NHTSA Complaint #11003510 — 2009 FORD ESCAPE

WAS DRIVING ON I80 IN TRAFFIC, WITH THE TRAFFIC SPEEDS WERE ROUGHLY 35 MPH. AFTER A SHORT PERIOD IN TRAFFIC, WHEN I WENT TO ACCELERATE I NOTED THAT THE ENGINE HAD DIED. THIS LEFT ME UNABLE TO ACCELERATE OR DO ANYTHING OTHER THAN BREAK OR CRUISE IN A VERY BUSY INTERSTATE. I THEN STOPPED THE CAR, PUT IT IN PARK, CYCLED THE KEY, THE ENGINE FIRED AND THE VEHICLE WAS ABLE TO COMPLETE THE 10 MILE DRIVE HOME. THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS SCENARIO. AND HONESTLY IT PROBABLY WOULDN'T BE A BIG DEAL BUT THIS HAS HAPPENED ON THIS VEHICLE IN THE PAST AND IS A KNOWN ISSUE ON FORD'S IN GENERAL. THIS HAPPENED WITH THE SAME VEHICLE ROUGHLY 10 TIMES IN 2013. THE ENGINE WOULD UNEXPECTEDLY TURN OFF, SOMETIMES ON THE INTERSTATE, SOMETIMES IN MY WORK PARKING LOT, SOMETIMES ON A RESIDENTIAL STREET. HIGHLY UNPREDICTABLE IN TERMS OF THE SPEED OR DRIVING CONDITIONS. AT THE TIME, FORD REPLACED THE ELECTRONIC THROTTLE BODY AND EVENTUALLY RE-IMBURSED ME ONCE THE EXTENDED WARRANTY CAME OUT. THE ISSUE HAD NOT OCCURRED SINCE THEN TIL TODAY. I SUSPECT THE THROTTLE BODY IS AT FAULT AGAIN, WITH A 95% CONFIDENCE. WILL BE TAKING IT TO THE SHOP TO CONFIRM. THIS FAILURE MODE IS A KNOWN ISSUE AND HAS BEEN RECALLED ON 2005-2009 MARINERS AND ESCAPES. THE FAILURE MODE OF LOSING POWER ON A CONGESTED TRAFFICWAY IS HIGHLY DANGEROUS AND EXTREMELY FORSEEABLE BOTH FOR NHTSA AND FORD. THIS ISSUE SHOULD BE RECALLED, NOT ADDRESSED VIA AN EXTENDED WARRANTY.