2022 Ford Escape Cruise Control Problems

Your cruise control stopped working while you were driving at 55 MPH, and your vehicle unexpectedly accelerated to 74 MPH without any warning light. The dealer wasn't able to reproduce the problem during testing, so it wasn't repaired. This issue could happen again during normal driving, making it difficult to maintain safe speeds.

The car accelerates without pressing the accelerator. While driving at any moment or when hitting the brakes the car will speed up on its own. I have no problem with the car stopping when I hit the brakes. It just seems as though sometimes it will accelerate when first touching the brakes. I have noticed this for maybe about a year. I researched and found at least 3 reported cases of this being an issue during a car accident. I did take my vehicle to the Ford dealership to have it checked and was told they couldn’t find anything wrong according to their test results. However, there is definitely an issue.

I was in a minor accident involving a small animal on [XXX] and there was not much damage done to it. After it got repaired a few months later the steering wheel started locking up on me so I had it towed down to Bob Johnson Ford in Pulaski NY. They couldn't diagnose the issue and said I was safe to drive it home. On the way home the steering wheel locked up while exiting the highway and caused me to run into a guard rail. (XXX) After it got repaired I thought it was fixed but months later it started locking up again. On [XXX] had it towed to Wally's ford in Adams ny. They also have not been able to diagnose the issue. I am trying to get Ford to buy back the car but they say it's outside the lemon law and to see if the insurance company can do anything about it. Ford and USAA both told me to not drive the vehicle but neither of them will give me a rental car. So I'm stuck between companies and have nothing to drive. Please help. The car is a 2022 Ford escape SEL, 28000 miles on it. Please contact me at [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

I used to drive my Ford Escape just perfectly and I was happy. I liked it. One day in December 2022, I drove my car normally and perfectly during the day. Then, after work, I went to do my shopping. After I finished shopping, I drove my car again. I changed the cruise control settings. After less than a mile, I was tuning left at low and normal speed less than 10MPH. Suddenly, I found the car accelerated on its own and I lost the control of the wheel. I did not feel the pedals under my feet, no resistance. Every thing was out of my control. Then, the car hit a tree. Fortunately, no injury, I had a pain lasted for weeks, but no injury. There are huge smokes, but no fire. The car was declared as a total loss, and I lost a lot of money. After that I was curious what happened to me. I found complaints about Ford Escape, in which the drivers stating the same experience as mine. The accelerated on its own after adjusting the cruise control. That’s inspired me to complain and warn other driver about the safety of this car. I don’t know the main reason the car accelerated, but I hope it will be investigated. However, I found that Ford has a recall in the last week of November (a week before my accident) related to fuel injection. I searched again and I found that the problems on car’s computer, fuel injector or ECU could lead to uncontrolled amount of fuel passing to the engine and may cause acceleration or burn. I am very lucky that the acceleration didn’t hit people or the car burnt from speed and heat. Again, I don’t know what happened, but I hope it will be investigated to safe lives of others. Photos can be supported upon request. The car is now with the insurance company.

On June 21 Inn the afternoon my wife and I were driving on I-94 near Minneapolis, MN in a rental car. Suddenly the car started accelerating on its own – and the acceleration was aggressive (“pedal to the metal” type acceleration). I hit the brakes but nothing happened. As the car continued to accelerate I pumped the brakes taped on the accelerator and hit the ignition switch but nothing would slow the car. I could see congestion further ahead of us with slow moving vehicles and all lanes occupied. I started looking for an escape route – one that would hopefully enable us to survive while not hurting/injuring others. To my right I saw a an entry or exit ramp and on the other side of the ramp was an embankment. I turned toward the embankment, crossing the ramp and going up the embankment not knowing what was on the other side of it. I must have been going at least 100 mph when I topped the embankment. As we went over the embankment I looked down and saw a parking lot that looked vacant. It seemed to me that the parking lot was 6-8 feet below us (the EMT later said it was 10-12 ft). We both lost consciousness when we hit the ground in the parking lot (and the air bags deployed). When we regained consciousness we had hit an object in the parking lot. The rescue squad arrived soon thereafter. An hour earlier that afternoon I was adjusting the cruise control when suddenly the car accelerated unexpectedly. I hit the brakes and the cruise control went off as it should. I then attempted to adjust it again and again the car accelerated unexpectedly. This time when I hit the brakes the car continued to accelerate. I pumped the brakes but the acceleration continued. The car finally stopped accelerating when I turned the cruise control off. I wondered if I should continue using the cruise control since it had malfunctioned but decided to try it and it seemed to be working so I continued on using the cruise control. In hindsight that was a serious mistake.