Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (accelerator pedal, throttle, sudden acceleration, cruise control).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2008 Ford Escape owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Having issue with throttle body and or controller. Break takes time to respond and is stiff. When on an incline road, the car rolls backwards before accelerating forward. The rolled back at stop signs on inclined roads and inclined parking lots. The car shows no warming lights. The car has issues accelerating and decelerating. The car has rolled back while another car was behind it. The car at some instances has come to almost a halt while driving at 70 mph on the highway. While displaying no warming signals. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? This type of issue has been confirmed by the dealership and has been recalled for some ford escapes but not all. The car has been inspected by a technician. The transmission has been rebuild but that did not work so a new transmission was placed inside yet this did not resolve anything. …
When driving, the gas pedal will get stuck down and you will not be able to apply more pressure to the pedal to accelerate. This often happens when I go to change gear and then go back to the gas pedal to accelerate again. This typically will only happen from time to time but today it occurred every time I went to change gears. I had to pull over on the highway because I was unable to keep up with traffic and the weather was quite snowy and it was unsafe for me to try to drive without keeping speed with traffic.
On 1/9/20 the car had its last dangerous malfunction of so many sense I purchased the vehicle from a dealership 10/18. The car was parked in a beach parking lot. As my son was getting ready to leave the parking lot he turned car on put car in drive slightly stepped on gas to begin pulling out and the car surged and accelerated full speed by itself. He lost all steering and had no breaks. He had absolutely no control of the vehicle. It went full speed into a parked car about 15 ft away! Both cars were totaled. All 3 people involved were injured. There was 2 people in parked car and my son who was burrowing my car. Previous to this accident the Escape has had so many dangerous malfunctions. Some being total steering loss while I was driving 45mph .car was towed and fixed covered by factory recall. Another shock snapped and punctured my fuel tank. …
In 2016 November my gas pedal stuck to the floor and I freaked out and ran into my neighbors garage and I had 10 fired fighters and sherriff look at my turned off Escape and the accelerated pedel was completely sitting on the floor of the vehicle and it also was towed to Ford and said the accelerator pedal link was completely broke and it was not covered under insurance for they said this is a manufacture issue and not insurance and so I had to use the front end damage to pay for the $1500 repair on a part that should not have broke, Ford has now over 100 complaints to this say problem and no fix.....this vehicle accelerated and rammed a neighbors garage door and I could have been killed and all the sheriff and firefighters say they have never seen an accelerator pedal depressed to the floor and I was lucky....Ford fix this....this is going to kill someone and it I had injuries from the …
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the accelerator pedal traveled to the floorboard. The contact was unable to stop the vehicle and crashed into a curb. There were no injuries and a police report was filed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and it was determined that the accelerator cable needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 74,500. Updated 5/15/15 updated 06/02/15
Important addendum to o.d.I. # 10407083: (June 16, 2011) tl* the contact owns a 2008 Ford Escape. The contact was driving approximately 25 MPH when the vehicle suddenly accelerated to higher speeds. The contact lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a barrier before rolling over. The contact sustained minor scratches. The police were called and a report was filed. The vehicle was then towed to an independent mechanic where the vehicle was pending investigation. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure and current mileages were approximately 31,000. …
I have owned this Escape for only about 9 months. I have had many sporadic issues with the gas pedal. The gas pedal has stuck a few times and I have been unable to press down on the pedal. It seems to act up worse when the weather gets colder. I have had a few instances where I was driving and was unable to accelerate and had to put my vehicle in park and keep pressing down on the gas pedal until it finally allowed me to accelerate and move forward. When the pedal locks up it is like pressing against a wall and there is no give in the pedal but when it does finally press down it causes a high acceleration and cause the vehicle to launch forward. This is definitely a scary situation when you are in traffic and all of the sudden can't drive your car. Thankfully I have not been in any accidents because of this issue but I feel it is only a matter of time unless this issue is fixed. …
I had my cruise control on and had used the coast button to slow down when approaching a car in front of me, I proceed to accelerate when the gas peddle continued to go down and speed increase. I pressed the off button on cruise control and it would not turn off. With both feet on the brake the vehicle continued forward. As I left the road way I tried turning vehicle off but it kept running at about 40 miles per hour I tried putting it in neutral and the vehicle continued forward at which time I put the vehicle in park. The engine stopped. After 30 seconds I started the vehicle and the engine roared, so I shut it off. In the process of calling for assistant, less than a minute, I heard a sound of something being release and the gas pedal hit my foot. I started the vehicle and the engine/speed was normal. …
Purchased vehicle a month ago with 135,000 miles. It has stalled 3 times at low speeds, once while in the middle of a turn on a city street causing me to lose steering and almost hit another vehicle, no lights pop on when this happens it just dies with no warning. I am able to put the vehicle in park and restart it. It has also, on numerous occasions lurched forward from a stop or rolling stop when I hit the gas. From reading other owners complaints it sounds identical to the throttle body control issue so many seem to be having. I can't afford to have it checked out at this point, and don't feel safe driving it but I have no other vehicle. I did call Ford but they don't recognize my VIN under the "customer satisfaction program" they have for so many other of their vehicles having this same issue! …
Purchased a 2008 Ford Escape new in 2008 and have had it worked on 3 different times for the accelerator sticking caused by the throttle body. It was never replaced. Now because I have 116000 miles on it I just got taken advantage of. Once again the accelerator stuck and luckily I was able to pull over and hold the brake and shut it off. I paid $110 to tow it to a Ford dealership. Well now it is going to cost me $1000 to replace the throttle body. This should have been done previously and now it seems to be on me or risk being killed due to this safety issue. Even if it was never issued as a recall item I have had issues with this since purchasing it new in 2008. I want something done. I did call Ford mtr co and was told they could not help me because the vehicle has over 100000 miles on it. …
Acceleration complaints in other Escape years
Frequently asked questions
How common are acceleration problems on the 2008 Ford Escape?
NHTSA has 175 complaints about the speed control & acceleration of the 2008 Ford Escape, 9% of the model year's 1,974 complaints. The component named most often is accelerator pedal (8 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2008 Ford Escape acceleration problems?
No. NHTSA lists no speed control & acceleration recall for the 2008 Ford Escape, though it has 3 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2008 Ford Escape acceleration problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 76,000 miles, and 9% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 6 crashes, 0 fires and 6 injuries to speed control & acceleration 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.