Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (fuel pump, injectors, fuel tank, hybrid and EV propulsion).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2005 Ford Escape owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Drove vehicle to drop off dog at sitters, started vehicle began to make u-turn and vehicle stalled. Attempted to restart, cranks but won't run. Recently purchased from used car dealer, new battery was installed, no trouble up to this point. Began checking usual problems, fuel delivery, crank pos.sensor, cam pos sensor, have no spark. Upon further research this appears to be faulty coils, spark plugs and pcm from factory but no recall has been employed. Possibility of collision during u-turn very likely. Loss of power to all systems could cause extreme risk to life at higher speeds. Ford Motor Company is aware of this problem, with the high number of similar problems in the NHTSA data base it is impossible for them not to know. The NHTSA should force Ford to fix this. If you make a product that can be dangerous if faulty, you are responsible to the public to do the right thing. …
I had the hybrid battery replaced by Bill Brandt Ford in Brentwood California. A few days after having it replaced. The car broke down on a very dangerous highway. I had the car towed back to Bill Brandt Ford. They replaced the hybrid battery again. I received the car back on May 9. The car just broke down again today. Roughly Bill Brandt Ford had my car for over 250 days. I found a recall one for S as in Sam 19 for my vehicle when I type in the Vin number it says that it doesn't pertain to my car. But when I look at the recall issue, my car is having the exact same problems. Now I need to have the car towed back yet again to the dealership. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I have over $3000 invested in this car now with Bill Brandt Ford and they've had it longer than I've had it.
Stalled out while driving down hwy. At 70 mph. Cars swirved and I almost got hit from behind due to my vehicle just cutting out. No warning lights came on it just shut off battery light n engine light then came on after vehicle lost power and I had to get off road without causing an accident which almost occurred due to the speed and area I was driving at time vehicle cut out I still have not figured out why it just cut out. Very dangerous all around.
First occurrence of problem: 48800 miles, 5/2012. Engine light on and engine misfiring. Ford dealership determined faulty ignition coil in # 6 cylinder. Replaced ignition coil and spark plug. $295 second occurrence of problem: 74,400 miles, 11/2013. Engine light on and engine misfiring. Mechanic replaced sparkplugs in cylinders # 1-3 all at once since it is difficult to access those. $276 additional occurrences of same problem: upon misfiring in 2014 I bought a code reader which indicated cylinder #5 misfire - replaced ignition coil and spark plug. More misfiring indicated cylinder #4 misfire - replaced ignition foil and spark plug. Major problem update. 2/2/2015 - travelling 55 MPH car shuts off, all warning lights come on, coast to shoulder. Restart car, seems fine, no warning lights. Again cylinder # 4 misfiring - replaced spark plug. …
Bought used the vehicle intermittently would stall, put in neutral it would crank right up and idle fine, until you put in gear and it would stall out, wait awhile and it would run fine, and it might go 2,3 or 4 weeks and not stall. Now it will not go at all, cranks up put it in gear and it is like it is not getting fuel and stalls out. I have had it to some repair shops and they can not find any problem, but I have one mechanic telling me it is the torque converter and might as well redo transmission also. I am disabled and a veteran on a fixed income and depend on my vehicle to take me to my doctor appts, grocery store, church etc. So any help or information on this issue would be greatly appreciated, also I don't know if it makes any difference but my father worked for fmc for 48yrs.
Vehicles gas pedal gets stuck up and cannot be depressed at all while car is on and I am driving. It happened this week several times on very cold days. While driving or while stopped at light and trying to go I cannot depressed the pedal, even when pushing hard. Eventually it depressed for me after several tries. Vehicle gas pedal has also gotten stuck down twice previously with car accelerating uncontrollably, which happened for almost a minute then it popped up - resulted in near collision { thank goodness its a manual transmission]. I have read in many on-line discussion boards of many other individuals having their gas pedal on Ford escapes stick up or down also.
When the vehicle stops, engine shuts down. If I start it again it turns on just fine but everytime I stop at a light or at traffic, the engine stalls. Went to the Ford dealer and they cant tell what is happening because there is no check engine light turned on. They checked it and everything was fine, battery, oils. They say there is a recall for the throttle position sensor but the deadline for this was on January 2015. Now Ford wont repair my vehicle because it has more than 10 years old (it has less than 116,000 miles).
My 2005 Ford Escape v6 stalls out skips sputters and my truck jerks really bad then anti theft symbol on dashboard comes on and truck switches off and back on in the middle of highway with traffic while driving down the road .very dangerous.also making a thumping noise from in the air intake.gas pedal cable wire broke .so many problems with this vehicle.I believe there are several recalls.please let me know so the Ford company can fix whatever it is that May be under recall. Thanks!
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 Ford Escape. While driving at various speeds, the vehicle would sputter, hesitate, and shut off. The check engine light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the fuel system was faulty. The fuel pump and fuel flow indicator and sensors were all replaced, but the failure continued. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 115,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 Ford Escape. After driving over a bump, there was an abnormal noise coming from the rear of the vehicle. The contact discovered that the rear shock towers were rusted. In addition, the contact stated that a fuel odor emitted inside the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 74,000.
Related recalls
Hybrid propulsion system
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2005-2008 Ford Escape hybrid electric vehicles manufactured October 13, 2003, to June 20, 2008, and 2006-2008 Mercury Mariner hybrid electric vehicles manufactured June 10, 2005, to June 20, 2008.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the original Motor Electronics Coolant (MEC) Pump with an improved brushless pump, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin on October 27, 2014.
Fuel System complaints in other Escape years
Frequently asked questions
How common are fuel system problems on the 2005 Ford Escape?
NHTSA has 64 complaints about the fuel & propulsion system of the 2005 Ford Escape, 5% of the model year's 1,394 complaints. The component named most often is storage › tank assembly › filler pipe and cap (2 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2005 Ford Escape fuel system problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 14V-526 (hybrid propulsion system, Sep 3, 2014). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2005 Ford Escape fuel system problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 84,000 miles, and 8% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 0 crashes, 1 fire and 0 injuries to fuel & propulsion system problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.