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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
4 / 0
Average Mileage:
26,585 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.

2017 Ford Escape electrical problems

electrical problem

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2017 Ford Escape Owner Comments (Page 3 of 6)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #71

Apr 092021

Escape

  • 1 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

My check engine light came on a few days ago and my door closes by itself when I'm taking the groceries out of trunk

- Yonkers, NY, USA

problem #70

Apr 022021

Escape

  • 47,800 miles
The steering wheel shakes when changing lanes at different speeds and it feels like there is no steering assist when doing this. I tried swapping tires but this didn't change things. It's really noticeable on the highway. I only have 47800 miles on the car.

- South Bend, IN, USA

problem #69

Jan 272021

Escape

  • 10,657 miles
Vehicle started to develop longer cranking to start, cold and warm...battery was weak, so I replaced it.. same symptoms, but developed relay chattering under hood in fuse/relay box when just opening either front door or inserting key...sometimes would start but then just die.. lucky car was in garage, so I would not attempt to drive it if it continued to run.. the only way to stop relay chatter was to remove PCM fuse or relay...called Ford, agreed to tow to my dealer.. vehicle was 3 yrs and 5 months, but under 11K miles.. took 3 days to find cause, ,.,the wire harness/fuse/relay box had short or break..they discovered it by wiggling the wire harness that connects to the fuse/relay box...I went to see it and after starting, he would wiggle the wire harness and vehicle would die, ,did it several times to show me..I said its a factory defect since the car was never in an accident, flood or fire. Ford agreed to pay half the cost of parts and labor since this isn't cover beyond 3yrs..to me this is a safety hazard, if I had been driving at highway speeds and it could have just died anytime, anywhere.. after repaired, I found Ford in Feb, 16, 2018 put out a tsb # ssm 47086, that describes my problem and defective part.. so Ford new about this on some 2017-18 Ford Escapes 3yrs ago...

- Englewood Cliffs, NJ, USA

problem #68

Mar 172021

Escape

  • 45,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

For the last few days, intermittently, the ABS warning light would come on, then the traction control light, then the hill assist light, then the 4 wheel drive would disengage, and now the parking brake fault light. You never know when it will happen as it happens intermittently, and they don't all fault at the same time. It seems each consecutive day the number of problems grows. My greatest concern is that now the traction control light will flash and the throttle will become unresponsive. You never know when it may happen. Twice today it nearly caused an accident as I was pulling into traffic. The engine was running, but would not accelerate. A serious safety concern. I am filing this report just in case I get injured or killed before I can have it checked by a Ford dealer.

- Woodville, TX, USA

problem #67

Jan 242021

Escape

  • 42,225 miles
While driving my wife attemtpted to adjust the seat just a tiny bit when she started out, since I had driven iit previously, and she had adjusted it before she left but as I said she needed a slight adjustment forward. When she did this the forward lever kept going and would not stop crushing her against the steering column and the seat belt squeezing her, to the point she had to drive off the road and all she could do was get a toe on the brake because of being in such a compressed position and was able to skid to a stop. When she got home and explained it to me I went out and tried the forward seat button twice and it di the same thing, locked all the way forward. I tried a few more times but it did not do it.. took it to the Ford dealer and they said they can't get it to do the same thing and are kepping it overnight and will try in morning, and if it doesn't do it there is nothing they can do he said.

- Aston, PA, USA

problem #66

Sep 172020

Escape

  • miles
My vehicle is 3 years old. Instrument cluster died or just stopped randomly working. Ford won't do anything about it even though this is a manufacturer issue.

- Randolph, ME, USA

problem #65

Nov 162020

Escape 4-cyl

  • 62,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

TONIGHT, 11/16/2020, MY ESCAPE STARTED TO IDLE ROUGHLY. THE TACHOMETER WOULD GO UP AND DOWN BY AT LEAST 500 RPM WITHOUT ANY INPUT FROM ME. THE LIGHTS WOULD FLICKER. THE DASHCAM I HAVE MOUNTED TURNED OFF. I TRIED MAKING IT HOME AND IT JUST DIED. LOST ALL LIGHTS. I SHIFTED TO NEUTRAL AND COASTED TO THE LEFT TURN LANE. WHILE DOING THIS, THE AUTO START SYSTEM TRIED TO RESTART THE CAR, EVEN THOUGH IT HAD BEEN PREVIOUSLY DISABLED. I TRIED TO START THE CAR MANUALLY, ABOUT FIVE OR SIX TIMES. IT FINALLY STARTED AND I WAS ABLE TO MAKE IT HOME. I TURNED OFF THE HVAC AUTO FEATURE, MY DASHCAM AND RADIO IN CASE IT WAS A VOLTAGE ISSUE. JUST ONE MORE ISSUE WITH THIS VEHICLE. THE ELECTRONIC PACKAGE IS FINICKY AND HORRIBLE. IT HAS A MIND OF IT'S OWN. I HAVE ALSO HAD THE DEALER DO THE SERVICE BULLETIN ON THE [XXX] SYSTEM. IT STILL ACTS UP OCCASIONALLY LEAVING ME DEAD IN THE WATER UNTIL I CAN SHIFT TO PARK AND MANUALLY RESTART IT. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Van Buren Twp, MI, USA

problem #64

Jun 032020

Escape

  • 18,500 miles
1. hands free tailgate/trunk will automatically shut when objects or a persons body is present. Faub/ keys are not being pushed by accident, nor is there any movement under number that would sensor door to close. When it does do this, it takes quite a while for the sensor to realize there is an object there and takes some time to open again. 2. when vehicle slips on ice patces or large puddles of water--- when the traction light comes on my dash board, it seems to trigger my entire vehicle to shut completely down. Vehicle engine shuts off, steering wheel locks up, brakes stop working and no electrical from that point on. I have had this happen 3 times now, with the need to have to call a tow. For both complaints, Ford service says they cannot find anything wrong and cannot get either complaint to duplicate. Nothing has been done at this point by Ford to fix or compensate for any of this.

- Savage, MN, USA

problem #63

Oct 152020

Escape

  • miles
My car running normal up to yesterday, I went to whole foods and when I was going to turn it on the car completely out of power (battery) I went to autozone and the battery and alternator are good. Today I went to bountiful and again after being running good the car didn't start, I took the car with a tow truck to a mechanic shop and the mechanic check it and the mechanic said that I didn't find any problems.

- Murray, UT, USA

problem #62

Aug 192020

Escape

  • miles
I've had my car two years and multiple things have been an issue since purchase. Regardless, my most recent concern is my hill start not available light is on and traction control light is on and will not go off. I sent my car to a dealership to determine the issue and discovered the sasm needed to be repaired. However the dealership stated that this does not become an issue unless the car has been in an accident. My car has never been in an accident now nor prior to my purchase. Car fax show no records of any damage to the physical body of the vehicle. The dealership had no other explanation as to why these lights would have been activated and I'm very concerned that it will cause further damage to my car. Again I've only had the car two years and would like to have it longer, if something can be explained about this issue.

- Memphis, TN, USA

problem #61

Jul 082020

Escape

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Errpr code P051B crankcase pressure sensor circuit range/preformance. At only 37000 miles warranty up 36000

- Menomonee Falls, WI, USA

problem #60

Mar 052020

Escape

  • 75,000 miles
The car will turn off when stopped (ex. At a light) and a message comes up saying "auto startstop shift to P restart engine". I do this and it restarts without issue. This has only happened a few times and at various times. Ex. once in morning cold weather, once in afternoon in mild/warm weather. I bought car new and this has only started happening now (3 years after car was bought).

- Eaton, OH, USA

problem #59

Mar 142020

Escape

  • miles
Vehicle stalls and must be taken out of drive and restarted when automatic engine stop feature is engaged. This is intermittent and occurs without apparent pattern when the vehicle is stopped.

- N Chesterfld, VA, USA

problem #58

Feb 272020

Escape

  • 22,309 miles
My car has had an issue twice involving squirrels/rodents chewing through wires and has cost quite a bit of money. Even when the car was under warranty the dealer stated this issue is not covered. I have seen many instances of this happening to others on the internet and the dealer also says it has been happening quite often. I have read that the wiring covering has been changed from petroleum based to soy based for environmental reasons and rodents love to eat the soy based wiring. My family has had many cars parked in the driveway over the years and this being the newest car is the only one that has had this problem. I would think that car manufacturers being aware of this issue would have come up with a solution by now such as spraying the wires with something that tastes bad to the rodents or coming up with another environmentally friendly solution to avoid this issue and expense to the consumer.

- Kendall Park, NJ, USA

problem #57

Nov 212019

Escape

  • 33,000 miles
Everytime auto start stop is initiated and I release the brake my vehicle shuts down with the notification "shift to P and restart engine." This has happened numerous occasions. It happened in traffic and nearly caused a wreck. The person saw I released the brake and expected me to but I'm stalled because of this. I'm tired of having to to manually turn auto start stop off. There are 1000S with this issue and a recall needs to be made. I bought the vehicle from carmax Sept 2019. When I bought the vehicle the bump to bumper warranty had already expired.

- Clarksville, TN, USA

problem #56

Nov 222019

Escape

  • 37,129 miles
When stopped at a red light or stop sign or any other reason, my Escape will shut off and the display will show "auto startstop shift to P restart engine". the auto startstop light is orange instead of green when this occurs. It is not every time, but is is occurring more frequently. The transmission will still be in drive when this occurs.

- Manhattan, KS, USA

problem #55

Oct 012019

Escape

  • 12,000 miles
My 2017 Ford Escape is creating an extremely dangerous safety issue/situation with the auto stop/start function. When stopped in traffic-at a stoplight, at a stop sign, in the road waiting to turn left-the engine turns off and a message is displayed to "shift the vehicle into park and restart the engine". I have almost had other cars hit the back of my Escape because of this. It's very scary when this happens and takes time to shift to park and restart the engine with an impatient diver behind me. I have read numerous other complaints on this same issue on your website. Some of the NHTSA id #'s 11300434, 11297934, 11292126, 11291536, 11290647, 11290086, and 11288766. There are other complaints as well. Please, before someone is injured or killed issue a recall for this problem. I don't have the exact date this first occurred, but it has happened multiple times since October 2019. Also per NHTSA 10160883 and Ford communication no. Ssm 47492 from February 2018 this is an issue that has been a known issue for at least 2 years now. "some 2017 Escape vehicles built on or before 02-Feb-2017 may exhibit a no restart concern after an auto stop/start event. Upon attempting to restart, the instrument panel may display a message instructing the customer to shift to park and start the vehicle manually. To correct this condition, reprogram the body control module (BCM) using the latest software level of the appropriate Ford diagnostic scan tool. For claiming, use causal part 14A068 and applicable labor operations in section 10 of the service labor time standards (slts) manual. If the BCM software is currently at the latest level available, refer to workshop manual (wsm), section 303-06A and/or powertrain control/emissions diagnosis (pc/ed) manual for an auto stop/start diagnostic trouble code (dtc) or gsb0000153 for auto stop/start system information and diagnostics."

- Brookfield, CT, USA

problem #54

Dec 152019

Escape

  • 28,500 miles
My 2017 Ford Escape is exhibiting the problem described below and apparently known to Ford on or about February 2018. This is a dangerous situation that may occur when the car is stopped at a traffic signal or paused in an intersection waiting to make a left turn, or paused waiting to merge onto a highway. Although Ford was aware of this problem (via the bulletins shown) while the car was still under 36 month warranty, no mention was made of it. Now that the car is exhibiting the dangerous behavior, Ford will not honor the 36 bumper to bumper or 60 month power train warranty to correct. Quoted cost to repair could vary from $150 to several hundred more according to Ford service dept. This should be a recall item since it reflects a known manufacturing flaw. Per NHTSA 10160883 and Ford communication no. Ssm 47972: "some 2017 Escape vehicles built on or before 02-Feb-2017 may exhibit a no restart concern after an auto stop/start event. Upon attempting to restart, the instrument panel may display a message instructing the customer to shift to park and start the vehicle manually. To correct this condition, reprogram the body control module (BCM) using the latest software level of the appropriate Ford diagnostic scan tool. For claiming, use causal part 14A068 and applicable labor operations in section 10 of the service labor time standards (slts) manual. If the BCM software is currently at the latest level available, refer to workshop manual (wsm), section 303-06A and/or powertrain control/emissions diagnosis (pc/ed) manual for an auto stop/start diagnostic trouble code (dtc) or gsb0000153 for auto stop/start system information and diagnostics."

- Rockville, MD, USA

problem #53

Dec 162019

Escape

  • 41,120 miles
Multiple times the Escape as been stopped at a light and the auto restart does not work. A message is displayed to shift the vehicle to park and start the vehicle manually. Very dangerous at an intersection when cars behind are moving.

- Charlotte, NC, USA

problem #52

Dec 012019

Escape

  • 26,000 miles
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. On three separate occasions, while at a stop light/sign, the eco boost system malfunctioned and the engine erroneously shut off. During the failure, the message "put the vehicle in park and restart the vehicle with the ignition key" was displayed. The cause of the failure was not determined. Skyline Ford (2510 commercial St. SE, salem, or) was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 26,000.

- Mount Angel, OR, USA

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