NHTSA Complaint #11180271 — 2012 FORD ESCAPE

TWO PROBLEMS HERE. FIRST ONE IS AN ISSUE WITH THE THROTTLE BODY THAT I NOTICED A FEW YEARS AGO BUT I DON'T REMEMBER THE EXACT DATE I CALLED FORD REGARDING THIS. OCCASIONALLY, ESPECIALLY IN THE HOTTEST DAYS, WHEN I HIT THE GAS TO GET INTO TRAFFIC, MY CAR DOESN'T SPEED UP. IT JUST SITS THERE, WHICH HAS PUT ME IN MANY DANGEROUS POSITIONS WHERE I END UP PULLING UP IN FRONT OF A FAST MOVING CAR, BUT SINCE MINE FAILS TO SPEED UP EVEN IF I PUSH THE GAS PEDAL ALL THE WAY, THOSE CARS END UP ALMOST HITTING ME FROM BEHIND. AFTER ABOUT 5 SECONDS IT FINALLY TAKES OFF, SPINNING THE TIRES AND AGAIN PUTTING MYSELF AND OTHER DRIVERS AT RISK OF BEING HIT. THIS HAPPENS MORE OFTEN WHEN MY CAR IS ON A DOWNHILL STOP SIGN A FEW BLOCKS DOWN MY STREET WHERE I CAN ONLY GO LEFT OR RIGHT. I MERGE INTO TRAFFIC, BUT MY CAR JUST ROLLS INTO THE STREET WITH NO POWER IN THE GAS PEDAL FOR ABOUT 3-5 SECONDS. I NOTIFIED FORD AFTER GOING ONLINE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT IS WETTING WITH MY CAR, AND FINDING OUT THAT THERE IS A KNOWN ISSUE WITH CERTAIN 2012 MODELS, INCLUDING MY CAR BASED ON THE VIN #. THEY ASKED ME TO TAKE MY CAR TO A DEALER BUT SAID THEY WOULD NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOUR ANY OUT OF POCKET CHARGES. THE DEALER SAID THEY NEEDED AN OFFICIAL LETTER FROM THE MANUFACTURER IN ORDER TO NOT INCUR ANY FEES. BUT NEITHER FORD OR CARMAX EVER NOTIFIED ME WITH ANY ACTUAL DOCUMENTATION, WHICH MADE ME WEARY TO TAKE MY CAR TO THE DEALER. THE SECOND ISSUE IS THAT I HAVE NOTICED A GASOLINE SMELL IN MY CAR FOR ABOUT 2 YEARS NOW, IT'S VERY RANDOM AND HAPPENS ABOUT ONCE OR TWICE A MONTH. I ATTRIBUTE IT TO DRIVING PAST A GAS STATION OR A SEMITRUCK ON THE HIGHWAY OR JUST NORMAL FOR CARS TO SMELL OF GASOLINE SOMETIMES. THE SMELL ONLY SEEMS TO LAST ABOUT 30 SECONDS.