- Ford is recalling 244,530 2001-'02 Ford Escapes because of a brake system problem that could lead to melting, smoke or a fire, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
- Ford told the federal safety agency that '"there are reports of property damage as a result of a fire beyond vehicle-only damage.'" Ford is telling owners to park their vehicles outside until they are fixed.
- The recall is expected to begin on January 23, but Ford notes that parts may not be available at that time.
WASHINGTON — Ford is recalling 244,530 2001-'02 Ford Escapes because of a brake system problem that could lead to melting, smoke or a fire, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The affected Escapes are "equipped with a brake master cylinder reservoir cap that could leak brake fluid," said NHTSA in its recalls summary of the problem. 'If brake fluid leaks from the cap, it could come in contact with the antilock brake system module wiring harness connector. Corrosion can develop in the electrical connector, leading to melting, smoke or a fire."
Ford told the federal safety agency that it has received no reports of injuries attributed to the recall. But it noted that "there are reports of property damage as a result of a fire beyond vehicle-only damage."
In April 2007, Ford recalled the 2001-'02 Escape to fix potentially missing or misplaced seals in the wiring harness connector to the antilock brake system module electronic control unit. Some of the repaired vehicles may not have received a complete inspection or application of electrical grease, Ford told NHTSA.
Ford dealers will replace the brake master cylinder reservoir cap and the ABS electrical system will be modified. The recall is expected to begin on January 23, but Ford says due to a parts delay, the remedy may not be available at that time.
"If parts are not available, Ford will instruct owners to park their vehicles outside until such time as parts become available," said NHTSA.
Owners can contact Ford at (866) 436-7332.
Inside Line says: If you own a 2001-'02 Ford Escape, be aware that a recall is in the works and park your vehicle outside until it is fixed.
Add A Comment »
jbtadtd says:
07:31 AM, 05/15/2012
Well, I too, got a letter in January and have many jokes about that letter concerning how "we " should handle the car. Last night, my son was driving the car, and it caught fire...totally destroyed. I just got off the phone with Ford, but as a frormer Saturn owner, I can tell where this is going! Time to contact a lawyer.. and the MEDIA.This is OUTRAGEOUS that there is a KNOWN recall, they have NO parts to fix it.. and then they want to give US crap about doing anything about it!!
dlhighley says:
04:08 PM, 04/24/2012
I would also like to add that I was outraged when I called to get our cars fixed and was told the part won't be available for a month and NO ONE TOLD ME TO PARK MY CAR OUTSIDE AND THEY LAUGHED AND SAID IT WOULD BE FINE!!! When I called back and told them what happened, they said they had never heard of this happening before! THIS DOESN'T SOUND LIKE FORD IS GETTING THE MESSAGE OUT TO ME AND THEY'RE RISKING PEOPLES LIVES WITH THE WAY THEIR HANDLING THIS. CHECK THE INTERNET PEOPLE HAVE DIED ALREADY AS A RESULT OF THESE FORD RECALLS AND STILL THE PART ISN'T AVAILABLE AND I HAVE TO PARK MY CAR IN THE YARD AWAY FROM EVERYTHING ELSE WHILE MY DAUGHTER'S CAR SITS TOTALLED AND FORD DOES NOTHING!
dlhighley says:
03:56 PM, 04/24/2012
My daughter and I both have 2001 Ford Escapes. We received the recall notices and I contacted our local Ford dealership to have the part replaced, but I was told the part won't be available for another month. Last weekend my daughter's car caught on fire while she was in Walmart and burned up. She is 8 months pregnant with 3 children under 4 and Ford could care less that she is without a car. They also sent her a letter a week later telling her that she needs to go out and lift up the hood, which is covered with toxic substances and take photos to send to them, along with multiple other documents. FORD'S PROCESS OF HANDLING THIS IS TERRIBLE! They didn't even give her a contact phone number or fax number and won't send an inspector out until she submits the paperwork and then they have to decide if they want to come out. Does anyone know an attorney who's handling these claims??? You can view the before and after pics of her car on FACEBOOK.
savannahjean says:
11:51 AM, 04/04/2012
I have had my 2002 Ford Escape for about a year and a half now. I got the recall letter back in January but there was no problem with the car at the time. Over the past week my ABS light came on and my husband was looking at it trying to figure out what wrong wrong. It then started smoking so he disconnected the battery from the car. We contacted Ford immediately. On April 2nd we were told that the part were not available because Ford has not started to manufacture them yet. We were told at the earliest the parts would be available by the end of April but most likely not until mi-summer. WHY would Ford send out a recall notice and not immediately start manufacturing the correct part!? This alone baffles me. We have been in constant contact with the company for three days straight now. We have requested they pay for a rental car in the mean time because this is our ONLY means of transportation. They denied us this request and said the car was fine to keep driving. In about 2 weeks I will have my two year old niece with me for 10 days and I pray to GOD something happens to this car before she comes. Ford does not care whatsoever about their customers. If anyone has been having this problem PLEASE call Ford headquarters and file a complaint because this is wrong!
nikkie10 says:
10:53 PM, 01/19/2012
real nice they decide to take action on it after the fact that all this crap has happened with the escapes. we bought one from a local dealer ship and was promised the world about how great running it was, we had it for about 5 months then the abs went out and the break pedal was like hitting a brick, we swerved to avoid an elderly driver and hit a telephone pole. ended up in a total loss on the truck. we fought with the dealership and they said "you bought as is this is not my responsibility" so we contacted the owner in michigan and he told us that the dealership would take a diagnostics of the truck, even though the mechanic that towed it told us that the abs was the issue, and that we had to haul the truck there as they would not do so, after my fiance taking off work to haul the truck there the dealerships mechanic refused to do the diagnostic on the truck. so we contacted the ford corporation and sent them all the paper work, we recieved a letter a couple weeks later lecturing us on air bag safety. nothing about the mechanics being wrong with the vehicle. we had to sell the truck for 500 dollars, we paid 5 grand! it was a total loss but nothing we could do because the repairs needed were almost 7 grand and we had to have a vehicle to get my daughter to doctor appointments and back and forth to work. it makes me sick to my stomach that they are now taking this serious when there have been thousands of complaints on this make and year of vehicle. ford thinks they can just by-pass everything with an excuse, luckily when we got into our accident we werent a mile further down the road where the speed limit was higher. other wise we probably wouldnt have survived the accident. no airbags, no breaks, and it just pisses me off that they think that they can decide when they will deal with serious issues like this. i hope everyone who owns one of these takes extra caution while driving because you never know when they will mess up. i know ours was completely out of the blue and took a turn for the bad fast.
oh yeah just to add this in, the dealership i later found out had bets going on about how long the escape would last before it got into an accident. brought this up to the dealership and was threatened with harassment charges. nice huh.
fandiesel says:
06:45 AM, 01/12/2012
CASH for CLUNKERS, FORD ? ?
govmotorgm2008 says:
08:18 PM, 01/11/2012
I hear they already recall the 2013 Ford Fusion. NHTSA said there have been complaints about unintended acceleration when no one was in the vehicle at the 2012 NAIAS.
paublo73 says:
12:30 PM, 01/11/2012
Guess what? The non-ABS equipped Escapes may be affected as well. I remember having to replace the master cylinder cap under warranty on my 2002 Escape because an excess amount of brake fluid had leaked out. My Escape did not have ABS. Word of warning to other Escape owners out there.
carchatter1 says:
10:30 AM, 01/11/2012
@ wikiwiki:
Huh?
akula1 says:
10:17 AM, 01/11/2012
Look at those Firestones! Now that is a classic Ford.