NHTSA Complaint #10521780 — 2011 FORD ESCAPE

PURCHASED USED IN JAN 2013, IMMEDIATELY HAD TROUBLE SHIFTING AND WOULDN'T GO IN REVERSE. RPMS REVVED UP LIKE IT COULDN'T SHIFT TO THE NEXT GEAR. BROUGHT IT BACK TO THE DEALER, NO CODES BUT A TSB 12-6-12 AND 11-9-9 COVERED BOTH AND THE PCM WAS REPROGRAMMED. IT STILL SHIFTED HARD BUT I GOT USED TO IT. IT STARTED GETTING REALLY BAD AGAIN IN MAY 2013. NO CODES, NO CHECK ENGINE LIGHT AND I CHECKED THE SYSTEM INFORMATION AND NOTHING WAS FLAGGED. IT WOULD CHUG AND THEN DIE WHILE IDLING. AT A STOPLIGHT ON A 55 MPH HIGHWAY, IT STALLED. ENGINE STARTED UP BUT AS SOON AS IT WAS PUT INTO DRIVE IT WOULD MAKE A LOUD GRINDING NOISE AND STALL. I DIDN'T HAVE ANY WARNING. I WAS AT A STOPLIGHT AT A VERY BUSY INTERSECTION AND THERE WAS NO WHERE SAFE TO PUSH THE TRUCK TO THE SIDE. I WAITED 30 TERRIFIED MINUTES FOR THE TOW TRUCK HOPING NO ONE WOULD SLAM INTO ME. TOWED IT TO THE CLOSEST DEALER WHERE THEY HAD TO WRITE TO THE HOTLINE TO CHECK SINCE IT WAS ONLY 2 YEARS OLD. FIRST TOLD IT WAS A VALVE BODY OR TORQUE CONVERTER FAILURE. METAL WAS FOUND IN THE VALVE BODY AND SOLENOID SCREENS AND THE WHOLE TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. AND BECAUSE IT HAD 71,000 MILES IT WASN'T COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. *TR