NHTSA Complaint #10342450 — 2003 FORD ESCAPE

I OWN A 2003 FORD ESCAPE, RECENTLY PURCHASED PRE-OWNED. AFTER HAVING THE VEHICLE APPROXIMATELY 3 WEEKS, WHILE PUTTING IT INTO REVERSE TO BACK UP, SUDDENLY IT WAS AS IF THE ACCELERATOR GOT STUCK, THE MOTOR WAS REVVING UP TO 4 GRAND....I PUT THE VEHICLE DRIVE THINKING MAYBE MY FLOOR MAT WAS STUCK UNDER IT, AS I PULLED TO A REDLIGHT, I ALMOST RAN THROUGH THE REDLIGHT WITH ONCOMING TRAFFIC BECAUSE ACCELERATION INCREASED AND IT TOOK ALL I HAD TO STOP THE CAR BY PUSHING THE BRAKES WITH BOTH FEET AS HARD AS I COULD. THE FLOORMATS WERE NOT THE PROBLEM.... I PULLED OFF THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, WITH MY ONE YEAR OLD BABY IN THE BACK SEAT. I THEN TURNED THE ESCAPE OFF, AND RESTARTED IT, THE ENGINE SOUNDED AS IF IT WERE GOING TO BLOW, IT WAS REVVING UP TO 4 AND 5 GRAND. I THEN CALLED A MECHANIC I KNEW, HE CAME TO GET MY VEHICLE TO DRIVE IT BACK TO HIS SHOP. DURING HIS VERY VERY SHORT DRIVE, HE NEVER HAD TO PUT HIS FOOT ON THE GAS AT ALL, AND THE VEHICLE DROVE 40 MILES PER HOUR BY ITSELF... SO FAR, ALL WE KNOW IS THAT THE IAC VALVE HAD WENT BAD...(IDLE AIR CONTROL)....I HAVE HAD IT BACK A FEW DAYS AND NOT HAD ANY MORE PROBLEMS AT THIS TIME, ALTHOUGH I AM VERY CAREFUL AND SCARED THIS WILL HAPPEN AGAIN.... DURING RESEARCH, I FOUND THEIR WERE ALMOST 500,000 2003 MODEL FORD ESCAPES RECALLED FOR SIMILAR PROBLEMS WITH THE ACCELERATION. I CONTACTED 2 DIFFERENT PEOPLE WITH FORD MOTOR COMPANY, ON 2 SEPARATE OCCASIONS, EXPLAINING WHAT HAD HAPPENED. THEY BOTH ASSURED ME THAT "MY VEHICLE" WAS NOT ONE OF THE HALF MILLION INVOLVED IN THE RECALL. I FIND SOMETHING VERY WRONG WITH THIS BECAUSE THIS WAS NOT JUST A FREAK THING THAT HAPPENED. THIS IS DANGEROUS AND COULD HAVE COST ME AND MY BABY OUR LIVES. THERE ARE TO MANY OTHER COMPLAINTS BY PEOPLE WITH THE SAME EXACT THIN THAT HAS HAPPENED TO THEM, AND THEY ARE BEING TOLD THE SAME STORIES. SOMETHING ISN'T RIGHT, AND FORD MOTOR COMPANY NEEDS TO INVESTIGATE FURTHER INTO THIS POTENTIALLY DEADLY PROBLEM. *TR