There are 12 owner-reported speed control & cruise complaints for the 2018 Ford Escapein NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
While driving on a highway the RPMS in my 2018 Ford Escape with 88,600 miles went up high without me touching the gas because I was coasting downhill & then once I pushed the gas pedal to resume normal speed it shifted real hard into gear but would not move, it just kept coasting as cars were speeding up behind me going at least 55 MPH! I was finally able to pull over and once I put the car into park & tried to move it into a parking lot the car would not go into gear at all. The car was towed is currently at the Ford Dealer & they confirmed that the transmission needs to be replaced. The only time the warning sign/light came up on the dashboard was AFTER I tried for the last time to move the car into a safe parking area. Per the Ford service this apparently is a known issue with ford & the 6F35 transmissions & they are on back order for 4-6 weeks and Ford will not give me a loaner car.
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. While the contact's mother was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle unintendedly accelerated to 45 MPH. The vehicle continued to accelerate without the accelerator pedal depressed until the brake pedal was depressed, and the vehicle stopped. On another occasion, while the vehicle was at a stoplight, the brake pedal was depressed, and the vehicle accelerated unintendedly. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was not available.
Car sometimes has trouble accelerating Does not want to go over 65 on cruise control for a very long time. Cruise control was shut off by itself. Car doesn’t want to accelerate over steep hills rPMs go up to four
Needing Throttle Body replace though the car is 6 years old. Car will not get up to speed and engine fault light comes on. Got diagnosis and need to replaced. Also motor mounts have deteriorated despite lack of miles on car. Numerous complaints.
I have ford escape 2018 S and I bought the car from koons ford silver spring MD. It is unfortunate whenever I drive the car for long hours ; suddenly the acceleration declines and the vehicle loose its power. And a strange click sound comes up and the check engine light on. Once I parked the car and the car cool down --the warning system disappear. I tried to contact the dealership and I was told my vehicle is not on recall list despite my vehicle have the same symptom--I bought this car very expensive and handle it with care and the car has only 5900 miles on it. Appreciate if you guys could investigate the case .
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at slower speeds, the vehicle was shaking abnormally. While depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle failed to respond. The accelerator pedal was depressed to the floorboard. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The engine overheated. The contact checked the coolant level but found no leaks. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the water pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the dealer for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.
I had my adaptive cruise control on while driving on a highway and suddenly lost power/acceleration. I was able to limp the car back home and the check engine light came on. I took it in to get the error code read, which prompted that there was an issue with the high pressure fuel pump. I got that replaced by our normal service provider and picked up my vehicle. While driving the vehicle again (with adaptive cruise on), I lost acceleration/power. Since I wasn't in the area, I had the vehicle towed back to the service provider where the replaced fuel pump had "collapsed onto itself and broke", which luckily didn't cause serious injury. In this state, the service provider told me it was unsafe to drive. With the newest fuel pump, everything seemed fine for a few days in my daily travels. We were on our way to a vacation stay (highway speeds, adaptive cruise, driving for 2+ hours, etc.) when the issue presented itself again. This time when we returned to the service center, they stated that the engine had sludge which was causing the damage to the fuel pump and we would need to replace the engine. Since owning this vehicle, I have had it serviced as stated in the Ford service schedule (90,000 mile service, oil changes, etc.) and have always kept an eye on the temperature gauge. The fact that I have maintained this vehicle well and the engine now needs replacing doesn't seem to add up. I feel like there is a serious flaw with these engines and luckily, they didn't cause any accidents or harm in this instance.
WHILE DRIVING MY CAR IT BEGAN TO ACCELERATE ON ITS ON, I WAS ABLE TO CONTROL THE SPEED BY PUSHING ON THE BRAKES, THE INSTANT I REMOVED MY FOOT OF THE BREAK THE CAR ACCELERATED ON ITS OWN AGAIN. I FOUND AN AREA TO PARK, TURNED OFF THE CAR. I RESTARTED THE CAR TO DRIVE HOME THE CAR AGAIN ACCELERATED ON ITS OWN, I PARKED IT IN A OPEN LOT , TURNED THE CAR OFF. WHEN I STARTED THE CAR THE ENGINE MADE A LOUD RUBBING SOUND. AT THIS POINT I HAD MY CAR TOWED FOR SERVICE.
BRAKE LIGHTS DO NOT ILLUMINATE WHEN ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL APPLIES THEM; BRAKE LIGHTS DO FUNCTION NORMALLY ON MANUAL BRAKING. THE APPARENT DESIGN FLAW OF BRAKE LIGHTS FAILING TO ILLUMINATE WHEN ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL APPLIES THE BRAKES VIOLATES THE SAFETY PRINCIPLE OF BRAKE LIGHTING ALTOGETHER. SUCH A DESIGN SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED ON THE ROAD AS IT COULD LEAD TO INCREASED COLLISIONS UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS. THIS CONDITION IS OBSERVED TO HAPPEN CONSISTENTLY.
MY CAR ALLECRATES AT A FAST SPEED BY IT'S SELF, I HAVE TAKEN TO THE SHOP 3 TIMES AND THEY CAN'T FIND ANY CODES, THEY TRIED TO SAY IT WAS MY FLOOR MATS, WELL THOSE HAVE BEEN REPLACED AND ONCE AGAIN MY CAR IS ACCELERATING WITHOUT MY FOOT ON THE ACTUAL GAS , WHEN IT DOES THAT MY ENGINE MAKES A LOUD NOISE WHICH THE SERVICE MANAGER SAID WAS FROM HIGH RPM'S
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2018 FORD ESCAPE. WHILE MAKING A RIGHT TURN AT APPROXIMATELY 5 MPH, THE VEHICLE INDEPENDENTLY ACCELERATED. ADDITIONALLY, WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS REVERSING, IT INDEPENDENTLY ACCELERATED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. KELLY FORD (776 MAGNOLIA AVE, MELBOURNE, FL 32935, (321) 216-2042) WAS CONTACTED AND A DIAGNOSTIC APPOINTMENT WAS SCHEDULED. THE FAILURE RECURRED TWICE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 4,000.
PURCHASED NOV 2017- ON MAY 23RD, 2018 MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. I CONTACTED SERVICES AT THE FORD DEALER THE FOLLOWING MORNING. I WAS AT THE DEALER FIRST THING TUESDAY MORNING DUE TO THE HOLIDAY WEEKEND, WHERE THEY RAN DIAGNOSTICS ON MY VEHICLE. I WAS INFORMED THAT IT NEEDED A NEW ENGINE. THE ENGINE COOLANT HAD MIXED WITH OIL AND WAS IN THE 2ND COMPRESSION CYLINDAR AND A BULLETIN THAT THIS WAS THE STEPS TO BE TAKEN TO RECTIFY THE SITUATION. THE ENGINE WAS REPLACED WITH THE SAME ENGINE MODEL AS THE ORIGINAL WITH NO MODIFICATION THAT RECTIFY THE MANUFACTURE DEFECT I WAS INFORMED THEIR STATISTICS INDICATE THAT 1 IN 5 OF THESE VEHICLES ARE RETURNING FOR A SECOND NEW ENGINE ON JUNE 12TH, I GOT THE CALL THAT MY ENGINE HAD BEEN REPLACED AND IT WAS READY FOR PICK UP. I DROVE IT HOME THAT EVENING AS WELL AS, TO AND FROM WORK WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. THREE DAYS IS ALL IT TOOK AT ABOUT 25 MILES A DAY, FRIDAY NIGHT ON MY WAY HOME FROM WORK THE CAR STARTED SHAKING ON A BUSY SECTION OF THE HIGHWAY, (93SB BETWEEN 293 AND EXIT 5) WHERE THERE IS CONSTRUCTION AND LITTLE TO NO PULL OFF POINTS, MY SPEED DROPS DOWN TO 20MILES PER HOUR AND WHEN I TRIED TO ACCELERATE THAT ENGINE JUST RACED. I ALMOST GET HIT AS TWO CARS SWERVE TO MISS ME AT HIGH SPEEDS, THANKFUL THEY WERE AWAKE AT THE WHEEL DURING RUSH HOUR. I MANAGED TO GET OFF THE NEXT EXIT AND PULL INTO A PARKING LOT. SHUT OFF THE VEHICLE. I'M 2 MILES FROM HOME AND AFTER WAITING FOR THE TRAFFIC TO DROP A BIT FROM PEOPLE TRYING TO GET HOME I TAKE THE BACK ROADS AT 20MPH THE REST OF THE WAY HOME. THE CARS ENGINE WOULD RACE WHEN I STOPPED AND SLOWLY ACCELERATE TO 20 SHAKING ALONG THE WAY. SERVICES STATED THE COMPUTER NEEDED TO BE REPLACED ON MONDAY MORNING. THIS DOES NOT QUALIFY FOR LEMON LAW DUE TO BEING OUT OF THE VEHICLE FOR UNDER 30 BUSINESS DAYS HOWEVER, THIS IS A SIGNIFICANT SAFETY ISSUE THAT NEEDS ATTENTION.
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