The Used Car Index

2009 Ford Escape problems

NHTSA lists 1,846 complaints for the 2009 Ford Escape, 40 of them mention a crash and 5 mention a fire. 9 complaints mention an injury, with 18 injuries and 0 deaths reported.

Data build 2026-10-08.

NHTSA lists this vehicle as FORD ESCAPE.

At a glance

Complaints
1,846
With crash
40
With fire
5
With injury (complaints)
9
Injuries
18
Deaths
0
Recalls
1
Do not drive recalls
0
Park outside recalls
0
Recall potential units (maximum)
740,878
Investigations
4
Open investigations
0
Manufacturer communications
46

Complaints per 100k sold unavailable. The available sales group does not match this vehicle variant.

Where the complaints are

Top systems
SystemComplaintsShare of this vehicle's complaints
STEERING89848.6%
POWER TRAIN31617.1%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL29616.0%
ENGINE27815.1%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM1548.3%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM1256.8%
SERVICE BRAKES1156.2%
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE884.8%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER593.2%
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING392.1%
Top subsystems
SystemSubsystemComplaints
STRUCTUREBODY23
POWER TRAINAUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION22
STEERINGCOLUMN5
VISIBILITYDEFROSTER/DEFOGGER/HVAC SYSTEM5
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULICANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP4
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROLACCELERATOR PEDAL4
STEERINGELECTRIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM3
STRUCTUREFRAME AND MEMBERS3
VISIBILITYGLASS, SIDE/REAR3
AIR BAGSSIDE/WINDOW2

One complaint can name several systems, so shares can add to more than 100 percent.

Model-generated complaint tags: This model year has not been tagged.

Recalls

See new recalls and investigations this week.

1 recalls.

14V284000

Date: 2014-05-29. Systems: STEERING.

Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2008-2011 Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner vehicles manufactured August 18, 2006, through September 11, 2010. The affected vehicles have a steering torque sensor that may not be able to properly detect driver steering input. As a result, the system could remove the Electric Power Steering (EPS) assist. (excerpt)

Consequence: If power steering assist is lost, greater driver effort would be required to steer the vehicle at low speeds, increasing the risk of a crash. (excerpt)

Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will update the software for the power steering control module (PSCM) and the instrument cluster module, free of charge. If a vehicle shows a history of a loss of the torque sensor signal or fault codes relating to the PSCM when the vehicle is brought in for the recall remedy, the affected components will be replaced, free of charge. The recall began on July (excerpt)

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

Investigations

4 investigations; 0 open.

DP22005

Opened: 2023-01-27. Closed: 2023-08-07.

Pedestrian alert sounds

NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and ele

Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM.

Linked campaign numbers: 22V063000.

DP15001

Opened: 2015-04-01. Closed: 2018-06-14.

Loss of power steering while driving

On May 27, 2014, amended June 2, 2014, Ford Motor Company (Ford) submitted a Defect Information Report (DIR) to NHTSA describing a safety defect that may result in a sudden loss of power steering assist while driving in approximately 746,067 model year (MY) 2008 through 2011 Ford Escape vehicles equipped with electric power assisted steering (NHTSA 14V-284, Ford 14S05). Ford's DIR described the de

Systems: STEERING.

Linked campaign numbers: None listed.

PE13003

Opened: 2013-02-21. Closed: 2014-02-28.

Electronic Throttle Body Malfunction

On February 21, 2013, the Office of Defects Investigations (ODI) opened Preliminary Evaluation PE13-003 to investigate allegations of electronic throttle body (ETB) failures resulting in sudden reduction of engine power in model year (MY) 2009-2013 Ford Escape, Fusion, Mariner and Milan vehicles. During this investigation, Ford identified a condition in subject vehicles equipped with 2.5L and 3.0L

Systems: ENGINE.

Linked campaign numbers: None listed.

DP12006

Opened: 2012-10-02. Closed: 2013-02-21.

Electronic Throttle Body Malfunction

In a letter dated August 30, 2012, The North Carolina Consumers Council (NCCC) petitioned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to initiate a defect investigation of alleged electronic throttle body failures resulting in engine stall or surge while driving in model year (MY) 2005 through 2012 Ford Escape vehicles. On October 2, 2012 the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) op

Systems: ENGINE.

Linked campaign numbers: None listed.

Manufacturer communications

46 manufacturer communications.

Communications by system
SystemCount
POWER TRAIN11
EQUIPMENT8
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING7
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM6
STEERING5
ENGINE3
SERVICE BRAKES, AIR3
STRUCTURE3

11029052

Date: 2026-02-24. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, STRUCTURE, UNKNOWN OR OTHER.

Ford and Lincoln vehicles equipped with wired keyless entry keypad systems and accessory wireless keyless entry keypad systems may or may not come with a wallet card containing the master code. Unlike the integrated wired keypad, the accessory wireless keypad master code cannot be retrieved from the

10254138

Date: 2024-04-24. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: EQUIPMENT.

All accessory stick-on keyless entry keypads come with a wallet card containing the master code. If the accessory keypad was factory installed, this card will be placed in the glove box and should be handed to the vehicle s owner during initial delivery. Unlike the integrated (wired) factory keypad,

10235153

Date: 2023-04-04. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: STRUCTURE.

For 2000-2024 Ford and Lincoln vehicles, swapping a module from a vehicle for diagnosis purposes is likely to cause errors and is not recommended. It is also not recommended to order a replacement module using a vehicle identification number (VIN) from a different vehicle. Most modules on these affe

10137113

Date: 2018-03-30. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: EQUIPMENT.

Replacing the original equipment SYNC/Navigation system with either an aftermarket SYNC/Navigation kit or modifying original SYNC/Navigation parts to provide additional features is not recommended nor supported on any Ford, Mercury or Lincoln vehicle. Only approved Genuine Ford accessories or origin

10138524

Date: 2018-01-10. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: EQUIPMENT.

The Accessory (Wireless) Keyless Entry Keypad can only be used with vehicles that are factory built with Remote Keyless Entry (RKE). The master code for the Accessory (Wireless) Keyless Entry Keypad can be retrieved from FMCDealer - Parts and Service - Parts Product Line Information - Keys/Entry Dev

10140323

Date: 2018-01-10. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: EQUIPMENT.

The Accessory (Wireless) Keyless Entry Keypad can only be used with vehicles that are factory built with Remote Keyless Entry (RKE). The master code for the Accessory (Wireless) Keyless Entry Keypad can be retrieved from FMCDealer - Parts and Service - Parts Product Line Information - Keys/Entry Dev

10090681

Date: 2016-10-17. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: SERVICE BRAKES.

SOME 2008-2017 FORD/MERCURY/LINCOLN VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH SYNC MAY GENERATE A VHR THAT IDENTIFIES A CONCERN WITH THE BRAKES AND SUSPENSION CATEGORY INDICATING SERVICE IS REQUIRED DUE TO A BRAKE SYSTEM WARNING LAMP BEING ILLUMINATED. IF THE PARK BRAKE WAS APPLIED WHEN THE VHR WAS GATHERING DATA FROM

10091151

Date: 2016-10-17. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: SERVICE BRAKES.

SOME 2008-2017 FORD/MERCURY/LINCOLN VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH SYNC MAY GENERATE A VHR THAT IDENTIFIES A CONCERN WITH THE BRAKES AND SUSPENSION CATEGORY INDICATING SERVICE IS REQUIRED DUE TO A BRAKE SYSTEM WARNING LAMP BEING ILLUMINATED. IF THE PARK BRAKE WAS APPLIED WHEN THE VHR WAS GATHERING DATA FROM

10109070

Date: 2016-09-21. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ENGINE, ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING.

The Powertrain Control/Emissions Diagnosis (PC/ED) manual has been revised for diagnosing electronic throttle bodies (ETBs). The ETC_ACT and ETC_DSD PIDs should not used to diagnose possible ETB concerns. The IDS has a limited refresh rate when reading these PIDs and cannot display quickly enough to

10109036

Date: 2016-09-08. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM.

Some 2005-2012 Escape Hybrid and 2006-2011 Mariner Hybrid vehicles may set DTCs P0A81 (battery pack cooling fan 1 control circuit) and/or P0A96 (battery pack cooling fan 2 control circuit) in the traction battery control module (TBCM). These codes by themselves normally do not result in any symptoms

Notes on this record

  • Complaints from the API and bulk file are merged and deduplicated by ODI number; the API alone misses records.
  • System and subsystem counts are numbers of distinct complaints, recalls or communications that name them. One record can name several systems, so shares across systems can add to more than 100 percent; a single share never exceeds 100 percent.
  • Recalls are counted once per campaign, investigations once per action and manufacturer communications once per NHTSA id, even when NHTSA lists several model names for the same record.
  • A sales denominator is a calendar-year proxy, not the population of vehicles still in use. Rates are copied from verified pipeline output.

Other names NHTSA uses

None listed.

Matched NHTSA models

Matched labels and complaints
NHTSA model labelComplaints
ESCAPE1,693
ESCAPE HYBRID153

Same model, other years

All model years | All Ford models

Other Ford models, 2009

Sources

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