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2009 Escape Problems 20K Miles & Satisfaction Campaign 10B15

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#1 ·
My '09 Escape V6 FWD with 20K miles may have a few problems. Has anyone else observed these on your Escape?

Cruising at a low speed, maybe 35 mph less, take you foot of the gas pedal and coast while slightly dropping speed. Then press slightly on the gas pedal to return to speed. When I do this I hear a distinct clunk from the front end as if something were re-engaging. This happens fairly regularily.

While cruising on a flat road, transmission seems to hang too long before shifting into its final 6th gear.

Very infrequently a loud clunk and jolt when shifting from drive to reverse.

Squeek from steering wheel column when turning the steering wheel. Dealer said they replaced column but it didn't help. Seems to squeek all the time now.

When filling up for gas, windows and doors closed, engine off, I smell gas fumes when I reenter the car. Either I get used to it right away or it rapidly goes away. I've just noticed this on my last two fillups so I need to spend more time with this one.

Thanks for you comments.
 
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#2 ·
While cruising on a flat road, transmission seems to hang too long before shifting into its final 6th gear.
this one, as well as strange shift points every now and then, some racing/slipping between gears, etc. I dont like this transmission at all. I think it's a giant POS. Really I think there is something wrong with it, but of course it all gets passed off as normal operation when bringing it in. Otherwise nothing major. I like it other then the way the transmission behaves, but that alone is annoying enough that I probably wont hold on to mine for very long. Already planning on getting rid of it by 3yrs.
 
#4 ·
What is a TSB?
 
#5 ·
andjayik said:
What is a TSB?
TSB=Technical Service Bulletin

You will be getting a letter in the mail Ford "sometime" about Customer Satisfaction Program 10B15. It's about a PCM reflash to prevent premature valvebody wear. If you have more than 7K, they perform futher tests to see if damage has occured already.

Some have received the letters, I haven't yet! One got a call from their dealer.
 
#6 ·
i noticed sometime when putting the car in drive after staring it up the whole car would kind a jump forward in a hard way?
 
#7 ·
If you have any transmission problems related to shift quality, take it to your dealer and have them flash the PCM with the latest software.

The 6F35 automatic transmission in 2009 and newer North American E/M/Ts uses software-controlled shifting, so modifications to the programming will improve shift quality. The dealer will also reset the PCM so that the transmission will "learn" your driving habits again.
 
#8 ·
wptski said:
andjayik said:
What is a TSB?
TSB=Technical Service Bulletin

You will be getting a letter in the mail Ford "sometime" about Customer Satisfaction Program 10B15. It's about a PCM reflash to prevent premature valvebody wear. If you have more than 7K, they perform futher tests to see if damage has occured already.

Some have received the letters, I haven't yet! One got a call from their dealer.
Thank Andy! I found a copy of the Ford letter online but I couldn't copy and paste it. The symptoms describe what I've been experiencing so I'll be taking my Escape with letter in hand to the dealer soon. The letter is dated April 19, 2010. To see the letter Google on Customer Satisfaction Program 10B15 and you'll immediately find a source for it.

Here's the reason for the program:
"In some of the affected vehicles, the transmission solenoid regulator valve bore may wear. The function of the solenoid regulator is to provided regulated fluid pressure to the shift solenoids. Wear in the solenoid regulator bore causes low clutch pressure and results in transmission slips/harsh shifts. Continued driving with this condition may cause premature wear on the clutches. This may eventually lead to a loss of 4th through 6th gears and ultimately loss of transmission function."

I couldn't access the affected VINs and Ford is saying only "Certain 2010 Model Year Fusion and Milan and Certain 2009 and 2010 Model Year Escape and Mariner Vehicles Equipped with 6F35 Transmission Powertrain Control Module Reprogramming".
 
#9 ·
Although I didn't have an appointment, I stopped by my Ford dealer and asked the rep about the Customer Satisfaction Program 10B15. He looked up my VIN and said my Escape was on the list. They took my Escape for about 50 minutes and reprogrammed the transmission and did a load test per the program. My Escape passed the load test. By the way, I still haven't received the letter in the mail.

I need more driving time to confirm any difference. However, I did notice that the transmission was shifting into overdrive much more quickly than before. I think the shifts feel smoother too, like the tranny was new again.

Unfortunately, I still hear the clunk when lifting off the pedal, slowing, and then reapplying gas.

Dave
 
#10 ·
This is good to know. Hopefully mine falls into the affected group so that I may get some change out of it. Unfortunately I am deployed to the desert and was gone before those letters went out and wont be back for another month or 2 still. There may be hope for it yet.

Any way to see affected VIN ranges online, like is it listed on a TSB or something? If so I could at least check I guess as my VIN can be gotten from my insurance site.
 
#11 ·
C17chief said:
This is good to know. Hopefully mine falls into the affected group so that I may get some change out of it. Unfortunately I am deployed to the desert and was gone before those letters went out and wont be back for another month or 2 still. There may be hope for it yet.

Any way to see affected VIN ranges online, like is it listed on a TSB or something? If so I could at least check I guess as my VIN can be gotten from my insurance site.
Considering the date of this recall, I'd say all of the '09s and part of the '10s. I had a half dozen or so '09 VINs and all had the recall notice. If you care to post or PM me your VIN, I can check on it for you but if it's a '09, I'd bet that it's included.
 
#12 ·
Just went in to my dealer this morning for my 5000 miles (8000km) oil change and my "shifting lag" problem.

They changed my oil, filter, visual inspection (paying special attention to the output shaft seals and tranny cooler lines - all of which are dry) and did the 10B15 recall and I was in and out in 50 minutes!

Needless to say I am VERY satisfied with my dealers service (Desjardins Ford in Montreal) :thumb:

When I drove out, the difference in how the transmission responded was night and day. It's a LOT more responsive and dare I say "peppy". I had gotten used to the lag issues, but it still bugged me a bit.

Funniest thing is that when I signed the truck in, the service rep couldn't believe I bought it 10 months ago and it only has 5000 miles on it (the pleasures of living 2 streets away from work...)

Pat
 
#13 ·
Now I'm annoyed. I had my 2010 Mariner in for the 5k service on Tuesday, and there is no notation that they did this 10B15 service. I wish they would have, it's a hassle to bring it back.

Someone I work with just got the letter today, I'll see if I got mine.
 
#14 ·
Bringing mine in tomorrow because of this post and i was'nt even notified! Called the deal and they said my vin was on the list. So i hope i notice a big differance in shifting?
 
#16 ·
Got my car done today and like Lord V says night and day! It's fun to drive again, mind u the changed my axles seal for the 3rd time today also!! :beer:
 
#17 ·
Just dropped my Escape off for its' 12 month service. Getting the oil changed and having the PCM flash done for the 10B15 Campaign, since I have less than 7,000 miles on the car. I have not experienced too many issues with the transmission, just a couple times when shifting from park to reverse the car kind of jumps, but that has only happened two or three times. Hopefully the flash will correct this and the shifting will be smoother than ever.

Will keep you posted on how it turns out.
 
#18 ·
Got my escape back from the dealer tonight, did the oil change and other maintenance along with the 10b15 PCM Reflash and all I can say is wow! The shifting is much improved, a lot smoother and the acceleration is much more responsive. Im very impressed.

Good Job Ford!
 
#19 ·
Just had my 10B15 done this morning. It tool all of about 25 minutes at the dealer.
The vehicle shifts more solidly now. I believe that there are less slippage in the tranny bands but since it was reflashed, I wonder if the trans needs to relearn my driving habits. My average gas mileage right now has gone up since winter to 27.5 MPG.
 
#21 ·
Had mine done this morning. They noted that everything was in perfect working order. No issues at all. Passed all tests. Mileage is over 10k so I think they do additional testing for any vehicle over xx miles. All in all I have it recorded as done. I didn't have shifting issues before and it doesn't feel any different.
 
#22 ·
Mine has been getting worse and feels like it's slipping. I was going to bring it in friday and happened to get the recall letter yesterday. Might be damaged already. Either way I'm getting it "recalled" friday but who knows if they have to refesh the tranny at this point.

This transmission is terrible. I hope this makes it better as others have mentioned. This plus the dreaded escape 4x4 "hoot" noise from a dead stop is not making me think ford as my next car but we'll see.
 
#23 ·
My Escape's 6F35 transmission had the service campaign performed and it generally shifts well. I never had much of an issue with my transmission. However, even after the service campaign, the transmission will occassionally (once per week) shift hard and abrupt from first to second gear under light acceleration. Other than that the shifts are smooth.
 
#24 ·
JEFFOS69 said:
Mine has been getting worse and feels like it's slipping. I was going to bring it in friday and happened to get the recall letter yesterday. Might be damaged already. Either way I'm getting it "recalled" friday but who knows if they have to refesh the tranny at this point.

This transmission is terrible. I hope this makes it better as others have mentioned. This plus the dreaded escape 4x4 "hoot" noise from a dead stop is not making me think ford as my next car but we'll see.
The TSB for the 4WD "hoot" was superceded to cover "all" models, FWD, 4WD, I4 and V6. They claim that it's from the drive chain in the transmission. Only a few that post in any forum that have had the chain replaced with the improved version but the sound just returned in a short time.

Funny thing is that if you pull the fuse listed for the 4WD module, the sound goes away! Makes one wonder if the drive chain is really the problem!
 
#25 ·
Got back home finally last night, and first thing I did this morning was take the escape in to get flashed. Passed the load test which sort of surprised me since I still had some slipping/flare going on in the higher gears before OD. We'll see how it does once the new flash is settled in and relearned.
 
#26 ·
I got worried when I saw it go down from 24-25mpg down to around 21 after the 10B15. I then reset the counter and it is back up to 25 again. I figured the reflash created a blank memory in the unit and it had to relearn the shift points. I also think the hoot noise went down a bit in noise. My vehicle shifted fine before the flash and it feels the same now.

Oddly enough with the wife's Fusion, I get the jerk once in a while when putting it into reverse. Her 2010 has the same tranny and hers got replaced in the 1st 2 months of driving. It was messy. I wonder if they will send out the 10B15 recall to vehicles that had transmissions replaced. This was last year so they may have replaced a bad unit with another bad unit. I fully know what that mishifting transmission feels like. I am glad the Escape is not anywhere near what that was. The only good thing is that the Fusion is a company car.
 
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