general problems of the 2003 Ford Escape

I was recently driving on the interstate and the gas pedal got stuck so the car started speeding up very fast and the brakes and emergency brake would not make it slow down. After this I found out there was a recall about this problem and it says the previous owner of the vehicle fixed it but it’s happened while I owned it so I don’t think it was fixed correctly.

Driving down the interstate coming from georgia, it would downshift suddenly without warning. I have not been able to drive it in about 4 months. I thought I had everything repaired, then my truck stopped pulling in drive at a red light. My safety neutral switch is brand new and the position sensor. 10/12/2020 when problem arose after replacing sensors 02/09/2021 any ideas why it is doing this?.

The air bag stay on and keeps blinking and won't turn off. I have done everything possible to check this issue out, having no luck so far.

Tl the contact owns a 2003 Ford Escape. The contact noticed that the k frame was corroded and the air bag warning indicator illuminated continuously. In addition, while the brake pedal was depressed, the vehicle accelerated independently. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the k frame needed to be replaced, the power control module needed to be repaired, and the air bags needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 172,470.

My Escape started to miss, first it wasn't bad then started jerking and it started idling rough when I stopped at red light. When I started moving again it acted as if it would die and would go. If I get to 40 mph it is really bad. But this happened on main highway with other vehicles all around me and had 18 wheeler behind me and all of sudden my speed decreased and me and my children almost was in accident because of decrease in speed. It scared me and my two children. When I got it looked at the codes said it was missing on one cylinder then at one point all cylinders.

The contact owns a 2003 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign numbers: 12v353000 (engine and engine cooling, vehicle speed control) and 14v165000 (structure); however, the parts for the recall repairs were unavailable. The contact stated that the undercarriage of the vehicle, especially near the control arm, was corroded to the point that it failed inspection. Also, the vehicle's rpm monitor fluctuated between 0-5, failing to correctly indicate an increase in rpms. The failure caused the vehicle to rev up without the contact purposely causing an increase. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failures. The approximate failure mileage was 244,310. Parts distribution disconnect.

I began merging onto I 820 when my vehicle (by itself) floored the accelerator. I tried pressing the brake (it wouldnt press down, it was hard as a rock). I used both feet to no avail. At 75-80 mph I jammed it into neutral. The rpm's were still at max. By this time it had slowed (I was on the shoulder of the hiway) to about 20 mph, then jammed it in park. I looked at the instrument panel and all the instruments were on 0. I hesitated then gave the car some gas, it was still running! I couldnt even hear the engine until I revved it. I proceeded to turn off the ignition. The car did turn off. I noticed a 17 yr old boy dying back in 2012 -13 from the same act my car did. Its bad enough to lose a child but to lose a child because of a malfunction from a vehicle and the company stating they will have to look into it further, is nothing short of total negligence and refusal to accept responsibility for ones error and we want to know what has happened to our youth? look who's raising them and giving them excuses.

The contact owns a 2003 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving 55 mph, the vehicle accelerated independently and no indicator lights illuminated. The engine rpms went from 800 to 4000 in one day. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The vehicle has not yet been repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 160,000. Pam.

While driving to and from work, I have used my speed control at speeds of 75 to 80 and have the speed increase with no input from me. The speeds have gotten up to 90 before I could get it to disengage and this is only after numerous hard inputs on brake pedal and this has happened several times, this problem is after I had the repair done per recall12v-353. The repair was done on 8/17/13, mileage at repair was167,183. This vehicle did not have any problem with speed control before recall work was done. As of now 7/10/14 it is in repair shop to investigate this problem. Appr. 186890 miles on vehicle at this time.

The contact owns a 2003 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the vehicle abnormally accelerated without warning. The vehicle was serviced under NHTSA campaign number 12v353000 (engine and engine cooling vehicle speed control) however, the failure was not corrected. The vehicle later stalled while traveling 60 mph and the contact was able to stop the acceleration failure by forcefully applying the brakes. The manufacture was made aware of the failure. The dealer inspected the vehicle and advised that the throttle needed to be cleaned or replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The current and failure mileage was 140,000.

The contact owns a 2003 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 mph he tried to accelerate and the rpms increased. The brake failed to engage until he put the gear shift into neutral. The contact was able to maneuver the vehicle to the side of the road, where the vehicle was able to be restarted. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. The mechanic diagnosed that there was to much air going into the throttle body, and the cold air was freezing the throttle body and prevented it from functioning properly. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the problem. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 76,000. Updated 3/5/cn.

The contact owns a 2003 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while riving 45 mph, the vehicle accelerated and continued to accelerate as the contact applied the brakes. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence and had not been diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure and current mileage was 136,000.

The contact owns a 2003 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the vehicle would independently accelerate. The vehicle was serviced under NHTSA campaign number: 12v353000 (engine, speed control) however, the speed acceleration failure persisted. The vehicle was not repaired and the manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 36,000.

The contact owns a 2003 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the vehicle was included in and repaired under NHTSA campaign id number: 04v574000 (vehicle speed control). The contact stated that there were no failures prior to the recall service. After the recall service while the contact was driving approximately 40 mph, the driver released the accelerator pedal but the vehicle would not decelerate. The accelerator pedal released after the brakes were continually depressed. The failure recurred three times. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 104,000.

The contact owns a 2003 Ford Escape. The contact stated that she received notification of NHTSA campaign id number 12v353000 (engine and engine cooling, vehicle speed control) and took the vehicle to the dealer for recall repairs. The contact stated that approximately six months after having the vehicle serviced under the recall the vehicle began to exhibit acceleration issues. The contact was driving approximately 20 mph and the vehicle would not accelerate over 60 mph. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where they advised her that the catalytic converter failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and offered no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 86,900. The current mileage was approximately 88,841.

I parked my car in my garage (as I always do, my car is garage kept)after returning home from a sporting event at a local arena. I was in my home for approximately 10-15 minutes, my dog started acting funny, then the smoke alarm went off in the house. I went to check it, saw smoke coming in my kitchen from the top of the door to the garage. My husband opened the door to find fire coming out from underneath the driver's side fender of my 2003 Ford Escape XLT. He grabbed the fire extinguisher located just outside the kitchen in the garage and proceeded to attempt to put out the fire. The fire extinguisher did nothing to help put out the fire and it just started to get bigger. I called 911 and was advised to exit the home. We went outside grabbed garden hoses to continue to put out or contain the fire but it kept growing. The fire department arrived and attempted to put out the fire. My entire garage went up in flames and was completely destroyed, my kitchen is completely burned as well. My entire house is completely destroyed from heat and smoke damage. The house and all it's contents are considered unusable and we have lost everything. The fire investigator confirmed the origin of the fire was the drivers side of the vehicle, but gave no indication as to what exact part.

The contact owns a 2003 Ford Escape. The contact stated upon staring the vehicle, there was an abnormally increase in engine rpms. He proceeded to drive the vehicle, merging onto the highway. The vehicle accelerated without driver intent to speeds of up to 45 mph. The contact stated he had to use extreme force on the brake pedal in order to stop the vehicle. The dealer advised that he no longer drive the vehicle until it could be inspected. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where they replaced the iac valve in an attempt to remedy the failure. The contact had not experienced the failure since the date of repairs. The failure mileage was approximately 96,000 and the current mileage was approximately 97,000.

The contact owns a 2003 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the vehicle abnormally accelerated. The contact stated that he had to shift the vehicle into neutral and coast to the side of the road in order to stop the failure. The contact restarted the vehicle after allowing the engine to cool and took the vehicle to the dealer for inspection. The dealer cleaned out the throttle body and stated that ice was building up around the carburetor. The vehicle was repaired but the failure recurred. The failure mileage was 95,000.

I was traveling at approx 40 mph in my 2003 Ford Escape, when my vehicle began to increase in speed. I took my foot off the gas & it went faster. I pressed hard on the brakes, but the acceleration continued. I panicked & put the vehicle into park, where we slammed to a stop but the engine continued to rev and the car was hopping forward. I was 9 months pregnant and I had 4 yr old & 9 yr old child with me. I turned the car off & removed the keys & called a tow truck. At the Ford dealership, the service manager was able to duplicate the trouble originally, but then it stopped. They charged me nearly $100 for 2 days of testing, but couldn't figure out what was causing it. At that time I hadn't heard about the Toyota acceleration problem, so I thought it was a fluke.

Intermittent problem: when brakes are applied the engine speeds up requiring excess pressure to engage brakes.

: the contact stated while driving 40mph, the engine revved at an elevated rate and the vehicle lurched forward without warning. The vehicle was inspected by the dealer. A NHTSA recall, #04v574000 was performed on the vehicle concerning, the vehicle speed control however, the recall did not remedy the problem. The dealership performed a second repair with charge under the recall, additionally the throttle and throttle body assembly was replaced. Afterwards, the engine revving and lurching persisted.

The contact stated at 55 mph vehicle stalled. The vehicle would turn on immediately after at first. Then, the accelerator would have to be pressed for the vehicle to start. The vehicle was taken to a mechanic and multiple components were replaced, but the problem was not fixed until the throttle was replaced. There have been no more problems since then.

While driving the vehicle inadvertently accelerated. This resulted in a head on collision with a tree. The cause of this is undetermined.

When stopping at a stop sign, the vehicle raced and surged into the intersection. Dealer stated they could not duplicate the problem.

When the consumer applied the brakes, the vehicle accelerated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for this problem in March 2003. The throttle sensor was replaced.

In March 2003 vehicle began to hesitate and accelerate, maintain speeds while foot off the gas (once at 65 mph), & shake like it wanted to stall. A couple times it even sped up while I was braking at red lights. On 4-10-03 service department could not duplicate symptoms since they are particularly exaggerated after parked for an hour or so. Stated that I could leave it overnight (no alternative transportation offered) or wait until engine light came on. Since the car did not feel safe, I brought it to another dealership which offered alternative transportation. The problems seemed to improve for a week or 2 before returning, following each of the following repairs: 5/16/03 replaced throttle body/idle air control/pcm reprograming; 6/6/03 repair vacuum tube/hose; 6/25/03 replace pcm with new updated pcm. Two weeks later 7/12/03 operation of power locks/windows, and rear wipers/defrost were going in and out with dash abs, brake, and battery lights coming on concurrently. Service department could not duplicate concern until 9 days later when they asked me to come get the vehicle. The symptoms returned immediately after I started the car up to leave. 7/21/03 alternator was replaced. Hesitation, acceleration, shaking, and maintaining speeds, although not as frequent, continue and could not be reproduced by Ford representative on 8/4/03. I am now continuing to pursue lemon law procedures.

While at a stop with foot on brake vehicle began to accelerate on its own. Consumer lost control and hit a building.