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. Read more »
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:
3 / 14
Injuries / Deaths:
6 / 0
Average Mileage:
50,644 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.
Purchased vehicle in August of 2014 with 28,000 miles on it. About 2-3 weeks ago the vehicle just stalked, lost all power then died on my wife with my 19 month old baby girl in the car. Vehicle starts right back up when this occurs. It happens a couple of times a week and is very dangerous. Sometimes it will die when you are trying to accelerate or merge into traffic. Took it to the same Ford dealer we purchased the vehicle from and they were able to replicate the problem. However, no codes are present in the vehicle even when it happens. The Ford service writer and technician said that it was the throttle body. The vehicle has 52,000 miles on it however I was told no warranty or recall covered the replacement of the throttle body. I paid for the throttle body repair. Less than 48 hours later the vehicle dies again on my wife while pulling out of our neighborhood. Again with my child in the back seat.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. While attempting to start the vehicle, it failed to start. The failure occurred randomly, but was persistent. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the cause of the failure could not be determined. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 1,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. While driving approximately 10 mph, the vehicle stalled. The contact had to stop and restart the vehicle. The vehicle was driven to the dealer, but they could not duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The contact also stated that the failure recurred every day. The approximate failure mileage was 38,300.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 15 mph, the vehicle stalled as the oil, the battery and the check engine warning indicators illuminated. The failure recurred numerous times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 15V813000 (electrical system). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 46,000.
Ongoing list of recalls some of which do not even work its a dangerous distracting vehicle to drive endless trips to the dealers.this is not a safe and reliable car
- Minster, OH, USA
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Driving on the interstate when the car lost all power and all warning lights came on. I pulled onto the shoulder and noticed smoke coming from under the hood. Got out to get a better look when the engine compartment burst into flames.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the service engine warning light kept randomly flashing. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that there was a short with the wires and the engine wiring harness. The dealer replaced the parts. The vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign numbers: 15V813000 (electrical system) and 14V495000 (electrical system). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 42,612.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. While driving approximately 65 mph, the ignition key independently moved into the off position and the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle failed to restart and was towed to the contact's residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 111,000.
Multiple times check engine service engine fault now comes on, killing all power and steering to vehicle. Stalled out in traffic, on highway, at a stop, low speed, no speed, high speed. Lost all ability to accelerate or control vehicle. Traction control sensor light lit up, check engine light lit up, airbag sensor lit up and yet running the check systems on it responds that all systems are normal and no active messages. Previously had issue with a bad wheel sensor affecting RPM's, speed, and acceleration. It took the dealer 4 days to figure that out as no computer codes displayed. When turning the lights on manually, the sensor on the dash doesn't light up and it does not turn the lights on unless it is completely dark outside. Not good for these rainy overcast mornings. The engine stalling happened in all different circumstances and traveling in inner city traffic and losing power has proven to be quite dangerous. It first happened yesterday while traveling short trip turning into parking lot. Today it occurred 12 times in a span of a 25 mile trip with my granddaughter in the car. I read the Ford website and ntsa ones and feel it could possibly be related to recall # 14S17 but when I run the VIN number, it only shows active recall related to airbags. It has had multiple recalls since first 3 months of ownership and dealer where purchased never seems to know or have parts in order to address recall issues. The problem is that when this happens, you lose all ability to control the vehicle and there is no indication of when or where it's going to happen. We were sitting at an intersection and when the light turned green, I accelerated and it lost power and there was nowhere to get the vehicle off of the road as it was traffic all around us. I turned my hazards on and prayed we didn't get hit by the oncoming onslaught of traffic.
Coolant issues, overheating and vehicle stopping completely, this occurred several times; head gasket replaced, turbo replaced, spark plugs coming out on their own, wheel bearing and sensor gone, touch screen gone
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, however it was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 70,000.
The body control module and wiring harness has gone bad on my 2013 Ford Escape causing failure in the cruise control, entertainment system, 911 assist system and finally causing the original factory keys to not be recognized by the car (the car won't start with the keys). Costs to repair by dealership $1,800. Further, an injector went faulty a few months ago with a cost of $800 to repair.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. While driving at approximately 5 mph, the check engine warning indicator illuminated and there was an abnormally strong burning odor coming from the vehicle. The contact stated that the touch screen, radio, and navigation failed. The failure recurred numerous times. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 24,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. While driving at 73 mph, the air bag warning light, traction control warning light, brake warning light, and service engine light illuminated. The contact stated that the anti-lock braking system on the front passenger side was engaged which caused the vehicle to pull to the right and crashed into a concrete pillar. The contact stated that the air bags did not deploy. The front seat passenger sustained injuries that did not require medical attention. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was included in NHTSA campaign number: 14V495000 (electrical system); however, the vehicle was not repaired due to the part not being available. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 25,000.
My 2013 Ford Escape sel is equipped with an intelligent key system. This key allows the driver to unlock the car by simply touching the door handle. The system also includes a feature that prevents the doors from locking or unlocks the doors immediately if keys are left inside the car without a driver or passenger present. The car also includes a auto-locking feature that is supposed to lock all doors only when the car is in drive and begins moving above 5 mph. On three occasions, including the last (7/22/2015) this system has malfunctioned to such a degree that its behavior was the exact opposite of its intended design. On two occasions involving my wife, who naturally carries the keys in her purse. She has gotten out of the car or loaded the car from the passenger side and closed the door without locking the car manually. Her keys remained in her bag on the passenger side, while she walked around the car to retrieve them or to enter the drivers side. On these occasions the car has locked itself with the keys inside as soon as she closed the door and she could not get into the car. The first time a window had to be broken to regain access, the second the door was opened by a locksmith. The last time we were at a restaurant I had a key in my shirt pocket and my wife had hers in her purse, we got out to speak with friends before we went in. When my wife turned to get her purse the doors were locked and would not unlock, I walked over to open the door there was no response from any door, pulled the key from my pocket and pressed the unlock button no response, pushed it two more times before the drivers door unlocked. All of these happened in temperatures above 97 there are two major failings occurring. If you get out of the car without the keys and close the door, it can lock itself. Maybe with a child inside. Ford cannot replicate this intermittent problem.
Ford is nothing but a company that is out for money. They could care a less how reliable their vehicles are or about their customer service. Ford Motor Company should stop making vehicles and be sued. They have nothing but faults in their vehicles. In mine, there is multiple transmission problems and the cooling fan runs constantly and this should not happen. I have contacted the Ford dealer that I bought the car from and they could care a less and continue to say nothing is wrong with it. My entire care basically has a seizure when it shifts and when you put it into gear and they say this is normal? these guys are a bunch of fools. Than they proceed to tell me I need to spend $700 on something that wasn't going to fix my car to get more money and to make me believe that they know what they are talking about. I am extremely upset at this company. They will not issue a recall even though I have read many other reviews about people having the same problem with the same vehicle. Ford is nothing but a bunch of crooked people. Never buy a piece of crap Ford. They do not stand behind their vehicles and could care a less about fixing an unsafe vehicle because of a fault in their end. Buy a Chevy or something that is more reliable and a company that has way better customer service than Ford.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. While driving at 3 mph, the horn and emergency flasher independently activated and the vehicle stalled. In addition, post crash was displayed across the message board. The contact was unable to restart the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to a dealer who was unable to diagnose or repair the vehicle. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 46,000.
When starting, car shows "engine fault, service now" light. Took to dealership three times, has not been resolved. Recently, when braking for a stop light, engine fault reappeared and lost all power to the transmission. Huge safety issue.
Issues related per tsb #asi-44451 (NHTSA id #10055312) 2.0L motor lack of air conditioning on idle stuck in Chicago with over heating indicator lamp on display and overheating
The Ford Escape is equipped with an intelligent key system. This key allows the driver to unlock the car by simply touching the door handle. The system also includes a feature that prevents the doors from locking or unlocks the doors immediately if keys are left inside the car without a driver or passenger present. This ostensibly makes it impossible for a driver to lock their keys inside the car. The car also includes a auto-locking feature that is supposed to lock all doors only when the car is in drive and begins moving above 5 mph. On three occasions, including today (6/11/2015) this system has malfunctioned to such a degree that its behavior was the exact opposite of its intended design and it became a safety hazard. Each occasion has involved my wife, who naturally carries the keys in her purse or briefcase. She has gotten out of the car and closed the door without locking the car manually. Her keys remained in her bag on the passenger floorboard or seat, while she walked around the car to retrieve them or to go to retrieve our son out of his car seat in the back. On these occasions the car has locked itself with the keys inside as soon as she closed her door and she was not able to get into the car. There are two major failings occurring. The cars system is supposed to prevent the locking of the doors or immediately unlock them if the car is parked and it fails to detect a driver in the seat. The car has no functionality that auto locks the car when it is off and stationary, yet it is doing this. If you get out of the car without the keys and close the door, it will lock itself. This is a major safety issue because it has resulted in my son getting locked in the car in the heat. I was nearby, and able to come unlock the car, otherwise we would have had to smash a window. Ford dealerships have been unable to replicate this intermittent problem
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Knoxville, TN, USA