NHTSA Complaint #11348825 — 2014 FORD ESCAPE

MY VEHICLE BEGAN TO EXHIBIT SIGNS OF A FAILING TRANSMISSION AT 60,000 MILES. SHIFTING WAS DIFFICULT, PARTICULARLY BETWEEN 1ST AND 2ND GEAR. A FEW TIMES, IT FAILED TO SHIFT FROM PARK TO REVERSE AT ALL. I HAD FORD LOOK AT IT, AND THEY RECOMMENDED REPLACING THE TRANSMISSION. WHEN I TOOK IT IN, I WAS AROUND 60,500 MILES, 500 MILES OVER MY POWER TRAIN WARRANTY. THEY QUOTED A $7,000 FIX. I HAD OWNED THE VEHICLE FOR LESS THAN 2 YEARS, AND IT WAS LESS THAN 4 YEARS OLD. WHILE I HAD RECORDS, INCLUDING A CLAIM NUMBER, FOR ANOTHER FORD CUSTOMER WITH THE SAME TRANSMISSION (IN THE FUSION) AND SAME ISSUES, THEY COVERED 2/3 OF THAT CUSTOMER'S REPAIR AND REFUSED TO COVER A DIME OF MINE. AFTER BEING DISMISSED, IGNORED, AND ULTIMATELY PLACATED SEVERAL TIMES BY FORD REPRESENTATIVES, I FINALLY WAS FORCED TO TAKE IT TO A THIRD-PARTY MECHANIC, WHO REPLACED MY TRANSMISSION AT 61,000 MILES FOR $4,000. DESPITE HAVING A REFURBISHED TRANSMISSION IN MY VEHICLE NOW, I STILL EXPERIENCE TRANSMISSION ISSUES FROM TIME TO TIME (DIFFICULTY SHIFTING, HARD SHIFTING ON FREEWAY, ETC.). IN THE END, THIS TRANSMISSION IS FAULTY AT BEST, AS FORD'S ONLY TRANSMISSION MODEL WITHOUT A RECALL *YET*. WHILE FORD INDICATES THEY HAVE NO OFFICIAL DOCUMENTED ISSUES WITH THE 6F35 TRANSMISSION, A SIMPLE GOOGLE SEARCH REVEALS THAT TRANSMISSION FAILURE IS THE #1 ISSUE REPORTED BY CONSUMERS WITH THE FORD ESCAPE. AS A YOUNG PROFESSIONAL WORKING IN RESEARCH, I RECOGNIZE THAT INTERNET SEARCHES CAN BE MISLEADING. TO BE THOROUGH, I CHECKED OVER 20 DIFFERENT FORD CONSUMER PAGES AND OF THOSE PAGES, EVERY SINGLE ONE SHOWED A SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER REPORT OF TRANSMISSION ISSUES THAN ANY OTHER ISSUE, WITH THE AVERAGE MILEAGE OF THESE ISSUES OCCURRING AROUND 50,000 ' 70,000 MILES. IT IRRESPONSIBLE AND UNACCEPTABLE FOR FORD TO HAVE NO OFFICIAL DOCUMENTED ISSUES ON FILE REGARDING THE 6F35 TRANSMISSION.