NHTSA Probes Sticky Throttles on Ford Escape, Mazda Tribute

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened a preliminary evaluation into complaints about throttles that stick in the open position in 2001-2004 model Ford Escape crossover and its clone, the Mazda Tribute. All vehicles are equipped with a 3.0-liter V-6 engine.

The agency says it had received 99 complaints, including reports of 13 crashes and one death blamed on the problem.

NHTSA says it is investigating several possible causes. They include failure of the accelerator cable, failure of the speed control cable assembly and interference with the speed control cable assembly or throttle body cam.

Some of the complaints received by the agency allege the sticking throttle problem results from damage caused by repairs to the accelerator cable made during a 2004 recall that involved 470,200 Escape and Tribute vehicles from the 2002-2004 model years.

In announcing its probe, NHTSA also rejected a petition from the Center for Auto Safety to separately investigate the cruise control cables in 2002-2004 Escape and Tribute models.