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 2011 Ford Escape owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Tl* the contact owned a 2011 Ford Escape. While stationary, the vehicle suddenly experienced unintended acceleration and crashed into a stone wall. The driver sustained a fractured left arm, various body bruises, right and left leg injuries, and facial lacerations. The vehicle was destroyed and towed. A police report was not filed. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was 77,188. Updated 12/23/16 updated 01/05/17.
I have a 2011 Ford Escape. I was driving on a 2 way street and the gas pedal stopped working out of nowhere and I could not accelerate. Luckily I was able to coast to the side before getting rear ended. What is frustrating about this is Ford had a recall a couple years ago for my make and model for a bad throttle .. Same exact issue I had where I was driving and couldnt accelerate. Instead of replacing the throttle they gave 1.6 million customer satisfaction program warranties.. So basically you had to have an issue before it would be replaced. I called Ford corp 5/23/16 and because my VIN# wasnt one in the recall they will not pay for my $400 bill. It is the same exact issue as the recall but since my VIN# is different they wont pay. How does that make any sense. Luckily I didnt get into an accident . …
6 times suddenly lost acceleration without warning while driving. 4th, 5th and 6th time on 8/3/2016 on U.S. 25 at about 55 to 60 MPH all in one day. No response from gas pedal, tachometer dropped to 0, wrench light came on. Was able to coast to side of road. Maintained pwr steering/brakes. Shut off engine, restarted/worked fine, wrench light off. Mileage about 65,000. 1st, 2nd it happened on side roads in town and the 3rd I was on a busy road in lexington ky on versailles road where semis were everywhere and I thought I was gonna get hit then. Wrench light came on while decelerating, light and throttle reset upon shutting of and restarting car. Ford says they will not repair unless code is present, code erases when car is shut off and will not drive until car is shut off and restarted. …
Was driving through town, vehicle revved up and then stalled. Stopped vehicle, turned off, and restarted. Started up without an issue. 3 days later, while driving to work, vehicles wrench indicator light came on and vehicle lost power. Restarted okay. As the week progressed, vehicle started losing power several times during my 20 mile trip to work and back, 40 miles round trip. Then on 7/7/15, vehicle lost power 4 times on my way home, the second time it lost power the engine indicator light came on and stayed on. It also took longer to restart the vehicle. Checked computer for code. Code states p 2112, tac system stuck shut. Looked up this code and info, and it seems to be related to the throttle body. I found something that states there was a recall on this part, but I was never notified of this. I would like to get this problem fixed so I can drive my vehicle. …
3 times suddenly lost acceleration without warning while driving. 1st time on 6/17/16 on interstate at 70mph: no response from gas pedal, tachometer dropped to 0, wrench light came on. Was able to coast to side of road. Maintained pwr steering/brakes. Shut off engine, restarted/worked fine, wrench light off. Mileage about 64,920. 2nd & 3rd time same happened driving on country roads (on 6/22/16 mileage about 64,993 and on 7/7/16 mileage about 65,330). Wrench light came on while decelerating, light and throttle reset upon shutting of and restarting car. Ford says they will not repair unless code is present, code erases when car is shut off and will not drive until car is shut off and restarted. These incidents fit description of Ford "field service action" for electronic throttle body extended coverage. V dangerous! …
I was driving down the street and my vehicle started to idle funny, like it was going to stop running and it would not accelerate at all, I had to coast to the side of the street. When I pressed the gas pedal it would not accelerate or do anything almost like it was disconnected. The engine light also came on at this time. My fiancee' came to where I was at and he shut the vehicle off and then started it back up and the engine light was off and the vehicle was back to running again like nothing ever happened. I have read several complaints about the throttle body being bad and that Ford and Ford garages where refusing to fix the problem with all the vehicles doing this and I think that is so wrong on many levels due to Ford being a top manufacturer of vehicles they should stand by the vehicles and fix any problems that occur with the vehicles. …
While driving, my check engine light came on. Actually the first light to come on was the power train indicator. While pressing accelerator, the speed continued to decrease. I was in rush hour traffic and it really scared me. I pulled into a parking lot and was unable to take it to an automotive repair shop because it was late in the evening. The next morning I drove slowly to treadquarters auto service center and after describing the symptoms was told they needed to do a computer scan and then was told I needed a throttle body immediately. If not installed as soon as possible, I May end up stranded somewhere. I was also told Ford knows about the problem with this part and have yet to do anything about it. Is this true? Have I just paid an exorbitant amount of money to replace a part that Ford knows is problematic?? …
The throttle body of my Ford Escape 2011 seems to be malfunctioning, since it has a drive by wire system, I want to complain about the defects Ford cars have been having surrounding its throttle functionality. Whenever I am accelerating from a stop light or on the highway, the car jumps forward and starts to shake, and then simply does not accelerate. It happens sporadically, and after an inspection from a mechanic, it's showing that the throttle body is malfunctioning, and the codes showing that it is simultaneously open and closed. It is an issue that Ford vehicles up to 2012 seemed to have been getting. I have experienced this issue since 50,000 miles on the car of 2 years ago, and it's been happening sporadically, maybe once a month, or once every 10 minutes.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the vehicle would unexpectedly surge forward or backward while idling without a foot on the accelerator pedal. On one occasion, the vehicle surged backward and crashed into another vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent repair shop where they were unable to diagnose the failure. The failure mileage was 50 and the current mileage was 200. The VIN was unknown. I have took the car to the dealer 3 times for this problem. Twice they said the have reset the computer throttle but still has the same problem. Updated 11/10/2011
While traveling from virginia to michigan on pennsylvania turnpike at a speed of 75 MPH my cruise control switched off and the vehicle decelerated. I thought maybe it was because I hit a bump in the road so I tried to engage the cruise control again, it stayed on for a few minutes then disengaged again. This is not the first time this has happened, on a previous trip it did the same thing. I took my vehicle in to the dealer, they couldn't determine the cause. Obviously something isn't right, I've seen one other complaint about this.
Acceleration complaints in other Escape years
Frequently asked questions
How common are acceleration problems on the 2011 Ford Escape?
NHTSA has 245 complaints about the speed control & acceleration of the 2011 Ford Escape, 19% of the model year's 1,318 complaints. The component named most often is accelerator pedal (1 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2011 Ford Escape acceleration problems?
No. NHTSA lists no speed control & acceleration recall for the 2011 Ford Escape, though it has 2 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 2011 Ford Escape acceleration problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 45,000 miles, and 11% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 5 crashes, 0 fires and 2 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.