NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Recall Petition RP04-002: ENGINE STALLING
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Recall Petition RP04-002 on June 24, 2004 and closed it on August 31, 2004. NHTSA's investigations file lists the 2001–2003 Ford Escape for it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- RP04-002 (also written RP04002)
- Investigation type
- Recall Petition A petition asking NHTSA to review whether a recall's owner notice or remedy is adequate.
- Status
- Closed August 31, 2004
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- Ford Motor Company
- Component
- Engine and Engine Cooling
- Vehicles and equipment
- 2001–2003 Ford Escape
A recall appears here only when NHTSA's investigations file links one to the investigation; NHTSA's summary or record can name others.
NHTSA's summary
As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Recall Petition RP04-002.
SUMMARY:THE PETITIONER ALLEGES THAT AFTER HAVING THE RECALL REMEDY PERFORMED ON HER MODEL YEAR (MY) 2001 FORD ESCAPE, IT CONTINUED TO EXHIBIT AN INTERMITTENT STALL CONDITION.CONSEQUENTLY, SHE PETITIONED THE AGENCY TO EXAMINE THE ADEQUACY OF THE RECALL REMEDY FOR SAFETY RECALL 04V-165.
ON APRIL 5, 2004, FORD MOTOR COMPANY (FORD) NOTIFIED THE AGENCY THAT IT WOULD CONDUCT A RECALL OF 321,903 MY 2001 THROUGH 2002 AND CERTAIN 2003 MY ESCAPE VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH 3.0L ENGINES MANUFACTURED BETWEEN JANUARY 21, 2000 AND SEPTEMBER 11, 2002 AT THE KANSAS CITY ASSEMBLY PLANT.THESE VEHICLES EXHIBITED AN INTERMITTENT ENGINE STALL DURING DECELERATIONS AT VEHICLE SPEEDS BELOW 40 MPH DUE TO AN EXCESSIVELY RICH FUEL-AIR MIXTURE IN THE ENGINE.AS A REMEDY, FORD DEALERS ARE INSTRUCTED TO REPROGRAM THE POWERTRAIN CONTROL MODULE (PCM) TO A REVISED CALIBRATION TO PREVENT THE STALLING CONDITION. IN ITS JULY 23, 2004 RESPONSE TO THE OFFICE OF DEFECTS INVESTIGATION?S (ODI) JULY 1, 2004 INFORMATION REQUEST LETTER, FORD STATES THAT AS OF JUNE 30, 2004 THE RECALL REMEDY HAS BEEN COMPLETED ON 174,014 VEHICLES.ADDITIONALLY, ONLY A SMALL NUMBER OF VEHICLE OWNERS (LESS THAN .1%) WHO HAVE HAD THE REMEDY PERFORMED ON THEIR VEHICLES HAVE HAD ADDITIONAL DECELERATION STALLING ISSUES.FORD ALSO STATES THAT THE PCM HAS TO ?LEARN? THE NEW PROGRAM AND THAT ANY SUBSEQUENT STALLING WOULD BE TEMPORARY.TO VERIFY FORD?S CLAIM, ODI CONDUCTED A RANDOM SURVEY OF 20 COMPLAINANTS WHO HAD THE REMEDY PERFORMED ON THEIR VEHICLES AND WHO EXPERIENCED A SUBSEQUENT STALLING EVENT.ODI FOUND THAT MOST OF THEM HAD ISOLATED STALLING PROBLEMS, SUPPORTING FORD?S ALLEGATION THAT THE PCM MUST ?LEARN? THE NEW PROGRAM.IN ADDITION, IN A PHONE CONVERSATION WITH ODI, THE PETITIONER STATED THAT A FORD ENGINEER FOUND A FAULTY IGNITION SWITCH AS THE CAUSE OF THE STALLING IN HER VEHICLE.THUS, THERE IS NO EVIDENCE AT THIS TIME TO SUGGEST THE RECALL REMEDY IS INADEQUATE.FOR THE FOREGOING REASONS, FURTHER EXPENDITURE OF THE AGENCY?S INVESTIGATIVE RESOURCES ON THE ISSUE RAISED BY THE PETITIONER DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE WARRANTED AND THE PETITION IS DENIED.
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Recall Petition RP04-002. A listed model year means only that an investigation names it; it says nothing about any particular vehicle. Model years with a try.vin recall page link to that page's NHTSA investigations section.
Ford
All Ford recallsWhat an NHTSA investigation is
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) looks into possible safety defects in vehicles and equipment, often after owner complaints. An investigation usually starts as a Preliminary Evaluation, or as a Recall Query when it concerns whether an existing recall covers the right vehicles or fixes the problem, and ODI can upgrade it to a more detailed Engineering Analysis. A Defect Petition asks NHTSA to open an investigation, and Audit and Equipment Queries are administrative investigations into whether companies complied with federal vehicle safety requirements, such as reporting, recall and certification rules.
An open investigation is not a finding that a safety defect exists, and NHTSA can close one without a recall.
To see whether a specific vehicle has an open recall, enter its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Ford VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.
Sources
NHTSA's investigation record for RP04-002
Investigation details come from NHTSA's investigations file, which try.vin imports once a day. The investigation types are described from the U.S. Department of Transportation Inspector General's May 2023 report on NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation, NHTSA's petition rules (49 CFR Parts 552 and 557) and NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation procedures. How try.vin reads NHTSA investigations.