← NHTSA complaints

2013 FORD ESCAPE — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

crash · 950705 · 2012-11-23

Vehicle

Make
FORD
Model
ESCAPE
Year
2013
Manufacturer
Ford Motor Company
Component
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Miles at failure
6,300

Severity

Deaths
0
Injured
0
Fire
No
Crash
Yes
Police report
No
Medical attention
No
Vehicle towed
No

Narrative

I WAS AT A RED LIGHT ON A FREEWAY EXIT. MY CRUISE CONTROL HAD BEEN SET TO 65 MPH, AND WHEN I ACCIDENTLY TAPPED THE RESUME LEVER, THE CAR ACCELERATED RAPIDLY. HITTING THE BRAKES DID NOT STOP THE CAR BEFORE IT HIT THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME. THE CRUISE CONTROL CANCEL/RESUME LEVER IS LOCATED ON THE LOWER LEFT PART OF THE STEERING WHEEL. IF YOUR STEERING WHEEL IS IN A LOW POSITION, AND YOU MOVE YOUR LEFT LEG, YOU CAN ACTIVATE CRUISE CONTROL WITH YOUR THIGH CAUSING IMMEDIATE ACCELERATION. THIS HAPPENED TO ME AGAIN WHILE DRIVING SLOWLY ON A CURVY ROAD LAST WEEK. THIS COULD BE DISASTROUS IF IT OCCURS AT A CROSS WALK. LUCKILY I ONLY HIT A CAR, NOT A PEDESTRIAN, AND THERE WERE NO INJURIES. ELEVATING THE STEERING WHEEL REDUCES THE LIKELIHOOD OF ACTIVATING CRUISE CONTROL. *TR

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
10485856
Machine
JSON-LD · Markdown