NHTSA Complaint #10700956 — 2006 FORD ESCAPE

AS I WAS TRAVELING ACROSS INTERSTATE 86 IN NEW YORK STATE, AT 65 MILES PER HOUR, MY FORD ESCAPE COMPLETELY LOST POWER. FORTUNATELY FOR ME I WAS RIGHT NEXT TO AN OFF RAMP AND A CONVENIENT MARKET. WHEN I CHECKED THE ENGINE FOR SIGNS OF WHAT COULD HAVE GONE WRONG I FOUND THAT MY ENGINE WAS COMPLETELY OUT OF OIL. I MAINTAIN MY OWN VEHICLES DUE TO THE COSTS OF THE REPAIR SHOPS AND CHECK MY VEHICLES FLUIDS REGULARLY. THERE WERE NO SIGNS OF OIL LOSS WHERE I HAD BEEN PARKING MY VEHICLE AS WELL. WHEN I HAD THE VEHICLE CHECKED AT MY LOCAL REPAIR SHOP THEY TOLD ME IT WAS OUT OF TIME. HOW DOES A CHAIN DRIVEN VEHICLE BECOME OUT OF TIME? AS I RESEARCHED THE PROBLEM ON CAR FORUMS ON THE INTERNET I REALIZED THAT I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE FACING THIS ISSUE. MANY INDIVIDUALS HAVE REPLACED ENGINES IN THIS MODEL YEAR AT VERY UNREASONABLE PRICES SOME ONLY TO HAVE THE SAME ISSUE REOCCUR. I WAS FORTUNATE THAT I WAS NOT IN HEAVY TRAFFIC WHERE THIS SUDDEN LOSS OF POWER COULD HAVE CREATED AN ACCIDENT. I HOPE MORE INDIVIDUALS TAKE THE TIME TO COMPLAIN SO SOMETHING MAY BE DONE ABOUT THIS ISSUE. THIS IS NOT AN ISOLATED ISSUE AND THE VEHICLE HAS A REPUTATION FOR FAILURE WHICH UNFORTUNATELY I DID NOT KNOW ABOUT BEFORE I PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE. I WORK PART TIME AND CAN NOT AFFORD TO REPAIR THE ONLY VEHICLE I OWN. I AM WITHOUT A VEHICLE DUE TO A MAJOR COMPANY UNWILLING TO TAKE ACCOUNTABILITY OF THEIR INFERIOR PRODUCT. I PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE DUE TO THE FACT IT WAS AMERICAN MADE AND ASSEMBLED IN THE U.S. NEXT TIME I GUESS I BUY A FOREIGN PRODUCT THAT AT LEAST I WILL RECEIVE A PRODUCT THAT IS WORTH MY INVESTMENT. *TR