I will ever buy another ford after all of these issues. I have emailed ford twice and their response to my second email was to calm down and be patient. Really calm down and be patient I have a 19 month old son that rides in this car everyday. Yesterday the car was making some kind of ticking noise and vibrates like a vehicle that takes desiel. Yeah I am waisting over 28,000 dollars on a car that is a piece of junk. Kinda makes me sick!!!! :lemon: :lemon: :lemon: :lemon: :lemon:
  • wwestwwest Member Posts: 10,706
    It appears to me that the symtom you are describing started with the '99 RX300's "abolition" of the transaxle line pressure accumuator to improve FE and is now in use industry wide.

    Google:

    abolition wwest hesitation
  • printerman1printerman1 Member Posts: 68
    they are not issues (thats politics), the real world is PROBLEMS. we have had more problems with malaysia trannies for our Ford Escape 2011. The solenoid started clicking VERY loud.
    the whole truck was bounced when shifting.
    we appoached Ford.com, got action. I placed a nasty comment on FB Ford, and twitter.
    I wrote to the local media. You have to embarrass them. Its a corporate and

    NO you will not calm down..you will notify the media, and your congressman...Ford made a lot of profit last year, 30 billion. no you do not calm down.
  • wichitanwichitan Member Posts: 1
    Your description fits the 2013 Escape also. After slowing for a turn during a test drive, then trying to accelerate during the turn, it acted like the engine died or the transmission was in neutral. After pushing further on the gas pedal for 2 or 3 seconds the system abruptly engaged and took off like a rabbit. I almost ran up on the opposite curb. It happened again on the same test drive in the dealer's parking lot. I almost creamed one of the cars on the lot. Oddly enough, I experienced the identical situation on a new Nissan RAV4. The salesman admitted he had had the same experience. Transmissions must come from the same source. Truly a dangerous situation. Neither vehicle will ever see the inside of my garage.
  • printerman1printerman1 Member Posts: 68
    we had ours in 3 times. The cable for the gear shift, a clicking sound when changing from Park to Drive (solenoid), and lunging forward (they changed a component).
    NOW, ready for this...at 70,000Km...the heat fan does not engage @ #1, #2..but works on #3, & #4.
    Off shore parts do not work..and of course, its out of warranty. Thank good ness for Youtube..
    the component that runs the fan is behind the Glove compartment.
  • wwestwwest Member Posts: 10,706
    SOP for most modern day automatic transmssions, result of widespread adoption of real-time control of ATF line pressure.

    Re-acceleration after a brief coastdown period will often result in 2-3 second delay in rising engine torque.

    Google:

    hesitation abolition wwest
  • usa1fanusa1fan Member Posts: 68
    edited October 2012
    Modern fuel injected gasoline engines generally 'tick' anyway- the fuel injectors make the noise. Diesel engines are direct injected (fuel injected at *very* high pressures directly into the cylinders- what makes them make their characteristic sound). So are the newest gasoline engines, in the name of fuel efficiency. Regular fuel injection (*not* direct-injection) happens in the intake manifold, not in the cylinder itself. Direct injection requires much higher pressure, to overcome the cylinder pressure, and as a result the injectors are much noisier (louder 'ticking') than older fuel injection systems. So your ticking / vibration 'like something that takes diesel' isn't unusual, since the fuel is delivered the same way as in a diesel engine. That you don't notice it more *is*. ;)

    Our 2.0l 2013 is pretty smooth considering the technology, but when it lowers idle speed when warmed up, to around 700rpms, it also has noticable (though not extreme) vibration. Once I hit the throttle, the vibration goes away. This vibration isn't uncommon, even for older cars, at very low idle speeds- again, a tactic to save fuel (lower engine speeds at idle = less fuel being burnt).

    So, while you may or may not be experiencing something out of the ordinary with your Escape, get used to these general characteristics, as they're all part of the technology used to make our cars more fuel efficient.

    Ironically, as wwest has stated, even the tranny hesitation isn't uncommon, just worse in some vehicles than others. My 08 V6 Malibu LTZ with 6-speed auto occasionally exhibited similar symptoms, and my daughter's 2006 VW beetle 5-cylinder / 6 speed auto was far worse, jerking you hard when it finally decided to go!
  • wwestwwest Member Posts: 10,706
    "..tranny hesitation..."

    I already described the 1-2 second "re-acceleration" delay.

    usa1fan's post brought to mind the "secondary" type of tranny "delay" due to the lowered torque coupling of the torque converter. As a result of modern day high percentage of time use of the lockup clutch there is less need for a "robust" TC. So we now we have TC's that need more "wind-up", engine RPM, before "drive" is engaged.

    That's also why many modern day car's have the "hill roll-back" prevention feature, no longer enough torque coupling at idle to hold the car in place stopped on a slight incline.
  • mccomajlmccomajl Member Posts: 6
    Figured out how to "solve" the issue. Took a $5k loss and traded the hunk of junk for a 2012 Honda CR-V which drives like a dream. That was my first Ford and will be my last.
  • wwestwwest Member Posts: 10,706
    Unless you bought a stick shift CR-V there is little reason to believe it doesn't have the same "features". Both "features"(***) have a seriously positive impact on FE so they have been widely adopted throughout the industry.

    It might take quite few drive cycles to nomralize all the appropriate parameters but after that you may very well find yourself in the same boat.

    ***

    1.) Real-time control of ATF line pressure, line pressure drops to nil except for shifting.

    2.) Torque converter less robust, virtually NO coupling at/near idle.
  • mccomajlmccomajl Member Posts: 6
    I've driven the CR-V for over 10,000 miles now and not once has it exhibited any type of shift hesitation. The Escape had a shift hesistation every single day, first thing in the morning.
  • wwestwwest Member Posts: 10,706
    Oh, sorry that one is the result of the ATF volume being too low when cold, satisfactory volume once warmed. Penny-pinchers, again, but with a bit of FE (weight) thrown in.
  • printerman1printerman1 Member Posts: 68
    that control the speed of the heater fan. #1, #2 do not work
    dealership is aware of this problem. Mine is out of warranty, naturally.
    The part is $40..
    tried youtube, no help.
    Its starting to get cold here.
  • printerman1printerman1 Member Posts: 68
    post it on facebook, plus write to Ford. I am having a blower switch problem.
    and its not uncommon..#1, #2 on the dial does not work. but #3,4 work nicely.
    fortunately its easy to remedy, with a screw driving. Check you tube.
  • printerman1printerman1 Member Posts: 68
    that make this suv a pain where I should not have them. Tranny problems (software, solenoid), heater blower switch solenoid went (easy repair, but naturally out of warranty), now the hinge that holds the visor is loose, new part $20. Never had this many problem when I ran GM Montana (100,000 miles) no worries. The dealership in Watford was great.
  • ricardo960ricardo960 Member Posts: 1
    I'm curious if anyone else has noticed this. I am 6'2" and I like to drive with my left leg pulled up next to the seat. But, Ford installed the front seats on a platform that is about 1" above the flat floor. As a result, I cannot place my foot flat on the floor with the seat placed back far enough to allow me to drive comfortably. It is uncomfortable. Has anyone else had this issue? It's like this on every Ford vehicle except for the Edge. I grew up on Fords and cannot drive them comfortably.
  • printerman1printerman1 Member Posts: 68
    send an email to ford. embarrass them on FB. I am 6-4", 220..and yes I am uncomfortable..
    Ford seats have changed since off shore got involved..my Escape is 2011.
  • tim156tim156 Member Posts: 308
    I've noticed this too, but it's not an issue for me being only 5'8" and able to find a comfortable position for my feet when driving. If it's such a big issue and you can't drive a Ford comfortably, how didn't you discover this problem during the test drive and why didn't you choose the Edge?
  • tim156tim156 Member Posts: 308
    It has nothing to do with "off shore" being involved. It's Ford's command seating design. Anything in any car that's built by an outside supplier is built to the specs of the manufacturer. Other than stamping body panels, Ford assembly plants are just that, a plant where they assemble parts from suppliers.
  • mingo1mingo1 Member Posts: 5
    Hi,

    I own a 2012 Escape powered by a V6. It is a flex-fuel vehicle, but I have never put E85 in it. E85 is selling for $1 a gal less than E10 regular. Has anyone used E85 in a V6? Technically, it should be fine, but is it really OK to use? I know the mileage will go down, but at a $1 a gal saving should be beyond the break even point.

    Thanks,

    TG
  • printerman1printerman1 Member Posts: 68
    point made..why did you buy it, if the seating is THAT uncomfortable..Unless you go to a guy that specializes in car seats.
    Keep in mind, car seats have not changed in 60 years. they are still manufactured for people of 50s & 60's build and weight. My wife is 5-2 and she is comfortable.
    I used a store bought cushion and rolled up towel for my back.
  • tim156tim156 Member Posts: 308
    edited June 2013
    Actually, seat architecture has changed a lot in recent years. I first started reading about newly designed Ford seats with the 2010 Fusion, check out this article on seats in the 2013 Escape.

    http://social.ford.com/our-articles/suvs/escape/dr-derriere-knows-a-thing-or-two- - -about-ford-seat-engineering/
  • mnmom123mnmom123 Member Posts: 1
    Bought the 2011 Ford Escape 2.5L used in Jan 2013 with 69000 miles. Had the same issue a lot of had with the PCM needing to be "reprogrammed" since it was having trouble shifting. May 2013 after having the vehicle for 4 months and less than 2000 miles the transmission failed (at a stoplight of course-would not stay running when put in drive). "Found metal in valve body and solinoid screens" and was told tranny needed to be replaced or overhauled. It was out of the 60,000 mile warranty and because it was only 2 years old I didn't purchase the extended warranty (in fact the dealer even told me-it's only 2 yrs old what can go wrong?). Has anyone else had this problem? I still feel sick knowing I paid a lot for the truck and now owe even more to put in a new transmission on a 2 year old vehicle.
  • printerman1printerman1 Member Posts: 68
    get media coverage.
    FB. and other so called media
  • markus5markus5 Member Posts: 102
    If the $1 represents more than 30% off the cost of the E-10 gasoline you would normally be using, I say give it a shot. I tried using the e 85 blend for a brief time last summer but the savings were not apparent. At that time E-85 was about $3.25 and regular was about $3.65
    I bought a 2010 V6, Certified used Escape AWD . It is capable of 29mpg on the highway if not pushed. This would be a bit more than I had anticipated. It is a good cruiser, but is kind of noisy in certain conditions.
  • printerman1printerman1 Member Posts: 68
    for all the hype, and the expense Ford put into altering their engines. and we have to pay for something that wont work. No wonder Ford exec get the paid the big money.
    Here in Ontario, Canada, I have never seen E85 gas stations. The Ethanol ie. Corn never worked proper. Tankers that haul gas, tell me, its heavier to haul than normal gas. Therefore, cost more at the pump
  • halle2halle2 Member Posts: 1
    I am having a problem with my 2011 Ford Escape. I put in the key to start my car but it is not starting. The electrical stuff comes on and the radio but it is not starting up. My husband changed the starter and thought that would fix the problem but it is still not starting. There is power going because he checked but something is wrong where it won't start up. Has anyone else had this issue. Any comments or help would be very helpful.

    Thank you.
  • breas1995breas1995 Member Posts: 1
    Hello Halle2,
    I have a 2012 and I am having this issue with my vehicle. We have had 2 Ford Rangers that worked well so I decided to but the Ford Escape. This is my 2nd ford Escape and I will NEVER buy FORD again! It is like over night I started having these issues where my car won't start and there is nothing wrong with my battery. Ford should be ashamed of themselves for putting our such a chappy product, no wonder people buy 100% foreign!
  • demonllamademonllama Member Posts: 4
    I have a 2010 Escape with the 2.5 cyl. Loved it, until I hit 120,000 kms.Engine light was showing misfire cylinder #2, valves 2 and 3 burnt out. Needed to get the entire top end redone, $2600. Now it idles eratically at lights and lurches as it trys to keep from stalling. There is a flaw! I had the extended service package so only Ford maintained the vehicle. Great car to look at but thats about it!
  • demonllamademonllama Member Posts: 4
    i GUESS THE WORST PART IS..... THE CAR DOESN'T IDLE PROPERLY ANYMORE. At lights it almost stalls as the rpms fluctuate up and down.
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