general problems of the 2002 Ford Escape - part 1

My vehicle idles to 4000rpm and control the speed by itself, there is a leak in the back break area the steering wheel locks where I can't put it in any gear sometimes and getting worse. Had to get it towed home last night because while driving it idled high and as I brake it barely stopped and when releasing break it speeds up to 50 or more mph and I had to keep my feet on the break. . I pulled over and turned the switch off and waited a while and turned back on and it idled to 4000 rpm again. Could not shift the gear from park and break pedal was hard. When arriving home to back car in driveway towe guy had no problem with idle. The following morning cranked and was at 1000rpm at first start. Also ac pressure. Car runs hot but no smoke water bubbles in coolant reservoir. My check engine light never gave warning of any of the problems listed.

Neighbor woke me saying my car was on fire. Car wasn't on, the key was not in, and it had sat overnight. Called fire department and fire put out. Car is totaled because the firemen had to break into the engine compartment. Engine area burned with nothing but metal visible and a melted battery. I have pictures.

The contact owns a 2002 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an unknown speed, smoke started to emit into the vehicle near the console. The contact merged to the side of the road and quickly exited the vehicle. The fire department was able to extinguish the fire. The vehicle was destroyed. The contact was later notified of recall NHTSA campaign id number: 12v005000 (electrical). The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 200,000.

For the past year and a half the abs warning light has been illuminated. I took it to the Ford dealership to have the latest recall fixed regarding the reservoir cap. Ford couldn't get the abs warning light to turn off. . . So, hence the light still intermidantly comes on and off. Also, the oil pressure light keeps coming on when I start my car and when I am slowing down. I just had my mechanic change the oil a week ago and and still having the problem. One last thing, the air bag illumination light has been on for the past two years. I took it to my dealer and they couldn't get it to turn off. Am I safe in thinking that my air bag won't deploy just for the heck of it? not sure what to do? but it scares me.

The contact owns a 2002 Ford Escape. While driving approximately 35 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact was able to restart the vehicle, but the failure recurred fifteen times. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was 128,000.

I put the vehicle in reverse to back up and when I put vehicle back in drive it died/stalled. This has repeatedly happened along with dying at stop signs, red lights and multiple times at slow speeds. Also the vehicle has repeatedly "stumbled" at various speeds up to 65 mph.

Arrived home, parked vehicle in driveway and shortly after my wife took our puppy outside and saw my car was on fire under the hood, I was able to open the hood and saw flames and sparks coming from the drivers side firewall area, called fire dept after my fire extinguisher failed to fully put out the fire fearing it would catch the house on fire as I was parked less than 10 ft from it.

My Escape was parked in driveway when we went to go to town and it was smoking then on fire this was in the evening about 8 if we hadn't gone out we would have had a huge fire witch could have involved 3 other cars not to mention our house we live in ramona CA 92065 and its fire season we are in a rural area. .

While driving at around 65 mph on a freeway, the car turned on abs light all of sudden and in a less than a minute the car's electricity all shut off, engines shut off, steering shut off, brakes shut off, radio shut off. I've had the same problem previously more than 6 times, but before, it was when I was driving less than 30 mph, but this time, it happened on the freeway. It happened while putting on my breaks, and I believe it was one of the recall problem that the car stops while decelerating. However, the dealer told me that recall works have been already done on the car before it happened. So I suspect that the dealer did not figure out the main reason why the car is stopping while decelerating or just didn't work on the recall and lied.

The vehicle, after being turned off, would not turn back on, and the gear indicator square that surrounds the engaged gear was multiplying, flashing and "dancing" from gear to gear. This happened a second time exactly one week later, and this time the interior lights were flashing and could not be stopped. After quite some time once the key was removed and the door was closed, the flashing interior lights ceased and would only continue again once the key was in the ignition. Though removing the key caused the lights to stop flashing, even once the key was removed, the indicator square continued the behavior. Periodically during operation the lights strengthen in and out when idling.

On March 7,2012, someone knocked on my door and told me my car was on fire. It had been parked on my carport for over 2 hours. There was an abs recall but I was told by my local dealership that the parts would not be available until at least July, maybe longer. They also informed me that the vehicle would be safe to drive since I had no previous problems with it. The Escape was towed to a secured location to be inspected by my insurance and a Ford rep. No conclussion @ this time.

I have received a notice from Ford m. C. That my Ford 2002 Escape can spontaneously catch fire and burn my house down while turned off inside my garage or while running, therefore I should stop parking the vehicle near any house structures. When I called Ford, I'm told that the vehicle is otherwise safe, while it is scheduled to be repaired sometime in quarter #2 of this year. How safe does this sound to you. . ??? I have detected the hot smell odors referred to within the letter (recall notice) & am concerned that the government is giving Ford too much slack in resolving a matter that appears to be quite volatile (pun intended).

Vehicle was parked in yard when smoke started coming out from under the hood. We raised hood and saw wires on fire under the master cylinder. We put the fire out. Wires from abs system caught on fire.

I drove my vehicle home from work (less than 5 miles). When I pulled into my driveway and parked my vehicle, smoke began to pour out from the engine compartment. When I opened the hood there were flames directly in front of the driver side near the fire wall. These flames were originating from the abs module location.

Abs module connector caught fire while car was parked. Recall for abs module connector inspection was completed 7/6/2007. Brought vehicle back in 1/7/2008 due to abs light remaining on. No mention of abs, noted rotors below specs and brake pads need replacing.

2002 Ford Escape cold parked, key-off vehicle fire - total loss uninsured and Ford so far has refused compensation.

My driver's side headlight went out. I went to the local autozone to get a replacement bulb. When I removed the headlight plug, it looked like it was melted. I removed and installed a new light bulb. I then tested the new bulb to make sure it worked. It did not turned on. The headlight plug seems like it melted at some point.

My 2002 Ford Escape caught fire while parked and was recorded as a total loss. The consumer stated the fire started under the hood. Updated 06/23/10.

I drove my 2002 Ford Escape to church Sunday morning, about 5 miles, when the abs light came on. The car had not been previously driven that day. We parked the car and went in for services that morning and at the end of mass were called to the back by the priest who informed me that there was a fire. Sure enough the local fire department was there and had extinguished a fire in the engine compartment. The official report stated the fire originating in the cruise control/ brake fluid reservoir area. The Escape was a total write-off. All recalls pertaining to the abs/cruise systems were serviced about 2 years previous to this event.

My sister's Mazda tribute & my Ford Escape are the same vehicle and both have had the driver's side headlight plug melt.

For the current Ford recall, the recall does not include Ford Escapes. I have had the same problems with my vehicle; malfunctioning cruise control (cruise will just disengage on the freeway or will all of a sudden start accelerating), brake light on dash, and difficultly with disengaging vehicle out of park. I contacted Ford and was told my vehicle is not on the recall and there was nothing they could do about it. They issued me a "case number".

The contact owned a 2002 Ford Escape. The contact's neighbor informed him that his vehicle was on fire in his driveway. The contact used two full fire extinguishers and a water hose in an attempt to extinguish the fire. He was unsuccessful. The fire department arrived and successfully extinguished the flames. A fire report was filed and the fire department stated that an electrical fire started in the engine compartment. The fire marshall verified that numerous Ford vehicles had caught fire as well. The vehicle was completely destroyed. The grass outside of the contact's house, a large tree, and the driveway all sustained major damage. There were no injuries. The failure and current mileages were less than 89,000.

The contact owns a 2002 Ford Escape. The vehicle caught fire while parked in the driveway. The driveway and surrounding trees were damaged. The fire department stated that it was an electrical fire. The vehicle was destroyed and a fire report was filed. There were no injuries. The failure mileage was 84,000. Updated 06/24/09 updated 06/30/09.

The contact owns a 2002 Ford Escape. The contact stated that her vehicle caught fire while parked. She quickly extinguished the fire. The vehicle was taken to the mechanic, but he could not determine the cause of the failure. She received two recall letters prior to the failure. The VIN, engine size, number of cylinders, powertrain, and NHTSA campaign id numbers were unknown. The current and failure mileages were 80,000.

On March 13th 2007 my car was parked in the driveway and smoke was coming out of the bottom of the Escape and the hood. It smelled like an electrical fire- I investigated where the smell was and it all looked fine- I turned on the Escape and then the brake lights and abs light came on along with the engine check light. I looked up on the internet and saw that several complaints on the brake system catching on fire.

At first start up of morning, while driving the idle kicks up to 2000 rpm's. When I stop the car and put it in neutral, that's where I notice the tach revving to 2000. After driving for 3 to 5 miles, it finally goes to normal. If I shut off car, and restart it, its fine. I had the car to the dealer several times to no avail, the put a recorder device in the car and when I noticed the problem, I was to push the button. They sent the box to Ford, who in turn said it was supposed to do that. I am at a standstill right now, with no fix in site. The vehicle is harder to stop in the mornings due to the increased idle. This started right before the 3 year bumper to bumper warranty expired. It is continuing to happen to date. Thank you.

: the contact stated during the night, the vehicle alarm sounded. When the vehicle was approached, it was noticed that smoke was coming from under the hood. The police and fire department were alerted to the scene. A police report was filed. The fire department determined it occurred in the engine compartment and it was an electrical fire. The vehicle was operating normal prior to the fire. The vehicle is currently at a local dealership awaiting further inspection. The manufacturer has been alerted.

My 2002 Ford Escape has had too many problems since I have owned it. I purchased the vehcile used in March of 2005 with 23k miles. It now has 30k. Please note it is still under warranty, however I feel the vehcile is riddled with problems to date: the cd4e automatic transmission was replaced at 4500 miules by the previous owner(performed by Ford) along with the front wheel bearings and retainer rings. Since I have owned the vehicle: 1. The vehcile stalled while driving along. The pcm was re-flashed by Ford, however it still feels like it will stall at certain times. 2. The thermostat housing leaked antifreeze and took three trips to the dealer to fix it. 3. The accerlerator cable was replaced under recall. 4. The rear glass rattles as the latch looks worns out already. 5. The engine had valve train noise and the camshaft retainers were replaced 6. The engine leaked oil due to the dealers faulty repair 7. The fan assembly/blower motor bearings have failed and a new part is on order. I am very upset and disapointed in the quality of this vehicle and I question it as I have no confidence it it.

Have 2002 Ford Escape and 3 years and 7 months later the odometer lcd lights goes out.

On several occasions, my 2002 Ford Escape has stalled out in the middle of intersections, on the freeway, and at many inopportune times!!!!! I have been quite scared to drive my SUV any more. It starts to chug like it is not getting any fuel, the check engine light will come on, and the SUV will immediately die. I lose my power steering, my brakes, my everything! and almost get hit. I have taken my Escape in for service several times, but they claim that it is just a glitch in the computer, and reset it. Then they told me that they could never get it do what I was saying, so I had to come in right when it was doing it, or they wouldn't be able to help. In the mean time, I have stalled out several more times, gone in, and no one can figure out what is wrong. I have heard from several people that this is happening with many Ford Escapes, and I am scared that the situation will escalate to me being in an accident, or my SUV starting on fire when it gets so warm.

In watching the news about Ford SUV's catching on fire, one of the warning signs was a brake light going out or the cruise control light on the dash. I have a 2002 Escape, and recently have replaced two brake lights going out. I only have 40000 miles, yet I did not see a recall on this car concerning this. Has this happened to any Escapes model year 2002 ??.

Airbag lights continuosly flash. Was told by Ford service dept at dealer that this could possibly mean that the seatbelts and airbags will not work. Cost to fix is $609.

Model: 2002 Ford excape XLT. Engine stall without warning around 40 miles per hour. Power steering and brake failed to fundtion. The latest one happened on 3/31/2004. The last one was in late 2002. I purchased this vehicle from michigan (village Ford at dearborn), and use it in texas currently.

While driving the (crs) light appeared on the dashboard and remained on. The driver drove the vehicle to the dealer for an inspection. The mechanic replaced a sensor in the modular. The problem still continued.

My vehicle has suddenly and without warning stalled while driving. Loss ofpower steering, brakes, etc. I nearly hit another vehicle as I could not control the car. This happend at speeds arount 30 mph as early as 6000 miles on the car. It has happened a few times at slow speeds or while backing out of the driveway but was not as scary as the ones that happened while travelling on a busy road at 30 mph. First time I brought the car to the dealer they updated the pcm and reset the relay switch. This was supposed to fix the problem. The stalling happened a few more times but then again at high speeds at 37000 miles. Brought car to dealer again and they updated the pcm(again) and now say I need a new iac valve. They are not even sure this will correct the sudden engine stalling. I read through the hundreds of complaints on the NHTSA website and discovered this is a very common problem. There is something very wrong with the computer and needs to be replaced/recalled immediately.