I've been driving Ford SUVs for quite a while. This is my 2nd Escape. While I have had few major issues with this 2018 Escape until now, I consider it pretty awful that my vehicle, with NO WARNING AT ALL, left me stranded on the side of a highway at 7pm. I'm waiting for the astronomical repair cost from the dealership now but I'm not hopeful that it will be something I'm willing to do. The dealership just called and advised it is going to cost approx $6900 for a new transmission and basically the same for a rebuild. Ford has apparently decided it's much cheaper to lose loyal customers and get new, oblivious ones than to build cars that actually last more than 5 years. I'm now going to be forced to look at a more reliable manufacturer to ensure I have a vehicle that won't leave me stranded.

I had taken my vehicle into the dealer to have a safety recall taken care of and a routine service. The dealership came out and stated that there was an oil leak at the rear seal. I ended up taking it to my mechanic to finish and that ended up not being the problem.

Eventually the transmission blew all its fluid out and it failed. The dealership has refused to stand behind their claim and quote they wrote up, and the fact that a transmission problem is a known issue with a service bulletin and it’s a required check on the maintenance/service schedule.

Ultimately we took the vehicle back to the dealership and surrendered it as the repair was 60% or more of what we owed.

The transmission in my 2018 Ford Escape stopped working while I was driving home on November 10, 2022. There were no warning lights displayed, but I was able to get it off the road and towed to a Ford dealership. The Ford dealership was able to tell me the transmission failed at 76000 miles, but they could not tell me why. They told me the transmission was no longer under warranty and the cost of a new transmission would be $8,000.

I took the car to an AAMCO garage, where the cost will be between 3,000 and $5000 to repair. Furthermore, I was told by the garage that the reason the transmission failed was because it had been manufactured with a faulty cooler valve. The Escape, I was told, has a reputation for these valves being faulty and destroying transmissions early.

On Friday morning, I heard a loud clunk, and some high pitched grinding upon forward movement, and a high pitch squeal in reverse. Drove back to house (about a mile and a half), looked it up, and sure enough, it's a known issue on the Ford Escape, going back a few years, although no recalls yet. Called the local dealer we bought it at (bought used, 5 months ago, after they allegedly "certified" it). I was given the usual BS run around, then called corporate - as soon as I mentioned having researched it, they suddenly started offering buyback.

I am going down there Sat, see if we can swap clean for another car in inventory, and as much as I hate to admit it, this is the 3rd lemon Ford I've been afflicted with. Maybe it's time to give upon Ford. The old axiom - Ford builds great trucks, and s* cars. If I don't get a clean useable swap, have the lawyers primed and ready - I have a bunch of horror stories over the last three Fords - and the poor response of the dealers & FMC. Sure as hell as the company I grew up with - seems like they gave up pride in products a looooong time ago. Probably why the stock has been such a poor performer - it reflects the products.