Overview & Reviews

The 2009 Ford Escape receives under-the-skin changes that complement last year's cosmetic makeover. There's more power underhood and a tweaked suspension for improved handling and ride dynamics. Ford has also added its Sync MP3 player and cell phone interface.

• Comfortable interior, peppy performance, Sync voice-control system, impressive safety scores.

• Lackluster braking compared to rivals, folding down second seat needlessly complex.

User Reviews:

Showing 1 through 10 of 134.00

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  A good fit for me - 2009 Ford Escape
  By michiganphil - February 22 - 3:25 pm

  I have owned two 2009 4 cyl FWD Limited Escapes, traded one at 41K miles, last month, and still own another with 43K miles. The only issues I have had with the vehicles is with the Fan motor, in which a resister went bad. Otherwise, I have had no issues with either vehicle. The vehicles offered me the features I wanted, with few I did not want. The acceleration, handling, braking were good enough for me. I was impressed with the gas mileages, I topped 32 MPG, door to door, with both vehicles on long trips, a number of times.

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  Love it...sometimes - 2009 Ford Escape
  By ttescape09 - February 2 - 10:58 am

  I bought this car used, and after owning it for 1 1/2 years I still love it. However it has had some pricey problems. I bought the car and I thought it needed a blend door motor on the passenger side (~$900) I replaced it and turns out it was a HVAC module (this was free after a letter to the owner of the Ford dealership because they misdiagnosed it the first time). I now have intermittent power steering (~$1500 to fix) This is my biggest issue because it appears to be a safety issue. So if you buy this car beware and have that money ready! Also paint is starting to chip off the top of the liftgate for no apparent reason (only 12 inches is covered by paint anymore)

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  Comfortable fun, but........ - 2009 Ford Escape
  By thvillebear - October 12 - 1:24 am

  Bought the 2009 Escape as a replacement for our 1998 F150 that was super reliable. The Escape is comfortable and the V6 is powerful and economical delivering about 22 in mixed driving. However quality leaves much to be desired, the transmission started leaking right before the warranty expired and was fixed under warranty. The throttle body failed at 44000, costing 400 to replace I might mention out of all the cars I have owned I have never ever had a throttle body fail! I really question our decision to buy the Escape and curious as to what other problems will surface, I will be hesitant to buy another Ford.

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  My Escape is no acception to the reviews - 2009 Ford Escape
  By catmandoo712 - August 31 - 8:29 am

  I read on the internet that the 2009 Ford Escape 6 speed trans has problems.I thought that this is not going to happen to the vehicle I purchase.Well much to my surprise I had to have trans work on my vehicle at 29000 miles.Very slow shifting from reverse to drive.Now I noticed that it has a ticking sound like a vehicle with bad lifters in an old car.The dealer does not seem to hear it ,I must be hullucinating.Loud exhaust and a growling sound when driving uphill.Got rid of a 11 yr old Chevy Tacker and it was a much quieter than this 2 yr old vehicle.

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  Good so far. - 2009 Ford Escape
  By texaschemist - March 24 - 6:36 pm

  I bought my Escape used in June 2010.The Escape handles and accelerates well and has an overall powerful feeling. It was after 2 months of routine driving that I noticed the first problems. The transmission would hesitate when accelerating from a stop and jerk into gear. There was no noise and afterward the transmission was smooth. When it started doing this while making left turns through 4-way stops I decided to take it in and have it looked at. Turns out the transmission was failing to downshift from 2nd to 1st quick enough. A technical bulletin fixed this. Ive also noticed that my MPG in winter are much worse than summer (2-4 mpg). Otherwise its a great SUV for the value.

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  Satisfied 1.5 Years Later - 2009 Ford Escape
  By Ray - October 14 - 2:00 am

  Purchased new in July 2009, drove 1000 miles to break-in before a trip from Pittsburgh to Oregon. Very comfortable ride for 2 people over a week and a half. Highway gas mileage was 28-32 mpg. Still average 25-30 mpg with my rural driving. Would have liked AWD with a manual tranny, but the one time I drove on an untreated, snow-covered road (~1") the FWD did fine with factory tires. Also glad I went with the stick once I heard stories about the 6-speed auto. No problems with my vehicle 17,000 miles, 1.5 years later. Rides well, though the body pitches up/down excessively when applying power or braking (making smooth uphill stops/starts difficult).

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  2009 Sangri Ford Escape AWD V6 update - 2009 Ford Escape
  By bjc - October 11 - 2:00 am

  After 11,000 miles have had to take the vehicle back to the dealer because they fouled up the brakes. Took it in for an oil change and mentioned funny noise when decelerating and ended up going back 5 times because the brakes werent right. Now I am returning 10-12-2010 because of an oil leak on the drivers side of vehicle. Dealer says oil filter on passenger side so not sure what is leaking, sure hope not transmission. I am 2nd guessing myself now for buying a Ford and wonder how many more times I will be in the service department with it.

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  Check your transmission - 2009 Ford Escape
  By Dana - September 15 - 2:00 am

  In the beginning of the year I purchased a used 2009 Ford Escape from the Ford Dealership with 23,000 miles on it. About a week later I was on the highway and the rpm started racing and car wouldnt accelerate. Ended up bringing truck back to dealer because it happened a few times and was so unsafe. I hadnt made my first truck payment yet and they adv me I needed a new tranny. After doing online research there are a TON of people who had the same prob, while there is no official recall BE AWARE it is a widespread issue. It took 6 weeks to get the new tranny because they were back ordered. The truck is great now, but it really destroyed my confidence in the purchase. Guess its mine now.

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  American Quality? - 2009 Ford Escape
  By Jeff H - July 20 - 6:35 pm

  Bought American to support my country and UAW after years of Asian vehicles. Engine runs/idles louder/rougher than comparable imports and SUV has been into dealer 3 times for over 3 weeks. Mysterious clunking in rear (Ford engineer called in), leaky transmission, transmission shifting problems (recall to reprogram control module solved them). Overall, I like the vehicle but have been a little disappointed with the overall quality and experience of owning it. Certainly makes me question the contention that domestic vehicles are equal to and exceeding imports. And, it seems like every other car on the road is an Escape!

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  So far so Good - 2009 Ford Escape
  By edog - May 14 - 6:44 pm

  Most of my drving is to and from work. Feels solid. No rattles, Tough seeing through rear window when backing up. Chrome Rimms are a waste of money and very hard to keep clean.