NHTSA Complaint #10524388 — 2009 FORD ESCAPE

ON MONDAY, JULY 8 AT 8:45 AM I WAS DRIVING MY 2009 FORD ESCAPE FROM MY HOME TO MY OFFICE...A DISTANCE OF 17.3 MILES. I HAD COMPLETED APPROXIMATELY 14 OF THOSE MILES, TRAVELING ON A FOUR LANE DIVIDED HIGHWAY AT APPROXIMATELY 55 MPH AND ON CRUISE CONTROL. WITHOUT WARNING, THE CAR SHUT DOWN. THE MOTOR CONTINUED TO RUN AT SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED POWER...ENOUGH TO POWER THE POWER STEERING AND BRAKES AND ELECTRICAL SYSTEM...BUT NOT THE VEHICLE. LUCKILY I WAS ABLE TO STEER OFF OF THE HIGHWAY AND ACCESS THE SITUATION. THIS FAILURE HAD NEVER OCCURRED PREVIOUSLY WITH THIS VEHICLE. A WRENCH LIGHT WAS NOW APPEARING ON THE CONTROL PANEL AND THE CAR WAS BARELY RUNNING. I PUT THE CAR IN NEUTRAL AND SHUT IT DOWN. THEN I TURNED THE KEY AND IT RESTARTED AND SEEMED TO RUN FINE. I CONTINUED THE JOURNEY HOPING IT WAS A ONE-TIME GLITCH. THAT SAME AFTERNOON AT APPROXIMATELY 4 PM, I STARTED MY RETURN TRIP HOME. WITHIN THE FIRST MILE, WHILE ON THE HIGHWAY ENTRANCE RAMP, THE SAME SHUTDOWN OCCURRED. THIS HAPPENED THREE MORE TIMES AS I MADE MY WAY HOME. THE APPROXIMATE SPEED FOR EACH SHUTDOWN WAS AS FOLLOWS: #1 - 15 MPH, #2 - 50 MPH, #3 - 55 MPH, #4 - 15 MPH. THAT NIGHT, HAVING READ, ON THE INTERNET, ABOUT THE PROBLEMS WITH THE "THROTTLE BODY CONTROL" PART WITH FORD ESCAPES AND HAVE NOTED YOUR CASE # PE13-003, I DECIDED I WOULD PRESENT THE VEHICLE FOR REPAIR AT THE FORD DEALERSHIP THE NEXT MORNING. THAT WAS, IN FACT, THE PROBLEM AND IT WAS REPAIRED ON JULY 9, 2013 BY TOM MASANO AUTO GROUP, 1600 LANCASTER AVE., READING PA 19607 AT A COST OF $378.05. THIS FAILURE PRESENTS A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION SINCE THERE IS NO WAY OF PREDICTING WHEN IT IS GOING TO HAPPEN. LUCKILY, EVEN THOUGH I WAS IN RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC, I WAS ABLE TO STEER THE CAR TO SAFELY WITHOUT INCIDENT. I, AND OTHERS, MAY NOT BE SO LUCKY THE NEXT TIME. *TR