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.
This is a 3,600 lbs vehicle and I don't think the 1.6L EcoBoost engine is sufficient for powering that heavy of a car. The specs say it has "up to" 178 horsepower and 184 foot-pounds of torque, but this thing struggles on hills at speed.
I wanted a SUV with better gas mileage, but didn't anticipate such a dramatic performance cut.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
This is a 3,600 lbs vehicle and I don't think the 1.6L EcoBoost engine is sufficient for powering that heavy of a car. The specs say it has "up to" 178 horsepower and 184 foot-pounds of torque, but this thing struggles on hills at speed.
I wanted a SUV with better gas mileage, but didn't anticipate such a dramatic performance cut.
- Neil J., Portland, OR, US