What 598 owners told NHTSA about the 2012 Ford Escape

The contact owned a 2012 Ford Escape. The contact stated that after parking the vehicle on an inclined road and turning the engine off the vehicle erroneously rolled down the hill and crashed into a tree. During the crash, the front driver sustained facial, right knee, injuries, and a concussion which required medical treatment. The front passenger sustained two fractured wrists. The vehicle was destroyed during the crash. A police report was taken at the scene and the vehicle was towed away. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were not notified of the failure. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 100,000.

NHTSA ODI 11463093

I PURCHASED MY 2012 FORD ESCAPE IN 2012. ABOUT 2 YRS. LATER AS I EXITED OFF A RAMP OF OUR LOCAL BY-PASS, THE CAR UNEXPECTANTLY ACCELERATED WITHOUT PRESSING ON THE ACCELERATOR. I WAS QUITE FRIGHTENED; AND, AFTER APPLYING THE BRAKE SEVERAL TIMES, I GOT THE CAR STOPPED. I CALLED OUR FORD DEALER; HAD THE CAR TOWED; THE SERVICE MECHANICS PUT IT ON A COMPUTER WHICH "DID NOT" PICK UP ANY RECENT MALFUNCTION. THEY SAID THE CAR WAS SAFE TO DRIVE. THE MOST RECENT CALAMITY OCCURRED ON MAY 29, 2016 IN THE PARKING LOT OF OUR CHURCH. I WAS DRIVING; MY HUSBAND WAS THE PASSENGER. AS I PULLED MY CAR INTO A PARKING SPACE, I REALIZED I NEEDED TO STRAIGHTEN IT OUT. UPON MY OBSERVATION OF ANOTHER CAR COMING IN TO PARK BEHIND ME, I WAITED UNTIL THE CAR WAS PARKED, PUT MY CAR IN REVERSE, AND "ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE". THE CAR FULLY ACCELERATED IN REVERSE AND CRASHED INTO THE PARKED CAR. FORTUNATELY THERE WERE NO INJURIES; HOWEVER, DAMAGE TO THE R REAR OF MY ESCAPE, AND EXTENSIVE DAMAGE TO THE R SIDE OF THE OTHER VEHICLE. THIS INCIDENT COULD HAVE HAD DEVASTATING RESULTS: (1) IF THE PASSENGER IN THE OTHER CAR WOULD HAVE BEEN GETTING OUT SECONDS BEFORE, HE WOULD HAVE BEEN KILLED! (2) IF THE OTHER CAR HAD NOT BEEN PARKED, MY VEHICLE WOULD HAVE CONTINUED OVER A SMALL EMBANKMENT (POSSIBLY TURNING OVER) AND TAKING WITH IT NUMEROUS OTHER PARKED CARS AND MEMBERS WALKING INTO THE SERVICE. UPON EXAMINING MY VEHICLE AND HEARING THE REPORT OF THE ACCIDENT, OUR INSURANCE ADJUSTOR/APPRAISER WAS WISE ENOUGH TO TAKE THE CAR "OFF THE ROADS"! HE DEEMED IT A TOTAL LOSS. THIS ACCIDENT HAS BEEN VERY TRAUMATIC FOR ME~~CAUSING ME UNDUE RESTRAINT IN WANTING TO DRIVE. I HAVE BEEN A SAFE DRIVER FOR 56 YEARS WITHOUT AN ACCIDENT. I TRUST THAT FORD MOTOR WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR WHATEVER DEFECT CAUSED THIS INCIDENT - POSSIBLY THE ETB (ELECTRONIC THROTTLE BODY). WE WERE NEVER NOTIFIED OF ANY RECALLS.

NHTSA ODI 10875020

VEHICLE WAS BEING PREPARED TO BACK OUT OF LEVEL GARAGE ONTO DRIVEWAY WITH MILD DOWNHILL SLOPE. VEHICLE WAS STARTED, EMERGENCY BRAKE RELEASED AND AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION PLACED IN REVERSE, DRIVER'S FOOT ENGAGED BRAKE. DRIVER REALIZED WALLET WITH DRIVER'S LICENSE WAS LEFT INSIDE HOUSE. TRANSMISSION PLACED IN PARK, DRIVER REMOVED FOOT FROM BRAKE AND EXITED VEHICLE. VEHICLE NOT NOTED TO BE MOVING WHEN DRIVER EXITED. DRIVER ENTERED HOUSE THROUGH GARAGE ENTRY, RETRIEVED WALLET. WHEN GARAGE WAS RE-ENTERED VEHICLE WAS BACKING OUT OF GARAGE ONTO DRIVEWAY ON ITS OWN. DRIVER ATTEMPTED TO CATCH UP TO VEHICLE ON FOOT AND ATTEMPT TO REGAIN CONTROL. VEHICLE BACKED DOWN FULL LENGTH OF DRIVEWAY (APPROX. 100 FEET) AND BACKED ACROSS ROAD AND DOWN FAIRLY STEEP EMBANKMENT ON OTHER SIDE OF ROAD. VEHICLE THEN BACKED INTO A LARGE TREE ABOUT 10-15 FEET FROM ROAD AND ABRUPTLY STOPPED, AND AN ADJACENT TREE WAS SIDE-SWIPED BY THE REAR/LEFT SIDE OF THE VEHICLE. NO PROPERTY DAMAGE OCCURRED, SCANT DAMAGE TO 2 LARGE TREES. DRIVER ASSESSED THE DAMAGE, RE-ENTERED THE VEHICLE. DRIVER CANNOT DEFINITIVELY RECALL WHAT GEAR THE TRANSMISSION WAS IN WHEN VEHICLE WAS RE-ENTERED. DRIVER WAS ABLE TO RE-START THE VEHICLE AND MOVE IT ACROSS THE ROAD AND BACK ONTO DRIVEWAY. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10462911