CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2013 Ford Escape has been in the news quite a bit and for all the wrong reasons. Within a few months of its release the SUV was recalled three times, twice because of engine fires.
In July 2012, due to a fuel line that could split and leak, Ford told owners to park their cars because even driving to the dealership for repairs was deemed too dangerous. Instead, in a somewhat unprecedented move, Ford sent tow trucks to pick up the affected vehicles and handed out rental cars while the owners waited for repairs.
A few months later the Escape was recalled again because antifreeze could leak out onto the engine due to a freeze plug becoming dislodged. As the coolant hit the hot engine there was, once again, a threat for fire.
The 2013 is the first model year of the Escape's 3rd generation and proves once again that you want to avoid the first model year when at all possible.
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
10 / 6
Injuries / Deaths:
12 / 0
Average Mileage:
66,910 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
The transmission has completely gone out. On this car model, there isn't a dip stick for the owner to check transmission fluid levels. While pulling out of a parking space the car hesitated on going into first gear and then jerked really hard before continuing to move. While still in the parking lot of a retail store, the car continued to hesitate between gears and then a low coolant message appeared. After going to the next store, a large grocery chain, in the same parking lot I proceeded to purchase a funnel that would allow me to top off the coolant, which was barely low to begin with. When I tried backing out of the space to go home, the car hesitated on going into reverse, jerked really hard again and that's when I proceeded to pull the car back into the parking spot at the grocery store and ordered a Lyft to take me and my groceries home. The message "transmission failure" did not come on until I was pulling the car back into the parking space before ordering a Lyft. I had the car towed to my mechanics shop where he proceeded to tell me I would need a new transmission. However, 6 to 7 months prior to that, the car was at the authorized dealer where it was purchased originally from to have the safety recall repair done to the gear shifting cables and bushings, which were replaced. The service worker now informed me that they never checked the transmission fluid levels or any other fluid in the car to make sure that the car was in good condition and ready to drive. Seeing that there is no dip stick for an owner to check the transmission fluid level and the "gear shifting cable" and bushings directly effect the transmission and 6 months later the transmission goes out completely has caused me great concern and duress. I am caring for both my elderly parents and we are now without a car with doctors appointments coming up and their ongoing and increasing medical issues, this has really left us in a huge bind.
Within a years time, I-??ve found a transmission fluid leak, had the shift bushing cable break and be replaced with warranty, and now my car stalled on my way to work with an alert for the transmission. It-??s had a coolant leak somewhere nearly the entire time I-??ve owned the car, 3 years. And oil is burning, you can smell it, but I-??m not loosing oil.
This is the second time that I have had issues with a coolant leak leeching onto my engine. The coolant leaks out and causes toxic fumes in the cabin that have repeatedly caused me and my passengers severe damage to our mucus membranes resulting in coughing and difficulty breathing. I have literally had to drive with my windows down in the cold autumn air because I cannot breathe in my vehicle. There has been no warning or check engine light that has come on at all in either of these experiences. It has been my mere experience of health issues that has resulted in me needing to bring the vehicle in. As of right now there has been no recalls but evidently this has been a recurring issue and problem per my local mechanic as well as the forums that I find online. This is a huge issue that needs to be addressed to Ford customers.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that upon shifting the vehicle into drive, the vehicle failed to respond as needed. The contact became aware that the vehicle responded as needed while shifted into reverse. The contact also stated that a message was displayed, alerting the contact of an air bag deployment. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V597000 (Air Bags, Seat Belts) and 22V413000 (Power Train); but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 141,000.
The vehicle had been almost overheating and warning lights to shut off engine would kick on. I took it to my mechanic and was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced or rebuilt. I was informed that Ford Company is fully aware that that the transmission in the Ford Escape is an ongoing problem. Why has the NHTSA not required a recall? This is not fair to consumers, and the work/parts/labor of this type of replacement are extremely expensive. Shutdowns on the highways or local roads can cause accidents and loss of life.
- York, PA, USA
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The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the transmission experienced hard shifting and hesitation while accelerating. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who discovered metal shavings in the transmission fluid, and a burning odor coming from the transmission. The contact was informed that the transmission was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 60,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with transmission failure. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed with transmission failure; however, the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHSTA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 200,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while test-driving the vehicle at various speeds with the vehicle in sport(S) mode, the vehicle jerked, was hesitating, and failed to shift as intended. The dealer advised the contact to not drive the vehicle in sport(S) mode. The contact followed the instructions; however, the failure persisted while driving. The dealer was notified, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. Additionally, the contact stated that there was stagnant water in the spare tire wheel well in the trunk. The contact also noticed that there was water leaking on the front driver's side seat belt and on the front driver's side floor. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where an intensive water entry testing was performed, and unknown related repairs were made. The vehicle was taken to several transmission specialists, where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 151,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while stationary at a stop sign, there was an abnormal rumbling coming from the front of the vehicle. The contact stated that the front of the vehicle was shuddering. The contact stated that while driving from a complete stop and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle hesitated while responding. The contact stated that the failure persisted while stationary or while reversing. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed a failure with the transmission valve. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000. The VIN was not available.
I did a $1,500 down payment for a 2013 Ford Escape at Hurley's Salvage and Auto Sales in Amory Ms. I test drove the vehicle and informed the sales agent that there were problems with the windows going up or down, the interior lights didn't work, the sideview mirror control didn't work, and that a high pitched squeaking noise was coming from under the hood. I was told to bring the vehicle back for repairs on the windows, interior lights, and sideview mirrors after I got a free check of the fuses. Because they were too busy to do so. I was told that the squeaking came from the vehicle not being in use for awhile. 2 weeks later I took the vehicle back and told them the results (showed the results of a test ran on the fuses and everything was good with the fuses). I was told it would be fixed when they got time that I would be called. I also told them that the squeaking had gotten worse, I was told that would be looked into when they called me. (5-3-24, the date I told them that the squeaking had gotten worse) On 5-6-24 the vehicle ran hot, I noticed the indicator past the halfway mark. I went to AutoZone checked the antifreeze and the reserve tank was empty. I purchased some antifreeze and it took about half the container to fill it back up. I told them about the antifreeze incident, was asked did I put antifreeze in it. Nothing else was said. On Sunday [XXX] me and a passenger was headed home. When the vehicle temperature hand shot up to max hot and the vehicle lost mostly all power. I was able to park about 75 to a hundred yards in a safe place. I was told a few days later by Hurley's that the vehicle had a oil leak, that the drive belt came off, they replaced it with a new one, and now the vehicle won't crank. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and attempting to accelerate, the vehicle briefly hesitated, after which the RPM quickly elevated, but the vehicle was unable to accelerate above 30 MPH. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the transmission. 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 186,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while the vehicle was idling, the vehicle inadvertently stalled and failed to restart, requiring the contact to tow the vehicle to the residence. Upon attempting to jumpstart the vehicle, the vehicle had electrical power but failed to start. The message "Transmission Not in Park" was displayed. The transmission warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train) but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was unknown.
Had Transmission problems 2 yrs ago that had been fixed and parts replaced. Now again 2 years later the vehicle experiencing transmission problems again. Hard shifting, reading the wrong gear on the dash board, and being stuck in drive or neutral when it is actually in park. No warning lights prior. Vehicle had been inspected by a licensed mechanic. This is problematic when the issue occured while driving leaving me and 3 small children stranded.
Power steering out and I am unable to afford the repairs. There is a recall for my make and model my van is not included in. I have already paid for a new transmission when the transmission recall was out and the Gilley Hyde Ford local dealership was dishonest with me and replaced almost $2000 of extra things and gave it back to me broken.
Always adding coolant, shook on start up, white smoke, eventually completely died which was inspected and had multiple repairs; reconditioned cylinder head, replaced water pump, thermostat and housing, timing belt, headset and head bolts, replace oil filter, fill oil and anti freeze, new battery. Total cost to fix was $3,367.98. The car is available for inspection upon request. Now after paying for all of those repairs, I am once again having the same problem with the car 1.5 years later. There have been no warning lamps either and it-??s been going on for over a year and has been serviced for the same reason in the past. There are many other happenings that have happened revolving around failure of the engine system that have significantly affected the safety of myself and others, most recently extreme exhaust that was emitting a gas and burn type smell and the car was shaking heavily at idle.
This Car has had non-stop coolant problems for years.Constantly looses coolant and low coolant light comes on and have to refill.I replaced coolant bypass valve 7/8/21, and again on 3/22/23.Its ok awhile then starts loosing coolant again.Few days ago low coolant light came on after refilling it just a week ago.This time the engine light came on code p1299, with a message to pull over because my car was overheating and it didn't have any power.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the engine revved very high, but the vehicle would not properly accelerate. The vehicle also experienced a loss of traction and surging at highway speeds. The messages "Transmission Fault" and "Hill Start Assist Unavailable" were displayed. The vehicle was towed to the local service center to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the transmission was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The local dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 145,000.
I HAVE A 2013 Ford Escape THAT HAS HAD TO HAVE A NEW TRANSMISSION DUE TO ITS SUDDEN AND UNEXPECTED AND WITH NO WARNING FAILURE. 6000 AT FORD DEALERSHIP. THEN THE PROBLEMS WITH COOLANT STARTED. IT WOULD SUDDENLY START OVERHEATING, AND START STALLING. DROPPED DOWN TO TWO MILE AND HOUR TILL YOU LIMP OFF THE ROAD. HAVE TO CONSTANTLY CHECK IT. WILL BE FINE AND THEN SUDDENLY START LEAKING AGAIN. REPLACED COOLANT CAP, COOLANT OVERFLOW TANK, NEW HOSE FOR COOLANT TANK, COOLANT HOSE THAT INSERTS INTO REAR OF ENGINE, STAND PIPE AND BYPASS VALVE.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Prospect, KY, USA