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:
0 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
59,152 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.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the contact noticed an abnormally strong gasoline odor coming from outside the vehicle. The contact went to check underneath the vehicle and noticed an oil leak coming from the vehicle. The contact also stated that the oil leak had a very strong odor. The contact stated there was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed as a failure with the fuel line. The contact was informed that the fuel lines needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was opened. Additionally, the contact was advised to contact the NHSTA Hotline for further assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 180,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, she smelled a gasoline odor on the interior of the vehicle. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who was able to smell a gasoline odor but was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 12V336000 (Fuel System, Gasoline), but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a case was opened. The contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was unknown.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that on two occasions while driving at various speeds, there was an abnormal gasoline odor inside the cabin of the vehicle. Additionally, the contact stated on another occasion while driving at various speeds the vehicle lost power. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 127,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The contact was able to pull to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle failed to restart. The overheating warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed the vehicle with general engine failure. The vehicle was then towed to the dealer, who confirmed the diagnosis. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 13V584000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) for which the VIN was included; however, the vehicle was already repaired under the recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 60,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the odor of fuel was present inside the cabin of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the local automotive service center who diagnosed that the coolant reservoir and engine belts were faulty and needed to be replaced. The contact was advised to contact the local service center for repairs to be performed. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 12V551000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in the recall. The failure mileage was 165,000.
- Waco, TX, USA
Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that there was an abnormally strong gasoline odor coming from the vehicle. The contact examined under the hood of the vehicle and noticed that the fuel line was fractured, and gasoline was leaking onto the engine. The vehicle was not diagnosed. The dealer was contacted and stated that the vehicle needed to be diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the VIN was not under any recall for the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was 112,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle overheated while driving up an incline. The check engine and high engine temperature warning lights were illuminated. Additionally, a message to -??Pull Over Safely" message was displayed on the instrument panel. The contact then stated that while driving at 55 MPH in the snow, the vehicle stalled while driving uphill. The vehicle failed to accelerate up the incline after multiple attempts. The contact stated that with the assistance of a friend the vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic. The mechanic then informed the contact of NHTSA Campaign Number: 13V584000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) which he linked to the failure. The contact called the dealer and informed him that the recall was repaired previously and that no other assistance could be rendered. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure and provided the contact with a case number. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 125,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that after refueling the vehicle, there was an abnormal sound coming from the vehicle. Additionally, there was an abnormal fuel odor present inside the vehicle. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was informed that the fuel sensor and the flange on the fuel tank needed to be replaced and the part was not available. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that there aware of the failure but there were no recalls for the failure and that the parts were on back. The failure mileage was 100,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while her husband was driving 35 MPH, he noticed the vehicle was losing motive power. Her husband pulled over at the nearest gas station and noticed a fuel leak underneath the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed. The dealer was contacted, and the contact was informed that her vehicle had experienced the failure listed in NHTSA Campaign Number: 12V336000 (Fuel System, Gasoline). The dealer informed her that the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was contacted and confirmed that the VIN was not included in the recall. The contact was referred to the NHTSA for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, the low coolant level message was displayed. The contact veered to the side of the road and noticed that the antifreeze was leaking from the radiator onto the ground. The contact looked underneath the vehicle and saw smoke. The contact then opened the hood and noticed that there was no antifreeze in the coolant reservoir. The contact contacted an independent mechanic who advised her to refill the coolant reservoir with water and to then take the vehicle to his location since she was 5 minutes away. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the heater hose assembly, the coolant return, and the vent tube assembly needed to be replaced. The parts were replaced. Additionally, the independent mechanic diagnosed that the fuel line hose directly connected to the ignition system was spraying out fuel. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that they could not assist as the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 13V584000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) due to the vehicle manufacture date. The failure mileage was approximately 121,805.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that coolant was leaking from under the hood of the vehicle onto the engine. The check engine warning light was illuminated. Additionally, the vehicle would overheat occasionally with a message to pull over, stop, turn off the vehicle, and allow the engine to cool down. The contact was informed by the dealer that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 12V336000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) and 13V583000 (Engine) however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was unknown. Case number [XXX} INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).-??
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 30mph when the vehicle lost engine power. The contact stated fuel pump warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to pull over and towed the vehicle to a local mechanic where it was informed that the vehicle had experienced a fire but was extinguished due to the water pump bursting. The vehicle was diagnosed with needing the engine and fuel pump replaced but was not repaired. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with, NHTSA Campaign Number: 13V584000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) however the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was informed of failure and told the contact to call NHTSA. The failure mileage was approximately 96,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that he noticed that fuel had been leaking from underneath his vehicle. The contact then called the dealer who informed him that his vehicle was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 13V584000 (Fuel System, Gasoline). The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 132,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at various speeds, there was a strong gasoline odor in the cabin of the vehicle. The contact also stated that one day as his wife was driving, the vehicle began to jerk while depressing the accelerator pedal. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was notified by his wife of the failure and he was able to tow the vehicle himself to his home. The contact called the dealer where they informed him that there were no recalls on his vehicle. Upon investigation, the contact discovered NHTSA Campaign Number: 12V336000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) which he linked to the failure. The manufacturer was then notified of the failure and informed him that his vehicle was not included in the recall. The manufacturer then referred him to the NHTSA for assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.
Vehicle will not start after fueling. Takes up to 20 minutes delay to start vehicle after filling tank with fuel. Not a single incident. Has happened every time I have fueled the vehicle over the course of several months. Mechanic stated it is an emissions problem with this model vehicle, but there is no recall issued.
Vehicle stalls out when accelerating after starting and also when accelerating in highway driving. Recently in heavy traffic. Barely avoided accident. Have to shut off and restart. Local dealer is servicing fuel system at this time.the service rep stated that it could be a fuel sensor. Researched online and found same/similar problems with this make, model and year. Vehicle just serviced on 11/21/2016. Odometer 67,762..
I had gotten into my vehicle and after turning it on I managed to make it to my neighbors house. My vehicle for the second time started to over heat and the engine light came on and the vehicle was stating that I need to refill the coolant. I just parked it and the next day we had filled the coolant again taken it to get the error codes checked and were informed we need to get a new thermostat. When taking it to the mechanics they had tried everything from checking codes to driving my vehicle and they were unable to get the issue taken care of due to not being able to re-create the codes. They had informed me that this is a known issue with Ford, however when contacting Ford they have no idea what I am talking about. I checked online and see there is a recall for this, but my VIN even though having the qualifying manufacturing date is not eligible. I have had my vehicle for 1 1/2 years and have had it shut down on me, not have any power, start to put and stall, refilling coolant every so often, over heat, and I can never get a straight answer from the dealership. I have called for information in regards to recalls and these issues and am transferred to a person who is not there so I can leave a voice mail. I have never had a call returned. I just want to know what I have to do to understand what is going on with my vehicle. Why is my VIN not eligible as well?
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that a strong odor of fuel emitted inside and outside of the vehicle continuously; however, there was no fuel visible on the ground. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the fuel line damper would need to be replaced. In 2014, the vehicle was repaired under NHTSA campaign number: 13V584000 (fuel system, gasoline), but the failure recurred recently. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 55,000.
2013 Ford Escape. Consumer writes in regards to vehicle poor mileage issues. The consumer was informed to wait until the vehicle reached 8-10,000 miles and it would improve.
Vehicle towed to Ford on 7/3/14 for fuel leak. Also told Ford that fuel range consumption gauge was not working right. Ford was unable to verify fuel leak concern but did the 13S12 overheating and 14S03 handle recalls. On 7/19/14 low coolant light came on. Called Ford and they said that it was an air pocket in the coolant system and to add distilled water and drive it to Ford. The dealership drained the coolant, added coolant and pressurized to check the system. Explained to Ford that our daughter was taking the car on a 500 mile road trip that afternoon. They reassured us it was fixed and that she would not have an issue, but if she did, simply add distilled water again to resolve. Later on 7/19/14, after driving 150 miles of the trip, the temperature gauge rapidly jumped from normal to hot and the engine overheated. Roadside assist. Towed to the closest Ford dealership. This new dealership said the vehicle had so many problems that they were going to have someone from Ford to come look at it. The new dealership faxed us the list of what was wrong with our vehicle: Leaking water pump, leaking turbo coolant tube, turbo coolant banjo bolt loose, hose clamp on turbo coolant tube not released, coolant stand pipe not bolted, engine harness taped but not secured to engine cover, coolant stand pipe harness not properly secured, battery cable rerouting not performed, foam protection not applied to coolant level module, active grill shutters not removed at all, thermostat housing bolts loose, cv boot ripped, bolts on oil deflector not tight to specs. Ford says they repaired the vehicle but we told them we could not risk our lives any more with this defective vehicle. On 7/29/14 we explained everything to Ford, sent them the list, got a case number and requested that Ford buy back the vehicle. On 8/8/14 Ford denied our request. We are too scared to pick up the vehicle.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Alice, TX, USA