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:
8 / 61
Injuries / Deaths:
14 / 0
Average Mileage:
55,047 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.
My 2013 Ford Escape 1.6L stalls at low speeds. This occurs randomly when the car is moving at a slow speed. For example when approaching a stop sign on a city street. This has happened multiple times, too numerous to count.
A month ago we filled the coolant up after noticing it was low. Last week when I started it up it immediately shut off. I started it up again and it only stayed running if I gave it some gas. Drove it about 2 miles and when I arrived back home I got the warning to come to a complete stop. It then killed all the power to the vehicle. Stated it was overheating. The reservoir was almost empty of coolant. Filled it back up and the messages were gone. Drove it to get the codes pulled. See picture. Waiting to hear back about what it may be but the mechanic seemed to think it's the head gasket. Only 90K miles are you kidding?
While driving this vehicle died after giving a high temperature warning & the engine came on. Once cooled it would not drive forward on in reverse. This vehicle is not safe to drive and has had multiple previous issues.
My 2013 Ford Escape is losing coolant. It is not leaking on ground. I have had it in 3 times to Ford and local mechanic and they cannot find a leak. They say it is not included in the recall. I need to fill it every couple of months. I bought the car in 2.5 years ago and it has been an ongoing problem.
On at least four occasions, vehicle has issued warning of overheating. First two times were in fl as my daughter was leaving home, headed to work. She was going approximately 10 mph. The car stalled on her. The warning states to pull over immediately and stop the car. This happened again on 12/18/20 as my daughter was leaving work. She started the car and immediately the warning sounded, the car sputtered and died completely. The coolant was below the normal range, so we went back two days later with antifreeze (she is now living in ne). We topped off the coolant tank and we were able to drive it home at normal interstate travel approx 5 miles. On 12/24/20, I went out to start the car and the warning happened, again. The engine showed at the hotest level, sputtered and died. There is a recall on this year, make and model for potential engine coolant leak. However, her VIN is not listed under this recall.
- Live Oak, FL, USA
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Warning came on stating engine was overheating and to pull over safely. After sitting for 3 days, tried to start the car again, with the same warning. The vehicle should not have been overheated at this time. Could not drive vehicle with this warning. Had to have it towed home.
I have a 2013 Ford Escape 1.6 liter. Manufacture date is 02/2013. Apparently slightly earlier manufactured Escapes had a recall for a coolant leak. Ford is telling me this car is out of that manufacture date yet this car is nearly in mint condition except this one thing which seems a little ironic to me. It is leaking coolant significantly and I can't tell where from.
Our 2013 Ford Escape has developed a coolant leak and oil leak. The coolant leak is from the water pump and the oil leak is unknown at this time. I have seen that there have been issues with this model and Ford has recalled some but ours does not come up under that recall.
Vehicle started losing antifreeze no leak was found. Dealership couldn't diagnose the problem. Now the engine is gone. Leaked coolant to the engine Ford should take full responsibility for this issue. I was told by the dealership that they are aware of the issues but Ford doesn't want to take any responsibility
Have had to replace the fuel pressure sensor twice in a year. Bought car a year ago and have smelled burning since. Turbo was replaced due to internal oil leak. Now car over heats and have to add coolant weekly. Smoke comes up through hood on occasion. Took to dealership who said they couldn't find any leaks or tell me why I can smell burning and see smoke. Said coolant level sensor needs to be replaced (should be covered under recall but VIN wasn't flagged) but how is that going to fix adding coolant weekly? Ford has been aware of cooling systems since 2010 and has done nothing to fix it.
Car starts to sputter then just die while driving almost causing a rear end collision. This is now the 9th time this has happened in the last 6 months. Vehicle was in motion on a main roadway.
In januaryand February of 2019 I took my 2013 Ford Escape to sonora Ford in sonora, ca because it started stalling on me. It happened usually after starting the vehicle and driving 50 to 100 feet and then it would start to sputter and die. I got no lights on the dashboard no check engine light. It seems to do it every two or three stops. Sonora Ford checked it and said they would have to check it later they told me something was wrong in the manifold but they would have to terret down to find out. They said I what is missing a bolt in my manifold gasket. The manifold gasket was replaced but after one week it was still was stalling. I took it back a week later and the manager of the service department drove it home to his house while it was hooked up to some machineand found nothing wrong. They told me they did not know what was wrong with it. I took it home and after a few weeks the stalling seemed to stop on its own until November 2020 now it's stalling again. I went on the internet and looked up my car and found that there's been trouble for years with this car stalling but sonora Ford did not bother to tell me this. There has been several close calls as I pull into traffic and the car stalled but yesterday I had my two younger grandchildren in the car and it seem to be fine and I pulled out in traffic, after about 20 yards it stalled and the vehicle behind me had to slam on their brakes and swerve to avoid rear ending me. I am sending you this email on a Saturday. I have an appointment on Tuesday, the 8th of December for my 5000 mile oil change and I plan on telling the dealership that they need to do something about this. Can you give me any advice about what to do to have them help me.thank you
Engine fault - service now light has come on at least once/year. When this happens the car hesitates and rides rough. I contact the Ford dealership immediately to have them fix the problem. The Ford dealership has worked on the car but the problem still exists. The warranty has expired. This has been an ongoing problem. Should I be responsible for repairs?
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact was concerned about a possible coolant leak in the vehicle however, there was no physical evidence of a coolant leak. Upon investigation, the contact linked the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 12V431000 (engine and engine cooling). The contact's wife took the vehicle to southgate Lincoln, llc (16800 fort St, southgate, mi 48195) where the vehicle was inspected and coolant was added. The mechanic found no defects with the vehicle. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 82,000.
For the last 2 years our Escape will stall out while driving when the weather is cold but after the car has been in motion for more than 20 minutes, this has been terrifying with my child in the car we have almost been in several accidents due to the car just stalling out while driving in traffic, we have taken it to the dealer and other mechanics and nobody can figure it out we have repaired the turbo and catalytic converter among other various repairs that have cost us thousands of dollars and nothing has fixed this issue. This is a safety issue! I've almost been hit by a semi on the freeway because my car stalled out while driving it! it happened again today.
Frequently and usually right after I turn the car on, the ABS light will come on, the traction control light will come on, and then my car will stall. I can usually crawl into a parking space/off the side of the road. Occasionally the hill start assist light will come on and occasionally the 4WD disabled light will come on. The ABS and traction control have come on on the interstate and highways before, but they have only caused my car to stall (luckily) right after I turn it on and begin to move. The hill start assist will usually only come on if I come to a full stop while driving, whether I am on a hill or not. This happened once when we first got the car (4.5 years ago). It did not happen again until about 6 months ago. It now has started happening very frequently at multiple times a day for the past 2 weeks or so.
Starting in may of 2020 my Ford Escape started stalling while driving on the street as well as the expressway it hesitates it does not accelerate the moment you tap the accelerator the car starts to sputter and then completely stalls out and stops in the middle of wherever you are the street parking lot it doesn't matter it also has done this back-to-back multiple times occurring maybe four to six times in a row barely allowing me to make it from one destination to the other. The Escape also overheated replaced the coolant sensor replaced the fuel regulator and it still does the same exact thing. It just decreased the amount of times that it would do it in a row so now it does it to three times. It also stalls out and dies while it stoplights making left or right turn as you're approaching an intersection coming to a stop barely hitting the accelerator
My 2013 Ford Escape continues to lose engine coolant. I took my vehicle in to gary smith Ford of fort walton bch fl after researching and finding the vehicle had a recall 13S12. This recall was completed on my vehicle 23-July-14 by autonation Ford of jacksonville fl at the time of repair the vehicle had 42780. I'm not the original owner however the recall was suppose to be the remedy to fix the problem I'm now having. I'm being told I have coolant leaking into the #3 cylinder and will require a engine replacement. Not to mention a possible engine fire. I would like to know what Ford's fix for this is. I'm sure consumers would like to know that they only have limited amount of miles on their engines. My vehicle has a 140K miles and well maintained only to find out it no longer any good because of either a design flaw or just a poor product. I've gone from taking my car in to be serviced for what seemed to be something minor to needing a complete motor replacement and Ford Motor Co is aware of this problem. So at this time I have to monitor my coolant levels so my vehicle doesn't overheat and pray the vehicle doesn't catch fire. However if it does catch fire I guess that will just be a issue between me and my insurance company. I really don't understand how Ford Motor Co can be allowed to do this.
Low coolant followed by engine overheating message on dashboard. Wondering why this VIN is not part of the 12V431000 recall on other 2013 Ford Escapes with similar sounding problem.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Sayville, NY, USA