2018 Ford ESCAPE - Ratings, Complaints and Recalls

"high engine temp notification came on, car would not accelerate. i pulled over and had it towed to the dealer. the dealer said the engine had a coolant intrusion so a new short block is needed. my warranty company denied my claim for the short block claiming this was a recall with ford [xxx] ) . ford confirmed this was a vin specific customer satisfaction program, and confirmed my vin was not issued [xxx] and it is not included on my vin. the warranty company refuses to pay since all 2018 ford escapes should be under [xxx] . now i have a 10,000 engine repair estimate and ford or the warranty company will not replace my engine. i want to know why my vin was left off [xxx] since it’s the same year and same manufacturer. information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6)"

"on dec 27, i was told my water pump was leaking after an oil change. i brought my car to the dealership for extended warranty repairs on january 18. after an expection it was confirmed the water pump was leaking but also there were other possible leaks of the coolant into the cylindars. and the entire motor would need replacing. there were no service lights / check engine lights on before this happened."

"my engine threw a check engine light for code p0302, misfire on cylinder 2. took it to two mechanics and had work done (coilpack, plugs, wires, then camshaft and crankshaft sensors) before it was noted that there was coolant intrusion. was alerted to technical service bulletin 22-2134/customer satisfaction program 21n12 for "certain 2017 - 2019 model year fusion and escape vehicles equipped with a 1.5l gtdi engine-short block replacement after coolant intrusion. i took it to the dealer and the technician diagnosed it the same: coolant intrusion in cylinder #2. this is a common issue in ecoboost (gtdi) engines that ford has not issued a recall on, but did send out customer satisfaction program. did not receive notice for this. i have contacted ford about compensating me for a new engine on a 6-year old car at 75,000 miles. both meet the above csp/tsb as less than 7 years/84,000 miles. stated that us dot/nhtsa did not include my vin in the recall, so they won't offer no-cost replacement. i would like to request that nhtsa add my vin to this recall so that i can have the engine replaced."

"my engine gave a warning, check engine light went on. i took it to the dealer and the mechanic said the engine failed due to coolant intrusion. upon searching the issue, this is apparently a common issue in these ecoboost engine cars that ford has not issued a recall on, but did send out some satisfaction notice. i never received this notice for some reason. the notice indicates the need to monitor coolant leak, but i never noticed any and wasn't looking for it since i never received the notice. i have contacted ford about compensating me for a new engine on a 5 year old car, to which they said no because my car is over 84,000 miles (it is as 85,487). i need ford to recall this issue and frankly it should be criminal not to actively pursue a fix for a known huge and expensive issue that i honestly cannot afford to repair."

"while driving this vehicle (~87,000 miles), the engine began to overheat. the engine light had come on the day before (saturday). the engine began to overheat the next day (sunday) while driving on the highway. i quickly pulled off the highway and drove the vehicle back home while staying at a low speed. if i had not taken this action, the engine overheating could have posed a safety risk. upon receiving repairs at a ford dealer, i later learned that this engine overheating is a known issue by ford. it is caused by coolant intrusion to the engine. two customer satisfaction programs have been issued for this problem: 19b37, 21n12. however, given the safety issue (engine overheating), i was surprised this repair was not fully covered. this issue happened in my vehicle after the extended warranty period of 84,000 miles."

"the contact owns a 2018 ford escape. the contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine overheated message was displayed. the vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. the contact was informed that the vin was included in customer satisfaction program: 21n12 (short block replacement after coolant intrusion); however, the mileage warranty had expired. the contact stated that he had not received notification of the customer satisfaction program. the failure mileage was approximately 109,000."

"the system that had failed is the engine. according to the dealership where i took my car, which is the same dealership i purchased the car from, the engine has a coolant intrusion in cylinder #2 that has compromised the engine. there is a technical service bulletin [xxx] stating similar issues in ford escapes and my vin # is not included in that service bulletin. the problem has been confirmed by the ford dealership where i have taken my car. according to the service manager, many ford escapes have encountered similar issues. the vehicle is readily available for inspection at the ford dealership. while driving, a temperature notification informed me of an issue, but the temperature gauge was not affected. a 2018 vehicle is excellent condition with only 78,516 should not have this kind of engine malfunction. information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6)"

"the contact owns a 2018 ford escape. the contact stated that after the vehicle had received an oil change, the check engine warning light illuminated while driving. the vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. the vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic, who replaced the engine; however, the failure recurred. the vehicle was taken back to the independent mechanic, who determined that the airflow shutter actuator needed to be replaced, but the part was on backorder. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was 134,932."

"11/29/2023 temperature light came on/reported hot, said please pull over when safe; i stopped shortly but was on a hill with vehicles behind me, and had to get to the top to pull off. (within 1 minute); no previous warnings or having to put additional antifreeze in the vehicle. the coolant in the reservoir was boiling; called tow truck; took to ford dealer; several days later they informed me there was coolant in the engine; option replace the engine for $9,300 and did not tell me this is a recurring issue with the 1.5l ecoboost engine; the vehicle is still at the dealership and is available for inspection; ford knows about the issue and is not taking full responsibility for a design or manufacturing problem; if the engine just shuts down in front of other vehicles our safety is compromised; an engine fire or coolant reservoir explosion is possible. the coolant leak issue has been inspected and confirmed by ford and the local dealership; ford acknowledges there is a problem (ford customer satisfaction program 21n12 and stated they provided recall information in 2022 to all ford escape 1.5l ecoboost owners that ford would replace the short block in the escape at their cost; said it ended 11/30/2022. i never received any recall information from ford and my vehicle had 0 unrepaired recalls. what happened? ford should replace the engine at no cost to the owner because of the known recurring issue. hundreds of complaints. this is a design or manufacturing issue! escape owners need help with this issue from the nhtsa."

"the 1.5l eco boost engine is causing coolant to leak into the engine. i need a new engine and can’t get one. it failed the block test. i will need to check and fill the antifreeze everyday until a recall is issued. this is a common problem from what i’ve read."