Towing 2009 Ford Escape, Tranmission burned out Options

[chewbear22]

Knock on wood. 2400 miles into trip with 2009 AWD automatic Escape. Had Dealer do baseplate and he checked for service bullitens. Found the one about lowering the fluid level, because of wrong markings on dip stick. We read over the paper and it calls for running the car through the gears for 5 minutes every 6 hours. Not towing over 65 MPH. We've been stopping every 2 to 3 hours to run trannie. Holding below 65 is the challenge out here where the speed limit is 75, get some mean looks even from fellow RVers. Hope our luck holds as we both like the car. Will talk to dealer when we get home about the re-programing. Good luck to the rest of you. Safe travels.

[johnp8n]

Thank you - we had not received a copy of the recall, so we just called our dealer and they told us to bring it in. Do you know if the reprogramming was specifically for towing, or was it for all Escapes?

I do not know! I have a copy of the email that Stokes-Craaven in Minning SC gave me "of the so called recall" and under the New Field Service Actions were 3 items:
First one had to do with Front Seat Manual Recliner Replacement.
Second one was as follows:Customer Satisfaction Program 10B15: Certain 2010 Model Year Fusion and Milan and Certain 2009 and 2010 Modle Year Escape and Mariner Vehicles Equipped with 6F35 Transmission: Powertrain Control Module Reprogramming.
Third was a new set of Four Wheel Down Towing Instructions.
As you can see item 2 did not mention Towing. I have a copy of of the instructions and the only changes from my manual are: change "AWD to 4WD" (2 places) and change "ALL to Four".

John

[gjhachmann]

I was looking at an Escape for towing. Any additional info for this transmission issue? Thanks.

[kathykim]

Personally, if I had to do it over again, I would not buy one to tow. Please see the following forum for more info:
http://www.fordforumsonline.com/forum/ford...es-2-print.html
Just the hassle of having to have the dealer document the transmission fluid level would not be worth it to me if I had not already purchased mine.

[johnp8n]

I do not know! I have a copy of the email that Stokes-Craaven in Minning SC gave me "of the so called recall" and under the New Field Service Actions were 3 items:
First one had to do with Front Seat Manual Recliner Replacement.
Second one was as follows:Customer Satisfaction Program 10B15: Certain 2010 Model Year Fusion and Milan and Certain 2009 and 2010 Modle Year Escape and Mariner Vehicles Equipped with 6F35 Transmission: Powertrain Control Module Reprogramming.
Third was a new set of Four Wheel Down Towing Instructions.
As you can see item 2 did not mention Towing. I have a copy of of the instructions and the only changes from my manual are: change "AWD to 4WD" (2 places) and change "ALL to Four".

John

On 6/10 I talked to the Service Director at the dealer where I purchased my Milan and was told the Powertrain Control Module Reprogramming was to make the Tx shift more smoother.

John

[ebowles]

We just bought a 2009 Ford Escape, auto transmission about six weeks ago. We towed it about 500 miles, by the book, and the transmission is burnt. They are getting us a new one.

They said it got too hot towing it. I wonder if the tow shield is covering up some kind of vent?

Anyone else have trouble?

- Lilly and Marty Schermerhorn

Hi, I'm a new member and I have a 2006 Escape, front wheel drive. I was told I couldn't tow it on 4 wheels. So I tow it on a two wheel dolly. No problems. Good Luck. E Bowles, Canada

[threet]

WE JUST PURCHASED A 2010 FORD ESCAPE FWD FOR OUR TOAD. DOES ANYONE HAVE A 2010? IF SO HAVE YOU HAD ANY TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS? HAD IT TO DEALER TO LOWER FLUID LEVELS YESTERDAY. HOPE TO GO ON SMALL TRIP TO SEE IF ANYTHING HAPPENS. WILL KEEP YOU UPDATE IF ANYTHING HAPPENS. HAPPY RVING

Russell,

We have an 2 month old 2010 Ford Escape, 6 cylinder, two wheel drive, and towed it for the first time last Saturday. We had our home Ford dealer check and lower the transmission fluid level before leaving. We ran the car for 5 minutes, went through recommended gear sequence, and did not exceed 65 mph. This is day one of a 3 month trip for us. Someone motioned for us to pull over after 160 miles, the car was smoking and oil everywhere. Of course this happened on a Saturday, so no one could look at it until Monday. We are still waiting to hear back from the area Ford dealer. Very frustrating, we are 200 miles from home, and 800 miles from our destination. If someone could tell us something, at least we could decide which way to go. We had to rent a car, since they only give loaners to people that have purchased an extended warranty. We have already paid for our destination campground (all our friends are waiting on us), and now are having to pay here as well. Not to mention the 100 degree temperatures! We are retired and spend more time RVing than we do at home. As much as we love the car, we would have never considered purchasing a Ford Escape if the owner's manual had not indicated it could be towed 4 wheels down. Wish we had read this forum before we had problems. Seems like Ford would have fixed this by now. If they are buying back cars, they apparently have known about this problem since they went with the new transmission in the 2009 models.

Hope you had better luck than us! Let us know.

[chiefmac729]

We are now on our 3rd transmission, having same overheating/failure problems as others. One dealer said we were lucky not to have a fireball in our rear camera. Out of service 38 days (in less than a year) exceeds Arkansas lemon law, but Ford refuses to comply and repurchase. Presently going thru Better Business Bureau autoline for arbitration. If no success there, will have to file lawsuit. Wish we had bought something else.

[chewbear22]

Well our 2009 Escape V6 AWD made it. We did 5700 miles from NJ out to South Dakota and Wyoming, Utah, Colorado. Plenty of up and downs in the mountains. Kept speed at or below 65 MPH, stoped every 2 to 3 hours to run through the gears and exercise the transmission. We then took a 1200 mile trip from NJ down to Alabama and back using the same routine. As before still OK. We have a 'bra' for the front of the Escape but I have not used it for fear of cutting off cooling to the front of the car. Do not know what I'm doing different but I sure hope it holds up. Could get expensive if they stop honoring the trany warranty.

[kathykim]

We are getting ready to leave tomorrow for a trip from Phoenix to Oregon. I am not confident that we will not have the same problems as last year. I firmly believe that the outside temperature affects this, and it will be 110-115 when we leave. We went to the dealer and had them check and document the fluid level per the supplemental towing guide we received. (The new guide says that you must have a dealer check the fluid level - I'm sure this is the way they will get out of replacing future transmissions.) I had to educate another new service manager regarding the issue. Sigh. He then documented that the transmission fluid was "full". I explained that it had better not be "full" and needed to be at the level for towing. My husband went and observed the tech check the fluid and I made him rewrite the service order to document that the "transmission fluid level was at the proper level for towing behind and RV". I will update regarding any issues (or nonissues, I hope), that we have on this trip. Also - on another issue - while on the fordforumsonline.com website, I found out that there was a TSB regarding seat staining (ours has a white ring, caused by plain water, that would not come out). They are replacing the whole seat. They found an oil leak as well, so with 19,000 miles on this car (6,000 since we purchased it), we've had to replace two transmissions, two O2 sensors, and now an oil pan gasket, in addition to having the transmission reprogram recall fix completed. Wish I had bought something else....

[kathykim]

Well - we didn't make it - transmission number 3 just burned up despite doing everything by the book and then some. We stopped every 200 miles or less, drove 60 or less and had the dealer document the transmission fluid level in writing with my husband present.

I hate this car.

[morg1862]

We bought a 2010 Escape FWD as our toad in Feb 2010, third time out (July 4) our longest (less then 200 miles) since we purchased the car, and ended up having to have it towed to the closest Ford dealer (where it is today). Yes, it too has a burnt up transmission. Service tech said it was our fault. Having to go thru a Ford Rep for warranty approval, no telling when we will get it back, this is the start of the third week and they still havn't started working on it.

[F298015]

2010 Mercury Mariner

Well, we just got back from a 1500 mile trip from Ohio to Vermont, NH and Maine. We followed the steps and started the car twice a day and kept the speed under 65mph. We are on our second transmission which was installed in May. The Ford dealer said this one was modified with some type of baffle assembly. So far so good, but we will continue to "test" it in August with a trip from Ohio to Tenn, and then Ohio to Indiana.

[kathykim]

I finally have a chance to update more on our issue. We traveled 900 of our 1200 mile trip before having a problem. (This is a record for a transmission that we have owned.) We did not have any problems on day one despite the 115 degree weather. On day 2 we had to travel a long distance in order to make it for a grandson's baseball game. We drove about 550 miles, stopping every 2 hours to start the car and run it thru the gears. We were good until about 350 miles in, then the transmission light came on and we could see the fluid on the back of the car again and smell the burnt transmission fluid. After running for a little while, the light went out. The car has been driving OK, but the transmission fluid is definitely burnt. Now, 5 days later, and engine light came on. No one can get to it in the town we are in, but they did put the computer on it and it came back with some sort of intake manifold cam timing error. We are driving it to Eugene, OR tomorrow to see what can be done and make them check the transmission again as well. I hate this car.....

[JustBil]

I had no idea of the Transmission problems with this car. I bought one in March and have been on the road since May 1st with about 3600 miles towing and 7500 miles driven. We had the reprogramming of the trans in Washington in June. While changing oil noticed oil leak on the transmission case and check the fluid and found it to be almost a quart low (did not show at first). Had a couple of hard shifts in drive and reverse and s couple of not starting until holing key and running through the gears until it started.

We took it to the dealer in Cambridge, Mn and he saw our California plates and said "You came straight here and overheated the trans" I told him I have been on the road since May and do the 2-2-2- rule (Go 200 miles get there by 2 o'clock and stay 2 days.) and do the warm up and shift routine. He then came back and said they would replace the transmission with new one with new components in the trans to prevent a repeat of the problem. I guess time will tell if it will work. I will be keeping a closer watch on it for sure.

Bil

[kathykim]

Eugene dealer originally agreed engine light was related to transmission. Now they have back tracked and said that the solenoids have been a problem and just need to be replaced. Suddenly, the fluid on our back window must have come from the RV, and the transmission fluid always smells like that. Amazingly, it didn't smell like that when we left two days earlier. They say the fluid isn't burnt, but does seem a little dark for the miles - gee, you mean the whole 5,000 miles we've put on the car since the transmission was replaced last year, or the 500 miles since the dealer checked the fluid in Phoenix? They are going to fix the solenoids, but do nothing with the transmission. Since it is running, we are just going to keep going and tow it home and wait for it to burn up the rest of the way again and take it back to our dealer.

Tried to go to Ford to buy it back, but were told there were too many miles on it. We bought it last year with 13,000 miles on it as a certified used car and have put only 6,000 miles on it since then. (Who has time to drive it when it is always in the shop?) Will try to get some satisfaction from our dealer, but I think we can all agree that we are just going to lose our butts on this thing. We've decided to give up towing it either way, as two long trips in two years have been destroyed by this car.

[kathykim]

The lowered fluid level will not fix the problem. We made it a little further in our 2009 Escape this time, but in the end, the result was the same - transmission number 3 did not make it back from Oregon. It is totally fried and back at the Mesa dealership that we bought it at, waiting for the Ford engineer to come look at it. Which will mean absolutely nothing. At least we had it documented in Oregon that the fluid level was correct for towing prior to starting home. (We did the same thing before we went up to Oregon). The transmission overheated on the way up to Oregon, but did not completely fry the transmission, so the Eugene dealer told us that everything was fine. We had to have some solenoids replaced after the engine light came on, but they insisted that this was unrelated. We are attempting to get Ford to buy back the car, but don't expect much luck, since we bought a certified pre-owned rather than a new car and we have had it for a little over a year now.

[kathykim]

Update - they have replaced the transmission for the 3rd time. We have been assured (in writing) that my transmissions with a build date after February 8, 2010 have a modified baffle assemble that should solve the problem. However, we are still required to lower the fluid level and do all the other things (stop every 6 hours or 300 miles - although in our experience, we stop way more frequently than that). Only time will tell. We are still trying to get Ford to buy it back, as we have no confidence in it and are tired of the stress this puts on our trips. If they could really assure us that the problem was fixed, we would be happy, but I can only keep monitoring to see if others are having problems or not.