Adaptive Equipment problems of the 2011 Ford Escape

Ford - complete ac failure/ ac dryer failure when I turned on the ac for the first time this year it made a loud grinding noise then never cooled. Took it in to the dealership to check for problem. Car has 41400 miles on it (little more than 5000 over the 36000) but still has 6 months on warranty. The dealer said there was no problem. (roselle Ford)where purchased. Even though a loud grinding sound was present and no cold air. . He told her to bring it somewhere else. . She did, they vacuumed &charged. It worked for 2 weeks then stopped. She brought to another Ford dealer and he said it would cost $2000 and had to replace the whole system. . She went to pick it up and he told her he replaced a resister on the blower switch. . . I know its not fixed. . We'll have to see. . But if Ford really wants to be our car company, then they should stand behind their prouduct. Thats a big repair bill for only 41000 miles. Here is what I have learned so far and no service bulletin on this from Ford. Dealer called and gave the following description of the problem . . . "in the ac dryer there is a filter bag with "little blue balls" of desiccant. It seems that it is a very common problem that these filter bags burst and flood the entire ac system with the balls (aka "debris") which causes all the parts to fail and or clog. Many of the parts can't be effectively flushed so they have to be replaced. " the cost to replace the entire ac system (all valves, tubes, hoses, evaporator, compressor, condenser, accumulator, dryer, etc. ) came to $2,022. 65. This dryer unit that is causing all the problems is a non-servicable unit and is in no way affected by regular maintenance, and there is nothing that can be done to prevent a failure. To make matters even worse is that when they do replace the system. . . They use the same dryer as the one that failed. Unbelievable.

My 2011 Ford Escape has now had service three times in two years for "bucking/slipping" in the transmission. The "bucking/slipping" is experienced with all gears but generally worse between 2nd and 3rd and just starting out. It is also bad when the car has been idle for many days. All three times its been in for service at the Ford dealer they say its the adaptive transmission that is the culprit. They redo the algorithims its fine for a week then goes back to normal. The latest service also included having the transmission axle seals replaced.

On 22 Nov 2011 my 2011 Ford Escape XLT auto awd 2. 5l i4 rear windshield exploded after closing tailgate/hatch! I look inside soon after to see if anything had been in the way to cause it and their was not! this would have only been my third time opening the hatch part as I usually open the glass part mostly and which I also did that day and there was not indication on my dash that anything was still open so later that day I had to open my tailgate and I closed it and my windshield exploded! I have since had it replaced and am writing to you to inform you of this so that I will not happen to others! I have looked online at carcomplaints. Com and your site to see their are other complaints about rear windshield exploding which to be could be a safety issue for occupant and their families! I would like if possible for a review of all 2011 Ford Escape models to see if an upgrade to the hardware or support equipment needs to be done and maybe a safety bulleting to all 2011 Ford Escape owners to be aware of problem and how to prevent it! I was wondering if maybe it had anything to do with cabin pressure????? I say this because when you open the backseat windows I hear an echoing of sound in my SUV and I wonder with a certain amount of pressure applied to closing rear gate the pressure pushing off backseats is causing rear windshield to blow out??????? v/r, conerned Ford owner. . . .

At 2700 miles the airbag warning light started to go on and vehicle was taken to dealer for a check on airbag problem. Supposedly fixed, however one week later had to return vehicle to dealer due to airbag warning light again going on. Problem supposedly fixed by tightening loose wirre cables in cable harness but one month later returned vehicle again as air bag warning was again coming on and there was concern as we didn't know if airbag would deploy if needed or worse may deploy at any time. Advised that cause was excessive electrical resistance in wire cable harness and defective sensors. Since that time there has been no further problem with airbag readiness warning. In fall of 2012 a new problem started which at first I thought might be due to leaving parking brake partially on. Steering at 40 mph all of a sudden became very difficult and center console warning lights and traction warning light came on. After pulling off the road, stopping and restarting the vehicle there was no problem. Problem started again in April 2013 with vehicle still under 10,000 miles. Took vehicle to dealer and problem supposedly fixed. Drove about 6 to 8 miles and problem occurred again with warning lights coming on and difficult to steer at freeway speed. Returned vehicle to dealer and picked up two days later with problem supposedly cured. 4 days later all warning lights went on again and steering as before was difficult. Had vehicle towed to dealer as all agreed it was not safe to drive. After a week of testing and work vehicle was ready . Was advised that problem was loose wires in cable harness and faulty sensors. I have now been driving the vehicle about 2 weeks with no further problems but am greatly concerned that I may have purchased a defective and possibly dangerous vehicle. What protection do we have?.