EASTLAKE, Ohio — Kristine Shreves is an Eastlake, Ohio, traveling nurse who shared her frightening story after the engine on her 2019 EcoSport SUV suddenly shut down on busy I-480, nearly crashing back on Nov. 2.
Shreves told News 5 that her SUV's engine seized up while she was surrounded by large trucks on a busy highway, quickly decelerating from 65 MPH to just 20 MPH in just a few seconds, forcing her to make an emergency move to get off the road.
“I’m going to be honest. I thought I was going to die. I mean, I was surrounded. I had a semi in front of me, I had a semi on the side of me, and obviously, I’m right behind someone else. I had to squeeze in between the semis and cut off another car, so I just waited to get hit," Shreves said. “Semis can’t brake like that, and I had to cut them off. I mean, I’m in a little EcoSport against an 18-wheeler. I thought I was getting squished.”
Shreves told News 5 that her Ford dealer confirmed the engine suffered catastrophic failure due to a known oil pump and oil pressure issues with the EcoSport engine. Shreves also got News 5 in contact with a Willoughby Ford EcoSport owner who reports he dealt with the same engine failure problem back in February.
News 5 contacted the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which confirmed back on Sept. 20 it launched an investigation into oil pump engine failure in 2019 to 2021 Ford EcoSport vehicles after receiving some 100 owner complaints across the country. The NHTSA said it couldn't comment on its ongoing investigation. The engine failure issue is now part of an ongoing class action lawsuit against Ford.
Shreves said she and her husband then contacted Ford corporate headquarters about engine replacement but said Ford would only cover a small portion of the repair cost, telling the couple the vehicle was 12,000 miles past warranty coverage.
“For the engine replacement, they got it down to about $7,100, almost $7,200, but they would only offer me $2,800 and I would be responsible for almost $4,300, $4,400 dollars," Shreves said. “This is known Ford issue, you are being sued, you are putting people in danger, and on top of that it’s been reported numerous times, you need to take care of this issue."
News 5 contacted Ford corporate headquarters, and it responded immediately. The automaker would not comment directly on the case involving Shreves and her 2019 EcoSport and only said, "We are working with NHTSA to support its investigation."
Meanwhile, Shreves said she's now been left with a car that's beached at her Ford dealership that she can't use, must still make payments on the remaining $19,000 loan, and a vehicle she won't sell to anyone else over potential safety concerns.
“I can fix the car but now I’m paranoid that I’m going to be on that high speed lane again, and it’s going to go again, and this time I might not be that lucky," Shreves said. “I’ve had people say just fix it and get rid of it, but then I put somebody else in danger, I can’t in good conscience do that to another human being, that’s wrong."
News 5 is committed to following through on this developing story.
