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.
Coolant issues; constantly have to add coolant; at one point car overheated and went into shut down mode; dealer replaced engine problem still exists; poer steering has gone out several times; replaced racket and pionion; problem still exists;
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. While driving approximately 45 mph, the "add coolant to system" message appeared. The contact drove to hansel Ford (3075 corby avenue, santa rosa, ca 95407) where it was diagnosed that there was a coolant leak at the heater hose and heater core, which needed replacement. The contact also stated that the vehicle required coolant to be added ever since 2014, which was currently a weekly occurrence. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and issued case number: Cas-15524590. The approximate failure mileage was 73,187.
On 8/29/2018 I felt like my was losing power while driving home from work. On 8/30/18 my engine completely stalled out and lost power in the middle of the road while I was driving home from work. Both times my check engine light never came on. I was able to restart my vehicle after my engine lost power on 8/30/18, and I drove it to the nearest repair place. I'm lucky that it did start back up because I was not in a safe place to leave it. I put my flashers on and began honking so that cars behind me would take notice and avoid crashing into me. I am also lucky that it did not die while driving on the freeway! the repair place told me that they took it out for a test drive to try and figure out what was wrong with it and it died again in the middle of the road while the technician was driving it.
Experiencing the same exact issues as NHTSA campaign number: 15V813000. Ford keeps looking into this problem but say nothing is wrong with the car. Car stalled several times in live traffic and almost caused a crash. Engine shuts off unexpectedly when driving. The map sensor finally threw a code P0106 and after replacement it ran fine for a day and stalled again which points to the harness. The incidents where it almost caused a crash where when I was on I75 and the car in front of me slowed down, I pressed the breaks and my car lost complete engine power which was very scary.
1. mis-firing causing the entire vehicle to rock, seen mainly when the engine is in gear with the break engaged at a stop signal. 2. sudden over-revving seen on the tachometer. 3. the over-revving usually precedes the engine temperature spiking into the critical area. This is most likely to happen on inclines. Pulling over, shutting down the engine allowing it to cool down for 10-15 minutes, then everything is fine. I have learned to watch for the over-revving, then apply the brake to stop the over-revving. Then has allowed me to keep the over-heating in check.
- Palo Alto, CA, USA
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A few months after buying my car it began to have cooling issues. My car is continuously overheating and needing coolant. As I am driving the low coolant light/ display will come on and then my car will slow down then stop. This has happened to while on the highway as well as the city streets. I add coolant to my car at least twice a week and this issue continues to happen. When I am parked my car is fine but as I am driving it gets really dangerous. There were times when the person behind me would have to slam on their breaks or swerve to avoid slamming into the back of me. It is a true miracle I have not been involved in an accident. I have a small child and she is terrified to be in my vehicle. I feel that there is an overall problem with the cooling system. I have talked to various people with the same car and we all experience the same issues.
Purchased a 2013 Ford Escape turbo from wickenburg jones Ford in wickenburg AZ. Vehicle caught on fire as my husband was driving home. Unfortunately the fire put itself out (wish it hadn't B/C then my insurance would have totaled it). But it caused significant damage before it went out. Oil leak occurred from the cylinder head or valve cover gasket due to overheating and engine oil ignited on the engine exhaust system starting the fire. This all occurred on the side of us 60 as my husband pulled over as soon as he realized it was on fire. Vehicle now needs a new engine
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. While driving 65 mph, the engine seized without warning. The vehicle was able to be restarted after approximately thirty minutes. The vehicle was taken to nazareth Ford (4067 jandy blvd, nazareth, pa 18064, 866-601-7744) for diagnostic testing, but the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified and informed the contact that they would look into the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 122,000.
I have driven this 2013 Escape for 2.5 years. We have 34,838 miles on it. In the past year the following issues have arisen. 1) heat sensor has gone bad, warning lights and bells signaling a serious problem, as the car shuts down. Car will not start. Replaced twice in 8 months. 2) left passenger door will not close - latch issue as stated in NHTSA recall 16V643. 3) in the past two weeks, the car will stall without any warning. Not overheating. Computer diagnostics show no problem. This has happened while driving on the highway, residential driving with frequent stop signs, pulling onto the highway, in parking lots, a short trip usually does not produce the problem, however, if we are running errands and make more than one (1) stop, we will definately experience the stall during the drive home. Car will coast to a stop, no indication from gauges of any engine issues. Car hesitantly restarts. We proceed with extreme caution, as we do not know when it will stall again, and in what traffic situation. It is at the dealer to have 3 recalls addressed, and they will 'determine' if they can identify the reason for the stall. I have taken the car to another mechanic, who did not get to drive the car until a few hours after I dropped it off. Of course, diagnostic testing produced no results and the mechanic drove the car once, for ten minutes - stall did not occur. Noted that this issue has been record with NHTSA 40 times, and a recall has not been issued. This is a safety hazard. In response to question below, "when did this happen?", I am provided the most recent date: 08/19/2018. (it happens daily). I contact the dealer last week and was told to bring it in 08/20.
Vehicle started to catch on fire due to previously serviced recall that wasn't done correctly. Driving down the road, car started making crazy noise and smoking bad. There was coolant in it and it was not leaking. Vehicle starts alerting ' pull over safely car overheating ' during routine drives even when coolant is full. This time it was practically on fire. Car is undriveable and Ford will not help us. They say because it was previously serviced they aren't unable to assist any further. Now we are out of a vehicle and Ford is refusing any responsibility.
Engine coolant leaks. Plus a cylinder stopped firing at highway speeds. Replacing the spark plug and coil. Part of the spark plug broke leading to the header needing to be removed now.
Engine hesitates, stumbles, or loses power. The check engine light will be illuminated. Have replaced ecoboost sensor and still have the same problems. I do not feel that it is safe to drive this car.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. While driving approximately 55 mph, the vehicle stalled and the battery, heat, and oil warning indicators illuminated intermittently. The contact stated that the failures occurred three times. The vehicle was able to coast to the side of the road. The contact powered off the engine. Once restarted, the vehicle drove normally. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failures. The approximate failure mileage was 67,000.
I bought a used 2013 Ford Escape from dealership on 3/9/17. Car had 1 previous owner and 29265 miles on it. By 4/20/17 the car would not start while stationary with no indication of anything being wrong. I had the dealership look at it immediately when this happened after getting it towed by aaa whom also tested the starter and battery everything was reading normal. The car started on its own. And the dalership coukd find tge problem and told me to bring it back if this happened again. A week later it happened again while the car was stationary at cvs after being driven for 10 minutes I called the dealership and aaa, after waiting 45 minutes for aaa to arrive I try starting the car several times with no avail until I see aaa pulling into the cvs parking lot I tested turned the key 1 more time and the car started. The aaa tech checked the starter and battery again everthing read normal. I drove to the dealership and left with the same outcome of them not knowing what is wrong. This problem continued until my warranty ran out and the dealership said they could not help me anymore because the car is still driveable. I tried exercising the lemon law by reporting the dealership to office of Consumer Affairs and business regulation and was told they can only mediate and not much coukd be done because my warranty was over. Here we are 8/12/2018 and the car still has problems and will start after waiting anywhere from 5 minutes to 3 hours also it, constantly leaks atifreeze and has to be refilled every few weeks during the summer months the car will say " high temperature coolant low" out of the blue without any indication from the temperature gauge. I dont know what to do and dont have the time or money to deal with this.
Coolant has had to be replaced for a year and a half, about every other month or so. Several different diagnostic checks revealed nothing, no leaks, no damage. Vehicle shut down while driving 3 days ago due to potential overheat. Dealer says engine is now damaged due to coolant leaking into it over time and must be replaced. Ford customer service says there are no recalls and the 5 year power train warranty is expired by a few months. No help from them or the dealer. This was a full on safety issue with my daughter driving, and we never knew it.
Bushing cable detached from the shifter cable during driving in clutchless automatic mode, leaving car in neutral and unable to change gears or park. Rolled into a parking lot (by god's grace). Waited 2 hours with foot on brake as the emergency brake held but since I was on a hill was worried for the safety of those around me. Towed to Ford dealership. Researched the already stated safety recall and they refuse to fix it unless it is at my own expense of almost $1000. NHTSA recall number 18V471.
The contact owned a 2013 Ford Escape. While driving 70 mph, the temperature gauge increased and the engine overheating warning indicator illuminated. The contact also noticed smoke under the hood. The contact pulled the vehicle over to the shoulder as flames appeared under the hood. The fire department was called and extinguished the fire. A fire report was filed. There were no injuries. The vehicle was destroyed and towed to a tow lot. Neither the manufacturer nor the dealer was contacted. The failure mileage was 60,000. *
Vehicle was just started after sitting all night and it had a very rough idle with white smoke and the smell of coolant. It sounded like it was going to die out and stall. It has been draining coolant like it's its addiction. The codes for the cylinder 3 misfire and the temperature sensor/overheating condition are detected and permanent. While driving it has overheated 3 times within the past month. Spark plugs and coils packs are brand new. Spark plug #3 cross threaded from factory, it took 4 days to change it.
I've owned my vehicle for 1 1/2 years and 5 times now it has lost engine coolant. There is a recall on this issue and my vehicle meets all criteria to be included in the recall but the dealer said that the VIN number is not included. The dealer has changed the water pump, pressure tested, replaced the battery and replaced the heater hose. At this point, it is still losing fluid and the dealer states that if I want the work done that the recall recommends, I will have to pay for it myself. I purchased the vehicle 3/2/17 and this started 5/16/17, .
My vehicle was going 45 mph in motion down the highway and the check engine light came on. About 4 miles down the road my car flashed the "engine overheating" signed and within 5 seconds the car came to a stop and stall in limp mode. This is not safe especially since I was on a highway, and where I live there are highways every where that take me where I need to be. Took to Ford dealer a mile or so down the road, and they tested it for everything and they sent me on my way with no work done, just conducted a road test after resetting the codes and light did not come back on. About 15 miles later, the car did the exact same thing again on the same highway, going 45, check engine light came on and the car went into limp mode again. Took to the Ford dealer next day and told me that the standpipe is malfunctioning causing the overheating in the engine cooling system. But, fixing this piece does not fix the problem. My car was fixed for this same issue in 2014, by the 13S12. And yet, this issue is happening again. I do have the 2013 Ford Escape with the 1.6L engine that has frequently dealt with this problem. Driving this car is very unsafe due to the car abruptly stopping if this problem happens, the car stalls and can easily overheat. As the dealer has only suggested installing a new coolant level sensor (standpipe) with new hardware and software, we see that this problem has not worked in previous 2013 Ford Escapes. Having this car on the road is a safety hazzards. With over 3 pages of my Ford Escape alone with factory recalls, this car should not be allowed on the road. I hope this gets fixed, or at least a recall for this car or an investigation is put in action. This car is not safe in any terms or conditions and I do not want this causing any potential fatalities.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Chamblee, GA, USA