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:
4 / 3
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
50,369 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.
While driving in the left lane on the freeway, my car just lost power. We had just hit the tail end of rush hour just South of portland, or (heading South to a funeral) so traffic was flowing pretty good but not good enough for cruise control. I was going about 65-70 mph when all of a sudden my car stop accelerating and started coasting. My tachometer went all the way up to the red since my foot was still on the gas. I immediately hit my hazards and merged to the next off ramp. I never had any indicator lights come on saying that I needed to check my fluids but we found a way to check the transmission fluid which was fine, let the car rest then started it back up. Car was fine after that but we still turned around and headed back home to Washington. Did not have an issue the whole ride back home. Sporadically my car will have issues but can't figure out the reason for it.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. While depressing the accelerator pedal at various speeds, the rpms would rapidly increase and the vehicle would shut off without warning. The manufacturer was notified and informed the contact that the failure could be related to the throttle body. The contact was given a cost estimate for the repair and was advised to have the vehicle diagnosed at a local Ford dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 126,000.
The vehicle while in motion on a city street suddenly decelerated and goes at a very slow speed. The accelerator will not move the car forward or faster. We have been told by a mechanic that it may be an issue with the shifter cable bushing. There was a recall: 18S20 but when I inquired with Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332 they stated the VIN to my car was not on recall. Referred me to NHTSA or a Ford dealer directly. I do not understand if the vehicle is the year and model why my car is excluded from this recall
While in motion, the RPM are reduced, the car slows down, turns off and a "system check, service now" notice appears in dash board. There is a recall for same Escape but 2.5, while this one is 1.3. right now it is at Ford dealer for another evaluation.
- San Juan, PR, USA
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My 2013 Ford Escape has demonstrated the same problems with the fuel injector (specifically the canister purge valve solenoid) that was part of last fall's Focus recall. I had a problem last fall with my car whining, rocking when in stop and go traffic, smelling like burned fuel, and eventually stalling out entirely. Last year the car stalled out multiple times initially while stationary, and eventually while in motion. Experience was difficult to reproduce as it was sporadic and not consistent. We replaced the canister purge valve last year which resolved the problem, except the replacement part has now failed again a year later while I was sitting in busy rush hour traffic. My car started whining and rocking this morning while I was a stop, turned off the engine, and then I was unable to restart the vehicle for approximately 10 minutes (battery would engage, engine would attempt to turn but wouldn't catch). Eventually I was able to start my engine and drive home safely. However I refuse to drive this vehicle again until the part is once again replaced.
I was driving my family from houston, tx to san antonio, tx on July 5th 2019 for the holiday weekend in my 2013 Ford Escape sel with the 6F35 transmission. We were about 1 hour & 30 minutes into our trip, 108 miles, from our home near the city of flatonia, tx when our transmission horrifically failed. While I was driving I noticed the transmission had a made a hard shift into 6th gear. It had jumped a couple of times until I accelerated and then it finally shifted into 6th gear. The next sign of trouble was when the dash screen told us the lane change sensor was failing. Next we started noticing a faint burning smell coming into the cabin, we weren't sure what it was. A minute later all the warning lights turned on in the dash screen. I immediately put on my turn signal so I could get to an exit and when trying to accelerate out of the way of traffic, I realized my Ford Escape was not responding to the acceleration pedal. It would not accelerate at all. So now I couldn't shift and my gas pedal was not functioning. I finally reached the nearest exit turned on my hazard lights and proceeded to coast into the nearest gas station since my gas pedal was not functioning. As soon as I stopped & turned off my SUV, white smoke was coming from the engine bay. I quickly got my wife and 1 yr old daughter out of the SUV and ran away from the vehicle. Thankfully the smoke stopped and I opened the hood and saw transmission oil all over the top of the transmission. It was so hot it was boiling in the crevices where it had settled. This transmission is supposed to have "a special blend of transmission fluid maintenance free for the life of the gearbox." A couple days prior the transmission would jump erratically when shifting from 2-3 gear and from 5-6 gear even though it was an automatic transmission.but I had taken it to a Ford dealer and they didn't help at all.
Driving down the freeway, started to accelerate in sport mode, heard something pop. Sounded like the clutch slipped or a belt broke. Lost most acceleration. Got off freeway to take side streets home. Had a lot of trouble accelerating up hill. Would accelerate but very slowly. Not on pace with gears. Was shifting weird. Both in D and S. took me about 4 blocks to get from 0 to 25mph.
Mid-day, 91 degrees. Car shuddered reversing out of the driveway. No previous problems. I waited and car idled well. I left the neighborhood and turned left into traffic on a five-lane road. I lost acceleration merging from the center turning lane. The vehicle revved, getting fuel, but there was no forward movement, no shuddering, nothing. I moved the vehicle into "sport" mode, in case I had bumped the selector, but it made no difference. Traffic honked and swerved around me. I was able to get into the right lane with my hazard lights on. My car shuddered off, completely and I lost power steering just as I completed the maneuver. I restarted my vehicle and the vehicle shuddered to a side-street, where I idled for five minutes and called for assistance. Assistance was going to take a long time and I suffer from a medical condition that makes me fragile in the heat. I tested the vehicle on the side streets and it performed. I was able to get the vehicle home slowly.
My Escape all of a sudden completely stopped accelerating in the middle of driving took it to a Ford dealer they said there were no codes the 2013 Ford Escape 2.0 was recalled for the same reason!!! you need to recall the 1.6 Ford Escape ecoboost my car litterly did what the recall said was happening
I have a transmission fault service soon error ! the car seems to think its in park while driven. It staules seems that it is slipping out of gears by its self
Intermittent stalling of my 1.6 liter ecoboost engine. It happens every 3 to 4 days and only happens after you start the engine and drive about 100 feet. The engine will lose power and die. You start it back up and it will display loss of power and die again. Normally the 3rd time the engine starts and runs properly. It will then not have any issues for 3-4 days. It is dangerous because it will normally have this problem after gong to the store and when leaving you pull out of parking lot and it will stall merging into traffic. It has never done this while traveling at speed limit.
Car ecelerates on its on, transmisin jerks when U put it in gear after disengaging the hand break, rolling while in park with engine off, transmission jerks when charging from 1st to 2nd gear especially when pulling a hill. Brakes not holding properly; I almost rolled back into a car today. Check engine light randomly comes on & stays on. Omw TL the shop to have a diagnostic done it goes back off.
When driving this vehicle, it ser me like it is not running right, and think it is going to die on us in traffic. The front seat belt does not go back in the area where it belongs and sits on the front seat. The passenger driver side door does not close right when you open it. It will stay open until you push the handle down and then it will close and lock. We are afraid to travel long distance with the vehicle because of the way the car acts and run. We just want it fix or replace vehicle.
Driving to work one morning in a 40 mph zone, about 1.5 miles, warning lights appeared and stated that the vehicle was overheating and to pull over safely. The temperature gauge had shot up to H for hot. The vehicle immediately slowed down, regardless of pressing the gas. I was able to pull off of a us highway and find a safe place to park just a short distance. The vehicle needed to be towed to the dealer.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the transmission would not immediately shift into reverse after pushing the reverse selector button. The failure was also present when selecting the drive gear. In addition, when depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle would not immediately respond; however, the rpms continued to increase and the vehicle suddenly accelerated at a higher rate of speed. The failures were not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer (doan Ford, 66870 belmont morristown rd., belmont, oh) were notified of the failures. The failure mileage was 87,500.
This has happened now (2) separate times a month apart. While driving down the road at 70-75 mph the vehicle will loose power and tell me to pull over. I am not able to restart vehicle and the engine temperature will spike to hot. This all happens in a matter of seconds with little or no time to react and pull vehicle to a safe spot. There has been radiator fluid pouring over the engine on both times this has happened and is now costing me a lot of money to fix. I feel that this is an issue with the Escape in general and not with just mine.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. While driving approximately 35 mph, the check engine and the low coolant warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle started to decelerate and was coasted over to the side of the road. The contact opened the hood and noticed that the coolant container was half empty. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or independent mechanic for diagnostic testing to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 99,000.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Heath, OH, USA