NHTSA Owner Complaint Log
This page lists owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2019 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
IN A HEAD ON COLLUSION, HE AIRBAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY IN TWO SEPARATE ACCIDENTS WHEREAS I ONE OF THE INCIDENTS FACIAL INJURY AND CHEST INJURY OCCURRED AS A RESULT
INTERMITTENT ISSUES WITH THE TRANSMISSION NOT BEING ABLE TO SHIFT INTO PARK. WHEN IT HAPPENS, THE SHIFTIER FREELY MOVES BETWEEN ALL POSITIONS EXCEPT WILL NOT GO ALL THE WAY FORWARD TO THE "PARK" POSITION. IT CAN EVENTUALLY BE MOVED FORWARD BY FIDDLING WITH IT OR ONE TIME A PASSENGER WAS ABLE TO FORCE IT. EVEN WHEN THIS IS DONE, THE INDICATOR IN THE INSTRUMENT PANEL DOES NOT ALWAYS SHOW A GEAR SELECTED SO IN THOSE CASES, IT IS UNKNOWN WHETHER IT IS TRULY IN PARK.
WHILE TURNING RIGHT SLOWLY AND GRADUALLY TOWARD A PARKING PLACE, WITH MY FOOT OFF OF THE THROTTLE AND COASTING, THE CAR ACCELERATED SUDDENLY. I IMMEDIATELY HIT THE BRAKES AND BARELY AVOIDED A CRASH INTO THE OTHER CAR AT THE CURB. VERY UNSETTLING!
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2019 FORD ESCAPE. WHILE OPERATING THE VEHICLE, THE PRE-COLLISION ASSIST FEATURE MALFUNCTIONED WHILE THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING CLOSE TO OTHER VEHICLES. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 40 MPH, THE CONTACT'S VEHICLE WAS TWO FEET FROM THE PRECEDING VEHICLE; HOWEVER, THE SYSTEM DID NOT ACTIVATE. ALSO, THE FEATURE ERRONEOUSLY ACTIVATED ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS DUE TO RANDOM OBJECTS LOCATED ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, SUCH AS TRASH CONTAINERS. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO STEVE MARSH FORD(12415 S. 1ST ST, MILAN, TN) WHERE IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE SAFETY FEATURE WAS OPERATING NORMALLY AND NO FAILURE WAS FOUND. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 4,957.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2019 FORD ESCAPE. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE SHIFTING GEARS TO REVERSE, SHE HEARD A LOUD ABNORMAL NOISE. THE CONTACT STATED NO WARNING LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT ALSO STATED WHILE MAKING A RIGHT TURN, THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO ACCELERATE ON ITS OWN AND IMPACTED A POLE. THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE CONTACT DID NOT SUSTAIN ANY INJURIES OR SEEK MEDICAL ATTENTION. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DRIVABLE. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO LOCAL DEALER FRIENDLY FORD LOCATED (2800 N TELEGRAPH RD, MONROE, MI 48162) WHERE MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN DIAGNOSED AS OF YET. THE CONTACT STATED UNKNOWN PART OF FRONT PASSENGER SIDE OF THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER HAD BEEN INFORMED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 700.
AT 10,000 MILES MY ESCAPE TRANSMISSION BEGAN SLIPPING. IT TAKES FOREVER FOR IT TO SHIFT BUT NO TRANSMISSION LIGHT COMES ON. MY GAS MILEAGE HAS ALSO GONE WAY DOWN AS A RESULT OF THIS. FORD CLAIMS IT'S FINE. BUT IT DOES IT OFTEN. ALSO WHEN THE ENGINE STOP IS ENGAGED AT STOP LIGHTS, IT DOESN'T ALWAYS START BACK UP AND I HAVE TO PUT THE CAR IN PARK AND RESTART THE VEHICLE.
THE VEHICLE STARTED RUNNING ROUGH AND MISSING AT 75 MPH WITH ABOUT 5000 MILES ON IT. CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, CRUISE CONTROL SHUT OFF. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAID I HAD 3 TROUBLE CODES BUT I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE WERE. THEY REPROGRAMMED SOMETHING A GAVE ME THE CAR BACK A WEEK LATER. TWO WEEKS AFTER THAT I STARTED GETTING ANOTHER CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WITH THE CODE P0420. THE LOCAL DEALER SAYS THEY CAN'T FIX IT OR HONOR MY WARRANTY BECAUSE IT'S A US SPEC VEHICLE AND I'M IN EUROPE. I HAVE A BRAND NEW VEHICLE THAT I HAVE TO CLEAR THE CODE EVERY OTHER DAY. TO MAKE MATTERS WORST THE SMALL DOOR THAT COVERS THE ODB PORT WON'T CLOSE CORRECTLY. I'M SURE IT WASN'T DESIGNED TO BE OPENED EVERY OTHER DAY.
WHILE DRIVING A LOCAL INTERSTATE BETWEEN 60 AND 70 MPH, OUR NEWLY PURCHASED (3,000 MILES) 2019 FORD ESCAPE SEL SPORT COMPLETELY SHUT DOWN WITHOUT WARNING IN HEAVY TRAFFIC. LUCKILY, MY WIFE WAS ABLE TO COAST TO THE NEAREST EXIT AND PULL OFF THE ROAD WHILE TRAFFIC WAS WHIZZING BY US AT BREAKNECK SPEED. TURNS OUT THAT PART OF THE WIRING HARNESS HAD EITHER LOOSENED ON ITS OWN OR WAS NEVER PROPERLY SECURED FROM THE FACTORY. SO, THE SERPENTINE BELT MANAGED TO CLIP THIS WIRING HARNESS WHICH, IN TURN, PULLED THE HARNESS FROM ITS SOCKET WHILE STARTING TO GRADUALLY SHRED THE SERPENTINE BELT. INSTANTANEOUS LOSS OF POWER WITHOUT WARNING CREATED A VERY SERIOUS AND DANGEROUS SITUATION. FORD NEEDS TO ISSUE A SERVICE BULLETIN AND/OR ISSUE A RECALL ASAP SINCE IT WOULD ONLY TAKE ONE OTHER INCIDENT SIMILAR TO THIS BEFORE SOMEONE IS SERIOUSLY INJURED, OR WORSE.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2019 FORD ESCAPE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE COMPUTER SYSTEMS RELATED TO THE CRUISE CONTROL AND FORWARD COLLISION WARNING MALFUNCTIONED. THE FORWARD COLLISION WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED AND THE VEHICLE BRAKED SUDDENLY ON A HIGHWAY WITH NO VEHICLES NEARBY. THE FAILURE OCCURRED TWICE AND THE CONTACT'S VEHICLE WAS ALMOST REAR ENDED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL SHUT OFF THE CRUISE CONTROL AND THE BRAKES ACTIVATED AGAIN WITH NO VEHICLE NEARBY. SUMMERVILLE FORD (9700 DORCHESTER RD, SUMMERVILLE, SC 29485, (843) 873-3550) COULD NOT REPLICATE THE FAILURE. THE CONTACT DROPPED OFF THE KEY AND WAS PROVIDED AN ULTIMATUM OF GETTING THE VEHICLE REPAIRED OR GETTING A NEW VEHICLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 500.
FORD DEALER CHECKED MY BRAKES AFTER 11000 MILES AND WAS TOLD MY REAR BREAKS WERE BAD AND IT WAS NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR AFTER 10000 MILES THEN I WAS TOLD THAT'S COMMON WITH THE ESCAPES THE BREAKS DON'T LAST! I FEEL THE BRACES SHOULD BE COVERED UNDER WARRENTY
WHILE OPERATING THE VEHICLE AT APPROXIMATELY 70MPH ON THE INTERSTATE I NOTICED THAT ALL INSTRUMENT PANEL LIGHTING, GAUGES, AND DISPLAY SCREENS WENT OUT. THE GAUGE NEEDLES RETURNED TO THEIR 'HOME' POSITIONS. THERE WAS AN ERROR MESSAGE ON THE MAIN TOUCH SCREEN THAT SAID: NETWORK COMMUNICATION FAILURE. WORRIED, I TOOK THE NEXT AVAILABLE EXIT AND FOUND A PARKING LOT TO INVESTIGATE. I IMMEDIATELY TRIED TO SHUT THE ENGINE OFF, FIGURING THAT IF I COMPLETELY SHUT THE CAR DOWN THE SYSTEM WOULD SOMEHOW CORRECT ITSELF AFTER A 'REBOOT' OF THE THE PCM AND BCM. I QUICKLY REALIZED THAT I WAS IN TROUBLE, THE ENGINE WOULD NOT SHUT OFF. THE VEHICLE IS EQUIPPED WITH A 'SMART KEYLESS START SYSTEM' BUT NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES I WOULD TRY PUSHING THE BUTTON. EVEN THOUGH THE CAR OPERATED PROPERLY AFTER THE SYMPTOMS COMMENCED I FIND IT DOUBTFUL THAT ALL OF THE CAR'S SAFETY FEATURES WOULD HAVE OPERATED AS DESIGNED, IF NEEDED. IF I WOULD HAVE GOTTEN INTO IN ACCIDENT AT THE TIME THE CAR WAS EXPERIENCING THESE PROBLEMS WOULD THE SAFETY RESTRAINT SYSTEM WORK PROPERLY AND DEPLOY THE APPLICABLE AIR BAGS??? WOULD THE 'AUTO FUEL PUMP SHUTDOWN' DO ITS JOB IF NEEDED??? ALSO, WHAT IF THE VEHICLE CAUGHT FIRE AT THIS TIME AND I COULD NOT SHUT OFF THE CAR??? NOT SAFE!!!
I HAVE HAD MY FORD ESCAPE FOR JUST OVER 30 DAYS. ABOUT TWO WEEKS INTO OWNING IT, I HAD STOPPED BEHIND A VEHICLE. THE START/STOP ENGAGED AND WHEN I WENT TO ACCELERATE AGAIN THE POWER TRAIN FAULT ILLUMINATED. IN ORDER TO MOVE THE VEHICLE, I HAD TO PUT THE VEHICLE IN PARK AND RESTART THE VEHICLE. THIS HAPPENED 3 WEEKS AFTER THE FIRST TIME, AGAIN TODAY. THIS COULD CAUSE MAJOR SAFETY ISSUES IF THE VEHICLE BEHIND YOU DOES NOT STOP IN TIME.
I BOUGHT THE CAR MARCH 20TH BRAND NEW. ON APRIL 14TH I WAS DRIVING IT HOME AND THE ENGINE STOPPED WORKING. ALL WARNING LIGHTS WERE FLASHING AND THE CAR JUST STOPPED WORKING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. I COULD NOT GET IT STARTED AND WHEN I FINALLY DID IT WOULDN'T MOVE AND I COULD NOT SHUT IT OFF. THIS WENT ON FOR 2 AND A HALF HOURS. I FINALLY GOT IT HOME (DRIVEN BY MY HUSBAND) AND THE NEXT MORNING (MONDAY) WE GOT IT TOWED TO FORD DEALER. THE CAR WAS COMPLETELY DEAD MONDAY AND WAS NOT ABLE TO BE DRIVEN ONTO THE FLATBED TRUCK. WE PUT IN A CLAIM TO FORD HEADQUARTERS AND APRIL 22ND FORD INFORMED ME THEY WOULD NOT BUY BACK OR REFUND ME THE MONEY FOR THE CAR. I HAD THE CAR LESS THAN 30 DAYS. WE WERE NOT GIVEN A REASON FOR THIS MECHANICAL FAILURE. THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT INFORMED US ON FRIDAY (APRIL 19TH) THAT THEY TOUCHED A FUSE BOX" AND NOW IT IS WORKING. I FEEL THIS IS A VERY UNSAFE CAR FOR ME TO DRIVE. I WAS ON A CITY STREET DRIVING THE CAR WHEN IT STOPPED SUDDENLY AND LOST ALL POWER. I WAS IN MOTION.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2019 FORD ESCAPE. WHILE DRIVING, THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY SHUT OFF. APPROXIMATELY TWO HOURS LATER, THE VEHICLE RESTARTED AND SHUT OFF AGAIN AFTER THE CONTACT DROVE HOME. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO ISLAND FORD (3698 RT 9 SOUTH OLD, BRIDGE, NJ) AND UNKNOWN PINS WERE TIGHTENED. AFTER RETRIEVING THE VEHICLE AND LATER PARKING IT, THE VEHICLE COULD NOT BE RESTARTED. THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE WAS NOT DETERMINED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 800.
I purchased the vehicle from the dealership when it had just 5 miles on it. Soon after, I started hearing a popping noise every time the car shifted, as well as when making turns. After taking it back to the dealership, they discovered that there were missing spot welds in the center frame on the passenger side, specifically in the area between the front door and the back door.
VEHICLE SHUTS OFF WHILE DRIVING. STEPS TO REPRODUCE ISSUE: KEYFOB IS INSIDE VEHICLE IN DRIVERS COAT POCKET, MOBILE PHONE IS INTERMITTENTLY CONNECTED TO VEHICLE VIA USB CORD, VEHICLE IS ON, ENGINE RUNNING, START/STOP IS ON, VEHICLE IS DRIVING THEN STOPS AT A STOPLIGHT, START/STOP ENGAGES AND IDLES ENGINE FOR AT LEAST 15 SECONDS. WHEN FOOT BRAKE IS RELEASED VEHICLE SHUTS OFF, INSTRUMENT CLUSTER, RADIO, INFOTAINMENT, ETC TURN OFF. TO RESTART VEHICLE TRANSMISSION MUST BE PLACED IN NEUTRAL OR PARK AND VEHICLE ON/OFF BUTTON PRESSED. VEHICLE RESTARTS, POWERTRAIN MALFUNCTION ERROR DISPLAYS AND INFOTAINMENT SYSTEM APPEARS TO BE REBOOTING AND DISPLAYS WELCOME MESSAGE SUCH AS BEFORE IT WAS SET UP. VEHICLE WAS IMMEDIATELY BROUGHT TO DEALER; BLACKWELL FORD IN PLYMOUTH MI BOTH TIMES. DEALER COULD NOT REPRODUCE ISSUE OR PULL DETAILED INFORMATION BEYOND GENERAL FAULT. DEALER PERFORMED 1265OD EEC SYSTEM DIAGNOSIS QUICK TEST, 1265OD45 ENGINE MODULE DIAGNOSTIC PIN POINT TEST, 12650DX1 EEC SYSTEM DIAGNOSIS QUICK TEST TWICE, ROAD TESTED, IDS TEST P164C, PPT AA IN PCED MANUAL, RESET KAM AND RETEST PASS, AND UPON REQUEST CHECKED THAT PCM FIRMWARE WAS THE LATEST VERSION. DEALER REQUESTED PERMISSION FOR EXTENDED MILEAGE TESTING WITH SKYTRACKER INSTALLED AFTER 2ND FAULT, PERMISSION WAS GIVEN. ISSUE OCCURS APPROXIMATELY EVERY 30 DAYS DRIVING 2 TRIPS/DAY. ISSUE PRESENTS A HIGH AND SEVERE RISK OF FATAL INCIDENT BECAUSE VEHICLE IS STOPPED AT A GREEN LIGHT AND MAY BE REAR ENDED BY AN APPROACHING VEHICLE AT HIGH SPEED. BECAUSE VEHICLE IS OFF, AIRBAGS AND OTHER SAFETY EQUIPMENT MAY NOT ACTIVATE INCREASING RISK OF FATAL INCIDENT. VEHICLE WAS BOUGHT NEW WITH 10 MILES RECORDED ON ODOMETER IN FEBRUARY OF 2019, AS OF APRIL 2019 THE ISSUE HAS OCCURRED TWICE. ONCE ON FEBRUARY 22ND AND ONCE ON APRIL 3RD.
SMELL ENTERS PASSENGER CABIN FROM WHAT APPEARS TO BE CATALYTIC EXHAUST FUMES WHILE DRIVING ON HIGHWAY.