Is anyone experiencing the problem described in this USATODAY article?
I contacted my dealer re my 2011 Escape and they apparently have no info on it. Sounds serious & not sure if we should be driving it...

USATODAY
Feds to probe Ford car, SUV engine fault
James R. Healey12:28p.m. EST February 25, 2013
The federal government and Ford Motor are probing partial engine failures on some 725,000 recent-model vehicles that could cut engine power, often at highway speed.
Affected: 2009 through 2011 models of Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner SUVs and Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan sedans.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Ford report nearly 1,500 complaints that appear related to the problem; three crashes were involved and one person was hurt. No deaths have been reported.
The engines aren't the EcoBoost engines that have had fire problems in newer models. But, coming not long after those failures, the new investigation is sure to continue clouding Ford's image.
NHTSA says the engines in this case don't quit running, but, apparently because of a flaw in the throttle-body system, the engines erroneously shift into the reduced-power "limp-home" mode. The sudden cut in power can feel to a driver as if the engine stalled, NHTSA notes.
Many vehicles have such "limp-home" settings. If the engine computer senses a problem, it cuts power to avoid ruining the engine or related components, but leaves just enough power to, as the name suggests, limp the vehicle home or to a service shop at greatly reduced speed -- about 20 mph in this case.
Throttle body systems meter how much air goes into the engine. The ones in question were made by Delphi, NHTSA says, and both it and Ford issued technical service bulletins (TSB) in 2009 describing to dealers how to fix the problem.
Ford and Delphi considered the problem fixed, but NHTSA continued getting complaints, including on 2010 and 2011 models, and "the complaints show an apparent increasing trend," the agency says.
An example from NHTSA files:
The owner of a 2011 Fusion told the agency last September that the car failed after the dealer performed the TSB suggested fix in 2009, and later replaced the entire throttle body.
The government says it began taking a closer look at the vehicles last year after a letter dated Aug. 30, 2012, from the North Carolina Consumers Council, citing engine problems related to throttle body assemblies. On Oct. 2, NHTSA created what it calls a "defect petition" case to judge whether to open an investigation. The North Carolina letter cited problems just with the Escape, but said they involved 2005 through 2012 models.
NHTSA opened the probe Feb. 21, and now has posted the notice to its website. It broadened the vehicle array under investigation, but compressed the model years involved.
NHTSA's probe is a preliminary evaluation, the lowest-level investigation. It can upgrade that to an engineering analysis if it finds enough evidence to suggest the matter needs further study.
The final step is a recall. Most of those are done by the automaker, rather than ordered by NHTSA -- though often under the threat of a NHTSA recall order if the car company doesn't "voluntarily" recall the vehicles for free repairs.

 

From the AP article I read, the TB pcb boards that control the throttle were made during a 6 month period in 2009. I also read the the NTHSA and Ford are evaluating the problem, but no recalls have been issued yet. I guess they need a few more accidents before a recall will be issued. The NHTSA said that some of their complaints interpreted the limp mode as engine stalling.

Anyway, the vehicle is left in Limp mode (revs limited to 900rpm), so it's not "don't drive it" bad, but troublesome none the less.
If it should happen within the next 1.5 yrs, I'm OK with the 3yr warranty coverage. Not sure what happens during the 7/70 after the 3 yr, but it should be covered with the $100.00 deductible, and hopefully it might get recalled.

The vehicles suffering the most were 2009 Escapes/Mariners and Fusions in the AP article I read.

 

I have a 2009 Escape and in 138,000 miles I have never had anything happen that even remotely relates to the description in the article. If you look at the number of reported instances it is pretty small for a vehicle that sells at the rate of over 200,000 units per annum.

 

That's a bad way to look at this, only 1500 complaints, three ceashes, one injury but maybe you could be the one to die.

I had mine hesitate right in the middle of a left hand turn and almost got T-boned. Had to fight to get a PCM reflash which fixed the issue but there are a few complaints with the NHTSA for the same issue. I did know of a few where the engine would die completely in the situation.