I need some help for my sister who has a 2001 Escape. I don't know that much about the Escapes, but I figured you all could help. First off, around 20,000 miles the transmission or torque converter started to vibrate and thud. Basically, when getting back on the gas at highway speeds, you would feel and hear a thud. The dealership flushed the transmission and reprogrammed the PCM twice. Now at 27,000 miles the problem is still there. Now yesterday, her husband pulls in the garage with a loud noise from the front of the engine. Both the serpentine belt and tensioner fell off and were lying on the garage floor. Now, I'm not saying anything bad about Ford, but these things should not occur this early. On my Jeep, the tensioner went to 120,000 and my first tranny flush was around 135,000. Basically, the dealership keeps trying to get around the transmission problem and now the belt fell off too. I know some of you have contacted Ford somehow. She would like to write them a letter of complaint about the dealership not taking proper action to solve the situation and quality issues, etc... Can anyone point me in the write direction of an e-mail address or something or someone at Ford who they can contact? Thanks for your help. BTW, they love the Escape, but are beginning to worry if it's a lemon or not.

 

There should be an address for the local zone office in the owners manual. If not look at Ford.com

I would also consult another dealer.
Hope this helps

 

The Transmission "shudder" as it is called can only be fixed by a tranny flush and and PCM reFlash. That is all that Ford knows to correct the problem.

The Belt Tensioner has been a common problem as well with the Escape. Almost all of the people that have had this happen have had it fixed under warranty.

 

Well, I'll pass on the information to her about both being common problems. I guess the Escape isn't a lemon if these problems occur on a lot of them. Being that they've had the transmission and PCM done twice, without either working, do you think the torque converter could be the problem? Also, how many problems does it take for a vehicle to be a lemon. They live down in Florida, so I don't know what their law is. Up here in NJ, all it takes I believe is 3 of the same type of problem to occur within a year and it's declared a lemon. Thanks again.

 

I'm new to the forum and just found this thread. I had the tensioner fall off my 2001 Escape the day after Christmas 2003 (Merry Christmas to me!). No warning, just a loud clunk and then no power steering. It was fixed under warrant - thank goodness I bought the extended warranty. I was right at 20,000 miles, 3 years + 1 week. I always use the dealer I bought the vehicle from because they treat me really well, even though they are 50 miles away. I also had to have the Ford-installed remote start system replaced in April 2004. Despite these problems I would buy another one, and recommend it to anyone who asks.

 

If you've had the pcm done twice and still have problems, I would expect your tranny to die at some point. It doesn't happen on most Escapes but the ones that tend to continually have the problem eventually die. I'd raise caine before you get stuck with a $3k repair job. BTW, is it a 4X4?

 

Yes, my sister has had the PCM done twice and it is now 3 years old with around 33,000 miles or something like that she has told me. She said the problem still appears every now and then, which probably isn't a good sign, especially because they already 'tightened' the torque converter a few months ago or something like that. Maybe Ford will offer them an extended warranty or something, though I doubt it. Thanks for the help.

 

it just stopped pulling all of a sudden full of fluid,it does have 22 inch rims on it

 

dont know for sure but are 22s the correct size on this,?if not comp probably should have been adjusted for larger tires.Just a thought

 

We could use more detail on your problem. Describe "stopped pulling" better. Does this happen when the truck is cold or warmed up? A better description and any codes present will help alot.

 

I gotta ask, you have a 2001 Escape with 27,000 miles? Is this correct? Seems awfully low.

 

I thought that too until I saw the date of the postings.

 

Thanks for pointing that out. How does a thread that old come back to life?

 

That happens mostly with a new user as they fail to check the posting dates!

 

How much does a 22 inch rim & tire weigh compared to stock? It's probably a good thing that your truck doesn't go because when a suspension or brake part failed you'd probably crashed into something or someone else.