What 2,743 owners told NHTSA about the 2013 Ford Escape Gas

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to restart the vehicle and drive to her residence. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic, where the vehicle was diagnosed, and it was determined that the housing unit and the thermostat needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but continued to experience the failure. The vehicle was not drivable. The contact towed the vehicle to the local dealer, but the dealer was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact towed the vehicle back to the independent mechanic and was informed that the coolant sensor and the regulator needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but continued to experience the failure. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 12V551000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) and 12V310000 (Electrical System) however, the VIN was not included in the recalls. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ODI 11529723

This car constantly stops in mid traffic. I have taken it everywhere and they can’t seem to find anything wrong. I’ve call ford a hundred times and nothing.

NHTSA ODI 11524655

My wife and I own a 2013 Ford Escape SE that developed a "Steering Assist Failure" error message on the dashboard. This failure causes the power steering to drop and the steering wheel has to be manually turned. When she drove it, she didn''t know what to do, so she drove it a few blocks to our house and told me about what happened. When I drove it and that happened to me, I put the vehicle back in park and shut the engine off for about 10 seconds. When I turned it back on, the error message went away and I was able to use the power steering without any problems.

NHTSA ODI 11517318

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the “Engine Power Reduced” message was displayed and the vehicle started to jerk and run rough. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact pulled over and restarted the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle had to be restarted several times before the vehicle regained normal operation. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was informed that the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V495000 (Electrical System) The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 62,137.

NHTSA ODI 11516248

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while starting the vehicle and exiting the driveway, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated, and messages were displayed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. A dealer was not contacted. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V813000 (Electrical System) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 91,000.

NHTSA ODI 11509802

Car went down on Friday. Won't start. Brand-new battery and the starter and alternator was tested and they both are good. Looked up VIN and was not notified that there was a recall on a certain part on my vehicle. I'd like to get this issue fixed because now my windows won't even go up or down.

NHTSA ODI 11505653

On a few separate occasions beginning in the summer of 2022, my steering wheel has locked up after turning the ignition on. Each time this happened, I had to wait for it to "unlock", which is usually just seconds. However, on January 22, 2023 WHILE DRIVING I received a message on the dashboard that said "steering assist fault" and I had to pull over because the steering wheel was too hard to maneuver, whether it be turning left or right. I felt like it was going to break I had to turn it so hard, and with my entire body. Once I pulled over I turned the car off and let it sit for a couple of minutes and then re-started it. The message went away but the steering was really sloppy, to the point where it felt like I could turn the wheel 180 degrees with the tires barely turning themselves. Once I got home and parked it for the night, I took it to a local mechanic and they were unable to get any messages from it but did discover I'm not the only Ford who has had issues with this message and/or steering. I talked to my Ford dealer and they have heard about the problem with other Fords. I would like someone to check into it because it could become a real liability for Ford if this problem is not resolved. By googling the search terms "ford steering assist failure" I was able to bring up a big forum wherein other Ford owners were complaining of this issue .

NHTSA ODI 11504699

My car only has 44K miles on it. It has stalled out in traffic 3 times in the past 90 days. There are NO check engine lights. If I put it in neutral it will start back up just fine and continue to run fine. I took it to my local mechanic and he said it appears to be due to a recall on some Ford vehicles with the wiring harness. I contacted a Ford Dealer and the Ford motor company and they tell me that this recall does not affect my car. The recall is (14S17-S1.) I am reporting to you because I believe this recall affects more vehicles than what Ford originally had listed for this recall.

NHTSA ODI 11501946

The fuel line caught fire while driving under normal load. There is no active recall on this model any longer, but had one years ago for same issue. This vehicle has 89k miles, serviced regularly, and fire

NHTSA ODI 11498820

I am really uncertain due to the fact that when I was experiencing problems with this car , ford and other licensed mechanic shops were not able diagnose what was wrong with my car . I was denied service by ford on 2 occasions and by time the car was past a simple fix I was unable to use my extended warranty.

NHTSA ODI 11491519

More times than not, the car is stalling when started. It will stall or near stall when driving. No warning lights come on when this is happening. I have noticed that when the car started doing this, that the controls for the dashboard are now not working properly. For example; when you try to reset the trip milage, it will go through all settings on board and you are not able to reset anything. This has been on going since the odometer has hit 58,000 miles. The stalling of the engine is happening more and more frequently. I have had it to several repair shops, and no one can tell me why, even though they have witnessed it stalling.

NHTSA ODI 11490281

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 25-30 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact was able to drive to her residence where she parked the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the engine wiring harness needed to be replaced. The dealer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 61,000.

NHTSA ODI 11488209

I picked my car up tonight from Haley’s in FarmVille va they fixed my door latches due to recall on latches. I told Them prior to dropping it off that the ABS light and traction control light and engine coolant light keeps coming on. When I pulled out the parking lot I almost got rear ended because the car didn’t want to go it was moving so slow I had to slowly make myself across the road into kfc parking lot without getting hit. Haley refuses to fix these problems bc the light automatically goes off on its own and they say it’s got to physically be on for them to fix it through recall but it keeps coming on whenever I have the car In my possession and it’s very dangerous

NHTSA ODI 11483599

Back up camer, I’m frustrated with my camera. It goes in and out.

NHTSA ODI 11469426

As I am driving the car with speed 35mph I heard a very loud pop on the passenger side I was terrified and then the window dropped all the way in. As of right now the window controller is not functioning at a 100 percent and I bought this car less than year ago from a ford dealer ship. I will like to know how I can proceed with this situation and get it fix

NHTSA ODI 11467679

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle hesitated while coming to a stop and then stalled. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The manufacturer informed the contact that there was no recall associated with the VIN. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V813000 (Electrical System) however, the VIN was not included. The failure mileage was approximately 54,000.

NHTSA ODI 11465428

The controls in the driver side door stopped working. No window or door locks could be activated. The car was taken in to the Ford dealership and it was repaired so the controls worked. A few months later, while driving on the interstate at 70 MPH the engine turned off with no warning. All the warning lights in the electrical panel lit up after the engined turned off. After getting off the road and sitting for a few minutes the car started with no problem. After driving 20 minutes, we stopped and tried to use the controls in the driver side door to put the window down. No controls in the driver door functioned. I took the car in for repair but there were no loaner cars and was told they would have to keep the car at least two weeks. I needed transportation so I waited to take the car in. The engine turned off two additional times while i was driving with no warning. I took the car in to the Ford dealership again. They said the door control problem was a fuse and they would have to try to find what was shorting out the fuse. They did not have any comment about the engine stalling out which I reported. They have had the car 4 weeks. I see that some 2013 escape models have been recalled for the engine stalling. I think my car should be added to the recall. I really need my transportation. I am borrowing my mother's car. There is no other car at my house.

NHTSA ODI 11457050

Car will not start when temperature outside is near or below freezing. Message "no key detected" displays on the console. Lights flash with clicking noises while the car tries to start. This happened in 2020. It seemed to be resolved. In the past couple months it has happened multiple times. Each time the dealership returned car "fixed" to no avail. This has left me stranded multiple times.

NHTSA ODI 11453197

My son was driving up a hill on January 26, 2022 and the car stalled. I called the Ford dealer and they said I had to take it in and pay for the repairs. This is a 2013 Ford Escape and I was reading on the internet that these cars have these problems. My son said there was no warning lights before this happened, it just stalled on a busy, dangerous highway. Thank God he was not hurt. I don't know what else to do. This problem should get taken care of with so many people having the same issue.

NHTSA ODI 11449213

Case Number: CAS-34813627-B3B3D7 On January 2nd, 2022, without warning my ABS and traction control lights went on, my speedometer fell to zero, and all of the digits usually shown (MPG, miles to empty, amount of time driven, and miles driven) were replaced by dashes. After about 10 - 15 seconds, the information came back, the speedometer worked, and the dash warning lights went off. This has occurred multiple times a day since Jan 2 while I drive my car. The Ford website described a recall that fit the description of the issues I have been having and, according to my VIN, I was eligible to get the system serviced. I took my car in to Wade Ford in Atlanta, GA on January 5, 2022. A diagnostic test reported code PC0031, but only codes P1934 and P062C are considered eligible. I called Ford and opened a case (see Line 1). After waiting a few hours to hear back from Ford, I had to check in at work and perform a COVID test to remain eligible to work the rest of this week per their COVID protocol. On my way there, my throttle became unresponsive as I was getting on the highway. The acceleration came back a few seconds later, narrowly avoiding the car behind me running into my bumper. After testing, I returned to the dealership to find no progress had been made due to Ford being unresponsive. The agent has not responded or updated me, but she stated on an earlier call she was working on consulting her supervisor on my case. Further attempts to call Ford have been unsuccessful. Because this issue is not recognized under any Ford warranty, I have no lease or lease reimbursement options. The cost of having Ford fix the bug they downloaded into my car is into the hundreds of dollars. Even if Ford does decide to fix the issue, I have no assurance this issue won't happen again at the next software update. My vehicle is not safe to be driven at this point. Suddenly having no reliable vehicle is affecting my work and medical appointment schedules, costing me time and money.

NHTSA ODI 11446350

The car's computer system would not communicate to the car's speakers. This contributed to the radio not working and more importantly, calls not coming through via bluetooth. Phones would connect to the car via bluetooth, but no sound would come through the speakers. This caused a small safety issue, because the driver would have to disconnect the call through the vehicle in order to hear the phone call. A Ford dealership needed to order a new APIM and replace it for the speakers to work again. They were not aware of any recalls for 2013 Ford Escape APIM yet, and there were no messages prior to the speakers not working, all sound just stopped coming through one day. I did read of a couple other instances of the APIM failing in Ford Escapes.

NHTSA ODI 11445427

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while coming to a complete stop, the vehicle idled and hesitated to stop. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and diagnosed that there was no code or check engine warning light retrieved from the code reader. The mechanic replaced the spark plugs; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, and the dealer cleaned the throttle body. The dealer informed the contact that there was no recall associated with the VIN. The dealer did not diagnose or repair the vehicle. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V813000 (Electrical System) however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was 122,092.

NHTSA ODI 11443240

Battery went dead for 2 days. Once charged up Imediatley the back light of the truck were off.Even the turn signals dont work properly. Gabe it a few minutes to charge up then when i tried to turn it off it wouldnt shutt off. Took the ignition key out and it still stayed running. It turned off only after 5-10 min on its on. I thought it had to do something with the back lights so I disconeccted the backup light and pluged them back in and And tried to turn it off and on again and the same problem presisted. Engine still kept on running without the keys inside.

NHTSA ODI 11441311

I was attempting to move the vehicle which had been parked on the street in front of my residence into the driveway so it would be out of the way of the scheduled street sweeping. I could typically just reverse right angle the vehicle into the driveway. However, upon reversing the vehicle moved but not according to the way I was steering it. After a few failed attempts, I stopped to assess why this was happening. I know the emergency brake had been released, there were no alerts visible on the dashboard. I got out of the vehicle, no flat tire, nothing appeared different from when I parked the vehicle 36 hours prior. No signs that it had been struck since then. No obstructions behind or under the vehicle. I got back in and tried again. I was able to get it up onto the sidewalk but in a very unintended position. Further attempts did get it partially into the driveway but I nearly hit the picket fence in the front yard in doing so. With it now half on the sidewalk and half in the driveway, I put the brake on satisfied it was now off the street and no longer subject to city parking violation penalty. I had to cancel my work meeting and called the auto club for a tow. During the tow service pick-up, it appeared that the front driver side wheel was not aligning with the steering mechanism but we could manually position the wheel so we could get enough movement and position the vehicle and move it by chain onto the tow truck platform. Prior to parking the vehicle in front of the house, I had driven it without any problems. There was no evidence that it had been damaged or impacted by another vehicle or vandal.

NHTSA ODI 11439803

This just so the information is sent in to someone I bought this car used from.day one had problems warranty did not cover anything. First when you would start it it would flash power steering assist fault on the dash you shut car off and restart it goes away. Then the turbo boost sensors keep going I have replaces these three different times find out there is a service bulletin out for it but ford won't fix it for free there is a short in the wire you have to pay out of pocket for. Next was driving down the road and lost all power it went into limp mode while we were driving. The transmission is all messed up in this vehicle it was leaking fluid and took it to a shop to see where and can't find it. There are other electrical issues with the car I have 157k on it

NHTSA ODI 11439436