NHTSA Complaint #10496646 — 2008 FORD ESCAPE

AFTER DRIVING 10 MILES WITH THE VEHICLE FUNCTIONING CORRECTLY AND THEN COMING TO A COMPLETE STOP AT A RED LIGHT, UPON STARTING BACK UP THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION WOULD NOT SWITCH GEARS UNTIL THE ENGINE GOT UP TO 5000RPM. WHEN IT DID SWITCH IT SEEMED TO CHANGE INTO 3RD GEAR INSTEAD OF 2ND BECAUSE I HAD ALMOST NO POWER AND HAD TO VERY SLOWLY ACCELERATE FROM THERE. FURTHER, IT REMAINED IN 3RD GEAR AND WOULD NEVER SWITCH TO 4TH. THIS CREATED A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION ON AN OPEN HIGHWAY AT NIGHT WHERE THE CARS BEHIND ME EXPECTED A CONTINUOUS ACCELERATION TO 50MPH. I CAME VERY CLOSE TO BEING REAR-ENDED. MY MECHANIC HAS DETERMINED THAT 2ND GEAR AND 4TH GEAR ARE GONE. THIS APPEARS TO BE A VERY, VERY COMMON PROBLEM AMONGST 2008 FORD ESCAPES AND A $2500 REPAIR. THIS IS A MANUFACTURER'S DEFECT SHOULD BE THE SUBJECT OF A RECALL BEFORE THIS CAUSES A SERIOUS ACCIDENT OR FATALITY. *TR