2009 Ford Escape Hybrid problems
Owners have filed 194 complaints with NHTSA about the 2009 Ford Escape Hybrid. Steering is the most reported problem area, at 36% of complaints. Next are brakes (16%) and engine (13%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 194 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Steering 36% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 7 and 4
- Injuries and deaths
- 1 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 87,000 miles 182 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 13 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 14 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 25 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 28 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 29 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 27 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 20 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 12 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 7 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 2 |
| 200k+ miles | 5 |
What the data shows
Of the 182 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 86,000 miles. For steering specifically, the median reported mileage is about 105,000 miles (63 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 7 complaints mention a crash; 4 complaints mention a fire; 1 injury reported. Its complaints are less severe on average than those of 81% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2009 ranks 5th most-complained-about out of 11 model years of the Ford Escape Hybrid with enough data (83 complaints in that window).
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
On september 11, 2009 I was involved in a rear-end collision. I was hit from behind by a towing truck while I was stopped at a red light. I spun around and went into the intersection. There was significant damage to my vehicle, a 2009 ford escape hybrid. Upon inspection I noted that the back of the front driver's seat (the one I was sitting in) had collapsed backward so that the back and headrest were laying down and in the back (still attached to the seat however).
To whom it may concern: in late may 2009 I purchased a 2009 ford escape hybrid, from stoneham ford in stoneham, massachusetts and within a period of a month placed the vehicle into service as a taxi cab. On the night of september 10, 2009 at approximately 11:00pm, after the vehicle had been sitting unattended in our yard for a period of two hours the vehicle caught fire and was destroyed.
My ABS brakes on my 2009 ford escape hybrid engine light came on and the RPM ramped while I was going 65 MPH down a highway and the front passenger brakes started smoking. I took it in to have it fixed and it was going to cost $5700 to fix because of some hcu unit that failed while I was driving at pretty good rate of speed. I am glad it didn't throw me off into a ditch or catch on fire with me in it. What a crappy design this is. Wow!!! Scary stuff.
Vehicle intermittently enters "limp mode" showing DTC p2112:00-64 code: p2112 - throttle actuator control system - stuck closed. Instances have occurred at highway speeds, at below 40 MPH and starting from a stop. Status
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 ford escape hybrid. While driving 30 MPH, the steering wheel seized without warning and a wrench warning indicator illuminated. The contact and a bystander pushed the vehicle over to the side of the road. The contact called an independent mechanic who inspected the vehicle and diagnosed that the power steering failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer.