There are 50 owner-reported electrical system complaints for the 2013 Ford Escapein NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
I was parking vehicle & noticed from center console burning smoke coming from heater vents & middle console. I turned it off right away, waited a while & it stopped, driving at 60mph a back & forth forward & back hesitation or vibration. Shifting back & forth, No check engine light, but I feel that this vehicle has the recalls that are listed for this same year model & it has never being corrected. I need to bring this vehicle to a Ford dealership to get it checked. I'm in the Madison Wisconsin area, please have this matter taken care ove. 2013 Ford escape 2.0L
Was opening the moon rooftop And I noticed smoke started coming from the middle of the radio / navigation system, all through vents smoke coming out something was burning I shut the vehicle, and waited about 10 minutes till it went away Don't know why this happened, but I'm curious that the recalls that coming up for this vehicle are very significant, running hesitation & smell of burning, vibration in front of vehicle
I took my car in for a safety recall for the bushing on the transmission. A short time after getting it back my cabin filled with smoke when I used the remote start. I had never had this problem until it came back from the dealer. so I stopped using the remote start! but after that the car's cabin began filling with acrid smoke whenever it idled for more than a minute. It now fills with smoke when sitting at a stop sign or in slow traffic, so i have to open the windows to breathe! On top of that the transmission started slipping in park again! I don't think they actually fixed it. and that they may have caused the smoke problem. there are no warning lights going on. I am [XXX] and on socsec. I need my car to be safe! I have been dealing with this for a while now because I don't trust the dealer now. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the passenger seated in the front passenger's seat became aware of smoke inside the vehicle. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where the contact was informed that the engine cover had cracked and that there was an oil leak coming from the engine. The independent mechanic cleaned up the oil from underneath the engine and became aware that the wires and additional parts underneath the engine were burned. The contact was informed that there had been a fire underneath the engine. The contact was informed that the vehicle could have caught on fire. The contact referenced an unknown recall, but the VIN was not under recall. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 160,000.
I bought a 2013 escape 3-4 months ago. It had a clear car fax as well as clean on Ford.com. recently the air bag light has been flashing on and as time has gone on, it is staying on longer. I just had it diagnosed at a Ford Dealership and was told it was an air bag sensor, with a cost of over $2000. After digging deeper, I discovered that the Air Bag and sensors were replaced in 2016 under the recalls at the time. I understand that this was done and I am only asking for some financial assistance as I can no longer drive my escape. I know i bought an older car, but Ford will not help with any assistance and it seems they have an obligation since this problem has been happening over and over. i worked in Ford dealerships for over 40 years. Please help.
On June 24, 2025 at approx 4:45 pm, my wife and I were driving home. The car was running fine, no lights, gauges were normal, no info on screen, when all of a sudden the engine shut down, info on screen stated steering assisi unavailable, and smoke started coming from vents. We were aproaching a sharp curve in the road, so I had to manhandle the steering to keep from crashing. Then used the emergency brake to stop after insuring we cleared the curve. By that time, we were unable to see anything for all the smoke inside the car. Nothing would work so we could not roll the electric windows down. When stopped, we opened the doors and jumped out. Then I heard the engine compartment crackling due to a fire. Luckily, we escaped with no injuries except for smoke inhalation. I have been driving for over 58 years and doing mechanical repairs for over 60 years. I have never experienced anything like this. We bought this car new and I have maintained it in 'like new' condition since. Now it is completely destroyed. I also know Ford has had recalls on this vehicle and we have taken care of all these except the one on the shifter linkage bushing. I am very concerned something went very wrong with this car and others may, too. Plus, I am a dedicated Ford owner and may be concerned on replacing with something else after this terrifying incident.
Recall 14517 check. Engine is stalling and failing in idle, but is able to start. I’m
My favorite
This is a known issue with 1.6L engine 2013 Ford Escapes and they have not issued an official recall on all VINs. The coolant tubing is faulty, causing several leaks and engine overheating, also leading to additional computer failures of the temperature gauge.
In many words the wires are all mess up the AC buttons off it puts on the air and back wipes and the coolant system keep lossing coolant it smell the wiring have too it twice to where my extender warrant told me to they too 200 hund. For deductible and Labor 641.00 twice and the card is still with electric problems I m a senior citizen on SSI take care of two boys 5 and 8 alone with no help and thas the only means of transportation scare all the time that wires going catch on firer firestone tool my money and wasn't a n le to fix they told it was a recall on my car but why would they do that knowing that .I got really miess over Noow yal hot these vehicles out and only I pay carrots every month fateful and im driving a lemon I dont want to go to press cause don't see it in my heart something has to be don cause yal manufacturers these ford just want to be safe when me and boys are driven and not for the car catch on fire .please help been to rode in a vehicle thas no good cause I don't know what to do ty
Coolant leak and car stalling in the middle of the road. Very dangerous and scary
Engine randomly stalls when pulling out into traffic. This has happened on at least 10 occasions in the last year, and 3 or 4 of those were extremely dangerous situations. Many parts have been replaced, but nothing has solved the problem. There are no codes or check engine lights, and since it only happens randomly, the service centers have not been able to reproduce the problem. There is no advance warning when this is going to happen. There are tons of similar reports that can be easily found with a google search of "2013 Ford Escape 1.6 stalling", but none have a clear fix. 1000's of these cars are on the road, and are ticking time bombs just waiting to cause an accident.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure powertrain control module. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V813000 (Electrical System), but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 172,000.
I bought the vehicle and February of 2020 and didn’t even have it for 6 months before it needed major repairs. In any other state, lemon laws would have applied and I wouldn’t be driving a dangerous vehicle. This model should not be on the market anymore, period. There have been countless failures: the transmission has been changed 3 times in less than 3 years, the purge valve has been changed twice and is going bad again, which has caused more problem for the engine cooling system. A coolant hose EXPLODED just yesterday, which I had changed not even 3 months ago. The electrical system has been “fixed” by countless mechanics, including Ford, and continues to malfunction and I assume is showing incorrect codes or not showing them at all, as there was NO ENGINE HEATING ICON that appeared prior to the hose exploding, as would normally be expected. Every problem I have just described is a recall that Ford has acknowledged on my same year, model and even manufacturing date, but they not only claim it’s not their responsibility, but they have bullied me any time I attempt to bring this up. As I stated, this car should never have been allowed to be sold. It began to dangerously malfunction less than a year after buying it. This included the overheating issues I described above, and major drivability issues that have caused the car to lose power and or acceleration while driving at highway speeds. As also stated, the coolant system is extremely flawed leading to a hose exploding, which tells me an engine fire would not have been far behind had we not been close to home. I have tried every measure possible to address all parties accountable. The dealership that sold the vehicle, the warranty company that did repairs that didn’t need to be done, the repair shops that did the repairs and did further damage to my car that still hasn’t been repaired, and the Ford dealerships themselves. I have on record multiple parties saying they don’t know how to fix the vehicle.
My car battery is dying for no apparent reason. After 1 mechanic and 2 ford dealerships, it may be my auto control module slowly draining my car battery. I replaced the battery 3 weeks ago and the car has died at least 3 times since then.
My car will just shut off while I am driving without warning. It will restart but will continue to stop and then it won’t start back because now the battery is dead. Got a new battery and the next day it was dead. My mechanic said there is something electrical going on because there was a sparks coming for the battery when were disconnecting it to do coil packs and plugs
While driving the engine seems to "go out" which is a risk to the driver, passengers, and other motorists near by because it is not expected and can happen anywhere (two lane road, major highway, while turning, etc.). You are able to press the gas and hear the engine but the car does not move - it acts as if it were in neutral. There are no safety or warning lights on the dashboard before or during this issue meaning that there is no way for the driver to prepare. There have been times where I was able to pull off the road and restart the car to temporarily remedy the issue but safe and accessible pull offs are not always available (bride, two lane road,etc). I travel with small children and there is a fear that if this continues to happen it can result in fatal consequences. In addition to the safety issue mentioned above there is a perpetual leak coming from the engine. This has progressively gotten worse and after speaking with a representative at Ford they named off a few "possible" causes but were unable to make a definitive decision. I was also informed that the issues that I am experiencing were not unique to just my vehicle but many Ford Escape 2013's in the area that had come to the dealership for guidance and help. While I have stated that the issue occurred in 2013 - it is still happening and continues to get worse.
Barrings in transmission been failure since I've bought the truck they had a recall on the transmission now I don't see the recall at ford windshield motor just stop working I've only had the car a year
This car constantly stops in mid traffic. I have taken it everywhere and they can’t seem to find anything wrong. I’ve call ford a hundred times and nothing.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while starting the vehicle and exiting the driveway, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated, and messages were displayed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. A dealer was not contacted. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V813000 (Electrical System) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 91,000.
Showing 1–20 of 50 complaints
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 26, 2026