general problems of the 2011 Ford Escape - part 1

Power steering went out all of a sudden.

Component: driver-side door latch and lock assembly. The driver-side door latch appears to have failed, preventing the door from opening from both the inside and outside and creating an occupant entrapment risk. The failure is fully reproducible and ongoing. The condition first occurred without any prior warning signs, messages, or symptoms and has persisted for more than a day without resolving. Although the vehicle responds to unlock commands from the key fob, keypad, and interior door controls with normal audible confirmation, the driver door frequently remains unable to open. Failure behavior includes: •the driver door cannot be opened from inside the vehicle, preventing occupant exit. •the door also cannot be opened from the outside during these events. •an occupant became trapped inside and had to crawl across the vehicle and exit through the passenger side. •the vertical lock indicator moves between locked and unlocked positions, but the latch does not release. •the electronic systems appear functional, yet the mechanical latch does not respond. •using the physical key can sometimes force the lock cylinder past a mechanical click point, temporarily allowing the door to open; however, this places the mechanism into abnormal states where the door may remain permanently unlocked or, when turned in the opposite direction, cannot be opened at all regardless of unlock attempts. •all other vehicle doors operate normally. Video evidence documenting the failure is available. This condition presents a serious safety concern because occupants could become trapped inside the vehicle during an emergency or after a crash, delaying rescue. The latch mechanism is a critical safety component that consumers cannot reasonably inspect, predict, or maintain. Given the life-safety implications of a door that cannot be opened from either side, this issue warrants investigation for potential defect trends.

I purchased this vehicle on 10/16/25 through affordable auto sales 692 pleasant st fall river MA as it is a buy here pay here. It had 97,626 miles on it day of purchase. I noticed trouble with power steering as it is electric and kept locking up and asked several times to fix it. It didn't get repaired until the week before christmas. On 1-10-26, took it for first oil change and it had 100,837 miles in total I put 3,211 miles on it. The mechanic called me into the garage and showed me 3 things that were critically wrong with the vehicle. It had severe rot in front and rear, mostly rear, the transmission had a significant leak, and the power steering was still not properly fixed. The mechanic informed me that the dealership had not done their safety inspection and this was deemed an unsafe vehicle and I should not be driving it. I brought it to the attention of affordable auto sales and they are accusing me of the damage. The owner lucy sousa also changed the mileage on the paperwork saying I put 20,000 on itinerary 2 months time. She changed it to 82,294 which is false. I have my inspection report to show accurate mileage. I no longer have this vehicle. I returned it to them. I bought another vehicle from a different dealer.

While driving, the power steering assist intermittently fails without warning. This makes steering very difficult and creates a serious safety hazard, especially at low speeds or during turns. The issue can be temporarily resolved by turning the engine off and restarting the vehicle, but it recurs unpredictably. There are no warning lights or error messages displayed on the dashboard. This is a known issue on this model year and may relate to a defective eps (electric power steering) module. Please investigate.

The contact owned a 2011 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at 25 mph, as the contact was approaching a traffic light, the brake pedal was depressed; however, it failed to stop as intended. The contact moved to the other lane when the vehicle came to a stop. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to autozone and the contact was informed that three sensors needed to be replaced. Two sensors were replaced; however, the abs sensor was not replaced due to cost. The contact stated that on the drive home, an abnormal odor was coming from the vehicle. While the vehicle was parked, the vehicle was consumed by fire and destroyed. The fire and police departments were called. A fire report was filed; the fire department stated the cause of the fire was due to faulty wiring. The contact notified her insurance company and the vehicle was towed to an unknown location. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 170,000.

The power steering went out on us several times, but this last time, I was almost in a accident. Also, it has a rubbing/ grinding sound in the front with a shimmy and no matter what,it won't quit.

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at 50 mph, the vehicle power steering and air intermittently became inoperable. The battery warning light was illuminated. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and determined that the VIN was not included in a recall. The failure mileage was approximately 253,877.

The power steering keeps going out and the car becomes almost impossible to control. I have to turn the car off and on several times for it to work again. I am scared to drive it because I do not want to wreck. No warnings it just goes out. This has happened on numerous occasions. I noticed recalls on this for the same reason on the same vehicle. Why does my car not have the same recall?.

Discovered my car has electric power steering not seeing a reservoir did some research and seen that there were a lot of 2011 Ford Escapes with safety recalls three being the main problems I've had with my car since I began financing it almost 4 years ago my last payment is in 2 weeks. Went to leave a driveway and within a few seconds my steering wheel locked up and I thought it was strange that's when I found out I have electric power steering and that there has been recalls turned the car off turn to back on and it was just fine. Found out that is a common thing although it may not be considered a safety recall just yet but I would believe it is a major problem because anytime in my life if I was to believe my power steering was failing me I would still have control over the wheel but this thing locks up as if I ain't going nowhere. I seen that there has been recalls for fuel systems front wheel bearings and electric power steering. My engine light has been on for a very long time and people say it's because of the O2 sensor causing a misfire to appear random. My front wheels kind of knock making me think it could be between the rack axle and bearing. Other than that my radio face button stopped working one day as if they were possessed until they completely shut off and I have no access to it besides the steering wheel components. Rear wiper stuck in the up position one day was causing a tick I could hear with no power and no key in the ignition that caused my battery to die several times 2 years in a row. Realized unplugging my rear wiper made it quit but I can't use my front washer fluid without it being unplugged. And my ac open air max ac and heating cooling climate control buttons work but the blower only works on high making me think yet another electrical issue being the blower speed regulator is bad. I would say these are safety issues package together. This website says I have 0unrepaired recalls. Might try fix it with a torque sensor/calling dealership.

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at low speeds, the power steering functionality failed to remain operational. The steering wheel failed to turn with the wheels. The steering wheel was shaking. The steering wheel failed to turn. There was an unknown sound detected outside the vehicle. The tire warning light was illuminated. The navigation system was dimmed and not responding. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who informed the contact about a recall. The contact called the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 143,000.

My steering got heavy and hard to turn. Loss of power steering. I had a diagnostic done and my torque sensor in my steering is bad. I know there is already a recall on the 2011 Ford Escape, but my VIN number wasn't on the list. Thank you.

I am a 79 year old diabled man when I stopped at th spokane va hospital the driver's door would not unlock. I tried everything I could and could not unlockthe door. To get out. Even the key is only an electric switch there is no mechanical way to open the door. If I had been in an accident and the car was on fire I would have died. As is I had an extremely dificult time climbing out of the car. I drove to a Ford dealer to see if they could fix it but they told me it would be two or more weeks before they could help me. I asked them if I had to stay in that car for all that time.

The electric power steering failed several times while driving. Have to turn off and on the get it working again. It fails without warning while driving. Informed dealer and they stated don’t worry about it that it is not on recall. It is very dangerous to drive and happens without warning. This vehicle needs a recall to be able to fix this serious dangerous situation. I have to drive with kids in the car. This is a serious hazard to me and others. Other cars of this type and year has had recalls to fix the very same problem. Thank you.

When driving, the power steering goes out and you are not able to steer the car. It is very noticeable when I am making a right or left hand turn. You have to turn the steer wheel manually (a lot different from manual steering in older cars). When this happens, I put the car in neutral, turn the car off, restart the car, and put it back in drive. This temporarily fixes the problem. Very difficult to turn the wheel. It is extremely stressful and difficult to control the car at that point. I have not been in an accident yet and no bodily harm has been caused; however, I am hoping it doesn't ever happen. I was told by Ford that this is the electric power steering gear. There was a recall for Ford Escape 2011 and my VIN is not included. It should be as I am experiencing the same problems. There is no warning before this happens. It just happens and you cannot prepare for it. I would truly appreciate to be included in the recall as I do have a 2011 Ford Escape and I am experiencing the same problems/issues the other cars did that were included in the recall. As this was purchased as a used car, I was not aware of the possible recall and this problem. The date below only indicates the most current incident.

2011 Ford Escape XLT power steering column assembly internal failure. Power steering lost. The steering wheel locks up while the car is in motion causing no control of the vehicle. Same as the ones recalled. My VIN number falls short two days after the Ford recall window #14s05. Nhtsa recall # 14v284000.

The instrument cluster started by flashing all lights to staying on. Then the speed controls, speedometer, rpm gauge, and heat sensor would not work. On top of all this. The brakes began to make a clicking noise when this issue would happen and the brakes would act rough. No mechanic could figure out the problem until it was to late. This needs to be better known and better managed.

I have been having issues with dash cluster going crazy while driving ,I have reserched on line and have found many people are having the same issue ,would be nice if Fordwould take care of this issue.

The abs braking system on the Ford Escape hybrid failed unexpectedly and without warning at only 60k miles. The vehicle was in motion, and all the lights came on at once and the system read "check brakes. " the brakes felt loose, and I took it a mechanic the next day. They thought that pressure was getting sent unevenly to both sides of the vehicle, so they flushed the brakes. However, they discovered total abs failure, and a $3000 fix associated with it. This is a known issue all over the internet. There are facebook groups advocating for a recall of this vehicle. We were lucky that we didn't crash into someone. The brakes only work if you apply extreme force to them, and even then they get loose and the car starts to roll away. These issues are becoming extremely prevalent now in 2020 that the 2008-2011 era of this hybrid is getting a bit older. That being said, this model only has 60k miles on it and should not have had brake failure. . Read more...

I have only owned my pre-owned vehicle for 3 years and have had to replace driver side front bearing 2x's, rear wiper motor twice and now vehicle will stall while in motion and at stops for traffic lights. I have always driven Fords and feel that this is something with the assembly line because I learned of another from the same assembly line that had the same problems.

While driving down the road the battery light came on. Then all the sudden the stearing wheel got tight and I couldnt steer the car. Then I turned car off started it again after a few minutes the battery light lite up and the stearing was locking up not letting me turn . Very scarey cause almost had an accident and nothing was displayed saying anything about stearing or battery low. . .

This will be the second time I am replacing wheel bearing in the front driver side wheel. This causes the wheel to shake. I cant afford to continue to put money into a vehicle with such low miles and every 6 months. Also rear wiper motor burnt out due to a leaky seal or poor seal from Ford.

There have been several incidents with this vehicle where the steering wheel will seize and lose of acceleration when making sharp turns . During these incidents we would restart the ignition and the steering wheel would start working again.

Back door wont open, rear wiper doesn't work, rain comes in through back door.

Takata recall. . . . Checked VIN with NHTSA and saw recall information. Today, I would feel safer if this issue was fixed.

Ignition and electrical system, fuses,etc failure resulted in two spontaneous fires while the car was parked, destroying the car's ability to function. Leawood, KS. Police department has photographed the engine compartment and filed a police report.

Having mechanical issues with my doors not closing. This has happened several times and each time it takes a lot of playing around with locking and unlocking before I can get the door shut.

I was driving to my bank which is an hour away. As I drove up a steep mountain at the top the truck just shut off and I coasted to the side of hwy. After I stop tried starting 4 times and nothing happen. Set for 10mins then tried again truck started I made it back home without stalling. I took my in truck to be looked at diagnostic fuel throttle. Every day since im stalling 1or 2 a day trucks should be made to endure parts should be. More durable its always about cutting corners. Making more money off of customer. Can we just the land of the free and a home of honest amd integrity. I must work if dont have reliable trasnportation its difficult where I live. Please do something about all these defected trucks we trust Ford but I have lost trust in their ablity to make great lasting trucks. I will never buy another Ford again this my last one from Ford. Thank you.

Ford consumer satisfaction program 13n03. Related to etb. Car randomly would not accelerate - had to pull over three times while driving on the highway to turn car on and off. After turning car on, it was like nothing had happened.

Hello, a few months ago I purchased a used 2011 Ford Escape flex fuel from infinity/Volkswagen of fairfield, CA 94533. During the time my wife and I have been driving it, I have experienced some major troubles with the vehicle. When driving in the city or on the highway at any speed, the vehicles gas pedal all of a sudden loses pressure and I have no more gas. Promptly after that , the car begins to shake and eventually I have to pull over for safety reasons. This has happened more than 10 times now. I have been to the dealership 3 times already and explained to them what's going on. They just brushed it off and said " come back when the engine lights come on. " I was very mad and frustrated but I let it be. Over the fourth of July weekend I was driving the vihecle the problem happened again this time I was on the freeway and had to emidietly pull over because I was in the fast lane. It was so fast that I collided with the side of the shoulder to right of the fast lane and hit a dirt patch. Things could have been a lot worse. Thank god nobody was hurt. In saying that my wife is the daily driver of the vihecle and to think that she is pregnant and has my 2 year old son if she was driving it things would be a lot worse for the dealership. I'm sick and tired of being treated like this. I'm a marine corps veteran and to be treated like shit in the dealership tell me to "leave and have good day" is terrible. This is the third vihecle that I have purchased from them and by no means will there be any more business with them after this. Not caring about the safety of customers is wrong. I do not want this vihecle anymore. I repeat I do not want this vihecle anymore. I need something done about this please. If not I have no choice but to write my congressman about this situation, the department of veterans affairs and a lawyer. I hope that we can handle this in a civil manner.

Vehicle engine suddenly and randomly cuts out in the middle of driving, in motion on the highway, or soon after starting to drive, in motion leaving a parking lot. The accelerator becomes unresponsive and the car sputters to a stop. When you try to restart the car it turns on as if nothing happened.

I continue to have issues with the electronic throttle body (etb), up to and including the complete shutdown of the system. I am the original owner of this vehicle and have abided by all service recommendations for this make/model. The extended warranty on the etb runs out at 100k (vehicle currently at 75k). There are times the vehicle shifts so violently that one would believe they've been rear-ended. When I take my vehicle in to the dealership (5 times, 2 different dealerships), I'm told they re-program the system and to give it another 500 to 1000 miles for the system to relearn my driving habits. The "reboot" lasts between 800 to 1500 miles on average. I don't understand why the etb can't be replaced in its entirety at this point.

Vehicle was parked for 4 days in driveway. Vehicle engine compartment became engulfed in flames unexpectedly. Cause unknown. A 2014 recall related to throttle body is suspicious. Recall was addressed under customer satisfaction program 13n03.

Tl-the contact owns a 2011 Ford Escape. The contact stated that when the fobik key was depressed to unlock the doors the lift gate failed to unlock. The contact attempted to unlock the lift gate manually but the attempt failed. The failure recurred numerous times. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or diagnosed. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 29,000. Sg.

Going south on i81 to watertown, NY. Vehicle quit and I coasted to the side of the highway. Tractor-trailer behind me swerved to miss me. Almost hit a car coming off the exit ramp, had no power to excelerate to get by him. Could have been a wopper of an accident.

An O2/exhaust sensor & fuel induction kit had to be replaced. This SUV has only 13700 miles on it. The dealer said that the parts were faulty. My bumper to bumper warranty went out last July 2014, so it wasn't covered. I feel that Ford needs to investigate if other vehicles have this same problem. I should also be reimbursed for my cost.