There are 50 owner-reported electrical system complaints for the 2016 Ford Escapein NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
The end of February was driving and I noticed white smoke blowing from my exaust, then my car lost power.
Recall issue: The vehicle failed and became disabled due to the shift cable bushing while in a parking lot on private property, with driver in the vehicle. The gear would not shift or go into park and continued to roll forward until either I hit the curb or applied the brake. Ford will not pay for the tow or diagnostic fee to have the problem diagnosed at another body shop (before I knew of the recall) Ford will not replace shift cable, only install protective cap. Recall issue: rearview camera displays distorted images, and does not always show rear view when backing up. It shows blank sometimes, and forward when reversing. Visibility unclear when backing. Ford will not replace as they say they do not have the parts to replace. This leaves the vehicle at high risk for safety issues.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that upon opening the liftgate, the liftgate started closing unintendedly and struck the contact on the head. There was no injury sustained. The dealer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (BACK OVER PREVENTION). However, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the rearview camera displayed a distorted image while the vehicle was in reverse(R). The contact stated that the failure obstructed the driver's visibility, which prevented the driver from safely operating the vehicle. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that on a separate occasion, the alarm activated independently. The alarm was unintentionally activated during the day or night. Most recently, while the front driver’s side door was opened or closed, the alarm activated until the key was inserted into the ignition. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic; however, no cause for the failure was found. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was unknown.
Camera keeps cutting out even in the middle of backing up
I was driving the car and I was having issues with it shutting off when I was driving the car it shut off in the middle of me driving and it just wouldn't move after that until a tow truck driver came and gave me a jumpstart that happened a number of times, but in the middle of traffic was the worst and very dangerous when my kids are in the car
Around Aug. 3, I noticed that when I drove, the interior lights would not turn off. When the car was off, they went out as they should. But every time I started the car they came on and would not turn off. It made it very difficult to drive went it was getting dark. The dealership confirmed that it wasn't the knobs inside the car that were causing this problem. Later, I took it in for them to find out what was wrong. I scheduled an appointment and dropped off the car. That was Aug, 7. Today is September 1, and I have no idea when I might get my car back. Apparently, it needed a 'body control module'. They got a new Ford part, put it in and it solved the problem with the interior lights, but nothing else was working. They tried a second new, Ford part with the same results. So, I've been without a car, I have had a rental for a week, but will be turning it in, too expensive for me. I need a car I work mornings. What are my options now? It only has 52,000 miles. And while I am the 2nd owner, it belonged to a friend that I lived with and took care of and was the primary driver. How long before they should say we can't fix it?
Rear view Camera not displaying when put in reverse frequently or camera displaying but goes blank in the middle of backing up. This has been occurring for at least 3-4 months. It is very frightening as it takes my mind a second or two to comprehend the rearview camera has gone blank in the middle of backin up. The camera does not always have a problem but is too frequent. I have been I’ll so have not driven too much last 2 months but I am better now. Please add my vehicle to the Rearview recall.
a couple of years ago my car started having problems when accelerating, it would not accelerate or almost get to stall without warning, a couple times I got the message " engine fault - service now" . I took my car to the dealership and they could not find the root cause because the message would disappear when turning the car off and on again, therefore they could not reproduce the issue but my car had this same episode 3 times over the past 8 years without resolution from the dealership. finally a few days ago the issue came back but this time the message is not going away after turning off the car, I used a code reader and the error code reads: P0236. I am trying to get an appointment at the dealership to have my car looked at and finally have the repair done. but I believe my ford escape should be part of recall No. 14V495000 for Ford Escape MY 2013-2014 along with other Ford escapes model year 2016.
Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while attempting to register the vehicle, it was discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy. The vehicle was a private sale. At the time of purchase, the vehicle mileage was 116,000 and at the time of registration, it was discovered that the mileage was 159,759.
Numerous warning lights and chimes activated at once while driving including Hill Start Assist, Traction Control, etc. This has happened randomly while driving under various conditions and reports of such on forums may be related to an ECM or a 4WD module not grounded properly. Some owners have had to have software and hardware updates to solve issue or replacement of modules.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the back over prevention camera was turning on and off continuously while driving. The contact stated that the failure was causing a distraction while driving. The contact stated that the back over prevention camera was inoperable while reversing. Additionally, the infotainment system was inoperable. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was not covered under recall, and a case was filed. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 119,000.
Rear view camera is not working properly. Will either flicker on & off while reversing, display upside down, or just show a black screen. This has been going on for a while. There seems to be a recall for this malfunction for several Ford models, however not one for my model.
I have a 2016 Ford Escape SE with the Ecoboost engine. I have been experiencing the same issue with misfires in port 4 which also shows an open circuit every time as well for over the past year. The dealership has replaced everything underneath including but not limited to my spark plugs, wires, coils, and even my entire wiring harness. The issue is still happening and they do not know what is causing it. I think my vehicle may fall under the complaint failure FORD currently has on their 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5 Ecoboost engines. It has been to the dealership for the same repairs over 8 different times. When is enough actually enough. I have lost power several times in traffic and it's like slamming on my brakes. This is how bad the misfire is. My check engine light has been flashing due to this issue as well as being on solid. Please help or advise.
Since October 2022, we have had to replace the front signal wiring harnesses on the car four (4) times due to the wiring being coated with a substance that rodents are being attracted to. It seems that is has happened again. We have not yet taken it to our repair shop for confirmation this time, but we had an incident with our Kia (Vin [XXX] ) in November 2024. In this case the clutch assembly wiring had been chewed and the assembly had to be replaced. We had the Kia towed to the dealer for repair, so all incidents are documented by repair shops. Not having proper signaling can cause accidents, but I think chewing of other wiring such as the clutch assembly can be an even greater cause for concern. What part will be chewed next. With the clutch assembly we were shown a check engine light and with the signals, the signals sounded different. I know from being on the Next Door website that other people in the area have had the same problems. I think this problem of the coating on wiring should be checked before it causes a serious accident. I put the date of the Kia incident on the bottom because I considered this the most serious. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
ABS module is obsolete and unavailable from Ford
Backup camera intermittently stops working. Some days, it works fine. Other days, whenever shift to reverse, the screen is either black or blue with the message that the camera is not available. It will sometimes go to the black/blue screen while I am reversing into/ out of my driveway, parking spot, etc. Shifting to park or neutral and then to reverse doesn't correct the problem. It started out as an occasional problem, but now happens multiple times a day. This is an extremely unsafe situation. If someone/something is behind me when I am reversing, it is likely that I would not have enough time to react to prevent an injury or worse.So many other Ford vehicles have a recall for backup camera issues, why is the Escape not included?
While diving the vehicle hesitates. I have had it checked and it seems that the turbo is bad. After speaking to others this seems to be an issue with this vehicle. With the electrical issues, my back up camera, radio, speakers, navigation all do not work. Also while driving my flashers will randomly flash and my speedometer as well as my RPM gage will go crazy. While driving down the road my speakers blared white noise so loud that it almost caused me to wreck because it scared me so badly. I had to have the fuse taken it in order to get it to stop.
The rear backup camera intermittently cuts in and out. The touch screen also intermittently turns black and is unresponsive. After it died, I replaced the infotainment touchscreen computer. The rear backup camera is still intermittent and unreliable. Other owners have complained online about poor seals in the rear wiper assembly, which leads to leaks that corrode the camera's wiring harness and cause an intermittent video signal. I feel this is a known problem that Ford is choosing to ignore and is dangerous when the backup camera cuts out while backing up.
The rear back up camera works intermittently and the car will not start intermittently cannot find the issue it has left stuck at places because it would not start. Changed the battery and all electrical checked out ok.
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