2002 Ford Escape Electrical System Problems
- 64
- Owner complaint records in our dataset
Records are owner complaints, not a measured failure rate.
Owner complaint recordsComplaint records reflect reports in our dataset and do not measure how frequently the problem occurs across all vehicles.
Among these 64 stored complaint records:
- 0 indicate a crash
- 0 indicate injury
- 24 indicate fire
What owners report
- fire department · 12 records
- engine compartment · 7 records
- parked driveway · 7 records
- under hood · 7 records
- caught fire · 6 records
- fire parked · 6 records
Mileage in stored records
| Band | Records |
|---|---|
| 1–30k mi | 15 |
| 100–150k mi | 10 |
| 60–100k mi | 9 |
| 150–400k mi | 9 |
| 30–60k mi | 6 |
Complaint records
Owner-submitted complaint content, presented as stored.
Electrical System · Fuel/Propulsion System · Steering
My vehicle idles to 4000rpm and control the speed by itself, there is a leak in the back break area the steering wheel locks where i can't put it in any gear sometimes and getting worse. Had to get it towed home last night because while driving it idled high and as i brake it barely stopped and when releasing break it speeds up to 50 or more mph and i had to keep my feet on the break..i pulled over and turned the…
ODI 11093482
Electrical System · Engine
Tl* the contact owned a 2002 ford escape. After the vehicle was parked, the driver smelled a burning odor. The contact noticed black smoke coming from the engine compartment and the vehicle exploded. The fire department extinguished the flames. The fire department assessed that the wiring harness was defective and caused the fire. The contact stated that the fire damaged the garage and the sidewalk concrete. The…
Fire reported
ODI 10945610
Electrical System
Tl* the contact owned a 2002 ford escape. The contact walked outside and discovered that the vehicle caught fire. The engine was not turned on and the key was not in the ignition switch at the time of the incident. The fire department was called to the scene to extinguish the flames. The vehicle was destroyed. The cause of the incident could not be determined. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The…
Fire reported
ODI 10703290
Electrical System · Engine · Service Brakes
Neighbor woke me saying my car was on fire. Car wasn't on, the key was not in, and it had sat overnight. Called fire department and fire put out. Car is totaled because the firemen had to break into the engine compartment. Engine area burned with nothing but metal visible and a melted battery. I have pictures. *tr
Fire reported
ODI 10660158
Electrical System
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford escape. The contact stated that while driving at an unknown speed, smoke started to emit into the vehicle near the console. The contact merged to the side of the road and quickly exited the vehicle. The fire department was able to extinguish the fire. The vehicle was destroyed. The contact was later notified of recall nhtsa campaign id number: 12v005000 (electrical). The manufacturer…
Fire reported
ODI 10622380
Air Bags · Electrical System · Service Brakes
For the past year and a half the abs warning light has been illuminated. I took it to the ford dealership to have the latest recall fixed regarding the reservoir cap. Ford couldn't get the abs warning light to turn off...so, hence the light still intermidantly comes on and off. Also, the oil pressure light keeps coming on when i start my car and when i am slowing down. I just had my mechanic change the oil a week…
ODI 10731971
Electrical System
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford escape. While driving approximately 35 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact was able to restart the vehicle, but the failure recurred fifteen times. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was 128,000.
ODI 10641165
Electrical System · Engine · Power Train
I put the vehicle in reverse to back up and when i put vehicle back in drive it died/stalled. This has repeatedly happened along with dying at stop signs, red lights and multiple times at slow speeds. Also the vehicle has repeatedly "stumbled" at various speeds up to 65 mph. *tr
ODI 10593908
Electrical System · Engine
Arrived home, parked vehicle in driveway and shortly after my wife took our puppy outside and saw my car was on fire under the hood, i was able to open the hood and saw flames and sparks coming from the drivers side firewall area, called fire dept after my fire extinguisher failed to fully put out the fire fearing it would catch the house on fire as i was parked less than 10 ft from it. *tr
Fire reported
ODI 10551228
Electrical System · Equipment Adaptive/Mobility · Service Brakes
My escape was parked in driveway when we went to go to town and it was smoking then on fire this was in the evening about 8 if we hadn't gone out we would have had a huge fire witch could have involved 3 other cars not to mention our house we live in ramona ca 92065 and its fire season we are in a rural area..
Fire reported
ODI 10538169
Electrical System
While driving at around 65 mph on a freeway, the car turned on abs light all of sudden and in a less than a minute the car's electricity all shut off, engines shut off, steering shut off, brakes shut off, radio shut off. I've had the same problem previously more than 6 times, but before, it was when i was driving less than 30 mph, but this time, it happened on the freeway. It happened while putting on my breaks, and…
ODI 10523039
Electrical System · Electronic Stability Control · Exterior Lighting · Power Train
The vehicle, after being turned off, would not turn back on, and the gear indicator square that surrounds the engaged gear was multiplying, flashing and "dancing" from gear to gear. This happened a second time exactly one week later, and this time the interior lights were flashing and could not be stopped. After quite some time once the key was removed and the door was closed, the flashing interior lights ceased and…
ODI 10485212
Control Unit/Module · Electrical System · Service Brakes, Hydraulic
Received a recall notice in feb from ford (recall id 12v00500 - issued jan 2012). Indicated potential problems with brake fluids leaks that could cause shorts in the abs electronics. We contacted dealer. No parts available yet. Our abs and brake indicators came on in march as described in the recall notice. Ford still said that recall shows safe to drive, just don't park in the garage due to potential fires. Last…
Fire reported
ODI 10456284
Electrical System
On march 7,2012, someone knocked on my door and told me my car was on fire. It had been parked on my carport for over 2 hours.there was an abs recall but i was told by my local dealership that the parts would not be available until at least july, maybe longer.they also informed me that the vehicle would be safe to drive since i had no previous problems with it.the escape was towed to a secured location to be…
Fire reported
ODI 10452874
Electrical System · Service Brakes, Hydraulic
I have received a notice from ford m.c. That my ford 2002 escape can spontaneously catch fire and burn my house down while turned off inside my garage or while running, therefore i should stop parking the vehicle near any house structures. When i called ford, i'm told that the vehicle is otherwise safe, while it is scheduled to be repaired sometime in quarter #2 of this year. How safe does this sound to you..??? I…
ODI 10447957
Electrical System · Service Brakes, Hydraulic
Vehicle was parked in yard when smoke started coming out from under the hood. We raised hood and saw wires on fire under the master cylinder. We put the fire out. Wires from abs system caught on fire *tr
Fire reported
ODI 10434066
Electrical System · Service Brakes, Electric
Abs warning indicator illuminated, 25a fuse blown- upon replacement smoke and sparks from abs module connector, inspection reveals melted connector cover and wiring harness, corroded wire terminals and also a wire arcing at a break inside the connector cover. The 60a fuse was removed to isolate the abs system fault for a limp home. Ed mullinax ford service department acknowledges abs module recall; however,…
Fire reported
ODI 10416990
Electrical System · Service Brakes, Hydraulic · Unknown Or Other
I drove my vehicle home from work (less than 5 miles). When i pulled into my driveway and parked my vehicle, smoke began to pour out from the engine compartment. When i opened the hood there were flames directly in front of the driver side near the fire wall. These flames were originating from the abs module location.
Fire reported
ODI 10406493
Electrical System · Service Brakes, Hydraulic
Abs module connector caught fire while car was parked. Recall for abs module connector inspection was completed 7/6/2007. Brought vehicle back in 1/7/2008 due to abs light remaining on. No mention of abs, noted rotors below specs and brake pads need replacing.
Fire reported
ODI 10403290
Electrical System
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford escape. The contact was driving 60 mph when sparks started to shoot from under the hood. The contact was able to rapidly move the vehicle from off the roadway and as the hood was lifted, the contact noticed that the engine was on fire. The police and the fire department were dispatched to extinguish the fire. A police report was available. The vehicle was towed back to the contacts…
Fire reported
ODI 10402399
Electrical System
2002 ford escape electrical fire. Vehicle had been driven that day, but had gone less than a mile when it was noted the suv had a smoky smell and we pulled over. Within minutes the entire engine compartment was involved. It appeared to start near the battery, the battery was approximately 8 weeks old. *tr
Fire reported
ODI 10395495
Electrical System · Engine And Engine Cooling · Unknown Or Other
The vehicle was parked in the driveway. While turning the ignition to start, there was a catastrophic engine explosion. The hood largely contained the fire. Luckily no one was injured and the fire did not last long and did not spread to the surroundings. A tow truck was called and the repair shop technician found the "intake manifold had blown to pieces". A code on the system indicated a misfire on cylinder 5. The…
Fire reported
ODI 10381877
Electrical System
2002 ford escape cold parked, key-off vehicle fire - total loss uninsured and ford so far has refused compensation. *tr
Fire reported
ODI 10362397
Air Bags · Electrical System
My airbag light keeps coming on every time i start my ford escape. Upon review of this it's been on complaint websites several times by hundreds of people. How many of these people need to die due to malfunction of the air bags before we have a recall. This light has been on since i've owned the vehicle. Also my window stopped going up. The dipstick can't give a clear reading of the oil amount. These things lead to…
ODI 10398068
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
My driver's side headlight went out. I went to the local autozone to get a replacement bulb. When i removed the headlight plug, it looked like it was melted. I removed and installed a new light bulb. I then tested the new bulb to make sure it worked. It did not turned on. The headlight plug seems like it melted at some point. *tr
ODI 10343466