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:
5 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
3 / 0
Average Mileage:
51,214 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 that after starting the vehicle, the message "Power Steering Assist Fault" was displayed, and the steering wheel was difficult to turn in either direction. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed that the steering rack was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 104,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while accelerating at slower speeds, the steering wheel would severely shake and vibrate. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 45,000.
Steering Assist Fault - Contact Dealer is what appears on my vehicle screen. No power steering in vehicle - unable to drive, have to have it towed to dealer. Vehicle worked perfectly fine one hour before going back out to vehicle to start and run an errand. Vehicle on has 84,500 miles. There are recalls on 914,000 Escapes and Explorers up to 2012. The same component is in my 2013 vehicle that is in the vehicles in the recall. Ford needs to be responsible for these components in their vehicles that could cause a major accident, injury or death. This component should be paid for in full by Ford, not the customer.
Steering Assist Fault shows on dash. Unable to turn the steering wheel. Appears to be a recall on Ford Escapes up to 2012. Need to include additional years into this recall - major problem and safety issue.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH and making a turn, the power steering assist became inoperable. The power steering assist failure message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who informed the contact that the vehicle was not covered under recall. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact contacted two unknown dealers who provided the same information. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000.
Power steering malfunctioned while driving out of my driveway. Vehicle is undrivable and is available for inspection. Unable to steer the vehicle. The problem has not been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center. The vehicle has not been inspected at this time. There were no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure which occurred on Saturday, October 21, 2023 at 9:00 am.
Power steering assist fault warning displayed on the dash of 2013 Ford Escape Titanium. Can-??t turn wheel. Wheel was so hard to turn if my wife had been driving she would have wrecked and potentially seriously hurt thr two of us and our 3 grandchildren. Car has 92k miles and we-??ve already replaced the transmission $5k. From what I-??ve read this will be a minimum of $1.2k. It-??s sad when their profitability is more important than people-??s week being, potentially lives.
First: A steering assist fault "service vehicle" started to appear on my dashboard of my 2013 Ford Escape Titanium 2.0 L. Steering is very hard and will not turn when in park and ready to drive, i can change gears, but steering is locked. I turn the ignition (push button) off, then it unlocks. I thought it was because I was putting in gear too quick after starting, but it does it even when I wait a couple of seconds to engage the gears. I don't want to encounter this problem while driving for obvious reasons. I have not confirmed it with a dealer since it doesn't do it all the time. Problem has not been inspected by anyone yet, but I've seen other posts of the expensive costs to repair. No other warning lamps of messages and this started a week ago (o/a 1 Oct 23). Second: I am getting very poor fuel consumption (about 17-18 MPG). A check with my FIXD device confirmed what I thought was the problem - "Fuel Pressure Sensor 'B' Circuit Low and Low Pressure Fuel System Pressure Too High". I don't see any safety concerns other than I might be left stranded in the desert one day. Dealer tell me that if I see no warning lamps on my dashboard, I shouldn't worry too much (hello?). I now have 115,800 miles on this vehicle.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated upon starting the vehicle, the steering wheel failed to respond as needed. After restarting the vehicle, the steering wheel moved and worked as designed. The steering wheel defect message was displayed. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 151,000.
Have a Ford 2013 Escape SEL with 79,337 miles. The vehicle has been a lemon from the time I purchased it in 2014. Have replaced the water pump, a sensor, the turbocharger, the engine shield and now the rack and pinion steering. Stopped at a gas station and when started the car again to back out, received the 'Steering assist fault Service required' alert and lost all powering steering. Had to drive the car home. Mechanic charging $1860 + tax and a Ford dealership quoted $2593 + tax. Sent emails to the Executive Team at Ford and did receive a call back. Was told that unfortunately there are no recalls for my VIN/year. How is Ford allowed to get away with manufacturing faulty vehicles which can cause accidents, injuries or worse!! HOLD FORD ACCOUNTABLE!!!!
I recieved a Power Steering Assist Failure notification and then my power steering went out in my car as I was driving it making the car extremly hard to control. This happened multiple time without warning as I was driving my car. At the time my car has around 39,000 miles on it. I took my car to a Ford dealership to have the problem fixed and the repair was extemly costly, around $2,900, to replace the entire rack and pinion. From a online search this is a very common problem with this year of the Escape and a safety recall for the same issue was issued for earlier models of the Escape and other Ford models. When I spoke to the dealership, the technician confirmed that this is a common problem with Ford Escapes. I believe that later models of the Escape should be included in the recall and I'd like to be reimbursed for the work done.
All of a sudden my power steering failed while backing out of a parking space. I almost hit the car next to me because it was sudden and froze. Thank God I wasn-??t on the road! Would have crashed for sure! My vehicle is only at 111000 miles!!! Insane!!! DANGEROUS
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the steering assist fault warning light illuminated, and the steering wheel became firm. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and the contact was informed that the rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 103,000.
I was driving down the road an hour away from home with 3 other passengers, when the power steering stopped working. The car was extremely hard to handle and we almost wrecked 3 Times.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Hedgesville, WV, USA