NHTSA Complaint #10469017 — 2009 FORD FLEX

TWICE WHILE DRIVING MY FORD FLEX, I HAD SPONTANEOUS TOTAL SHUT DOWNS OF THE ENGINE. THE FIRST TIME, MY CAR WAS ONLY A FEW MONTHS OLD AND I WAS IDLING IN FRONT OF A FRIEND'S HOUSE WHEN ALL THE LIGHTS CAME ON AND IT COMPLETELY DIED. I STARTED IT RIGHT BACK UP (AND IT SUBSEQUENTLY PERFORMED PERFECTLY) AND I DROVE IT TO FORD WHERE THEY DID SOME DIAGNOSTICS CHECKS AND FOUND NO ANOMALY. IT CONCERNED ME BUT THINKING IT MAY BE A FUEL INJECTION ISSUE WHILE ONLY IDLING, I WENT ABOUT MY BUSINESS. ON JULY 20, 2012, AT 38K MILE, MY FORD FLEX DIED AGAIN! TOTAL SHUTDOWN OF THE ENGINE AND ALL THE LIGHTS CAME ON WHILE I WAS DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 30 MILES PER HOUR WITH MY DAUGHTER IN THE CAR! NO POWER STEERING, NO POWER BRAKES, NO POWER ANYTHING! BECAUSE I WAS ON A SLIGHT DOWNHILL, I WAS ABLE TO GET THE CAR OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD WITHOUT CATASTROPHE, THANK GOD. THE ENGINE STARTED UP AGAIN AS IF NOTHING OCCURRED. I DROVE DIRECT TO FORD WHERE THEY DID 10 MINUTES OF DIAGNOSTIC TESTING AND TOLD ME ONCE AGAIN THAT THERE WAS NO ANOMALY. I WENT A LITTLE CRAZY, INFORMED THEM THAT I WAS LEAVING FOR A 10- DAY VACATION THE FOLLOWING MORNING AND THAT THEY HAD THE FULL 10 DAYS TO FIX THE CAR OR THAT I WASN'T GOING TO BE PICKING IT UP EVER AGAIN. A FORD TECH DROVE MY CAR WITH A COMPUTER PLUGGED INTO THE CAR, TYPED IN THE PROBLEM AND AFTER MANEUVERING THE CAR TO TRY AND GET A REPEATED RESPONSE, THE CAR DID INDEED SHUT DOWN WHILE HE WAS DRIVING IT! APPARENTLY, THE THROTTLE BODY WAS BINDING INTERNALLY AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. AFTER REPLACING PART # 1 7T4Z 9E926 FA, FORD WALNUT CREEK CA IS TELLING ME IT IS FIXED. LET'S HOPE SO. I PRAY THAT NO ONE HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN A FATAL OR INJURY ACCIDENT AS A RESULT OF THIS PART'S FAILURE. I AM WRITING THIS AS AN ALERT AND A HEADS UP TO ANYONE WHO HAS HAD THE SAME SCARY EXPERIENCE. *TR