NHTSA Complaint #10096056 — 2003 FORD ESCAPE

ON 10/15/04 I HAD JUST ENTERED A 6 LANE INTERSTATE (HIGH SPEED URBAN TRAFFIC) AND HAD TO QUICKLY MOVE OVER 3 LANES AS THE RIGHT 2 LANES WERE EXIT ONLY ABOUT ONE HALF MILE FROM MY ENTRANCE POINT. AFTER ACCELERATING TO MERGE INTO A GAP TO THE LEFT I FOUND THAT THE CAR WAS CONTINUING TO ACCELERATE EVEN THOUGH I WAS NOT DEPRESSING THE ACCELERATOR, AND WAS ABOUT TO REAR END A FLATBED TRUCK. THE BRAKES HAD LITTLE EFFECT ON SLOWING THE CAR. AFTER SOME VIOLENT MANEUVERING AND SEVERAL NEAR COLLISIONS I WAS ABLE TO GET TO THE SHOULDER AND SWITCH THE IGNITION OFF. THE CAR WAS TOWED TO A LOCAL FORD DEALERSHIP, WHERE THEY FOUND THE PROBLEM WAS A DEFECTIVE ACCELERATOR CABLE. THE PLASTIC COVERING HAD FRAYED/DISINTEGRATED, JAMMING THE CABLE SUCH THAT THE THROTTLE RETURN SPRING(S) WERE UNABLE TO CLOSE THE THROTTLE. THE SERVICE WRITER SAID HE HAD NOT SEEN THIS PROBLEM BEFORE. HOWEVER, I DID A CURSORY SEARCH ON THE NHTSA WEBSITE AND FOUND A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF SIMILAR AND IDENTICAL INCIDENTS (ONLY SEARCHED 2003 MODEL YEAR AND ONLY "VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: ACCELERATOR PEDAL" COMPONENT). THERE WERE 8 INCIDENTS THAT WERE CLEARLY THE RESULT OF DEFECTIVE ACCELERATOR CABLES (10068000, 10015965, 10047388, 10023519, 10051175, 10024424, 10026817 AND 10082787) AND 6 THAT WERE PROBABLY/POSSIBLY THE RESULT OF DEFECTIVE ACCELERATOR CABLES (10018602, 10043060, 10062971, 10015506, 10092028 AND 10040552). THE SERIOUSNESS AND NUMBER OF INCIDENTS WOULD SEEM TO WARRANT INVESTIGATION/RECALL. I REQUESTED THE DEFECTIVE CABLE FROM THE SERVICE WRITER, BUT HE INDICATED THAT AS IT WAS A WARRANTY ITEM IT HAD TO BE RETURNED TO FORD. HOWEVER, I DID TAKE 2 PICTURES IF THEY WOULD BE OF ANY HELP.*AK