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.
Purchased the vehicle new on May 7, drove 10 miles and parked the vehicle in my garage. On May 11, I noted a substantial amount of engine oil under the car. The vehicle was towed to the service department and the following was noted: Oil leak diagnosis timing peg plug missing from right side of engine block. The right half axle shaft and bearing bracket were removed, the plug hole was cleaned and threads tapped using M10 X 1.5 tap. Installed new timing plug tightened to spec. New oil and filter installed. The origin of the leak could not be seen by owner visual inspection. Either the plug was not installed at the factory or it was not tightened and fell out. Either way, had it not been noticed the engine oil would have been totally lost increasing the likelihood of engine damage. Further oil covered the under carriage of the vehicle and could have gotten on to brakes compromising safety. Not sure if there was potential for engine fire.
Starting around 6,500mi, Escape would not start without a jump start. After several days of calling tow trucks for these jumps, took it into Ford dealership. They swapped battery and said that's all it needed. After a week, Escape engine cut out at while stopped at red signal light. Engine warning lights for oil and battery came on, and nothing else. Pushed car to side of road and after waiting for tow for 20 minutes, I tried to start engine again and everything came back on as if nothing had happened. After two days of "all systems normal, " I went to start the engine and it began to shake violently and a "engine malfunction-service immediately" warning came up on the dash. I tried to pull car out of parking spot and it had almost no power. Barely putted along despite my really giving it the gas. Parked and had it brought to Ford dealership again. On arrival they pulled a code P0106 off reader. It's been there for 10 days and they say they can not reproduce issue, and have made no repairs. Still waiting for news.
While stopped at a stoplight, with the car in drive and my foot on the brake the engine revs up and the car lurches forward and crashes into the car in front of me. This happened last week at a drive thru and I was fortunate that no one was in front of me.
Since January, my 2013 Escape has been in the shop on three separate occasions for the same major engine issue. From the driver's perspective, the car lurches and jerks and feels as though it will stall. Then a "service engine now" light appears. This occurs shortly after I pull out of my driveway and proceed on flat city blocks. This lurching/jerking is frightening and feels unsafe. I have been told from the Ford service advisor that they have twice replaced the M.a.P. sensor and connector. 3/22/13, 4/3/13. Now the car is at Ford 4/29/13 with the same exact symptoms. I await a call from Ford service to give me the latest diagnosis/prognosis. There are other issues involving the sync system that are also in the case record. Suffice to say, sync is not working as advertised. For example, the clock is inconsistent and the navigation system is adversely affected by pairing with bluetooth devices such as the iphone. I am aware that Ford is aware of these bugs. At present, I was advised not to pair my devices which is inconvenient to say the least. The lurking/jerking is the main complaint however.
On 4-16-13 the engine on my new Escape started to sputter and not run right. On 4-17-13 I cranked the Escape in my drive way and it sputtered and died. After about 3 hours the Escape cranked and I drove it to the Ford dealer where I bought it to have it fixed. The Escape has been at the Ford dealership since 04/17/13 and they have not been able to fix the problem with the engine or the other part that keeps it from running. The Escape has died or quit running at the dealership 3 times that I know of from reports that the dealership staff has updated me with. The dealership has had the Escape sixteen days.
- Bessemer , AL, USA
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The check engine light came on and averaged 15mpg highway getting to the dealership. They said it was the knock sensor. They replaced it and 24 hours later check engine light on again, same mpg. This time they say its the computer needs to be changed. One month later, check engine light on again with a fault and the engine surges.
Vehicle reported engine temperature too high and that I should pull over safely. This is the same engine overheating / fire hazard problem supposedly fixed during December 2012 recall.
While depressing the brake pedal in order to bring the vehicle to a full stop at a stop sign in a residential neighborhood, the engine raced and the vehicle lurched forward beyond the stop sign. I, the driver, was required to quickly place the vehicle into neutral gear as the acceleration of the engine and the fully depressed brake pedal seemed to be fighting against each other.
I purchased a 2013 Ford Escape in Oct 2012. It has been in service three times for the same issue. Faulty engine light "service now" but computer didn't capture any issues with vehicle. First time dealer changed the mass pressure air sensor. The second time they contact Ford which told them to upgrade the computer software, this time I called to have the manufacturer send the Ford engineer which states it is the onboard computer. He emailed Ford for the diagrams since vehicle is new and not available to the dealer (so that is what I am being told). The dealer has no idea of what the problem truly is. Finally contact manufacturing who states it is a computer component. Vehicle still at dealership for repair. It is a safety hazard due to the lunging and hesitation of the vehicle when you depress the accelerator. It doesn't have enough power to get you out of an intersection if needed. It lunges forward as if the transmission is defective or the fuel injectors.
I used the 'remote start' feature tostart my car. I then entered the vechicle, started it up [as usual]. when pulling out of the driveway, the car stopped/stalled out. I put it in park, restarted. 'check engine' light came on. Was driving to dealership and car stopped/stalled again. Would not restart. Towed to dealership. Dealership said there was a 'problem with onboard computer'. computer reset. Have had same problem twice.
I started my vehicle in the morning using the remote start feature. After about 10 minutes, I entered my vehicle, backed out of my driveway and put it in drive. Upon depressing the accelerator, the car hesitated, then surged, hesitated again and then stalled in the middle of the road. I put my hazard warning on and attempted to restart the vehicle. It would not restart. I finally was able to restart the vehicle after about 5 minutes and limped it back into my driveway. I called for tow service and had it towed to the dealership where I purchased it. The service manager informed me several times that there were no logged faults in the ECM even though I had a check engine light immediately after this occurred. Later however, I learned from the actual mechanic, that there were several codes logged and there was a technical bulletin out to update the body control module with new software. The tech stated he could not do that however as his tooling would not show the BCM module or allow him to program it even though the directions stated his version of tooling software should allow it. They called Ford tech support and received no answers. They sent me on my way with my vehicle and did not do anything with it. I'm fearful the issue has not been resolved and poses a safety risk due to lack of acceleration and stalling.
Upon taking my car in for the recall, I was notified on 12/19/2012 that the oil gasket was leaking. To date ( 1/2/13) sarat Ford in agawam MA still does not have the parts or any idea when my car will be fixed. It has 3100 miles on it and I purchased it in late September 2012.
First dealer issues now sitting in lot since recall and being told the dealer does not have the fix for 1.6 yet-12-4 was told by rep at Ford that I would get a buy back. Then told no on 12-14. Can't reach either person at Ford. Dealer said on 12-20 that they do not have fix yet-people should be made hold and be able to get full value for trade in for 2.0. Ford is losing any confidence I had in them because of the handling of this situation.
During the latest recall for the Ford Escape 2013 with 1.6L ecoboost engine, the dealer found other issues outside the software update to prevent overheating of the engine. The dealer also stated there is a fuel bridge issue or some kind of leak, if Ford knows about these issues why we don't hear about them on the recall, they are eager to fix the issue, so it leads me to believe they are hiding other issues with the engine fires. Does NHTSA knows about these other issues" I am pushing for Ford to fix my car or buy it back. It leads me to believe this is not a simple software fix like they are talking about in the media. I hope NHTSA is pushing Ford to come clean and tell the full story, before somebody gets hurt. Are they just trying to buy time, not sure why is taking so long for my car to get fix when they are saying is just half day fix. Then today they said is some like and they even mention the fuel bridge, what is the true story"
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that he was notified of a recall for the vehicle under NHTSA campaign id number: 12V551000 (engine and engine cooling). The dealer was contacted who confirmed that there was a concurrent recall for the vehicle. The contact stated that he was never advised of the recall by the dealer or the manufacturer. The contact was concerned that per the recall, there was a possibility that the engine would overheat and cause a fire. The vehicle was serviced under the recall. The contact had not experienced a failure. The current mileage was 25.
There is an acceleration lag on partial throttle. This mainly occurs when starting the vehicle or when accelerating after a turn. When no acceleration is felt, the throttle pedal is depressed further and, after a delay, the vehicle takes off like a rocket. When driving the vehicle using the manual shift mode, it operates without an acceleration delay. The vehicle was brought to the dealership for this problem. They looked at the vehicle and stated it drives like all of the other 1.6 liter Escape vehicles on their lot. The delay in acceleration has the potential to cause an accident. A side issue is with sync. The clock loses time, it's very slow to respond, it isn't always able to sync phones, understand voice commands, and it's locked up...requiring a master reset. There's also too much road noise transmitted to those on the other end...consequently, it's difficult for them to hear the conversation.
My 2013 Ford Escape, 1.6 liter engine, had 3 recalls, (two were engine fire related). All 3 recall repairs were done by the local Ford dealer, salem, va. We picked vehicle up after third recall work had been done on 9/17/12. We assumed the recall work was done correctly, and that Ford's "fix" worked correctly. On 9/21/12 we were traveling East at 65 mph in the right lane on I-64 near charlottesville, va. It was about 1 pm in the afternoon. There was a "pop" sound in the engine area. Instantly, the accelerator had no response, the high engine temperature warning light came on, and then all warning lights, gauges, & tachometer all went dead. Luckily, we were adjacent to an exit ramp, and we coasted to a stop on rte 20/53. Immediately, white steam came out of the engine compartment. Knowing the third recall dealt with the "risk of engine fires", we got out, and moved well away from the vehicle. Within minutes, brown, oily smoke came out from under the hood. Then flames came out from under the hood, at the windshield and out the sides of the engine compartment. Then the car burst into flames and was destroyed. Pictures were taken of the vehicle on fire, and after it was out, with a cell phone. After the fire was out, the vehicle was taken to the Ford dealer in charlottesville, va.. we were told the insurance company had retained a fire inspector to look at the car, and ask me questions, which he did. Later the inspector said the insurance company did not require a report. We feel we are lucky to be alive!
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Raleigh, NC, USA