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What 598 owners told NHTSA about the 2012 Ford Escape Gas

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (598)Crash / fire / injury (40)Fuel system (160)Steering (137)Engine (72)Speed control (69)Body & structure (67)Transmission & drivetrain (66)Electrical system (42)Airbags (24)Brakes (20)Visibility & wipers (20)

160 of 598 complaints match · Fuel system · clear filters · page 7 of 7

Oct 31, 2013Transmission & drivetrainEngineFuel system

WHEN PULLING OUT FROM AN INTERSECTION, I EXPERIENCED INTERMITTENT POWER LOSS WHICH RESULTED IN VEHICLE LOAFING FORWARD THEN STALLING OR ENTERING SAFETY MODE LOW IDLE MANEUVERABILITY WITH WRENCH LIGHT ON. I WAS IN HEAVY TRAFFIC AND HAD TO SHUT OFF THE CAR, PLACE IN PARK THEN RESTART ONLY TO HAVE THE VEHICLE LURCH THEN SHUT OFF OR RETURN TO SAFETY IDLE AGAIN BEFORE I WAS ABLE TO EXIT THE STREET SAFELY. AFTER SEVERAL ATTEMPTS TO RESTART, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON RESULTING IN TROUBLE CODE P2111 "CURRENT" FAULT THROTTLE ACTUATOR CONTROL SYSTEM - STUCK OPEN AND CODE P2112 " PENDING THROTTLE ACTUATOR CONTROL SYSTEM - STUCK CLOSED. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10550442

Oct 2, 2013Fuel system

THE CAR WAS DRIVING FINE ON THE HIGHWAY WHEN SUDDENLY IT COMPLETELY LOST POWER AND WOULDN'T STOP TO COMPLETION. AFTER SHUTTING DOWN THE CAR AND STARTING IT BACK UP AGAIN, THE CAR FUNCTIONED AS NORMAL. THE FORD DEALERSHIP MECHANIC SAID IT WAS A MALFUNCTIONING THROTTLE BODY AND ASKED ME TO PAY OVER $600 FOR THE REPAIR, AS THE VEHICLE WAS JUST OUT OF WARRANTY. I THOUGHT IT WAS A GLITCH BUT THE ISSUE HAS OCCURRED TWO MORE TIMES IN THE PAST MONTH. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10546479

Sep 6, 2013Speed controlFuel system

THIS OCCURS SPORATICALLY - THE GAS WILL STOP RESPONDING AND THE CAR WILL COMPLETELY DECELERATE WHILE I AM DRIVING. THE WRENCH SIGN APPEARS AND THE CAR IS STILL RUNNING, BUT I AM UNABLE TO ACCELERATE. IT USUALLY HAPPENS WHILE I'M DRIVING AT HIGH SPEEDS ON THE INTERSTATE. I HAVE TO PULL OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, THE CAR SPUTTERS A BIT, AND IF I TURN OFF THE CAR AND TURN IT BACK ON I AM ABLE TO CONTINUE DRIVING.

NHTSA ODI 10542292

Sep 6, 2013SteeringEngineFuel system

WHEN DRIVING THE CAR WOULD COMPLETELY SHUT OFF, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WOULD COME ON, AND I LOST CONTROL OF STEERING AND ACCELERATION. I HAD TO TRY TO GET OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. THE CAR WOULD USUALLY TURN BACK ON. I HAD TO TAKE IT BACK INTO THE FORD DEALERSHIP 4 TIMES FOR THEM TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WAS WRONG WITH IT, AS THEY THOUGHT THEY HAD FIXED IT EACH TIME.

NHTSA ODI 10542293

Aug 19, 2013Speed controlFuel system

SOMETIMES WHEN YOU STEP ON THE GAS THE CAR WON'T GO. AND THEN LURCHES FORWARD. THIS IS A PROBLEM THAT THE DEALER HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO DUPLICATE. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10536112

Jul 15, 2013Transmission & drivetrainEngineFuel system

NOTE, THIS HAS OCCURRED AT VARYING TIMES/DATES SINCE PURCHASE OF THE VEHICLE IN 2012, HAS NOT JUST OCCURRED AT THE DATE LISTED. WHEN ACCELERATING, THE VEHICLE WILL HAVE A PROLONGED HESITATION AND EVEN A LOSS IN SPEED WHEN SWITCHING VIA THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION FROM 2ND TO 3RD GEAR. THIS OCCURS EVERY TIME THE VEHICLE IS DRIVEN, NOT RANDOMLY. ALSO, WHEN GETTING UP TO HIGHWAY SPEED, THERE IS A HESITATION IF YOU TOUCH THE GAS TO ACCELERATE UP TO THE HIGHWAY SPEED; IT WILL HESITATE A FEW SECONDS BEFORE KICKING INTO ACCELERATION MODE. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10525018

Jun 3, 2013Speed controlEngineFuel system

VEHICLE FELL ON ITS FACE WHILE CRUISE WAS SET AT SEVENTY, SEVERAL MECHANICS ARE DUMBFOUNDED! !! *TR

NHTSA ODI 10514875

Feb 6, 2013Transmission & drivetrainEngineFuel system

VEHICLE STALLS INTERMITTENTLY WHEN DRIVING AT VARIOUS FREEWAY SPEEDS. PRESSING ALL THE WAY DOWN ON THE GAS PEDAL THE VEHICLE RECOVERS ACCELERATION. THE VEHICLE WAS CHECKED BY AN AUTHORIZED DEALER AT 325 MI. ON THE ODOMETER AND "NO VEHICLE PROBLEM FOUND". VEHICLE HAS EXPERIENCED EIGHT FREEWAY INCIDENTS OF STALLS IN 3908 MI.ON THE ODOMETER, THE STALLS HAVE OCCURRED AT DIFFERENT SPEEDS OR VEHICLE MANEUVERS. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10496620

Nov 2, 2012Fuel system

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 FORD ESCAPE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FUEL CAP WAS MISSING FROM THE VEHICLE. WHEN THE CONTACT WOULD REFUEL, HE COULD SMELL AN OVERPOWERING GASOLINE FUEL ODOR BEING EMITTED FROM THE VEHICLE BY THE TIME HE REACHED HIS DESTINATION. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR INSPECTION WHERE THEY ADVISED THAT THE NEWER FORD ESCAPE MODELS WERE BEING MANUFACTURED WITHOUT A FUEL CAP. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 75. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE.

NHTSA ODI 10483151

Oct 13, 2012Engine & coolingFuel system

1. WHILE HIGHWAY CRUISING AT CONSTANT SPEED, ENGINE SUDDENLY DROPPED TO IDLE SPEED AND VEHICLE SLOWED RAPIDLY, UNTIL GAS PEDAL WAS LIFTED AND PRESSED DOWN AGAIN. ENGINE HESITATED AND SURGED. PROCESSED KEPT REPEATING AT VARIABLE INTERVALS. 2. TRANSMISSION INTERMITTENTLY HESITATES EXCESSIVELY ON FIRST TO SECOND UPSHIFT WHILE ENGINE DROPS TO IDLE SPEED. BOTH PROBLEMS ARE INTERMITTENT, NEITHER IS REGULAR OR CONSTANT. DEALER SAYS NOTHING WRONG AND NO FAULT CODES ARE RECORDED. PROBLEM #1 IS VERY INFREQUENT . PROBLEM #2 MUCH MORE COMMON. BOTH MIGHT BE RELATED TO SUMMER TEMPERATURES, ESPECIALLY #1.

NHTSA ODI 10480521

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Working with the data? Download all 598 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 18, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2012 Ford Escape Gas verdict →