2017 Ford Escape Complaint Log

When we purchased our "ford certified" 2017 ford escape it came with a "lifetime engine warranty" issued from (protective asset protection) also a "gold" certified warranty from the ford dealership. when my wife was driving our children to soccer practice the dash board lit up and told her the engine was overheating and she was forced to immediately pull over. thankfully there were no vehicles behind her or heading directly towards her on the two lane road at the time. this could have been very dangerous for my family and others on the road. ford dealership said this is a known problem and the only solution is to replace the engine. neither ford, our local dealership, or the lifetime engine warranty from (protective asset protection) would cover or assist with any help monetarily. we still are making payments for this "ford certified" vehicle so unfortunately we were forced to get a second loan to pay the $7,651.37 for the replacement engine. there are many people and vehicles having the same "Ecoboost Coolant In Cylinders, White Exhaust Smoke And/Or Illuminated MIL." isuue. PLEASE help!!!

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, he observed excessive smoke emanating from the exhaust. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined that coolant intrusion into the engine had resulted in damages to the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to Customer Satisfaction Program: 21N12. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 150,000. The VIN was not available.

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 70 MPH, there was a loud thumping sound coming from underneath the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The vehicle was later towed to the local dealer who diagnosed that the transmission had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 93,000.

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the catalytic converter. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 94,000.

Coolant leaking into engine cylinders. Could potentially cause fire

See attached document for complaint

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle misfired, with the check engine warning light illuminated. In addition, the RPMs were unusually low. The vehicle was driven to an independent mechanic however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was later towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion into cylinder #2. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. In addition, the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 68,000.

no coolant in degas bottle, cylinder one misfire no external leaks pulled spark plug and found coolant inside of combustion cylinder. Need short block replacement of complete long block. this vehicle was properly maintained every 5k miles. Vehicle was purchased in September 2016 and was a 2017 ford escape se, with current mileage of 53000. 2 days ago the engine warning symbol came on and was immediately taken to ford dealer.

Coolant leaked into cylinders

Since last four months I get multiple warning lights with alarm in my car . 1) Engine failure contact dealer immediately announcement 2) steering assist failure announcement ( & steering becomes heavy) 2) Hill assist failure 3) rear park aid failure announcement 4) 911 assist is not operational contact dealer . The odometer and speedometer goes blank and I can not see what speed I am driving at. I have given my car to dealership 4 times so far. For multiple weeks. still the same issue. I am not getting any replacement vehicle . I am concerned about safety of my, my family and other people on the road. I need help to get a reliable vehicle that I can use safely. I have valid extended warranty. I have attached example invoice showing I was asked to pay lot of money out of pocket ispite of having warranty.

The engine has a crack in cylinder 2. The vehicle is available for inspection in either Lakeland Florida or Dade City Florida. I am at risk of total engine failure while traveling, which could cause a multiple vehicle accident on the very busy roads here. The problem has been confirmed by a certified Ford mechanic who checked the engine fault code and pulled the ignition coil and spark plug to examine the cylinder. No others have examined the vehicle. I have contacted the local Ford dealership but have yet to hear back. The check engine light came on on [XXX], 3 days after I had a Ford dealership change the oil. I tried to make an appointment with the Ford dealership on April [XXX], but the clerk said I had to wait 8 more days (April XXX) for them to put it on the machine to read the code. I took it to a certified Ford mechanic who is at an independent garage on April [XXX]. He used the machine to read the code. He also noticed that the coolant was at the bottom of the tank. Had I waited until April [XXX] for the dealership to see my vehicle, the engine would have completely seized up and the entire engine would have been ruined. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Started out as misfire codes. Replaced spark plugs then ignition coils. Still getting misfire codes. Discovered engine coolant low and through research found there to be an KNOWN design flaw/issue with these engines that usually results in an entire COSTLY replacement to the customer. Listed in Ford TSB 22-2229. This should be a recall covered entirely by ford.

CYLINDER 3 MISFIRING AND CRACKED CAUSING COOLENT TO LEAK INTO ENGINE.

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that upon start of the vehicle, the check engine warning light appeared on the instrument panel with heavy white smoke coming from the exhaust pipe. The contact also stated that vehicle hesitated while depressing the accelerator pedal. The vehicle was initially taken to an independent mechanic where the contact was informed that the high-pressure fuel valve needed to be replaced. The vehicle was then taken to a dealer where it was determined that there was coolant intrusion into cylinder #1. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that there were no recalls on the VIN. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000.

I noticed my paint peeling bad around the edges of my windshield, I have not done anything to it to make this happen and upon reading further into the forums there is a large amount of escape owners who have the same issue, it is flaking away so bad I can clearly see metal, I would like to make a formal report

Coolant leaked out, and ran hot. Refilled coolant and it didn't leak out but still runs hot. Mechanic said the car runs hot as soon as it’s turned on; coolant is leaking into the cylinders or warped cylinders causing engine block cracks. Another problem is when I get fuel and start the car back up “auto manual restart” comes up on the dash and car shuts off. Car also sputters then shuts off every time I turn it back on after that until I press the gas pedal a few times. Has been smoking since April of 2024 but coolant problem occurred sometime in January of 2025. Fuel issue had been happening since September of 2024.

There is a known problem with the Ford Escape engines leaking coolant into the cylinders. I have a 2.0 which for two years there have been issues with engines needing to be replaced but Ford will not help owners of the 2.0 engine, only 1.5 and 1.9l engines. My 2.0 has coolant in the cylinders and needs a new engine. Ford claims there is not an issue with this engine yet and will not cover the repair. The warranty ran out two weeks ago and been dealing with this issue for months. There needs to be a recall on all Escape engines to protect the owners from being charged for an issue that Ford knows about but will not help all owners.

Got low coolant light while on highway and car lost power. Had to pull over. Car was completely out of coolant but no visible coolant leaks. This apparently is a known problem with this model engine from Ford.

Coolant intrusion into engine. This problem is known to Ford. See CSP Letter #21n12 and Technical Service Bulletin 22-2229. Ford only would fix problem if it existed in a 6 month window in 2022. Ford will not help with any costs even though it is their fault. Was advised by many other 2017 Ford Escape owners to report this issue to NHTSA.

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that when starting the vehicle, the engine was idling rough. The contact stated that there was an engine misfire, and the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine needed to be replaced due to coolant intrusion into the cylinders. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The contact had researched online and related the failure to Technical Service Bulletin Number: 19-2346 - Coolant in Cylinders (Engine and Engine Cooling). The failure mileage was approximately 98,000.

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 136,000.

THERE IS A COOLANT LEAK. I BOUGHT THE CAR FROM A DEALERSHIP IN APRIL 2024 . THE RESERVOIR WAS EMPTY IN 3 WEEKS. I FILLED IT BACK UP AND IT RAN EMTY AGAIN IN 3 WEEKS.

While driving car on expressway, my car was slowing down like it was going to shut off, and I immediately exit the highway and got off the nearest exit, and car shut off right as I was trying to exit highway. Ecoboost on vehicle is also not working. i believe also something on fire within vehicle.

Engine coolant leaks into the engine and it shuts down. Happened 3 times. We repaired not knowing it was same issues and now it broke down again on the highway. Now the mechanic says "you need a new engine". Perfect service records.

Mine was the 2017 2.0L 4-cylinder, with about 86,000 miles at time of incident. Code read as "P0303 - Cylinder 3 Misfire" Had a crack in Cylinder 3, allowing coolant and oil to get into the cylinder. I got my engine light code around 6 thousand miles before incident. When first addressing the issue, I took it in to dealer i bought it from (Fox Motors). According to their certified techs, the same problem was reported for the 1.5L engines and covered under recall(s), but not for the 2.0Ls. The fix for those cars was a whole new long block motor, approx $7,000. Throughout the next 6,000 miles, while trying to save up for said motor, the butt-end of Cylinder 3 blew out while on the road.

1.5L EcoBoost engine coolant draining into engine. Code P0302 Cylinder 2 (and now P0303 Cylinder 3) misfire. Causing the engine to overheat and stall on cold start.

There is a know problem when the 2 cylinder engines in the 2017 to 2019 Ford Escapes. It has a coolant leak that gets into the cyclinders and blows the engine. In our small town of Paris, Texas there has been 3 replaced this week as I know people in the Ford Lincoln parts department. Know they want me to pay 7k to replace their faulty engine. Please investigate.

The check engine light came on so we called the dealership. This is a 7.5 year old vehicle with under 50,000 miles. They made an appointment for us to come up over a week later. In the meantime the vehicle started to blow a lot of smoke when starting. Smelled like anti-freeze. We took it to the dealership early. Two days later they told us it needed a new engine. Our extended bumper to bumper warranty just ran out 6 months prior and we were hit with an estimate of $8000. I researched and found that Ford knows about this issue, and has for a few years now. There are recalls for this 2.0L engine in the Fusion, but not in the Escape. From what I read it seems to be a flaw in the design of the coolant channels, which can cause a coolant leak, engine over heating, and possibly a fire. We did not have this happen as we seem to have caught the issue early enough, however at this point we are without the vehicle and waiting for a new engine to be installed. And we are stuck with the bill.

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 65-70 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was parked for a while. The contact stated that while continuing to drive, the warning light was no longer illuminated. The contact stated that approximately two days after the first failure, the failure reoccurred; and the warning light started blinking instead of remaining constantly illuminated. The dealer diagnosed the vehicle and determined that coolant was leaking into the cylinders causing engine failure. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 58,000. The VIN was unavailable.

The vehicle was working properly until a week ago when the check engine light came on and we then smelled a strong odor of coolant. When we went to the mechanic we were told that our engine was in need of total replacement because coolant had leaked into it. I have since been told that this is a common problem with the eco-boost engine. This replacement is expected to cost us $10000. This obviously a flaw in the engine design as I have read a number of accounts very similar to ours.

I own a 2017 Ford Escape SE with an eco boost engine. All service of the vehicle was done in the dealership except the tune up. At 100,000 miles, I had a full tune up done on the vehicle. 30 days later, the engine light turned on so I had it checked. The frequency of the light turning on increases. I notice a slight shaking at times when the vehicle was cold. The company that did the tune up told me that they notice the car is loosing coolant but there were no visible leaks. When the coolant is replenished, the light turned off and the car works until one morning it just would not start. I towed the vehicle to the dealership to have it checked. They kept the vehicle for three weeks trying to figure out what was wrong with it since the car was not giving them any codes. They notice the second cylinder bore was corroded and so was the spark plug indicating that there was coolant intrusion into the cylinder bores. The car never gave me any indications of overheating. I spoke to Ford customer care to address the issue and was told I’m out of luck. I had found a letter they sent to me back in 2020 “ Customer Satisfaction Program 19B37. The letter described coolant intrusion into the cylinder bores that can lead to coolant loss, excessive tailpipe smoke, or illuminated malfunction indicator lights ( MIL ) due to engine misfire and could potentially lead to engine damage. Ford dealership said this recall has expired. They diagnosed the issue of the car as engine failure due to coolant intrusion in the engine and quoted me $10,000 to replaced the engine. Upon my research I learned that there’s a class lawsuit again Ford regarding this issue with their eco boost engines. I have a voice message from regional manager of the dealership claiming that all recall on this issue has expired and they can not do anything about it. The fact that the car did not give proper code for its engine light is a safety issue. Please investigate.

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that coolant was leaking into the engine. The contact also stated that the pistons were missing. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who informed the contact that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that an engine replacement was needed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the local dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 82,000.

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the vehicle was shuddering while starting and while driving at various speeds. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to Honest-1 Auto Care, where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion in the engine. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer, where the diagnostic result was confirmed. The dealer determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 85,000.

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at 30 MPH, the temperature gauge indicated that the vehicle was overheating. The contact stated that he pulled to the shoulder of the road; however, the failure persisted. The coolant temperature warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who determined that the coolant level was abnormally low, and the coolant reservoir was refilled; however, the failure reoccurred. The contact stated that after inspecting underneath the vehicle, she noticed coolant leaking from underneath the engine compartment. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, who determined that the vehicle was not experiencing a coolant leak but excessive coolant consumption; however, the dealer was unable to diagnose the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 80,000.

The engine broke down and coolant was coming in somehow. It required a total engine replacement.

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while attempting to change a flat tire, he became aware that the lug nuts became deformed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the lug nuts, informing the contact that the lug nuts were over torqued, resulting in damages to the lug nuts. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 77,000. The VIN was not available.

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving with the cruise control activated, the vehicle experienced hard shifting and shuddering, with a pinging sound coming from the engine. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that there was a misfire in cylinder #3, and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The contact was informed that the VIN was not included in the manufacturer's Extended Warranty coverage for the engine failure. The failure mileage was 78,000.

Due to the faulty design of the Ford ecoboost, coolant has leaked into my car's cylinders. The Ford technician at my local dealership has informed me that my car now needs a new engine at a cost of $7300 before tax. I have kept up with the maintainence and service on this vehicle. No one from Ford warned me this engine flaw. Only after discovering the leak did I become aware of this widespread problem with the Ecoboost.

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle would not properly accelerate. The contact stated that the check engine warning light remained illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle hesitated while accelerating and occasionally surged forward while depressing the accelerator pedal. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer were not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 60,000.

The contact's wife owned a 2017 Ford Escape. While the contact's wife was driving at 80 MPH, both a stop engine and check engine warning lights appeared on the instrument panel. The contact's wife called the contact who was then informed to immediately pull over. As the contact's wife pulled over, black smoke began to emit from the engine. The contact's wife exited the vehicle as the vehicle quickly caught fire. The authorities were called to the scene and the fire was extinguished. A police report was filed and no injuries were reported. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it remained in their possession. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The vehicle was destroyed as a result of the fire. The failure mileage was 100,000.

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving on the highway at unknown speeds, the message "Transmission Fault, Service Now" was displayed, and the vehicle stalled shortly afterward. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed, and the contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was later towed to another independent mechanic, where the same assessment was made. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 107,000.

The vehicle has been well maintained. It has a sealed transmission, and the recall item was scheduled to be serviced because a transmission fault. Light triggered after lurching forward into route 114 while oncoming traffic was traveling at 55 mph and nearly Hit the vehicle. Occurred, Then the transmission light came on advising faulty transmission service immediately. I shifted and a few times it would not go into gear, When I did go into gear, made a loud grinding sound. This is due to the recall However, there should be additional information to note for the recall. Rowe Ford would not cover the faulty transmission because they said it was due to debris inside of the system. This is a transmission and debris should not occur unless gears are grinding. I immediately parked the vehicle at my home and called Rowe Ford service center to schedule service. Transmission failure should not have occurred and would not have occurred if the bearing and shifting cable allowed for proper shifting. There are hundreds if not thousands of complaints about 2017 Ford escapes transmissions completely destroyed before it reaches 80,000 miles. This warrants an investigation. This cannot be a coincidence or driver error. This is due to inferior metal and slight grinding from the shifter bushing being faulty - creating the debris that clogs solenoids and plugs the filter. Remember, this is a closed system and there is no way to replace a dirty filter. I believe Ford purposely used inferior grade metal inside of the transmission to create issues that would increase revenue for sales and service. This absolutely warrants an investigation. I am asking for samples of the debris because it is my belief that Ford intentionally used low-grade metal inside the transmission because it would wear away quicker which would cause an uptick in sales and service.

My vehicles transmission went out while driving which cause my vehicle to abruptly stop in traffic, my vehicle at the time only has about 76,000 miles on it, it is a 2017, from googling more information it appears that transmissions going out on this year and model of vehicle is common, I am wondering if there isn't something more going on with this line of vehicles. I know that recalls have been issued before on certain Ford vehicles in regards to transmissions, I know I had them fix the one recall while it was in the shop, but this doesn't seem like it was a one vehicle issue.

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine was misfiring, and the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a coolant leak into the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be repaired. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. In addition, the contact was advised to report the failure to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 96,000.

MY FORD ESCAPE IS IN THE. DEALERS SHOP WITH A DIAGNOSIS OF COOLANT IN THE CYLINDERS THE FIX IS ENGINE REPLACEMENT AT $8,000.00 TO $9,000.00. I UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IN AN ONGOING PROBLEM WITH FORD 1.5 AND 2.0 LITER ENGINES. MY CAR HAS 50,419 MILES AS OF 2-21-24. WHY HASN’T THERE BEEN A RECALL OR OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM? APPARENTLY A LARGE NUMBER OF FORD CUSTOMERS HAVE THIS PROBLEM.

Coolant leaking into engine per EcoBoost system and can cause engine to stop car in motion or can also start fire. Whites Ford in Orrville, Ohio quoted the report and needs a whole new engine to correct known issue at $9,000 I am not clear why there is no safety recall for my vin# If you can resolve this safety issue with Ford soon and keep us informed Thank you [XXX] and [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds the vehicle had experienced engine misfiring and rough operation. Also, the check engine warning light had been illuminated and white smoke was present coming from the exhaust system. While inspecting under the hood it was discovered that the engine coolant level in the coolant reservoir was extremely low. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the engine coolant was present inside the engine cylinder number four and advised that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 82,194

The contact owns a 2017 FORD Escape. The contact stated while driving the vehicle, it ran rough and the contact noticed the cooling level was low. No warning lights was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the water pump was replaced. However the failure persisted. The contact referenced NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V416000 (Engine and Engine Cooling, Electrical System) as a possible solution however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact the vehicle was not included in the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 84,000.

My car has roughly 55,000 miles on it. The check engine light was turning on and off intermittently. Every time I took it to the dealership, the light would go off and they could not retrieve a code. Recently it started idling rough when it would first start. Within a few days it started driving very rough. Took it to the dealership and they determined that coolant was leaking into the cylinders causing the engine to misfire. They have told me I need the entire long block replaced. I searched online and this appears to be a known issue on Ford 2.0L EcoBoost engines.

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated intermittently. The contacted stated that the vehicle was taken to the dealer several times, but the dealer was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the front end and the rear end of the vehicle were shuddering. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where the transmission was replaced; however, the front end of the vehicle continued to shudder while starting the vehicle. Additionally, the check engine warning light illuminated intermittently. The vehicle was taken back to the independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that cylinder #2 was misfiring. The mechanic replaced the shock absorbers and spark plugs; however, the failure persisted. The mechanic diagnosed that there was coolant intrusion in the cylinders. The mechanic determined that the failure was related to Ford TSB Number: 22-2229. Additionally, the contact related the failure to Ford TSB Numbers: 22-2133 19B37 and 19-2172. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 116,789.