NHTSA Complaint #10909601 — 2010 FORD ESCAPE

I WAS WITH MY DAUGHTER ON OUR WAY TO TAKE HER BACK TO COLLEGE. WHILE IN MOTION DRIVING WESTBOUND ON 595 (A MAJOR HWY) MY VEHICLE FELT TO HAVE SURGED AND LULLED, SURGED AND LULLED A FEW TIMES AS I ACCELERATED PULLING ON TO 595 (AN ENTRANCE WITH A SLIGHT INCLINE) I CONTINUED TO ACCELERATE TO SAFELY MERGE WITH TRAFFIC ON 595 W WITHIN MOMENTS THE LITTLE YELLOW/ORANGE "WRENCH" LIGHT ILLUMINATED ON MY DASH AND SUDDENLY I HAD NO CONTROL OVER MY ACCELERATION. MY VEHICLE DID NOT RESPOND TO MY APPLYING GAS AND I WATCHED THE SPEEDOMETER RAPIDLY DROP BEFORE MY EYES FROM 68 MPH TO 16 MPH AS I DID MY BEST TO CROSS OVER SEVERAL LANES IN FAST TRAFFIC TO AN EXIT FOR 95 N WHICH WAS FORTUNATELY THERE. MY VEHICLE "LIMPED" (IDENTICALLY AS OTHERS HAVE SHARED) AND I SAFELY PULLED OVER ONTO THE GRASS WHERE I WAITED THE NEXT 1.5 HOURS FOR THE TOW TRUCK TO TOW ME HOME AT 9:00 P.M. WHILE WAITING I BEGAN TROUBLE SHOOTING MY VEHICLES ISSUE BASED ON WHAT THE MANUAL HAD STATED AND WAS TERRIBLY DISAPPOINTED TO FIND ALL THE INFORMATION REGARDING THE ETC AND TO LEARN THAT MY VEHICLE WAS INDEED ONE OF THOSE WHICH WAS EXTENDED AND WITH THIS DEFECTIVE PART. I HAD NOT RECEIVED THE LETTER AND SO I WAS UNAWARE OF THE "RECALL THAT WASN'T..." IT WAS AN UNFORTUNATE EXPERIENCE AND NEEDLESS TO SAY I AM VERY DISAPPOINTED IN FORD'S LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY. FROM WHAT I'VE READ THIS COULD HAVE BEEN MUCH WORSE. NOW I AM LEFT WITH HAVING TO GO TO THE DEALERSHIP AND HOPING THEY ADDRESS THE REAL ISSUE AT HAND AND BE ACCOUNTABLE NOW AND STAND BEHIND THEIR VEHICLES. MY FORD HAS NEVER LEFT ME STRANDED UNTIL NOW AND SADLY SO THIS MALFUNCTION/DEFECT COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED HAD FORD FOCUSED ON CUSTOMER SAFETY AND SERVICE SATISFACTION. I'VE OWNED 2 FORDS AND WOULD LIKE TO CONTINUE TO DO THINGS THE AMERICAN WAY. FORD WILL NEED TO STEP IT UP AND DO THEIR PART!