Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2010 Ford Escape owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 2010 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the traction control and wrench warning lights had displayed, and the steering wheel became difficult to turn in either direction. After turning off and restarting the vehicle, the failure was self-corrected; however, the failure reoccurred. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 177,000.
When driving for as little as ten minutes and other times longer, my truck will lose power while driving and I will start to feel the truck slow up. Then when trying to accelerate I can only get up to 20 MPH. Also if I take my foot off the gas, without putting my foot on the brake, it'll come to a halt. It does go over 2,500 RPM on a good day. I cant take off fast even if I wanted to. The only code that has come up when dealing with my issue is the catalyic converter. I have replaced my o2 sensors and got a new converter on but still having the same problem. I even replaced the throttle to see if that would help and it has not. No one has been able to help me figure out the issue. I have taken it to reputable shops and mechanic and spent a ton of money trying to resolve my issues. I am fearful for my safety and my son's safety not knowing when it will lose power. …
While driving my 2010 Ford Escape xls 4 cylinder , the truck stalled and cut off during driving. Lucky I was able to pull to the side of the road. I started the truck back after 30 minutes, the truck drove and again with no warning the truck started to stall and cut off. The just started to happen out of no where. I bought the truck used and still paying on it. The warranty that I purchased ran out at the beginning of this year. This was a very dangerous situation; this happen right during rush hour traffic and by the grace of god I was able to pull to the side. I did manage to get the truck home but after reading multiple complaints regarding the same issue, I feel like this should of been looked into by Ford for a possible recall. From what I am getting this is from a known issue with early model Ford escapes "electric throttle body". …
Tested code p2119 at auto zone. Throttle body assembly shows bad. Car began to surge and jerk at times while traveling down the road at a steady speed. At times would seem to stall and then surge forward as if throttle had been depressed. The speed at which I was traveling did not seem to make a difference. It would happen at any speed for no apparent reason. Have quit driving till I have the funds to get repaired. Appx. Repaiir cost $200 with the part cost at $140
While I was driving I heard a click and lost my power steering. It came back and then off again. I had to pull over and turn off my ignition. I waited a few minutes and re-started it, it again kept going back and forth between power and manual steering while driving at 35 MPH down back roads to my home.
My electric power assist system stopped working and was unable to turn the wheel to drive - I only have 70,000 miles on my Ford Escape - I was parking my car when the light went off then when I got back in the car I was unable to steer the vehicle. I tried calling Ford and they were unable to help .
Rear seat behind the driver is locked in the down position, and cannot be returned upright. When driving, the vehicle spontaneously surges forward , especially when starting from parked or a stopped position and at highway speeds. Code read "throttle body actuator"
We had just turned onto our street, started to proceed up the hill at about 35-40 MPH. Car suddenly went unresponsive. Wrench light indicator lit up on dashboard. Started to idle very hard, then surge, then low idle, then surge RPM. No gas pedal response at all. Luckily we had just got off the highway, and were close to home. However, we were going uphill. We had just enough momentum to get over the hill and coast down to our driveway. Upon putting the car in park in our driveway, the RPM's were fluctuating from almost 0, then shooting back up to over 2500. From wanting to stall, to wanting to race ahead. In researching, I have seen this described as a faulty electronic throttle body, which apparently has affected over 725,000 of these vehicles and still without recall. …
On approximately October 1, 2013, I began to experience stalling in my 2010 Ford Escape. As this happened, a wrench light came on, and the engine died. I turned it off, and it restarted and was fine for a period of time. This was repeated on several occasions. I tried to have the car repaired at the local dealership, but they were booked full for the past week, so I made an appointment for today (October 8, 2013). When I explained the problem to the dealership representative, he told me that it would probably happen again. It happened on my way home that day (last week) and also on the way in to the dealership for repairs this morning. After several hours, they called and said that my car was repaired. The billing says that their "diagnosis verified my concern, and they checked "oasis. Ssm32332. They performed etb and check failed. They found fault and replaced electronic throttle body. …
Like millions of other Ford Escape owners, I have a big problem with the throttle body on my 2010 Ford Escape limited v6. First I completely lost all propulsion/acceleration while driving at approx. 35mph. Coasted to side of road, turned engine off. Turned engine on and voila! Runs just fine. Several weeks later, at 75mph full loss of propulsion on a major highway, coasted to side of road, turned engine off. Turned engine on and voila! Runs just fine, until about 5miles down the road when it happened again. Then about another 3wks later, it happened again on a backroad in nc at about 60mph. This trip it happened several times and finally once I got parked and turned the engine off and back on (just to check), the check engine light came on. When I left my location, praying I'd make it home, no engine light, but now the wrench light came on. …
Traction Control complaints in other Escape years
Frequently asked questions
How common are traction control problems on the 2010 Ford Escape?
NHTSA has 28 complaints about the stability & traction control of the 2010 Ford Escape, 1% of the model year's 2,070 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2010 Ford Escape traction control problems?
No. NHTSA lists no stability & traction control recall for the 2010 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 2010 Ford Escape traction control problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 70,000 miles, and 4% before 25,000 miles.
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.