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

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (2,743)Crash / fire / injury (152)Engine (1,264)Transmission & drivetrain (400)Electrical system (340)Steering (302)Fuel system (284)Engine & cooling (174)Speed control (92)Body & structure (87)Brakes (72)Latches & locks (64)

2 of 2,743 complaints match · Engine & cooling · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters

Feb 16, 2022Engine & coolingFire

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at approximately 55 mph, there was smoke coming from underneath the hood and from behind the vehicle without warning. The contact stated that the failure progressively got worst and the smoke was gray. The contact said a third-party driver had stopped and advised that he saw flames. The contact opened the hood and saw the smoke. The fire department was not called and the contact did not have to put out any flames. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the engine head was cracked on the back side of the motor. The independent mechanic advised that there was a recall associated with the failure NHTSA Campaign Number: 13V583000 (Engine). The contact did not take the vehicle to a local dealer, however, the dealer was contacted and advised that there were no open recalls. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 158,000.

NHTSA ODI 11452285

Jun 11, 2021Engine & coolingFire

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle failed to start with black smoke coming from the exhaust. The vehicle was towed and diagnosed with needing a new engine. The vehicle has not been repaired. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 12V551000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the Vin was not included. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and confirmed that the Vin was not included. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.

NHTSA ODI 11420609

Working with the data? Download all 2,743 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 18, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2013 Ford Escape Gas verdict →