CNN iReport

Owners Dismayed by 2009 Ford Escape Transmission Failures

Owners of 2009 Ford Escapes, Mazda Tributes, and Mercury Mariners are reporting their transmissions destroyed by overheating, mostly while being towed behind RVs, despite assurances by Ford Motor Company that the vehicles were designed to be towable.

In 2008 Ford Motor Company announced that 2009 Ford Escape SUVs would be equipped with the newly designed 6F35 automatic transmission ¹. In this press release, Ford revealed that the design would allow these vehicles to be towed with all 4 wheels on the ground, behind an RV.

Multiple owners have since reported on unofficial Ford ^2,3,4 and RV ⁵ owner internet forums that the transmissions were overheating, smoking, and blowing automatic transmission fluid out onto the road. Most owners reported transmissions were so badly damaged that replacement was required. Indeed, some owners reported replacement two and three times. Most, but not all of these reports concerned Ford Escapes being towed behind motorhomes. A minority reported failures under unrelated circumstances. A few reported 2009 Mercury Mariner and Mazda Tribute failures. Hybrid vehicles use a different transmission and owners have reported no failures on these forums.

Ford has not issued a formal statement or recall, but has issued two technical service bulletins, an addendum to the owner manual, and a special service message ⁽⁶⁾. These publications announced new procedures (to underfill the ATF, start and run through gears before, at intervals during, and after tow - as specified) and limits on speed (65 MPH) and time (6 hours) that owners were now required to observe for towing. Logically, some early incidents may not have met these newly imposed conditions. However, some owners reported their transmissions self-destructed while the owners were observing all new conditions. Several of the later incidents occurred in vehicles with replacement transmissions newly installed by Ford dealership mechanics. Some occurred as soon as 100 or 200 miles after replacement.

Many RV owners are senior citizens, newly retired, and setting out on lifelong savings to fulfill a dream of carefree RV travel. Owners purchased the new Ford Escapes specifically because the vehicles were said to be towable. However, some owners reported travel delays as long as two weeks, far away from home and missing medical appointments, while Ford dealer mechanics diagnosed the problem, ordered parts, and did the installations.

Since these vehicles are new, Ford dealers have been replacing the transmissions under warranty. However, when owners contacted Ford Motor Company (by phone or by using the Ford website), they were told that repair costs are the responsibility of the owner after the warranty period ends.

Some owners reported no longer having sufficient confidence in the vehicle to tow it. Some were contemplating replacement of their new Escapes with vehicles that would be more reliable as towed vehicles. Not all RV owners are wealthy. So, some were worried about how they would stretch their retirement money if Ford did not issue a recall and they needed to replace their Escape, or if Ford could not remedy the problem before their warranties expired.

References

1) Ford Motor Company Media Newsroom

http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=28196

2) Ford Forums

http://www.ford-forums.com/ford-escape/34979-2009-escape-transmission-failure.html

3) Ford Truck Enthusiast Forum

http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/877553-is-the-new-2010-escape-towable.html

4) Ford Blue Oval Forums

http://www.blueovalforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=35678

5) Family Motorhome Coach Association Community

http://community.fmca.com/index.php?showtopic=227&st=0

6) Ford Publications:

Technical Service Bulletin TSB 09-11-4,

Technical Service Bulletin TSB 09-20-13

Special Service Message 20836 (6/12/2009)

Recreational (Flat) Towing and Transmission Fluid Level Supplement (Supplement to the owners manual.) 9L8J 19A285 AA June 2009

Disclosure:

This iReport was written by the tow-experienced owner of a 2009 V-6 AWD Ford Escape that was damaged by RV towing. References and write-up resulted from online research.