KnownCarProblems2008 Ford Escape Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 1,974 complaints with NHTSA about the 2008 Ford Escape, most often about the steering (57% of complaints, typically around 116,000 miles). It is 5th of 27 Escape model years by number of complaints and has 3 recalls.
Most common 2008 Ford Escape problems
Steering
1,127 complaints · 57%Half of these problems showed up before 116,000 miles. Parts named most often: column, electric power assist system, hydraulic power assist system, rack and pinion.
I have a 2008 Ford Escape and the power steering is going in and out. The steering will lock up while driving. 3-27-11, steering locked up while driving and I had almost ran over a child riding her bike. I could not control the steering. When the car is shut off and then turned back on the problem stops.have seen many…
Was making a turn after stopping at a light. In the middle of my turn I felt the power steering fail. I was able to drive home with great effort made to steer. I got home and turned my vehicle off. My husband started my 2008 Ford Escape and had no problems with steering. After popping the hood, he found nothing wrong.…
Transmission
329 complaints · 17%Half of these problems showed up before 68,000 miles. Parts named most often: automatic transmission.
Condenser/transmission cooler leaking resulting in transmission damage and/or failure. 2008 Ford Escape. This is 3rd time leak/transmission problem has occurred with the first 2 happening under warranty. Ford motor company refusing to cover the cost of transmission repair d/t the "condenser" not being manufactured by…
Transmission started to hard shift. Took to dealer, dealer determined there was a leak in the transmission cooler. Although this I have a lot of miles on my car, it's still only a 2008 model year. The leak is on the side of the cooler, not the front, from a rock or twig or front puncture - this is a terrible design.…
Speed control
175 complaints · 9%Half of these problems showed up before 76,000 miles. Parts named most often: accelerator pedal, cables.
I have a 2008 Ford Escape 2008 that has been having issues with the accelerator pedal being difficult to press or getting stuck while driving. I reported the issue in march 2010 to the dealership but they could not get it to replicated so I was told no concern found. However recently I was driving my vehicle on…
My wife was driving our 2008 Ford Escape xlt when the accelerator became hard to press. She attempted to vary the amount of pressure on the accelerator but it was still hard to press. She then pressed harder on the accelerator and it dropped to the fire wall and did not return to its normal position. She was able to…
Brakes
140 complaints · 7%Half of these problems showed up before 103,000 miles. Parts named most often: antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip, foundation components.
After making a slight left turn, I was coasting down a hill with a slight downhill slope without my foot on accelerator and was approaching a stop sign. In preparation for stopping, I started applying the brake. When I pressed the brake pedal, it went to the floor and made a clicking sound- almost as if the antilock…
I was coasting down a hill with a slight downhill slope without my foot on accelerator and was approaching a stop sign. In preparation for stopping, I started applying the brake. When I pressed the brake pedal, it went to the floor and made a clicking sound- almost as if the antilock brakes were activated. The vehicle…
Electrical
136 complaints · 7%Half of these problems showed up before 100,000 miles. Parts named most often: ignition, instrument cluster/panel, 12v/24v/48v battery, alternator/generator/regulator.
Car stalled when driving on hwy in snow storm on two different occasions. Also, RPM's climb, just had the steering column replaced 2 months ago.
My Ford Escape is my family and work vehicle. One morning I started it after it was parked in cold overnight, engine started but the steering was stuck, thought battery was bad. Restarted several times until steering loosened up. Drove car and every stop light or while idling, the steering wheel vibrated so hard and…
Engine
120 complaints · 6%Half of these problems showed up before 66,000 miles. Parts named most often: cooling system, engine.
I had been traveling in a construction zone so I had my cruise control set somewhere near 35 or 40mph. The construction zone cleared up and I returned to normal speed but left the cruise control on. I accelerated on my own to about 70mph. A minute later the gas pedal left my foot and went to the floor accelerating the…
I have a 2008 Ford Escape and it seems there is a part in which the cars transmission could be ruined. This part is the A/C condenser which tends to go out every 20,000 miles which is my experience so far. There was a recall on this part but it seems it did not do any good because even after the replacement part is…
Fuel system
60 complaints · 3%Half of these problems showed up before 77,000 miles. Parts named most often: delivery, storage.
Accelerator pedal sticks upon attempting to accelerate. This problem has been on and off for the last six months, but has worsened. Last incident (12/14/13) pedal completely stuck to floor. Contacted dealer and was advised of a $70 diagnostic fee and deductible. Prior to this incident from august 2011 to august 2013…
While driving my 2008 Ford Escape this morning the gas pedal got stuck and would not accelerate. This problem happens often in cold weather and occours when durring the first start of the day. This happend to me when pulling out of the driveway into traffic. I was able to safely roll into an adjacent parking area…
Other or unspecified
55 complaints · 3%Half of these problems showed up before 115,000 miles.
The key in the ignition will not start the car. I see on the internet that this is a known manufacturer problem. Why isn't it a recall? It is not just with the 2008. People are doing all sorts of work around because the repair cost is the entire steering column.
My car has displayed the issues this model was recalled for numerous times and now will not start again. It stopped driving unexpectedly on several occasions when I have been driving on both freeways and residential streets. When it happens it becomes impossible to steer, gas and brake have no effect, and flashes a…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2008 Ford Escape recalls
Transmission: floor shift
Risk: If the shift lever disengages from the transmission, a driver may be unable to shift gear positions and the indicated shift position may not represent the gear position the vehicle is in. Should a disengagement occur while the vehicle is being driven, when the driver goes to stop and park the vehicle, the gear selection indicator may show that the transmission is in the "park" position, but the vehicle transmission may not actually be in the "park" gear position. If the vehicle is not in the "park" position there is a risk the vehicle will roll away as the driver and other occupants exit the v
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the transmissions and either tighten the manual shift lever bolt or replace the manual shift lever assembly. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began on october 23, 2015. Owners may contact ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 15s28.
Full defect summary
Ford motor company (ford) is recalling certain model year 2001-2008 ford escape and mercury mariner vehicles manufactured march 31, 2001, to september 1, 2009. The affected vehicles are equipped with either a 2.3l or 3.0l engine and have had their cd4e transmission replaced with remanufactured one that was rebuilt between june 11, 2015 through july 15, 2015. These service repair part transmissions have a shift lever bolt that may not be properly tightened. As a result, the shift control lever could disengage from the transmission without warning.
Hybrid system: hybrid propulsion system
Risk: If the hybrid electronics system overheats, it may shut down the powertrain, resulting in a stall-like condition, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: 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. Owners may contact ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 14s19.
Full defect summary
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. The coolant pump for the hybrid system may fail resulting in the hybrid electronics overheating.
Steering: electric power assist system
Risk: 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.
Fix: 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 18, 2014. Owners may contact ford customer service at 1-800-392-3673. Ford's number for this recall is 14s05.
Full defect summary
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.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Loss of power steering while driving
Summary
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 defect condition as a poor signal to noise ratio [snr] in the torque sensor within the electric power assisted steering (epas) system [which] does not allow the pscm to determine the driver's steering input. When the system detects this fault condition, it transitions the epas system to the fail-safe/
Electronic throttle body malfunction
Summary
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) opened a defect petition dp12-006 to evaluate whether to grant or deny the petition. The petition is hereby granted on certain model years. The nccc letter cites two complaints of stall while driving in my 2009 ford escape vehicles that were diagnosed as failed throttle bodies with diagnostic trouble
Tire valve cracking
Summary
On october 14, 2008, odi opened pe08-060 to investigate allegations of cracked and leaking snap-in tire valves in model year (my) 2007 vehicles manufactured by ford motor company.the valves were supplied to ford by topseal auto-parts, a subsidiary of the shanghai baolong automotive corporation in china.valves made by topseal for aftermarket sale were the subject of two recent safety recalls by tech international (08t-018) and dill air controls (08t-028), the latter of which was investigated by odi in pe08-036 and ea08-022.the defect conditions addressed by the aftermarket tire valve recalls both involved inadequate resistance to ozone cracking due to issues with the supply of anti-ozonant ch
Questions about the 2008 Ford Escape
- What are the most common problems with the 2008 Ford Escape?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: steering (1,127 complaints, typically around 116,000 miles); transmission (329 complaints, typically around 68,000 miles); speed control (175 complaints, typically around 76,000 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2008 Ford Escape have?
- 3 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from September 29, 2015 (transmission). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2008 a bad year for the Ford Escape?
- It is 5th of 27 Escape model years by number of complaints, with 1,974 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.