NHTSA Complaint #10644602 — 2008 FORD ESCAPE

"STUCK GAS PEDAL": AS I WAS DRIVING TO WORK IN MODERATELY HEAVY TRAFFIC ON US 127 IN MICHIGAN AT APPROXIMATELY 8 A.M., ON 10 OCTOBER 2014, THE GAS PEDAL FROZE ON MY (MANUAL TRANSMISSION) 2008 FORD ESCAPE AND I BEGAN TO LOSE SPEED QUICKLY FROM THE 70 MPH I HAD BEEN TRAVELING. THE PEDAL WOULD NOT MOVE UP OR DOWN NO MATTER HOW HARD I PUSHED OR PULLED AT IT. I TRIED KICKING IT AS BEST AS I COULD BUT IT WOULD NOT BUDGE, AND THE FLOOR MAT WAS NOT NEAR THE PEDAL AT ALL. I HAD TO MANEUVER TO THE SHOULDER OF THE ROAD AND CONTINUED 'COASTING' WHILE I TRIED TO GET THE PEDAL TO MOVE. THE AREA I WAS AT WAS NOT CONDUCIVE TO A FULL STOP UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY DUE TO THE CLEARANCE ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND THE CURVE I WAS ON. MY SPEED HAD DROPPED TO LESS THAN 55 MPH WHEN THE GAS PEDAL FINALLY RELEASED AND I WAS ABLE TO PUSH IT DOWN TO INCREASE MY SPEED AGAIN AND EVENTUALLY WORK BACK INTO TRAFFIC, THOUGH WITH CAUTION IN CASE IT HAPPENED AGAIN AS I WAS STILL NOT IN AN AREA SAFE FOR A FULL STOP. THE TEMPERATURE AT THAT TIME WAS AROUND FREEZING. I TOOK THE ESCAPE TO THE FORD DEALER AND THEY SAID NO CODES APPEARED WHEN SCANNED SO THERE WAS NOTHING TO INDICATE IT HAD HAPPENED. THEY ALSO TOLD ME THAT NEITHER MY VEHICLE, NOR THE THROTTLE ASSEMBLY IN IT ARE LISTED AS PART OF THE RECALL FOR "STICKY ACCELERATOR PEDAL" FOR FORD ESCAPES. THIS IS A 2008 MANUAL TRANSMISSION, 4 CY., 4-DOOR, 2WD ESCAPE. WHY WAS IT NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL? I'VE HAD PROBLEMS WITH THE GAS PEDAL 'CATCHING' AND THEN IMMEDIATELY RELEASING SINCE WE BOUGHT IT (AT ABOUT 16000 MILES), BUT THE DEALER COULD NEVER DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM AND THUS DID NOTHING ABOUT IT. MY ONLINE RESEARCH INDICATES THIS "FROZEN" OR "STUCK" PEDAL (WHERE THE PEDAL WILL NOT DEPRESS AT ALL) IS NOT A NEW ISSUE AND ACROSS ALL MODEL YEARS, YET NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE BY FORD AND THEY REFUSE TO ACKNOWLEDGE IT. *TR