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

I did a $1,500 down payment for a 2013 Ford Escape at Hurley's Salvage and Auto Sales in Amory Ms. I test drove the vehicle and informed the sales agent that there were problems with the windows going up or down, the interior lights didn't work, the sideview mirror control didn't work, and that a high pitched squeaking noise was coming from under the hood. I was told to bring the vehicle back for repairs on the windows, interior lights, and sideview mirrors after I got a free check of the fuses. Because they were too busy to do so. I was told that the squeaking came from the vehicle not being in use for awhile. 2 weeks later I took the vehicle back and told them the results (showed the results of a test ran on the fuses and everything was good with the fuses). I was told it would be fixed when they got time that I would be called. I also told them that the squeaking had gotten worse, I was told that would be looked into when they called me. (5-3-24, the date I told them that the squeaking had gotten worse) On 5-6-24 the vehicle ran hot, I noticed the indicator past the halfway mark. I went to AutoZone checked the antifreeze and the reserve tank was empty. I purchased some antifreeze and it took about half the container to fill it back up. I told them about the antifreeze incident, was asked did I put antifreeze in it. Nothing else was said. On Sunday [XXX] me and a passenger was headed home. When the vehicle temperature hand shot up to max hot and the vehicle lost mostly all power. I was able to park about 75 to a hundred yards in a safe place. I was told a few days later by Hurley's that the vehicle had a oil leak, that the drive belt came off, they replaced it with a new one, and now the vehicle won't crank. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11602271

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while stationary at a stop sign, there was an abnormal rumbling coming from the front of the vehicle. The contact stated that the front of the vehicle was shuddering. The contact stated that while driving from a complete stop and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle hesitated while responding. The contact stated that the failure persisted while stationary or while reversing. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed a failure with the transmission valve. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000. The VIN was not available.

NHTSA ODI 11602455

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and attempting to accelerate, the vehicle briefly hesitated, after which the RPM quickly elevated, but the vehicle was unable to accelerate above 30 MPH. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the transmission. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 186,000.

NHTSA ODI 11600540

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while the vehicle was idling, the vehicle inadvertently stalled and failed to restart, requiring the contact to tow the vehicle to the residence. Upon attempting to jumpstart the vehicle, the vehicle had electrical power but failed to start. The message "Transmission Not in Park" was displayed. The transmission warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train) but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ODI 11595127

MAP sensor, Oxygen sensor issues. Engine fault service light keeps coming back on once the problem get repaired.

NHTSA ODI 11594386

Had Transmission problems 2 yrs ago that had been fixed and parts replaced. Now again 2 years later the vehicle experiencing transmission problems again. Hard shifting, reading the wrong gear on the dash board, and being stuck in drive or neutral when it is actually in park. No warning lights prior. Vehicle had been inspected by a licensed mechanic. This is problematic when the issue occured while driving leaving me and 3 small children stranded.

NHTSA ODI 11589506

Power steering out and I am unable to afford the repairs. There is a recall for my make and model my van is not included in. I have already paid for a new transmission when the transmission recall was out and the Gilley Hyde Ford local dealership was dishonest with me and replaced almost $2000 of extra things and gave it back to me broken.

NHTSA ODI 11583116

Always adding coolant, shook on start up, white smoke, eventually completely died which was inspected and had multiple repairs; reconditioned cylinder head, replaced water pump, thermostat and housing, timing belt, headset and head bolts, replace oil filter, fill oil and anti freeze, new battery. Total cost to fix was $3,367.98. The car is available for inspection upon request. Now after paying for all of those repairs, I am once again having the same problem with the car 1.5 years later. There have been no warning lamps either and it’s been going on for over a year and has been serviced for the same reason in the past. There are many other happenings that have happened revolving around failure of the engine system that have significantly affected the safety of myself and others, most recently extreme exhaust that was emitting a gas and burn type smell and the car was shaking heavily at idle.

NHTSA ODI 11581974

This Car has had non-stop coolant problems for years.Constantly looses coolant and low coolant light comes on and have to refill.I replaced coolant bypass valve 7/8/21,and again on 3/22/23.Its ok awhile then starts loosing coolant again.Few days ago low coolant light came on after refilling it just a week ago.This time the engine light came on code p1299,with a message to pull over because my car was overheating and it didn't have any power.

NHTSA ODI 11579785

Losing coolant, engine light came on now vehicle lost exceleration.

NHTSA ODI 11578219

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the engine revved very high, but the vehicle would not properly accelerate. The vehicle also experienced a loss of traction and surging at highway speeds. The messages "Transmission Fault" and "Hill Start Assist Unavailable" were displayed. The vehicle was towed to the local service center to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the transmission was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The local dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 145,000.

NHTSA ODI 11573559

I HAVE A 2013 Ford Escape THAT HAS HAD TO HAVE A NEW TRANSMISSION DUE TO ITS SUDDEN AND UNEXPECTED AND WITH NO WARNING FAILURE. 6000 AT FORD DEALERSHIP. THEN THE PROBLEMS WITH COOLANT STARTED. IT WOULD SUDDENLY START OVERHEATING, AND START STALLING . DROPPED DOWN TO TWO MILE AND HOUR TILL YOU LIMP OFF THE ROAD. HAVE TO CONSTANTLY CHECK IT. WILL BE FINE AND THEN SUDDENLY START LEAKING AGAIN. REPLACED COOLANT CAP, COOLANT OVERFLOW TANK, NEW HOSE FOR COOLANT TANK, COOLANT HOSE THAT INSERTS INTO REAR OF ENGINE, STAND PIPE AND BYPASS VALVE.

NHTSA ODI 11568276

While driving vehicle it would start shuttering. Took it to dealer who stated the transmission was bad. Vehicle had 91000 miles on it. I asked why the transmission was not serviceable and was told it was a sealed unit. The repair cost $8900.00 for new transmission. Took 3 weeks to get it repaired. Asked several times when in for oil change to service the transmission, each time I was told it was a sealed unit and couldn’t be serviced. Had it been able to be serviced I don’t think the problem would have been as bad to have to have transmission replaced.

NHTSA ODI 11566644

The transmission will sometimes fail to engage immediately after putting the vehicle in drive or reverse. If the driver steps on the gas pedal, the transmission jerks violently to engage. Also while driving, the transmission will have a slight slipping before allowing acceleration. No OBD codes appear and no dashboard warning messages appear. In addition to the transmission problem, I obtained a P0234 and P0299 OBD code. This code is for the turbocharger overboost solenoid, which I had replaced, but the code has returned.

NHTSA ODI 11561976

At 87,000 miles the transmission went completely out. At 87,000 miles there has been a constant coolant leak. Despite changing hoses, and reservoir

NHTSA ODI 11554753

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle shuddered. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring while driving. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with premature transmission failure. The dealer notified the manufacturer, who declined to cover the cost of the repair. The contact followed up with the manufacturer and was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.

NHTSA ODI 11553971

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while pulling out of a parking lot at 10 MPH, the vehicle failed to shift out of first gear. The RPMs increased but the vehicle remained in first gear. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 72,000.

NHTSA ODI 11551448

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, she stopped at a local store, and when she re-entered the vehicle, the gear shifter was inoperable and failed to shift to the intended gear. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 138,000.

NHTSA ODI 11536953

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated upon starting the vehicle and shifting into drive (D), the gear shifter moved to sport (S) unintendedly. The contact stated that at second attempt to shift into drive (D), the gear shifter moved to park (P) unintendedly, and the gear shift indicator displayed that the transmission was in neutral (N). The contact engaged the electronic parking brake to park the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that she then watched a video online, where she was informed to lift the gear shifter cover panel and to move a switch, so the gear shifter could respond as needed. The contact followed the instructions with assistance, and was able to drive to the residence, where she shifted into neutral (N) and engaged the electronic parking brake to park the vehicle. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train) however, the VIN was not included. The failure mileage was approximately 62,297.

NHTSA ODI 11534536

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that there was a coolant intrusion into the engine, and the engine needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and advised the contact to tow the vehicle to another dealer for a second opinion. The vehicle was towed to Asheboro Ford, Inc. (1602 E Dixie Dr, Asheboro, NC 27203) who provided the same result. Additionally, the second dealer diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 12V551000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The manufacturer informed the contact that the VIN was not included in a recall. The failure mileage was approximately 76,236.

NHTSA ODI 11531675

Escape was overheating and coolant leaking onto engine and transmission. Repaired coolant line. Oil leaking. Transmission codes showing all over. Need transmission. Dealership and other mechanics not understanding why my 2013 isn’t part of the recall. I can’t afford a transmission.

NHTSA ODI 11529620

This 2000 Ford escape only has 23,111 miles on it. The transmission is whining like crazy and sometimes slips. I feel it is a faulty transmission and should be replaced with such low mileage. I cannot afford to pay for this, so it Hass to be under a recall.

NHTSA ODI 11527472

Transmission gave out twice while driving, causing the car to stop in an unsafe area. (in 2022) Gasket issue again causing he car to overheat, driving, car felt like it was going to explode, had it towed and they now say car needs a new engine. I have spent 15,000 to fix this car in the last two years something is seriously wrong with the quality of this car. Ford needs to stand behind their vehicles better, their recalls need to be for all the cars built in this timeframe not just certain vins, it's apparent it is pertaining to my VIN number even though Ford is telling me it's not.

NHTSA ODI 11524267

I have had 3 unidentified coolant leaks of unknown origin. SUV is losing coolant. After driving approximately 120 miles the car is losing coolant. Mechanic could not find. Transmission had to be re[laced at 100k miles Also, the low tire light stays on when correct pounds are in the car.

NHTSA ODI 11523129

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled, with the transmission slipping. The contact pulled over, turned off the vehicle, and stated that multiple attempts were needed for the vehicle to restart. The check engine and transmission failure warning lights and messages were illuminated. The VIN was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train). The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic, where the transmission was replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 139,320.

NHTSA ODI 11522501