What 1,035 owners told NHTSA about the 2015 Ford Escape Gas

Vehicle while driving seemed to not shift gears properly.took to dealer 4 months after purchased.they said could not find anything.but did find coolant hose needed replaced.i paid for that.still had the same problem.took vehicle to second dealer found turbo boost loosing power.they fixed that I paid for but still not shifting properly.now my engine started knocking I took to mechanic he said it's the transmission and now the engine block cracked where it connects to transmission.i feel this shifting issue has caused engine issues.ford will not help me.

NHTSA ODI 11474793

Was driving and came to a stop and vehicle said transmission not in park and shut off. Tried to restart and it did even attempt to turn over so I was stuck in the lane of traffic on the road.

NHTSA ODI 11474234

Vehicle had a new Ford manufactured motor put in, while driving since the new motor was put in, it developed a knock and at one point started smoking. Luckily we were in town and at a lower speed we were able to pull into a parking lot and turn it off. We were unable to tell where the smoke was coming from. The car has been at the shop for a month and we were notified that the engine had failed again with less than 10,000 miles on it.

NHTSA ODI 11474159

I had to replace my transmission in August of 2020 due to brushes being missing or not functioning properly. The 1st and 5th gears were completely destroyed in my transmission and led my car to completely not running and having to be towed.

NHTSA ODI 11473599

While driving, the vehicle’s transmission starting coming out of gear, then lose of power, go back into gear for a moment, then go out of gear causing coasting and lose maneuverability. After being shut down immediately and towed to a mechanic, diagnostic is transmission out for some reason and misfires in two cylinders. Vehicle has less than 80K miles. Can’t really tell as the digital screen also went out. Vehicle has had regular service by a Ford dealership.

NHTSA ODI 11473296

My car has never been able to pick up speed when I need to accelerate onto the highway. It takes much longer to gain speed than much older cars I've had like the 89 Silverado or 2001 Durango. I will Floor the gas to gain acceleration, and it's like I was still pushing the gas for 30 to 40 mph. It's like the car has to think for awhile. Then it will shoot up with a large jerk. The car has done this sine 30k miles in Jan. 2018. I've almost been hit several times merging onto the highway

NHTSA ODI 11473125

AFTER FUELING IT WOULD SPUTTER AND ALMOST TURN OFF WHILE STOPPED AT TRAFFIC LIGHTS. MARCH 11 2021 ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND IT DID TURN OFF WHILE AT TRAFFIC LIGHT. TOOK TO MECHANIC DIAGNOSTIC READING WAS PURGE VALVE. 11 MONTHS LATER ENGINE LIGHT IS BACK ON AND DIAGNOSTIC READING WAS PURGE VALVE

NHTSA ODI 11470615

The smell of burning wires, engine light on and off

NHTSA ODI 11470416

I learned last week that the vehicle that I lease (it's actually a car subscription) from SwingleCollins & Associates ([XXX], CISR, COMMERCIAL ACCOUNT MANAGER,[XXX], O [XXX] | F [XXX] ) has been recalled after entering the VIN # for my vehicle. I immediately contacted the vehicle owner (i.e. SwindleCollins) to alert them that the vehicle had been recalled and is not safe. While it appears the manufacturer of the vehicle, Ford, does not currently have parts to repair the vehicle, SwindleCollins has refused to replace my vehicle until such parts are available from the manufacturer. This puts me and my passengers at risks and seems in violation of the contract and I would like to therefore report the incident. Thank you, [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

NHTSA ODI 11470354

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the vehicle had overheated and as a result, the contact added coolant into the reservoir. The contact stated while driving approximately 55 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact was able to add coolant to the coolant reservoir. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA. The approximate failure mileage was 113,000.

NHTSA ODI 11469620

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at low speeds, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The contact waited for 45 minutes before restarting the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who informed the contact that the failure was due to the starter and steering column. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V254000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The failure mileage was approximately 156,597. Parts distribution disconnect.

NHTSA ODI 11467719

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving approximately 40 MPH, black smoke was coming from under the hood, and moments later the vehicle lost automotive power and stalled. After examining under the hood, the contact discovered oil was leaking from the engine. The vehicle was towed to the local mechanic who diagnosed that there was a hole in the engine block causing the oil leak. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but no assistance was offered. The local dealer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 130,000.

NHTSA ODI 11465957

I had drove my car to chick fil a. I was inside for less than 5 minutes waiting on my order. When I came back outside my car was on fire. I’ve read articles about many other people having problems with their Ford Escaped catching fire. https://www.fordescape.org/threads/2014-ford-escape-engine-fire.88258/ If I had stayed in my car for a few more minutes I could’ve been inside and I could be dead right now. There seems to be a issue with the 2013 and 2014 model years combusting suddenly but, I think they need to include the 2015 model.

NHTSA ODI 11464296

Coolant leaked into cylinder 3 and caused engine failure. Vehicle towed to Price Ford dealership where they investigated and said vehicle would need new engine $8854.83. Date 3/2/2022 mileage 53182. Check engine light on rough running.

NHTSA ODI 11457736

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact stated after removing the key from the ignition switch, the engine continued to run. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the ignition switch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The local dealer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. Upon investigating, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V436000 (Electrical System) however, the VIN was not included the recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 75,282.

NHTSA ODI 11454799

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power and decelerated to 20 MPH. The vehicle was coasted to an independent mechanic. The contact stated that there was coolant leaking onto the engine. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The default power message was also displayed. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer and diagnosed; however, the codes that were retrieved were not related to any recalls. The vehicle was replace and repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to NHTSA for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 113,005.

NHTSA ODI 11449731

First problem- over the course of the last few years, the car intermittently gets "jumpy" when changing to/from different gears like (from reverse to drive OR drive to reverse, all after completely braking-not in the middle of gear shift). It has not completely stalled but feels very close to it. i had brought it in in the past and they had never found anything wrong with it. It does not always happen. Second problem- the rear view back up assistance has not been working properly for over 3 years. I will be in reverse and either the beeping continues even though nothing is around or, the screen goes blank and shuts off. I was told this would be at my expense, not a recall. this does not happen all the time but is very often.

NHTSA ODI 11448527

- When pushing start, the car cranks but no start. Failed to start with new battery. - I took the car to Ford dealer maintenance shop and couldn't identify the problem and contacting Ford Engineering for further investigation. - There is no any message or warning on the dashboard and also what the maintenance shop informed me. All the lighting system is Ok, even the radio is working. - According to the mechanic, the issue is new one and not has been seen before.

NHTSA ODI 11443217

Transmittion went out without any warning was driving and started jumping bad and just shut down. There was transmittion fluid, and it just secede up with under 100k miles. Then shift cable broke 3 months later without any warning. Was parked changed, and I had backed into a parking spot, and car went into reverse could not get out of reverse. Put the car in park and still showed that car in reverse with the back up camera. Had to get it towed both times

NHTSA ODI 11442285

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 60 MPH, white smoke came out of the exhaust tip. The contact was able to pull over and had the vehicle towed to a local mechanic where it was diagnosed with needing the head gasket replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated cylinder #3 misfire warning message was displayed. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and referred the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA. The failure mileage was approximately 142,000.

NHTSA ODI 11437554

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the check engine warning light illuminated intermittently on the instrument panel. The contact initially took the vehicle to an independent mechanic and the water control valve was replaced. Recently, the contact stated that the same failure recurred and that the same repair was needed to be performed on the vehicle. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and she was informed that there were no recalls on the vehicle. The contact was referred to NHTSA for assistance. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000.

NHTSA ODI 11433612

My ford has had white/blue smoke clouds coming from the exhaust for weeks. I scheduled maintenance at a ford dealership and was told a diagnostic was not even worth the money because the knew exactly what the issue is, the coolant is leaking into the engine, causing the engine to smoke and eventually will misfire, overheat and catch fire. I was told there is no repair, the engine needed to be replaced and because my warranty had expired, I must pay to replace the engine. Although, Ford is aware of their mistake and faulty parts, Ford is not accepting responsibility for the issue they caused innocent buyers. I am a single mother of an adopted kid. I bought this car 3 years ago under the impression Ford is a honest company.I am now seeing otherwise. I now am stuck with making a decision during a pandemic on paying upwards of 6 to 7,000 to replace an engine on a vehicle that has a faulty system, caused by Ford. If paying thousands of dollars on a vehicle that I can hardly afford now isn't hard to swallow, the newly purchased engine will result in the same failure because FORD HAS'NT FIX THE PROBLEM. Ford refuses to put in a new engine and Ford has not fixed an issue that has been occurring for almost 10 years, forcing Ford owners into debt and bankruptcy because where would a person like me get the money to pay for something like this again and again? I cant even afford to get into another car. I am scared to put my son in the vehicle now. I need help

NHTSA ODI 11430271

Owner of a 2015 Ford Escape 1.6L. White plumes of smoke have started to billow out every time I start my vehicle in the morning and then again on my way home from work. No indicator light or error codes are showing as to why coolant is leaking in the cylinder heads.

NHTSA ODI 11427557

Problem with 1.5L, 1.6L, 2.0L Turbocharged engine that Ford has been aware of since 2010. A Ford dealership told me this is a common defect with these engines. Coolant leaks into cylinders and ruins the engine. There is an active lawsuit on Ford as of December 2020. Ford dealership is trying to charge me 8500 dollars for an engine rebuild and will not give me a price on replacing the engine with a manufactured engine.

NHTSA ODI 11426890

FORD FAILS TO RECOGNIZE THE COOLANT LEAKING ISSUE WITH THE 1.5L ECOBOOST ENGINE. DID A PATCH JOB FIX 2 YEARS AGO AND FAILED TO REPAIR WHEN TECHNICIANS STATED THE ENGINE NEEDED REPAIRS. THERE IS COOLANT IN THE 4TH CYLINDER OF THE ENGINE FOR THE SECOND TIME IN 2 YEARS.

NHTSA ODI 11413440