NHTSA Owner Complaint Log
This page lists owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2017 Ford Escape. Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA and do not by themselves prove a defect or defect rate.
Data synced from NHTSA on May 4, 2026
2017 FORD ESCAPE. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO PARTS BEING UNAVAILABLE TO PEFORM SAFETY RECALL.
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that the original lug nuts installed on all four wheels were made of steel and covered in chrome. Over time, the lug nuts had become swollen which made it difficult to remove the lug nuts. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the contact was informed of the failure. The mechanic declined to remove the lug nuts out of concern that the lug nuts would not be able to be reinstalled once removed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed him that the vehicle was out of warranty. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 35,000.
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that there was a coolant leak; however, the mechanic was unable to repair the vehicle. The mechanic referred the contact to a dealer for assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000. The VIN was unavailable.
Driving home from work 8/3 the transmission began to slip, RPM’s going wild & the car stalling mid drive. When taking off from a stop the vehicles behind me often almost rear ended me because the car would only go 5-10 mph. Then all the sudden would get up to speed quickly only to slip again. Drove it the following morning to the dealership just before work. Same issues as the day before except there was a red warning to service the transmission right away due to failure. 80,000 miles seems to be when this Ford 2017 transmission is famous for going out completely. The dealer was more concerned about accepting zero liability while charging an exorbitant amount for a rental car & declaring the car out of warranty so not their issue.
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while the gear shifter was shifted into reverse(R), the vehicle jerked and drove forward. Additionally, the vehicle rolled forward while the gear shifter was shifted into park(P) and the parking brake was applied to stop the vehicle. The dealer was made aware of the failure but confirmed that parts were not yet available. Rivertown Ford (1680 Whittlesey Rd, Columbus, GA 31904) was also made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the manufacturer. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train) which included the VIN; however, she had not yet received notification. The failure mileage was approximately 103,000.
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the temperature gauge fluctuated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that coolant had leaked into the engine cylinders and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that there was no recall associated with the VIN. The manufacturer advised the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 65,000.
Sometime in August 2022 I began noticing smoke coming out from under the vehicle each time we started it. When the problem persisted, we took the vehicle to our Ford Dealership. A service representative said coolant was leaking into the turbocharger. He did not specifically say the car was unsafe to drive but I believe driving it would risk a fire. Repairs require a new turbocharger assembly, an oil feed pipe, a drain tube assembly, and an oil filter assembly and gasket, antifreeze, exhaust manifold gasket and and some other gaskets and fasteners. The turbocharger assembly has been on back order for more than two months since we took our vehicle in, so we have not had the use of it for that time. The service rep. said the back order is nationwide. On the internet I found that a California law firm has filed a class action lawsuit against Ford over what sounds like the same problem. I'm reporting my incident because I believe this may involve a problem with the design or assembly process on this model. BTW, attached documents show my wife Jean as the customer.
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while operating the vehicle, the check engine warning light remained illuminated. The vehicle was driving rough and would not properly accelerate with the odor of coolant present inside the vehicle. The contact diagnosed the vehicle with a misfire due to coolant leaking into cylinder #4. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 55,000.
Transmission went out with no warning at all while traveling down a road. It just quit pulling. Dealership stated Ford is having to redesign due to issue with current design. Does not cover this with current recall on the cable. Five at dealership with same problem at a small town dealership Had we been on a interstate and this happened we could have been killed. We were almost rear ended when it just stopped. Spoke with Ford company and they stated they do not issue recalls that it comes from NHTSA. PLEASE don't wait until fatalities happen to force this recall. If they know it is a design issue why want they correct it
The contact owns a 2017 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 where it was diagnosed with coolant leaking into the cylinder head. The dealer informed the contact that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 76,700.
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the engine was misfiring. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to continue driving. The contact, who is an independent mechanic, diagnosed that cylinder #2 was misfiring. Upon further investigation, the contact diagnosed that coolant was leaking from the radiator into cylinder #2. An unknown dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact there was no recall associated with the failure. The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring increasingly while driving. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was opened. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000.
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an unknown speed and depressing the accelerator pedal, there was black smoke coming from the rear of the vehicle. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact stated she had experienced the failure on two separate occasions. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer in March of 2023, where it was diagnosed with needing the transmission to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired on April 11, 2023. The contact stated that the engine failure warning light illuminated on June 4, 2023. The contact took the vehicle back to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the engine to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while his daughter was driving approximately 60 MPH, the check engine light illuminated, and the vehicle started losing motive power and was running rough and vibrating. The contact had the vehicle towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the failure was due to coolant intrusion into the cylinders and advised the contact to take the vehicle to a dealer. The contact had the vehicle towed to a local dealer however, the vehicle was not diagnosed. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The contact had been advised by the manufacturer that the failure was related to Customer Satisfaction Program: 21N12 - Coolant Intrusion Into Engine Block (Engine and Engine Cooling). The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
Coolant leaked into engine cylinder and locked the engine. This is a known defect from TSB 22-2229. Only fix is replacement of engine.
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact referenced NHTSA Campaign Number 22V413000 (Power Train). The contact stated that while driving, the transmission inadvertently slipped out of gear. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The mechanic retrieved fault code: sensor two (oxygen sensor). Additionally, the vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission and torque converter needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 64,000.
All of a sudden my transmission service fault light has came on, my escape won’t shift into gear, and when it is in park it won’t go into drive it any other gear without you forcing it. I have called farina, Effingham, Salem, Centralia, Newton and none of them can get my car in for a month. I am now without a vehicle and I’m needing something done.
Engine failure due to loss of compression in two cylinders. Local mechanic believes that the cylinder block or head has failed.
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that cylinder #2 needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure reoccurred with the vehicle experiencing rough starts. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that coolant had leaked into the cylinder and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA. The failure mileage was approximately 83,750.
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that there was an engine misfire while starting the vehicle. The check engine warning light illuminated. The contact turned off the vehicle. The contact stated that a family member inspected the vehicle and noticed that the coolant level was low and that coolant was leaking into the engine. The vehicle was not diagnosed. The contact called the dealer and explained the failure; however, the contact was informed that there was no need for a diagnostic test, due to the failure being a known issue. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 109,000.
Purchased in late 2021 with approximately 68000 miles on the odometer. Began experiencing coolant loss despite no apparent leakage outside the engine. Coolant loss became so prevalent that vehicle overheated requiring towing to a garage. At garage they diagnosed that coolant was leaking into Cylinder 2 of the engine and this issue requires a complete engine replacement. Investigated for other similar issues and found that this is a known and very common issue with Ford Ecoboost 1.5 liter engines, and has been widely known about since 2019, apparently impacting 2013 to 2019 model years for various ford cars, common factor being the ecoboost 1.5 liter engine. Despite this being widely known and a special service bulletin that i found on your website from 2019 stating the issue. https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2019/MC-10162071-0001.pdf I have already paid out $4000 to order a new engine that will not be at the shop until mid September, and there will be an additional approximately $3000 labor bill for the engine replacement. How are they still allowed to sell these vehicles without advising potential owners of this common issue? And how has this not resulted in a recall action that would have saved many many people major financial damage.
The vehicle steering is very stiff and it is difficult to drive. When moving at lower speeds it is almost impossible to turn the vehicle.
On 7/24/22, upon starting the vehicle the “check engine” light on the dash display came on and stayed on during my trip to church and then again on my way home. Because it was Sunday, the Ford Dealer where I purchased the vehicle new in June 2017 was closed. I called the next day and made an appointment to take the vehicle to the dealer service department on 7/27. The service technician determined that coolant is leaking into the cylinders. The fix, according to Ford TSB 22-2229, is engine replacement. The repair estimate totals $7,852.16. The vehicle has 66727 miles on it and is out of warranty. From online research I have learned this is an issue that has occurred frequently with this and other ford models.
The “steering fault failure” warning came on after an alarm, stating that it needed immediate repair. Within less than 5 minutes, steering failed. Wheel was practically locked. I was just about to make a U-turn when this occurred. I was lucky not to be on a busy road. Dealer states it can not reproduce problem. For safety’s sake, the steering rack should be replaced since this is the second time this happened. The last episode occurred when the dealership was changing hands and was not followed up on. Now the dealer called, stating problem is not reproducible. I feel like I’m driving an unsafe vehicle, with no recourse. The car is still covered with an extended warranty, which is proving worthless.
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the vehicle was shifted to park and the engine failed to turn off when the ignition was turned to off position and the key was moved. The contact was unsure of any warning lights being illuminated. The contact stated he reinserted the key, turned the ignition to the off position, and depressed the brake pedal and the engine turned off. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or independent mechanic for diagnostic test or repair. The contact stated that he received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train) and was relating the failure to the recall. The dealer was contacted and made aware of the failure. The dealer stated that parts were not available for the recall repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was unknown. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
Lug nuts could not be removed
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power. The contact was able to restart the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to take the vehicle to a dealer. The failure mileage was 106,831. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
After learning that the car was the subject of a TSB fir this issue, "Some of the affected vehicles may exhibit coolant intrusion into the cylinder bores. Customer symptoms include coolant loss, excessive tailpipe smoke, or illuminated malfunction indicator lights (MIL) due to engine misfire. Over time, this condition may damage the engine, requiring replacement of the engine short block." We had this issue occur to us. The vehicle needs an engine. The coolant is leaking down into the cylinder walls. It is 8600.00 plus tax to replace the engine.
I received the following notice of an issue with my transmission: "Summary ON YOUR VEHICLE, IT MAY BE POSSIBLE THE TRANSMISSION SHIFTER CABLE BUSHING IS DAMAGED OR MISSING." They then stated the following SAFETY RISKS: "A DAMAGED OR MISSING BUSHING COULD PREVENT THE SHIFTER FROM MOVING THE TRANSMISSION INTO THE INTENDED GEAR POSITION AND CAUSE THE VEHICLE TO MOVE IN AN UNEXPECTED DIRECTION. THE TRANSMISSION MAY NOT BE IN THE PARK POSITION, EVEN THOUGH THE SHIFTER POSITION INDICATES THAT THE VEHICLE WAS SHIFTED TO PARK. EXITING A VEHICLE WITHOUT THE TRANSMISSION IN THE PARK POSITION AND WITHOUT APPLICATION OF THE PARKING BRAKE MAY ALLOW THE VEHICLE TO ROLL, INCREASING THE RISK OF INJURY OR CRASH." Ford then stated that parts to remedy the issue would not be available until quarter 4 of 2022, which is three months away. I cannot drive a car that might, in their words, "move in an unexpected direction." I have two small children and do not feel safe driving a vehicle that poses this risk. When I called Ford, I was told that, "They understand the predicament that this puts me in. However, they do not have a remedy at this time and they are keeping track of the timeline for the parts." It is unacceptable to ask car owners to drive a car that is in their words, a safety risk, for three months.
As of Monday, July 18, 2022, 2017, Ford Escape is not starting. I do not know as to why it won’t start. I have called Lamarque Ford in New Orleans, last week on July 13th and14th and kept getting transferred back and forth with no solution. Called, Monday, July 18th, and was told the department was back up until October. Told Eddie/ person I spoke with that I had the VIN number would he tell me if the part was in. Eddie said no the car would have to be serviced to tell what was wrong. Yes I hung up no immediate help being given. First off Ford se r me a letter stating a recall on the vehicle. At this point the car is not starting up at all.
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while making a left turn, the vehicle began to stall. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that while depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle lunged forward. The contact decided to park the vehicle. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic the next day however, the mechanic was unable to diagnose and determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The contact stated two days later she received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. 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. VIN tool confirms parts not available. The failure mileage was approximately 61,000.
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact received an unknown recall notice however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure.
Illuminating malfunction indicator lamp, low coolant level, white exhaust smoke, runs then no start, blowing fuses, coolant intrusion into cylinder
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle hesitated during acceleration. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle independently shifted from drive, slowed down, and jerked. The vehicle then accelerated. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. The local dealer was not contacted. 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. VIN tool confirms parts not available. The approximate failure mileage was 67,000.
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle and shifting to drive(D), there was a loud thumping noise heard. The “Service Transmission” message was displayed and the vehicle would not accelerate properly. The vehicle was slowly driven to the nearby dealer who examined the vehicle and diagnosed that transmission had failed and needed to be repaired. No further information was available. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 74,000.
I was driving on the highway on a hot (100*) day. I heard a loud boom. I looked at all of my windows and driver control panel, and did not see an issue. Then I heard wind, and realized it was coming from above me. The front panel of my moon roof had exploded - shattering into a million tiny pieces. The majority of the tempering held for a short period of time, but eventually the glass collapsed in. I had an approximately 8 inch hole in my roof, and the rest was in tiny pieces, which continued to rain in until I had the glass repaired. When I heard the sound, I attempted to open the shade, and small fragments of glass rained on me. If this had been open when it occurred, this would have been disastrous. I took it to my car repair facility and it was over $1000 to have the piece of glass repaired. They confirmed that spontaneous explosion of sun/moon roofs is an issue that is increasing in frequency due to the size of these structures on cars. My insurance repaired the glass due to my "glass - full coverage." There were no prior warnings.
The front passenger seat belts do not lock during hard braking. Seats belts fail to lock and engage. This is a very serious safety issues. If we were to get into an accident I fear the possible damage during impact
Swollen lug nuts
Coolant leaking into #2 cylinder and short block needs to be replaced. Known issue with the ecoboost with Ford and yet they keep selling it and won’t cover the cost for replacement motor which costs $7,200! Car is 5 years old.
The contact owns a 2017 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, and the dealer replaced the spark plugs; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the engine block was allowing coolant to leak into the engine. The dealer informed the contact that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic where it remained unrepaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
Cylinders 1 & 3 began to misfire, sparkplug, wires, coils replaced, 2 days later engine light pops back on with same error codes. Noticed very low coolant and then discovered coolant in oil.
Engine was not able to continue accelerating onto a freeway entrance ramp or up a hill. It began to struggle and would not increase in rpms. The low pressure oil light flashed for a second when this happened. Never saw an engine light go off. Since the engine light never went off I continued to drive this vehicle, on highways where there were situations where I could not maintain a safe highway speed. It was scary and felt the engine would quit any second. But it would settle and again no indicators went off. After any struggle on a freeway the next 24 hours the engine would struggle even driving on local roads (under 40mph); could not accelerate and all and felt the car would stall any second. Sometimes the oil indicator would go off, sometimes not. This was reproduced and confirmed by a Ford Dealer. They found metal in the engine oil and said the entire engine needed to be replaced. They currently have the faulty engine. No others have inspected the engine at this point. Again no engine warnings went off and my entire engine needed to be replaced, it was not an option to wait. It wasn't safe to drive. This is not related to the current recall.
I was on a parkway when the power steering stopped working suddenly. Controlling the vehicle became extremely difficult. I have not been to the shop due to availability, but the OBD sent a message that power assist failed.
Check engine light came on and took it to the dealer. quick diagnosis was a misfire on piston #1. Was told that there is a known problem with coolant leaking into the piston and it happened with previous ford engines. took it in to be tested and was just told that the engine needs to be replaced for a total of $6000.
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 MPH, the check engine warning light and the "Engine Fault Service Now" message was displayed. The vehicle was later taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the throttle body and crankshaft case pressure sensor were faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 29,100.
This is a sensor that indicates a problem with the power train transmission parking.
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while starting to drive, the vehicle was jerking. The contact also stated that the transmission was shifting hard. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 74,000.
Engine developed a coolant leak that irreparably damaged the engine with 72,000 miles. The coolant leak is a known issue and Ford failed to inform consumers or offer a repair. The vehicle is inoperable and still has payments due on the loan.
The brake light assembly seem separates and water leaks in causing the brake lights to fail. I went online to see if this was an issue, it seems to be a very big issue with this vehicle.
On July 1, 2022 we were turning left onto another street and the car started hesitating and the dash indicator said "stop vehicle, severe/extreme engine heat, do not drive". The Police came right away and we were blocking traffic, they told us we had to move it out of the driving lane and they couldn't push us with their cruiser. Other cars trying to pass were honking and had to move in the other travel lane to get around us. We are lucky we were not hit by another motorist, it was rush hour. We had no prior incidents or warnings. We had to keep trying to complete the turn and it would jerk forward a little, it took at least 20 times of putting it in park, starting engine and put it in drive to jerk along the road to a safe lot that was about 20 yards away. We had to get a AAA Tow Truck to take us to our place nearby since the Ford Dealership was closed for the 4th of July Holiday weekend. On July 5th we got another Tow Truck to take us to the Dealership. The Estimate we received by phone on July 6 said the small block engine had to be replaced because the coolant had entered the engine and it ruined the motor. We only had about 45,000 miles on the odometer. The Estimate was $5,100 and we were several months past the warranty so we had to use up about half our savings. I called Ford Motor Co. and asked if there was any help available for the repairs, but they said there was none and there is no recall for this problem. I checked the Internet for this specific issue and there have been many people complaining of this happening and there are a few pending Law Suits trying to force Ford to recognize they have a Manufacturing failure with these vehicles that have the Eco-Boost feature. The final bill was $5,400 because they also discovered the Water Pump had damage too and had to be replaced. It took 49 days until the vehicle was completed. We had to rent a car for 2 weeks, then got a loaner from Ford shop. The repair only has a 3 Yr Warranty.