WHILE DRIVING AT ABOUT 40 MPH, MY CAR UNEXPECTEDLY APPLIED THE BRAKES ITSELF, WITHOUT ME TOUCHING THE BRAKES AT ALL, RAPIDLY BRINGING THE CAR FROM 40 MPH TO ABOUT 5 MPH. LUCKILY, I WAS DRIVING ON A BACK ROAD WITH NO ONE BEHIND ME, SO THERE WAS NO ACCIDENT. IN ORDER TO MOVE THE CAR OUT OF THE WAY TO SOMEWHERE SAFE ALONG THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, I HAD TO SHIFT DOWN INTO FIRST GEAR AND ALMOST FLOOR THE GAS IN ORDER TO FIGHT AGAINST THE HEAVILY APPLIED BRAKE SYSTEM. ONCE OUT OF THE WAY, I CALLED A TOW TRUCK AND HAD THE CAR REPAIRED AT A LOCAL GARAGE. THE GARAGE FIXED THE PROBLEM BY REPLACING A BROKEN "TONE RING" ON THE CAR - A TOOTHED RING AROUND THE AXLE THAT THE ABS SYSTEM USES TO MEASURE WHETHER THE WHEELS ARE SLIPPING. A CRACK IN THE RING HAD WIDENED THE GAP BETWEEN TWO OF THE TEETH, MAKING THE ABS COMPUTER GO HAYWIRE THINKING THAT THE WHEELS WERE SLIPPING. SINCE THEN IN 15000 ADDITIONAL MILES, I'VE HAD ALL THREE OTHER TONE RINGS BRAKE, CAUSING SIMILAR SITUATIONS TO DIFFERENT DEGREES. I'VE BEEN TOLD BY MULTIPLE MECHANICS THAT THIS PROBLEM IS COMMON ON THE FORD ESCAPE, AND THAT THE TONE RING - DESPITE BEING HIGHLY EXPOSED TO THE ELEMENTS ON THE UNDERCARRIAGE OF THE CAR - IS MADE OUT OF VERY CORRODIBLE MATERIAL AND THEY SEE THEM BREAK ALL THE TIME. MY EXPERIENCE AFFIRMS THIS OBSERVATION, AND HIGHLIGHTS A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION THAT COULD EASILY BE FIXED BY FORD USING MORE ROBUST QUALITY MATERIALS TO MAKE THE TONE RING. *TR
2009
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:ACCELERATOR PEDAL
FALL OF 2011, I NOTICED THAT MY GAS PEDAL WAS NOT ALWAYS RESPONSIVE. COMING OFF A STOP OR LOW SPEEDS, THE GAS PEDAL WOULD NOT RESPOND UNTIL AFTER I HAD PUMPED IT AND PRESSED IT NEARLY TO THE FLOOR, THEN MY ESCAPE WOULD TAKE OFF, SQUEALING TIRES AND ALL. I NOTICED IT A COUPLE TIMES ON THE HIGHWAY AS WELL, SLOWING FOR A CURVE AND THEN UNABLE TO PROMPTLY ACCELERATE COMING OUT OF THE CURVE. THEN ONE DAY I WAS ON THE HIGHWAY AND THE GAS PEDAL WAS COMPLETELY UNRESPONSIVE, AND MY CAR JUST COMPLETELY SHUT OFF. THIS WAS REALLY BOTHERING ME BECAUSE THERE WERE MULTIPLE TIMES I FELT LIKE I WAS GOING TO GET HIT WHEN I COULDN'T ACCELERATE OUT OF AN INTERSECTION. I TOOK THE VEHICLE BACK TO HASTINGS FORD, AND AFTER MULTIPLE APPOINTMENTS AND KEEPING MY VEHICLE FOR SEVERAL DAYS, THEY WERE UNABLE TO CONFIRM OR REPAIR ANYTHING. I KEPT DRIVING IT FOR A WHILE, THE SAME ISSUES STILL HAPPENING, AND THEN AFTER THE SECOND TIME THE CAR SHUT OFF ON THE HIGHWAY, AND AFTER CONSULTING A RELATIVE WHO IS A FORMER FORD MECHANIC, I BROUGHT IT TO ANOTHER DEALERSHIP. THEY KEPT THE CAR THE MAX NUMBER OF DAYS THEY WERE ALLOWED TO WITHOUT REPAIRING ANYTHING, AND FOUND ON THE LAST DAY THAT IT WAS A FAULTY THROTTLE BODY. THE REPLACED THE THROTTLE BODY BUT THE ISSUE STILL LINGERS. AND I ALSO FEEL A SHORT VIBRATION IN THE PEDAL NEARLY EVERY TIME I ACCELERATE FROM A SLOW OR STOP. I STILL DO NOT FEEL THE ISSUE IS FULLY RESOLVED. I STILL CONSIDER MY THROTTLE BODY TO BE DEFECTIVE.