Has anyone heard of a problem with the 2001 Ford Escape stalling while driving? My Escape has stalled 4 different times while driving straight down the street at about 40 mph. I've returned it to my dealer and they haven't found a problem yet. I'd appreciate any input I could get.

 

I am having the same problem. I noticed NHTSA has almost 40 complaints between the Tribute and the Escape.

 

Does it stall at the same spot, or is it near a microwave tower or some other type of strong transmitter when it happens?

 

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 06-Sep-01 AT 08:24 AM (EST)[/font][p]I saw on another site (thefordescapeclub) that the cause was the PCM Power relay. Its located near the middle of the underhood fusebox. Try tapping it with the engine running; if it stalls the relay is bad. Apparently there is a new, smaller, replacement relay

 

It happened to me 5 or 6 times. At 40 miles / hour. Stalls and then starts right up. The check engine light is off. The dealer doesn't seem to be able to find the problem though. They say that I am not the only one at my dealership and that Ford is aware of the problem. They replaced the air intake valve, reprogrammed the computer, and did other things but it still stalls. Last happened to me last Friday, September 7.

 

Everyone - Thanks for your input! Fortunately, I no longer own the car. If you are having similar problems, make sure you file a complaint with NHTSA (NHTSA.gov). They are beginning to investigate.

 

Yes. As a matter of fact, both times it happened, it was near the same tower.

 

For what it's worth, the NHTSA opened a safety investigation on Escape/Tribute engine stalling on Dec. 7. Maybe this will encourage Ford to find the fix. It seems unlikely that the fix is just a part. I'll bet that every dealer in the country has thrown every part remotely related to stalling on these vehicles, without success. You can send your experiences to: www.nhtsa.dot.gov/hotline

 

Thanks for the info regarding how to report this problem. On Sat, February 23, 2002, I was driving 40 mph on a very windy road, and I looked down and my engine and oil light went on and my steering started to get tight. As i went down the hill, i realized, I had no brakes, and no steering. I was terrified. I did not realize at the time that somehow the truck stalled and restarted? I don't know much about cars as I am a female *S* however, I knew enough to pull the emergency brake to get stopped. Finally, I came to a stop without causing a major accident. I took my Escape to the Ford garage and they said they never heard of this happening and they found it to be the relay system. They fixed it in about one hour, so they say but I am afraid to drive it now. Any suggestions?

 

I got my 2002 Ford Escape in December, the first time it stalled was in January when I was going around 40mph. I lost my steering and breaks and was barely able to stop. I pulled off and almost had to stand on the break pedal to stop it. (I used to drive stick shift and was panicking, b/c I coudln't think quickly enough where this emergency break would be). My husband came to get me and drove the car home (It started). I took it to the dealership and they said the didn't find anything wrong and that the problem may have been that I had too many keys on the key chain. So I took all of my keys off the key chain and continued to drive it. Then just this week, (4/9/02) I was making the same exact turn and the car stalled again, same problem, luckily I was able to coast into a parking lot and restart. Then two days later as I was driving down a very dangerous road in the country, with a lot of turns, it stalled again! There was no shoulder to pull off onto and I tried to throw the car in neutral to restart it but wasn't able to, luckily a driveway appeared that I was able to coast into, just before the person behind me slammed into me! I had a Saturn for 3 years with over 75,000 miles on it and never had one problem, I'm starting t get a bit irritated!

 

Do you have any information about the problem of stalling in the Ford Escape? Do you know how I can find out about correcting the problem?
Does Ford have a solution? Where should I report the problem, other than to the dealer? Thanks

 

this is ridiculous...hasn't anyone ever heard of the lemon law?
i, for one, did not pay almost $30,000- for a car that would stall while driving 40 Plus mph on a populated highway or back road so that it could get in an accident- this happened to me the 2nd day i owned the car..at least my service dept. came up with a reasonable excuse of it idleing to low, not "too many keys on a key chain"- that bull....in any event, like the rest of the people in this forum, it occured 2 more times and that's enough for me...get your money back or a fair exchange. or is every one waiting for a death from these stalling while driving 'incidents'..i'm sure there have already been incidents like this...this is an extremely dangerous problem and i hope that when i'm driving down the road i'm not behind one of you escape drivers when it stalls. please check with your ford service dept. re: this stalling problem...fortunately i have an excellent service dept. who worked through this problem with me and provided me with their ford memos regarding each replacement problem..ask your ford dealer, they know about this problem. don't wait until it's too late.

 

The lemon laws vary by state but you should check it out. You can also file a complaint with you state's Attorney Generals Office and NHTSA. The NHTSA complaints are public record plus they can force a recall. In some cases, they list unsuccessful attempts at fixing the problems as well as potentially successful fixes. I don't know if Ford has found a fix for the problem because I returned my car long ago. Good Luck!

 

Good luck with the Lemon Law. I pursued that once and even though I kept maticulous records and fulfilled more than the required number of criteria to file, i was denied. Why? Because the board that oversees the cases is run by a panel from FORD !!! (At least in Ohio) They can deny your claim without recourse. then you're left with the expensive legal route. Good Luck!