Table 1 shows one common unknown or other related problems of the 2009 Ford Escape.
| Problem Category | Number of Problems |
|---|---|
| Unknown Or Other problems |
Sunroof exploded while driving down the road. Glass exploded outward and not inward if something hit it.
The rear hatch on my 2009 Ford Escape XLT 4x4 finally quit opening. I have had the vehicle into the dealer for numerous issues and always mentioned a problem with the rear hatch not always opening but they could never duplicate the problem. I am now 5000 miles out of the bumper to bumper warranty and the hatch will not open. It used to 'hang up and not open on occasion, but now appears to be permanent. When I called my dealer they told me it was out of warranty and they had other customers that had the same problem, unfortunately, those customers paid between $250. 00 and $700. 00 to have it fixed. I contacted Ford directly requesting they repair the the lift gate since it had been reported when originally under warranty, only to be advised to pay to have it repaired as it is now out of warranty, and save my receipts in case there ever is a recall. (I find this statement interesting because it means they are aware of the problem). The only latch on the lift gate is a button above the license plate, there is no latch inside the vehicle or glove compartment that would allow you to manually open it. I consider this a huge safety concern.
The entire interior of the car where any metal is exposed is completely rusted out. All the exposed metal components including the tracks for the front seats, the undersides of the seats, the bolts holding the seats in place, and any pieces of metal on the interior of the car that are exposed are completely rusted out. The car was taken into the dealer and I was told that Ford does know about this "problem" and it is because all of the metal on the inside of the car is untreated metal and this will rust. I was further told that this is a "cosmetic" problem and because the car is still functioning then they are not responsible for fixing the problem. The interior of the car looks like an old, neglected car instead of a two year old pristine low mileage car that it is. Ford refuses to fix this problem until the mechanisms completely rust out and fall apart.
On Aug 13, 2011 the rear window on our 2009 Ford Escape shattered when the hatch door was closed. This is the second time that this has happened. The first time was Nov 12, 2010 and we filed a report then too. Fortunately, both times our car was sitting in our driveway. Both times this happened for no apparent reason when my wife closed the door. We know that the NHTSA is investigating the 2010 - 2011 Escape for this problem. Please include earlier models as well. We believe this problem needs immediate attention because if it happened while driving on the highway a serious accident could occur.
Walnut creek Ford misrepresented that the Ford Escape I was purchasing with 17 inch wheels and tires could be driven with cables at the time that we acquired the vehicle and signed an acknowledgment that it could not use snow chains. Subsequently, when we had to use the cables we discovered that the vehicle could not be driven in California in snow at all because neither cables or snow chains can be used. Snow tires are not an option because the California highway patrol allows snow tires only with 4 wd vehicles and this car is a 2 wd vehicle, therefore, the vehicle cannot be driven safely in snow at all. This is a safety issue and the walnut creek Ford dealership will not acknowledge its responsibility to remedy this safety defect and in fact will not even return my phone calls at all. Updated portable 03/03/11.
My wife was loading our Escape trunk before going to work in the morning. When she closed the hatch door, the rear window shattered outward. It was like the window exploded sending glass all over the driveway behind the vehicle. The window cost almost $600 to replace and the Ford body shop estimated almost $1,300 damage to the hatch finish for the nicks and scratches from the broken glass. We contacted Ford but they refused to cover any of the damage. Our insurance covered the cost of the repairs except for our $250 deductible. We found a web site where there were 31 incidents of Escape rear windows shattering. We believe there must be a defect in the glass or window design and want to go on record that this is a problem with the Ford Escape.
I was driving on the highway when the SUV started to decelerate. I was traveling at 70mph. The rpm did not change when I pressed the gas pedal. The SUV coasted to 0mph. I had to turn the car off for a few minutes. When I restarted it, it drove well enough to get to the Ford dealership. Diagnostics were run and I was told that it was a "hiccup" and nothing registered in the computer as an alert. I was told to return if it happened again but was told again that it was a "hiccup. " the following week, it happened again as I was leaving work. I drove to the Ford dealership but this time I took video. I was told it was the throttle that needed to be replaced. Possibly a sensor?? I'm not sure. Because the SUV was out of warranty and it was a Saturday, Ford didn't know if my extended warranty would cover the part. They cleaned the throttle, I think, and told me to come back on Monday. I drove out into the road in front of the dealership and the throttle messed up again. The car decelerated. I turned it off, waited, turned it back on and drove back and paid for Ford to install the part. The car still seems to want to decelerate at times but it doesn't and there are no warning alerts/lights. Again, I do have video of what actually happened the 2nd time the SUV's throttle messed up.