2003 Ford Escape Acceleration Problems

Which parts fail

• Accelerator pedal
  11
• Cables
  11
• Cruise control
  4

Components named in complaints (accelerator pedal, throttle, sudden acceleration, cruise control).

Mileage when the problem started

• Under 25k
  1115%
• 25k–50k
  1318%
• 50k–75k
  68%
• 75k–100k
  1318%
• 100k–150k
  1622%
• 150k+
  1520%

Owner reports

Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2003 Ford Escape owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).

I was recently driving on the interstate and the gas pedal got stuck so the car started speeding up very fast and the brakes and emergency brake would not make it slow down. After this i found out there was a recall about this problem and it says the previous owner of the vehicle fixed it but it's happened while i owned it so i don't think it was fixed correctly.

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at 67 MPH, the cruise control failed to disengage. As a result, the contact crashed into an embankment and the vehicle rolled over multiple times. The air bags failed to deploy. The contact sustained minor scrapes and bruises and the two passengers in the rear of the vehicle sustained bumps, bruises and scrapes that required medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was destroyed. The VIN was included in NHTSA campaign number: 12V353000 (engine and engine cooling , vehicle speed control). The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 160,000.

I parked my car in my garage (as I always do, my car is garage kept)after returning home from a sporting event at a local arena. I was in my home for approximately 10-15 minutes, my dog started acting funny, then the smoke alarm went off in the house. I went to check it, saw smoke coming in my kitchen from the top of the door to the garage. My husband opened the door to find fire coming out from underneath the driver's side fender of my 2003 Ford Escape xlt. He grabbed the fire extinguisher located just outside the kitchen in the garage and proceeded to attempt to put out the fire. The fire extinguisher did nothing to help put out the fire and it just started to get bigger. I called 911 and was advised to exit the home. We went outside grabbed garden hoses to continue to put out or contain the fire but it kept growing. The fire department arrived and attempted to put out the fire. …

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 Ford Escape. While driving 60 MPH and passing another vehicle, the contact raised her foot off the accelerator pedal; however, the vehicle accelerated independently to 75 MPH. The contact depressed the brake pedal and the vehicle slowed down to 70 MPH. When the brake pedal was released, the vehicle began to accelerated to 75 MPH. The contact depressed the brake pedal again with excessive force, but the vehicle failed to stop. The vehicle slowed down to 45 MPH, but the engine was still revving. The contact was able to coast the vehicle to the side of the road at 40 MPH and quickly powered off the engine. Due to depressing the brake pedal with excessive force, there was a burning odor coming from the brake pedal. The vehicle was restarted while in the park position and the engine started to accelerate. The contact quickly powered off the engine. …

I was driving to work on a 4 lane urban street (on a rainy day) and approached as "s" curve. I lifted my foot from the gas pedal to slow down and the car just kept going forward and slid into the next lane to the left. Not realizing what was going on, I gently applied the brakes and the car continued to move forward and slid two lanes to the right. The car wouldn't slow down, made a 90 degree turn and crossed all 4 lanes and hit a concrete abutment, going up the abutment until I thought the car would go over it. The airbags deployed and then the car came down from the abutment, slid backwards so the rear end then hit the abutment and then the car flew all the way across the four lanes where it stopped, facing traffic. Only because of good luck and it being early in the morning did the car hit no other vehicles. The damage exceeded ten thousand dollars. …

I began merging onto I 820 when my vehicle (by itself) floored the accelerator. I tried pressing the brake (it wouldnt press down, it was hard as a rock). I used both feet to no avail. At 75-80 MPH I jammed it into neutral. The RPM's were still at max. By this time it had slowed (I was on the shoulder of the hiway) to about 20 MPH, then jammed it in park. I looked at the instrument panel and all the instruments were on 0. I hesitated then gave the car some gas, it was still running! I couldnt even hear the engine until I revved it. I proceeded to turn off the ignition. The car did turn off. I noticed a 17 yr old boy dying back in 2012 -13 from the same act my car did. …

Dt: the consumer received a recall notice and he brought it into the dealer to have the repair work done around January 27, 2005. The accelerator cable was replaced. On January 30, 2005, he stopped at a restaurant with his foot on the brake and the car just took off going 20-25 MPH. He aimed for a snow bank and the car finally stopped. The next morning he was going to take it to the dealer. As he was slowing down for the red light the car took off through the red light. He had two people look at it, and they couldn't find anything wrong with vehicle. The head of the service department drove the car, and said he fixed it. On February 26th, 2005, the consumer was driving from georgia to virginia going 55-60 MPH. While merging the consumer took his foot off of the gas pedal and the car lunged, hit some gravel and spun into the ravine. Recall campaign # 04V574000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while in after shifting into drive from reverse, the contact depressed the brake pedal and the vehicle erroneously accelerated and the contact crashed into a fence and a tree before coming to a stop. The contact sustained cuts to the arms and face as well as bruises to the knee, shoulders, and back. The contact also mentioned that the vehicle was previously repaired under NHTSA campaign number 04V574000 (vehicle speed control) and NHTSA campaign number 12V353000 (engine and engine cooling, vehicle speed control). A police report was filed. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure and current mileage was 68,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign numbers: 12V353000 (engine and engine cooling, vehicle speed control) and 14V165000 (structure); however, the parts for the recall repairs were unavailable. The contact stated that the undercarriage of the vehicle, especially near the control arm, was corroded to the point that it failed inspection. Also, the vehicle's RPM monitor fluctuated between 0-5, failing to correctly indicate an increase in rpms. The failure caused the vehicle to rev up without the contact purposely causing an increase. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failures. The approximate failure mileage was 244,310. Parts distribution disconnect.

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving approximately 45 MPH, the RPM increased excessively and the vehicle suddenly accelerated which caused the contact to crash into a building. The contact was rushed to the hospital where he sustained back and neck injuries. The vehicle was towed to a local mechanic where it was not diagnosed for the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated the vehicle was included in NHTSA campaign number : 12V353000 (engine and engine cooling , vehicle speed control). The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure and current mileage was 150,000..updated 06/24/13 updated 06/28/2013

Related recalls

NHTSA investigations

Acceleration complaints in other Escape years