Community Forums

lady puffin · 05-13-2016, 09:06 PM

We have been towing our little 2012 ford escape since we purchased it in 2012. Despite the horror stories of the engine blowing up, we have not had any trouble. We stop every 2 hours to run the motor, move the transmission through the gears to keep the transmission fluid circulating. Today we hooked up in Phoenix, headed for Kingman and just as we got to our rv park, about 2.5 hrs out, a lady was pointing to the rear of out coach. My DH pulled into a large open lot just down from our park. We decided to see what was wrong. Nothing apparent was visible. So as it was a bit over due, we went to start the car, nothing, not even a click. Drug out the battery charger, turned the genny on and plugged her onto the car battery. 15 minutes later,we had lights but the engine wouldn't turn over. Called GS roadside and they sent out a tow truck to give us a heavier jump. Still nothing. Meanwhile, Pat Hall from Mikes pow-r-tow got curious about some orangey oil all over our cars rear end. He plopped down on the ground to look and the next thing was"Holy Cow!" "Your rear end and drive shaft are missing" without those parts the battery apparently shuts down. So two more rds with GS we finally got through to someone who could change the jump to a tow. The car has now been taken to Anderson Ford in Kingman. We will stop tomorrow to see what can be done. Talk about a Friday the 13th bad luck. You can see where it should be in the picture. No damage to the car or tires. It just fell off somewhere. No bad roads, no bumps, nothing that should have done this. We and Pat are mystified as is the Ford service person Jason.

thedjjack · 05-14-2016, 12:50 AM

You sure it was awd model? They come in 2wd which is just front wheel drive... No rear end or drive shaft in those models.

Even if it came off somehow you would have the half-shafts and CV flying around.... serious damage if those where flying around when a rear end fell out...

twinboat · 05-14-2016, 01:12 AM

Just watching

mrt_1111 · 05-14-2016, 01:44 AM

lady puffin · 05-14-2016, 07:19 AM

We will find out when we get to the dealership. DH said it was 4wd. If we didn't loose something, then where did the oil coating come from? There was nothing on the sides of the car, nor was there any on the coach if we had run over fresh oil. The roads were dry. No construction that was using oil. Just the whole rear end of the escape. We checked the oil in front and it was fine as was the transmission fluid. This was a orangey colored oil, that Pat said looked like differential fluid. We are puzzled. The other odd thing, we had driven the car alot while in Phoenix, no leaks on the ground. Will see what Ford says.

Lifemember · 05-14-2016, 07:37 AM

Grey Ghost I · 05-14-2016, 07:38 AM

The lady that pointed to signal you most likely saw the parts fall off. Otherwise, how did she know?

F4Gary · 05-14-2016, 11:19 AM

I don't see any half shafts going out to the rear wheels.

Rockwood27 · 05-14-2016, 05:02 PM

Make sure the Ford dealer carefully checks out the transmission and transfer case. If they are lubed by spinning the rear driveshaft, then you may have internal issues, once that driveshaft escaped your Escape.

twinboat · 05-14-2016, 06:47 PM

I believe the rear drive shaft is a two piece unit with a center support bearing. I don't see that either.

Can't wait for the report from Ford.

SuperGewl · 05-15-2016, 06:15 AM

Sorry to hear about the Bad Luck, but on a side note. If you go to replace it DON'T but one of the newer designed Escapes. They are NOT flat towable. I just thought I would let you know before you bought one.

mbridinger · 05-15-2016, 06:51 AM

It was Friday the 13th, not April 1st. Your car is front wheel drive. If you had a rear shaft and 3rd member "fall out" there would be catastrophic damage. Orange fluid is from the tranny, My guess is it is fried. Next time buy a Honda.

Stevie3508 · 05-15-2016, 07:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grey Ghost I

The lady that pointed to signal you most likely saw the parts fall off. Otherwise, how did she know?

Her windshield was propably covered with transmission fluid?

lady puffin · 05-15-2016, 08:11 AM

Ok, DH was wrong, we do have a front wheel drive Escape. The transmission got fried. But to look at the underneath rear end, it was exceptionally clean where a rear differential should have been. It gave the appearance that something had fallen off.
Anyways, Ford is going to fix it, bad thing it is going to take a bit of time.
I am not sure why it blew, I had researched our Escape to see if it needed to have a aftermarket pump put on. It had been manufactured prior to the engine that fried in a matter of a few miles. We have about 30k of towed miles on it with out problems. We would stop about every 2 hours, run the car for 5 minutes, move the shifter to reverse, drive ,neutral and back through them again to move the fluid around. I also had my ford dealership check the fluid regularly to make sure it was not low or was becoming burned.