2018 Ford Escape Complaint Log

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, several unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact was able to pull over to the shoulder of the road and restart the vehicle; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to a local independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with DTC: P0012. The vehicle was taken to another independent service center, where it was diagnosed and DTC: P0014, P1299, P0012, and P04DB were retrieved. The local dealer was contacted and related the failure to Customer Satisfaction Program: 19B37. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 146,318.

Purchased vehicle used and had my mechanic inspect it. They reported that there was a possible coolant leak and so I took it back to the dealer, Antwerpen Toyota. They couldn’t find anything. After a couple oil changes where my mechanic continued to state there was a coolant leak somewhere, went back to Antwerpen where they said it could be that the radiator isn’t sealed properly. Took it to a proper Ford dealer who has now said there is coolant intrusion in an engine cylinder and the engine needs replaced, which from looking online, seems to be a frequently occurring issue with these engines that has not been recalled

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine started to misfire, with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was able to restart; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the vehicle was diagnosed with coolant intrusion into the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was contacted, and the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 136,000.

See attached document for complaint.

The engine was throwing multiple codes from misfires to crank sensors. Low coolant light was not working. Engine ended up having a blown head gasket and overheated because of low coolant. Upon researching the problem, I have found that this is a huge issue with the 1.5l eco boost and many people are having their motors blown while ford does nothing about the problem.

On Friday, August 9, the check engine light was blinking and the car ran roughly. On Saturday, August 10, I had my car towed to AAA Repair. Current codes: P0316 - Misfire Detected on startup; P0302 - Cylinder 2 misfire; swap CYL2 coil to CYL4 & retest..misfire remains on CYL2. TSB:22-2322 indicates cylinder failure allowing coolant into the engine causing misfire and rough running. AAA recommended vehicle service be done at the dealership—complete engine rebuild/replacement. The dealership recommends a complete engine rebuild/replacement with an estimate of $11,400. The balance on paying off the car is $8,400.

My car overheated and broke down on the highway. Towed in to a repair shop and was told I needed a new engine because of leaky coolant in the gasket? I just paid my car off last month, purchased directly from the dealer in 2019. It has an Eco Boost which are having these issues across the board. I was told the cost to repair or replace a new engine could range from $3500-6000k. Are they going to recall this vehicle as well? I can’t afford that and should not have to pay that for 5 year old car I would like it to added to recalls with this issue.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 87,300.

Took the vehicle to 3 different mechanics for estimate as my daughter was driving the car and it started to over heat, white smoke coming from tailpipe , coolant level very low or gone. It was determined this is a known issue on this 1.5L eco boost engine. Estimate $9K to replace with new engine! It's technically not a blown head gasket. It's a design/manufacturing defect in the open-deck design of the block. Google "Ecoboost coolant intrusion" and "Ford Customer Service Program 21N12" for more info.

My car had less than 143,000 miles on it and started shuddering going down the highway. I was able to get pulled over and have taken it to a mechanic shop and they diagnosed it as a bad transmission. With metal shavings in the fluid. They also said they had another escape there with exactly the same issue. As well as I have seen that there are now class actions going on for this issue. And that Ford was aware of the issue as a consumer I feel this should not be allowed

This is the third time I have had to get this fixed!! But this time my power steering completely locked up. It's electric power steering so it's not cheap and I am still paying on the vehicle also!! I have driven Fords all my life but I am just about done

It is a power train failure. Hi my name is [XXX] I bought a 2018 Ford escape SE 1.5L eco boost on 9-3-2022 and it had 75,000 miles on it. I’m now finding out that it had a recall (21N12) when I bought it that expired at 84,000 miles. My car is now at 120,000 miles and my engine needs to be replaced. I was never told about the recall and was still sold the car that didn’t even last 2 YEARS!!!!! Now it’s going to be $8,000 to replace my motor. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Coolant leak caused engine failure while I was driving. Engine warning came on and alerted me the Engine was overheating and to pull over as soon as it was safe to do so. I did immediately and had the car towed to Ford dealer garage

I have coolant leaking into my engine. There are several misfires occurring ans it doesn’t always start. Have replaced spark plugs and a few hoses. Issue still isn’t resolved

I bought a 2018 Ford Escape 1.5L ecoboost as the 2 or 3rd owner. There were no recalls I checked and also did a carfax when I bought the car 7/4/2024. I was driving the car and all of a sudden the car slows itself down from 50mph to 5mph and give me a warning car is overheating. Got to side of road safely and took to the mechanic he then told me about fords customer satisfaction program but since I have 95k miles my car does not qualifiy as they only gave 4 months to people with 84k miles to get fixed free if you are over they will nto fix. I did not own the car when they sent this out in 2022 and there was nothing made public about this engine isssue they are aware of. I am still sore from the seat belts locking up and have neck issues. this car sits in my garage as a paperweight now.

Engine dead due to coolant intrusion from the manufacturing defect in the cylinder walls.The defect is KNOWN to be an issue according to Technical Service Bulletin 22-2229

Head gasket blown at 97,000 miles. My car died in the middle of the road. My car was deemed not drivable by the dealership. The problem started with a P0303 code which was a cylinder three misfire. I had a shop look it and they were going to replace the spark plug and coil pack. Three days later my car overheated on my way to get the repair and they said my head gasket was blown. This was in August of 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine misfired and the vehicle jerked. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion and engine failure. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 44,000.

I found coolant reservoir was really low. And found a check engine light. I scanned and found a code related to misfiring. After googling it I found that is a commonly issue in this vehicles related to a bad engine design. I am in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. And bought the car here. So I am wondering if we are covered by this vehicle complaint.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while parking the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a Toyota dealer where the vehicle was purchased. The dealer determined that there was coolant intrusion into the cylinders due to a cracked engine block. The dealer determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The dealer informed the contact that the repair could not be covered under an extended warranty because the vehicle had exceeded the mileage limitations. The vehicle was not repaired. The Ford dealer and manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 86,000.

Took vehicle in to be serviced for a Crank shaft position sensor yesterday 7/31/2024. Have never had any other issue, but was told that they found coolant in our spark plug cylinder 3. The dealership said it would be around $9.000.00 for a new engine. Dealership said there was massive amounts of smoke and we have never experiences this issue in the past. Was last serviced on 6/24/024 with 92.086 miles.

Coolant is leaking into the engine and combusting, causing smoke. Happened on the highway, I had to stop and was almost hit. Local mechanic confirmed the problem, says the engine could catch on fire if I had kept driving it. The check engine light came on.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving from a complete stop, the vehicle shuddered, jerked, and felt bouncy. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring while driving from a complete stop. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the transmission had failed and needed to be replaced. The dealer informed the contact that the repair was not covered under warranty. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was opened. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 66,018.

On [XXX], I got my first “check engine” light. I immediately went to get my car scanned and it came up as a Cylinder 4 misfire. I bought the replacement parts and had them replaced the same day. About a week later, the light came on again. I went to get it scanned and got the same error, Cylinder 4 misfire. At this point, I replaced all of the spark plugs and coils. This seemed to work for about 2 weeks when the check engine light came on again. Soon after, I got an “Engine Fault – Service Now” warning. I looked under the hood and saw that my coolant was nearly gone. After filling the tank with coolant, the lights went away. This past week, on [XXX], I got the “High Engine Temperature – Stop Safely” warning. This is when I took my car into Imlay City Ford Dealership. Now I am being told that I have coolant leaking into the cylinders and that I need to replace the engine. After further investigation, there was a recall for this exact issue back in June of 2022, but I never received any type of notice. I contacted the dealership that I purchased the car from, and they were able to tell me that this was under the Customer Satisfaction Program 21N12, which provides a free one-time repair if your vehicle exhibits coolant leakage into the cylinder bores causing engine damage. The problem is, I was not contact about this and I had no idea there was a recall notice until it was too late. The Customer Satisfaction Program only covers up to 7 years, or 84,000 miles in which I am now past. Regards, [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

For the 6 month my check engine light has been on First repairs was replacing both bank sensors, About 3 months later again replaced another sensor. Again check engine light would go off And out of no where one morning the the dashboard reads overheating it goes in limb mode gets repairs changes thermostatabd something else Light off that's in Jan 2025, here mar 25 on again change spark plugs also misfire code burning coolant with no leak no warning on dashboard Start doing research and wow notice coolant leaking into cylinders Take my car to get looked at guess what that's what's happening to me Ford. Is highly aware with no recall This really needs to be looked at

Engine coolant leak caused spark plug to get stuck and as a result I had to pay out of my pocket to replace the engine.

Frequently (not all the time) the motor would shake after filling with the gas in tank when I start the engine and it stops pumping. So It needs to be turned back on and have to use the gas pedal to keep it running during neutral mode. Something is not right. It has to do with fuel pump system issue and engine light would be on when the problem comes.

Engine coolant into cylinders, resulting in white smoke exhaust, fouling spark plugs and coils due to engine coolant leak in combustion chambers, and engine coolant leak due to issue.

Coolant began leaking into the cylinders causing my car to overheat while driving making this dangerous

While driving I received a ‘Engine Failure, Service Now’ notification; however, the check engine light was not on. I immediately called a ford dealership and said it was fine. I did not trust it and took it to an O’Reilley’s store to get a free diagnostics, everything was cleared. The next morning I still went to the dealership to ask. At this point the notification wasn’t on anymore but I did notice there was no coolant in the tank. They ran a regular diagnostics and told me car was fine. Again, I didn’t trust it and asked for more diagnostics. After charging me $200 they did it and found coolant leaking into the engine and cylinders. Car still runs but it did not make me feel safe driving with the notification and the rest of the diagnostics showing zero issues was extremely suspicious. They told me my engine needed to be replaced. I researched the issue and found Ford notified widely this issue in early 2020 and ford dealership sold me this in late 2020 and never told me about said issue or notification. I was told there is a program to get it fixed but is not active anymore. On too of that, ford had a warning on my car VIN number for two years and they never notified me of it during service appointments for the last 2 to 4 years I have been going there. I do not feel safe driving my car and ford won’t do any repairs about it even after they admitted to me it was a manufacturing fault and my car is under that block/build affected.

While traveling from Massachusetts to South Carolina we stopped at a rest area for a break. when we re-started the S.U.V., a message was displayed that the power steering assist was no longer working. No warning and it was running fine before stop. Because the same thing happened on my other Ford Edge, I knew what I needed to do. We had to have the car towed off highway to a local Ford dealership, were they confirmed that the rack and pinion steering system FAILED. It took the dealer 2 weeks to repair it at a cost of $3,171.45. Because this as happened on two different FORD products I believe that Ford has a problem with the steering system and that the N.H.T.S.A. dept should look into this?? I filed a complaint with N.H.T.S.A. dept on my first S.U.V.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving approximately 55 MPH, the temperature gauge became extremely elevated. The contact’s daughter was able to pull over to the shoulder of the roadway to refill the coolant reservoir and allow the engine temperature to cool down. The vehicle was temporarily repaired. The contact stated that later the same day, the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was towed to a local independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that there was a coolant leak present inside the engine and there was an abnormal odor coming from the exhaust. The vehicle was not repaired. The local dealer was contacted, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 91,379.

Coolant leaked into the engine causing it to overheat requiring the engine to be replaced. This was a known defect by Ford regarding this year Escape

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was driven to an Auto Zone and the mechanic suggested there might be a spark plug failure, but the vehicle was not diagnosed. The contact then drove to the dealer and the vehicle was diagnosed with coolant intrusion. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The dealer also notified the contact of an undisclosed TSB associated to the engine coolant intrusion; however, the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 102,000.

3 hours into a 4 hour drive, stopped for rest room. Got back into vehicle, started backing up and couldn't turn the wheel - almost hit a CAR. I had just spent the last 3 hours on an interstate, thankfully I didn't happen a moment sooner. Steering fault illuminated on dash - towed 100+ miles to local garage - FAILED PART IS STEERING RACK MODULATOR AT A COST OF $3200 AND ALMOST 2 LIVES. AUTO ONLY HAS 65,000 miles/2018

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while at the local dealer for routine maintenance, upon further inspection, the contact was informed that a tune-up could not be performed due to a spark plug not being able to be removed. In addition, the contact was advised that there was a coolant intrusion into the engine. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 117,000.

The check engine light was intermittently on and off for several days in late June. We went to AutoZone to read code, which said Misfire Cylinder 3. So we bought spark plugs and asked our mechanic friend to replace all four of them before our road trip as the mechanic suggested. The safety of the driver and passengers was put at risk due to the high engine temperature warning while driving on the highway, indicating a potential engine overheating issue. We waited till it cooled down and saw the coolant was below the minimum level. So, we drove to a small car care centre. They didn’t find any leak and just added some coolant. And the check engine light was cleared. But it came back on again the next day and we were still loosing coolant. We were too worried to drive too far, so we went to Meineke in New Haven. They checked everything and replaced our four spark plugs again because the former ones were overtightened as they said. They also replaced rear brake pads and rotors, and did tune-up. The light was cleared again. However, the light came back on again on Jul. 12. We’ve kept an eye on the coolant recently. And last week we found it was below the minimum level again. We replaced the cap of the coolant reservoir and added some fuel injection cleaner. We didn’t see any visible leak but are still losing coolant. 5. We don’t know if it’s safe to drive this vehicle even if this is only transport of our family. Ford refused to help even if they failed to disclose that FORD ESCAPES have a defect that causes coolant to leak into the engine’s cylinders, which can cause corrosion, oil dilution and contamination, and engine failure; and failed to disclose these defects create a safety risk, because the lack of coolant created by the leaks causes overheating and can result in the cylinder head cracking, total engine failure, and/or engine fires.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact became aware that the engine was overheating with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was able to be restarted; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the vehicle was diagnosed with coolant intrusion into the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 135,000.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine needed to be replaced due to a coolant intrusion into cylinder #1. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 52,500.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. While the contact’s wife was driving approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle was a vibrating abnormally with an abnormal sound. The contact stated that after the RPM rose to 3,000 RPM the abnormal sound ceased. The driver pulled over to the side of the roadway and contacted an independent mechanic by phone. The mechanic listened to the sound and informed the driver to continue driving the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the same independent mechanic who diagnosed that the flywheel had fractured and needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The mechanic referred the contact to the dealer. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the diagnosis was confirmed. The flywheel was replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was 115,000.

Ford designed, manufactured, and sold flawed 1.5l engines. Ford initiated Customer Satisfaction Program 21N12 as a result. This program unfairly limit the manufacturer’s liability for THEIR design. Mileage is limited to 84,000. I myself easily googled and located many complaints online of the coolant intrusion issue not occurring until AFTER the 90,000 mile mark. How is Ford able to self-limit their liability for their dangerous and clearly faulty design? This is impacting many people who can’t afford to drop another $14,000 on an engine replacement (when many of us are making payments on a now un-driveable vehicle). Who will hold Ford responsible?

I was told by Ford during an oil change around 06/2024 that my coolant is leaking and I needed a new engine.. now my car keeps overheating and I haven't been able to drive it for about 5 months....my extended warranty is also expired now....they said there was a recall for this, but expired back in 2022? I never received notification of this... it makes no sense to me.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion into the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 72,344.

Vehicle has less than 100k miles and has an engine failure resulting from coolant intrusion. Ford support admits this is a known issue but refuses to give any remedial action to solve it because the nhtsa handles recalls not them. They will not tell me anything unless I pay to have it towed to a dealer and pay for diagnostics.

Coolant Leak, engine damage, overheated engine

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the engine was shuddering significantly. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with engine failure and cylinder #3 misfire. The dealer replaced the spark plugs; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion into the engine. 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 45,000.

Coolant is leaking into cylinder 3 and is confirmed by a repair/service shop that it has a bad head gasket. No one else including dealership has inspected it. Upon research, this appears to be a well known and widespread issue with the Ford Escape 2018 as well as other years of this model. Ford continues to give no action, recall, or recourse for those affected who will be out over $5,000K to repair their engine.

While driving the engine would run rough and started missing which resulted in diminished power. Took it to mechanic to change spark plugs. Problem still continued. Took it to Ford dealership for diagnostic test. They determined there is coolant intrusion in cylinders #2 & # 3. Recommended engine replacement.

Engine light came on. I took it to repair shop, they inspected and told me there is a Coolant leak in the Combustion Chamber and I, eventually will have to replace they engine.Therefore, in the County I currently live in, the vehicle will not pass required Emission Test and I will not be able to renew registration. The car is 2018 Ford Escape with only 46,413 miles with perfect service record.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while attempting to start the vehicle, there was a rattling sound coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer who diagnosed and determined that the coolant level was low. The contact was informed that the head gasket was leaking coolant into cylinder #1. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.