NHTSA Complaint #10519567 — 2010 FORD ESCAPE

WHEN DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD MY ESCAPE WILL ALL OF A SUDDEN START TO SHUTTER. THE RPM WILL GO DOWN TO 1 AND THEN FLUCTUATE BETWEEN 1 AND 2. THE GAS PEDDLE WILL NOT RESPOND. THE ENGINE LIGHT AND SMALL WRENCH LIGHT APPEAR ON THE DASH. I HAVE TO PULL OFF ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND SHUT IT OFF. SOMETIMES IT WOULD CRANK BACK UP WITH NO MORE PROBLEMS FOR A FEW DAYS OR WEEKS. BUT OTHER TIMES THE CAR WILL ONLY TRAVEL A FEW YARDS BEFORE DOING IT AGAIN. I TOOK IT TO THE FORD DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAID THEY COULDN'T DO ANYTHING WITH A LIGHT ON. FINALLY IT HAPPENED ONE DAY WHEN I WAS CLOSE TO THE DEALERSHIP. THEY RAN A DIAGNOSTIC TEST AND SAID MY THROTTLE BODY WAS DIRTY. THEY CHARGED ME $406 TO "CLEAN" IT. THE NEXT DAY AFTER PULLING INTO THE PARKING LOT WHILE IN PARK IT STARTED DOING THE SHUTTER THING AGAIN. I TOOK IT STRAIGHT BACK AND WITHOUT A LIGHT ON THE DASH THEY COULDN'T TELL ME WHAT WAS WRONG. IT DID THIS 4 MORE TIMES UNTIL MY FIANCE' AND I WERE ON THE INTERSTATE GOING 75 AND IT DID IT AND JERKED SO BADLY WE ALMOST WRECKED. HIS FATHER HAD A DIAGNOSTIC CODE READER TO HOOK UP TO CARS AND THE CODES CAME BACK AS THE THROTTLE BODY DOOR WAS JAMMED OPEN AND THE OTHER CODE SAID IT WAS JAMMED OPEN AT THE SAME TIME? WE TOOK IT BACK TO THE FORD DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAID A TON OF PEOPLE WERE HAVING THE SAME ISSUE BUT TO CLEAN IT AGAIN. WE SAID NO BECAUSE THAT DIDN'T SOLVE THE PROBLEM LAST TIME. INSTEAD WE WANTED TO BUY A NEW THROTTLE BODY. THE DEALER SAID IT IS ON NATIONAL BACK ORDER BECAUSE EVERYONE IS HAVING HUGE PROBLEMS WITH THROTTLE BODY PARTS SO WE WOULD HAVE TO TOUGH IT OUT UNTIL SOME CAME AVAILABLE. LUCKILY MY FIANCE CALLED ANOTHER DEALER WHO HAPPENED TO HAVE ONE THAT THEY EMERGENCY ORDERED FOR SOMEONE ELSE. ONCE WE HAVE THAT ONE INSTALLED WE WILL BE OUT ABOUT 1000 FOR SOMETHING ON A CAR THAT IS NOT OLD AND VERY WELL TAKEN CARE OF. I WILL NEVER BUY FORD AGAIN. *TR