general problems of the 2008 Ford Escape - part 1

The gear shift bushing failed . I was lucky . Drive into driveway on a hill. Went to shift to park and the lever started to act like it wasn’t connected and started rolling backwards. While shifting it was in the neutral position. I quickly braked and turned car off . Had to use emergency brake. The dealership said it was recalled but this VIN wasn’t included . I ordered new cable but was told it was easier to replace bushing.

My car was scheduled for the mechanic for abs brake issues on April 8, 2024. On April 1, 2024 I was driving on the highway at 65 mph when I lost power to the gas pedal. I could have been seriously injured from other motor vehicles. There was no warning lights, no messages, nothing. I got to the side of the road at about 20 mph. I turned off the vehicle and then turned it back on when the engine light came on and the wrench light. I turned it off again and on and no lights lit up. I was towed to my mechanic and they were able to repeat the incident. The mechanic took it off the tow trailer and he said there are no warning lights when he turned the car on. I told him they went off when I turned the car back on on the highway. The throttle body is the part that went bad and was replaced by the mechanic.

My regen system failure light come on and off. When it does come on I lose my brakes. I have tried effortlessly like others to find out why they are malfunctioning. I am continually having near misses due to the brakes not wanting to work when they choose to. Why has this not been a recall yet. The brakes go all the way to the floor whenever they feel like it. I just purchased the vehicle. I wld have left it at the lot had I know this and no recall seems to be hand. So we get to have accidents or spend endless money while the Ford company doesn’t have to deal with any of it.

I was sitting on a driveway that is at an angle. Not sitting flat…. My vehicle dies & safety alert light comes on with the! in the middle of a triangle and vehicle dies will not stay started it will start and then shut off. Died in middle of road!!.

I have been having problems with the ignition switch for a few months . At times my car wont start. Everything comes on. It feels very loose and having to push in the key and turn is very difficult and hurts my hand. Plus the alarm button gets pressed when I turn the key. . I have to turn key on and off while pushing key into ignition several times and pray that it will crank. I have had no other issues or repairs that are needed. I now have my car in the shop to replace the ignition lock assembly I have an estimate of $400 for this repair. I have heard this is a common repair for this part on the vehicle I own.

Unknown mechanical issues.

Regen brakes disabled light came on dash board after starting. Abs light and check braking system also. Took to two local mechanics. Checked sensors brake fluid etc. Advised to take to dealership. These lights are not always on. However lately they have been. When illuminated the brakes are very weak and if going over 40 mph very difficult to stop. Nearly impossible to drive on the interstate. Ford dealership said it’s a faulty hydraulic control unit codes c1478 and c1479. They advised there is currently only 1 available in the us. It’s used and their cost is $2600. They advised rear brakes and pads being replaced as well and bleeding the brakes after. My truck has 112k miles on it. Dealership estimated repair cost was just under $4000. I rarely have to drive on the interstate but this particular day was very concerning as I could hardly stop and had to swerve to avoid crashing into the truck in front of me. I was lucky that there wasn’t a vehicle beside me. It’s taken awhile to be diagnosed because I was told mechanics need the lights to be on to know exactly what was happening. This is a major safety issue and several owners have had to deal with it. Ford needs to step up and do the right thing with a recall. I love my truck but unfortunately I think it’ll be the last Ford I’ll own.

The back liftgate glass on my 2008 Ford Escape separated from latch and exploded when closing.

Red battery light came on. All accessories went off and the car wouldn't start again. I just replaced my 12v battery the night before. The car had been driven 2 miles, at most. The brand new battery had been in the car less than 24 hours. I had no steering capability as my steering wheel locked up. I couldn't shift. The brake pedal pushed my foot back like it was "pumping" my foot. Put another fully charged battery into my car and started right up. Drove home and as I was pulling into driveway exact same thing happened. Both batteries were drained completely dry of any voltage. Abs light on all the time. Check brake system/regen brake disabled on drive info.

The rear passenger door will not catch to release unlock or lock latch. It's like the door is forced closed will not open.

Driving for the 1st couple of miles was fine. Problem happened after stopping the car 1st time at friends house then 2nd time after gas station stop. After car was re~entered onto the road it would not go over 15 mph and felt like the brakes were on. This was after the 2nd trip to the mechanic about this problem. The mechanic couldn't figure out the problem and started researching . After talking to friends at parts store he was told there is a class action law suit on this vehicle for this problem. I have only had vehicle for 5 months so I am having a hard time finding any way to participate in this. It is possible previous owner was attempted to contact but has moved several times since original purchase. Can you help me with this, or will Ford contact me since title is now in my name. This is a safety issue.

Suddenly the brake system fails causing the brake pedal to go all the way to floor making it difficult to stop properly.

Randomly the car will 'stall' to to speak even though it is an automatic and not a 5-speed. When I say stall I am referring to when I am stopped at a stop sign, red light, yielding to turn, etc - when I go to hit the gas the rpm's rev up high and the car speed is very low and at a rolling speed - even though I push down all of the way in order to get the car to speed up to avoid being struck my other vehicles when turning. The car will then regain all speed at once - instead of gradually. This has happened numerous times while I am trying to merge onto an oncoming interstate ramp or am at a red light or stop sign. I have missed being hit thus far but have had a few close calls. I have a check engine light on and have taken it to several dealerships and auto mechanic shops that have been unable to determine an issue with the car. They have read the check engine code and have found nothing wrong with the car.

While driving it was hard to push on brakes and when I took my foot off of the gas it vehicle would stop. So I took it to mechanic and he said my brakes went w caliber or wheel bearing. A few weeks later same thing happen all needed replaced now again its happened. This is to much something has to be wrong. It would pull back and burn the brakes up. I mean it was hard to get it two 25 miles per hour. This is the 3rd time. This happened while I was driving each time. The vehicle felt like it was pulling back, hard to go forward then hard to push on brakes then the brakes stated smoking.

My car has displayed the issues this model was recalled for numerous times and now will not start again. It stopped driving unexpectedly on several occasions when I have been driving on both freeways and residential streets. When it happens it becomes impossible to steer, gas and brake have no effect, and flashes a mesage that says to stop safely now (even though you have no control over it anyway). It sounds exactly like what happens in the one of the handful of recalls I've read about for this car, yet my VIN number says there are none associated with it and I think that needs to be reexamined.

While driving from midland texas to el paso texas on the way back my car started to slow down, on the instrument cluster it stated safely stop this will be the 2nd time this has happened to me I was informed that it can be the mec pump but when calling Ford and putting it in my VIN number it doesn't show that my vehicle is one of the ones that particular has a recall on, it is also having steering issues parts have been replaced, yet still the steering wheel seems loose.

Takata recall. . My 2008 Ford Escape when it shifts to 4th gear it goes down then shakes and goes up a gear.

We have been having electrical surges in our 2008 Ford Escape xls. The surges are becoming more frequent. They will happen when we are at a stop light, getting ready to go; after having my foot on the gas for a second (or less) a power surge will happen in the car (abs light pops on and 2 others). It also happens when we are driving on the highway going 60 or 70 mph and all of a sudden a power surge happens. I do not have a current video of this happening, but I will be sure to get one within the next day or so to be sure I have this proof on file for you, if needed. Please help us with this issue. This has been ongoing since winter. We originally thought the engine just needed to warm up because of how cold winter got but it is now warmer and the problem persists. The date below is the most recent incident, the first time we had a power surge was in late January.

Transmission. This is the 3rd time that I have had to replace my transmission. I was driving from work and all of a sudden, I was no longer able to accelerate. I have not been able to drive my vehicle since.

My front axel broke while driving one night without any early signs of issues.

I have a 2008 Ford Escape transmission is going out there was a recall but with warranty my warranty has expired Ford motor company will not help me out at all this recall needs to be reopened.

The breaks continue to fail. Has all new pads, rotors and the master cylender replaced. When coming to a stop the breaks vibrate and then need to push the petal to the floor to be able to slowly slow down. I then need to pump visiously up to 5 times to get the breaks to temporarily work again. Was then told by my mechanic the abs is the issue. I have researched this issue with the yr of my vehicle to find that this is a serious issue with many 08 Ford Escapes and have yet to find a recal for this deady malfunction. My car only has 135000 miles and this is a safety issue that Ford needs to fix with a recall ASAP.

I was driving the car on a town road and was stopped at a light. When I was making a left turn the car lost power. On the dashboard came a message "stop safely now" and an red alert triangle came on as well. I had to let the car roll off the side of the road. I turned off the car, waited a few minutes and then turned the car back on. The car turned on okay, but soon after a yellow icon of an engine came up on the dash board. This event happened when I was literally driving the car home from a check up at the Ford dealership. It's dangerous to have the car's power die on the middle of the road.

We bought our car used in 2008/2009. We took our car into a dealership when it was under warranty because of exhaust fumes. We often are smelling exhaust but since the dealership dismissed our problem we have been dealing with it all these years as 'normal'. I recently was hearing of police officers with Ford vehicles passing out or having damage because of the fumes in their Ford SUV. I took my daughter to the doctor a few years ago after being on a trip in the vehicle because she was throwing up on the way there and back. The doctors gave her back x-rays and said that it was just motion sickness. . She often complains of being sick in the car. I also don't like the fumes, but just drive it. Now I realize it may be a problem that was ignored by Ford to begin with. The more I drive it the more dizzy spells I have during the day. The fumes are almost immediately when we run the vehicle and when driving. This is been re-accuring since we bought the vehicle with around 50k, now it has 212k miles.

My 2008 Ford Escape had it's rear lifgate glass (the rear windshield) mysteriously shatter. The vehicle was parked in the driveway at my mothers house and came outside after about an hour of being there to see a shattered back windshield. Her home is in a very rural area and it happened around mid-day, so that almost completely rules out vandals. I suspect that this was a defective product as I've read about other similar cases. The weather was clear that day and there aren't any nearby trees. I found no evidence of any object causing the damage and I was very thorough. Now I'm on the hook for a $500 repair after checking if there was a recall on the item.

The key in the ignition will not start the car. I see on the internet that this is a known manufacturer problem. Why isn't it a recall? it is not just with the 2008. People are doing all sorts of work around because the repair cost is the entire steering column.

In the dash and the steering wheel, the covers for the air bags have become super sticky. I am wondering if, because of where the air bags are, that something has happened behind the covers that is effecting the consistency of the covers. I have tried all kinds of cleaners, goo be gone, alcohol to remove or reduce the stickyness but nothing has worked. I am worried that if the air bags are deployed that they will either not work or that some chemical reaction has occurred that would be worse than then not deploying.

While driving down the highway going on vacation the sunroof just spontaneously shattered. No accident, no damage, no anything happened to the vehicle. My husband and I, who own the car were just driving along and it sounded like a gun shot went off and the next thing we knew, we opened the cover and it was completely shattered. We were in motion on interstate i75 north headed toward chattanooga. Just saw the add in the consumer report magazine on 1/2/2018 for sunroof safety.

The ignition went out and others I know with the same car had the same problem.

I was driving my vehicle when all of sudden my power steering completely went out on me causing my driver side front ball joint to bust along with I dont know what else & almost wreck my vehicle. Good thing I was near a parking lot that I could get my vehicle into enough to get my vehicle off the main road so I was not hit & involved in an accident. I bought vehicle used in April of 2016 & do not know what was done n what was not. My power steering went out abt a month ago & it has been sitting undrivable since then. A friend that is a mechanic finally was able to take a look at my vehicle & after just taking a look at the vehicle to see what was going on, he came to the conclusion without even knowing of any recall & advised that is what the issue wrong with my vehicle. He advised I need check into this to have Ford take care of the issue free of charge. I ran the VIN # to check recalls on my vehicle but came up no recalls however my vehicle falls in the year of the recalls. Researched online & there are several recalls. How do I go about this & getting all the recalls taken care of for mine & my passengers safety, if my VIN # is showing as no recall but the recall issue has happened to my vehicle? I need to take care of this ssap, as this is/was my only & main source of transportaion.

Power steering went out after having truck for only 6 months. I have to get suspension problems fixed every other month. And the muffler every other month.

Gas pedal is sticking intermittently.

My 2008 Ford Escape I purchased in October of 2016 since purchasing my gas pedal completely seizes while driving at any speed. This is a safety hazard. I have done the research to provide that other years have been recalled for the same issue with the throttle body. This vehicle doing this puts not only myself but my 4 month old child in danger. Driving today in michigan in rush hour traffic for over 60 miles this completely seized on me. This is a serious issue in which I think needs to be looked into. Im hoping for it not to take an accident for this to be researched.

While driving down the highway, it sounded like a huge pop or like a gun shot sound and when we stopped, we found that the sunroof had "exploded". There was nothing that hit our car. Luckily the slider was closed so the glass that shattered did not fall all over us. We did some research and found that this has happened to many other vehicles to where there has been nothing to came in contact with the vehicle. We were driving back from my son' graduating college, so we still had to drive with it like this another 2 1/2 hours.

Rear hatch latch will not close when opened. We have had one replaced already and within a month it has broken again. Believe hatch window is leaking into wall of hatch and shorting the component that open and closes the hatch. We have had to drive home with an unlatched hatch. There are plenty of complaints about this on the net. Dealers don't want to hear about it.