What 1,037 owners told NHTSA about the 2016 Ford Escape Gas

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated while at a stop light, "The engine was overheating" warning message illuminated. The vehicle was taking an independent mechanic 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 offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 84,100.

NHTSA ODI 11632670

Coolant leaks into engine. Not repairable and requires full engine replacement.

NHTSA ODI 11632425

Coolant leaked into the heads and ruined engine.

NHTSA ODI 11630649

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, there was a loud knocking sound coming from the engine. The engine overheated with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the flex plate and Oxygen sensors had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 113,918.

NHTSA ODI 11630355

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while stopped on several occasions, the vehicle was idling rough. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that there was a misfire in cylinder #1. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that an undisclosed DTC code was reset however, approximately a week later the code reappeared. The engine then started overheating and coolant was added to the coolant reservoir was administered. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.

NHTSA ODI 11629228

The car is releasing large amounts of white smoke when starting the car in the morning, and shows declining levels of coolant (way below MIN when I checked). I suspect this is due to a leaking gasket.

NHTSA ODI 11628073

Has internal coolant leak

NHTSA ODI 11628108

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle intermittently hesitated while accelerating. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined that the engine block was cracked, and that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.

NHTSA ODI 11627770

Transmission faulty

NHTSA ODI 11626551

Ford is aware of a design flaw with the 2.0 Ecoboost engines. It impacts Escapes, Fusions, Edges, and some Lincoln vehicles. They issued TSB # 22-2229 about this. According to Ford, the only fix is to replace the engine. The engine block has a design flaw that causes the head gasket to blow and cause severe coolant leakage into either cylinder 2 or 3. Ford says to replace the Long block. My vehicle had less than 70k miles on it and started having issues just a month or so after the warranty expired. An engine should last much longer than this. Now our vehicle may be worth $500 instead of about $9,000. Ford knows this is an issue and there is significant information on the Internet about this. Ford should have been forced to recall these engines. From a safety standpoint, our engine fails to start at times. The cylinder is so full of coolant at times, the engine won't turn over for a while. We have to keep bumping the starter to get it to finally turn over. We purchased this vehicle new from a Ford dealership. The vehicle is otherwise in excellent condition and has had the oil changed every 4,000 miles, much less miles than required by Ford.

NHTSA ODI 11626409

My car overheated when I pulled over I noticed my engine coolant low. I had a mechanic add more fluids then a day later car shuts off why I was going 65 on a highway . I was pushing down on the gas peddle but my car would not go. It was barely moving no matter how far I pushed gas peddle. I finally found a somewhat area to pull over . I almost died or was seriously injuried in a few close call accidents this day. Had someone look at it from a garage in town he said it was a fuse and a cylinder misfire. No engine light no issues then my car over heated again no warning just shut down but the car still on Emmy lights didn’t work my turn signals didn’t work . Then my car stopped dead in a busy roadway over heated smoking . Now I’m time I need an engine replacement Let me add my car only has 60000 miles on it and is in great maintained condition I am a single mother of 3 young kids and take care of my mom. Not employed due to a bad relationship and trying to get back on my feet and now this . Coolest leaks into cylinder causing over heating and catastrophic engine damage , so upset over this and ford won’t even diagnose my car with out a 200 dollar charge to start with . It’s pathetic

NHTSA ODI 11625776

65,000 miles, coolant intrusion into #1 cylinder confirmed by Ford service center. First signs were Check Engine Light, rough idle. Replaced all spark plugs and coils. Check engine light returned the following day with loss of coolant in tank. Engine runs rough and overheats with coolant loss and continued intrusion into engine, endangering occupants

NHTSA ODI 11620283

Throttle body and motor was replaced twice due to engine keep stalling issues on the roads intermittently. Had faced life threatening occasions multiple times because the car engine stalled while car was driving on the roads. I brought the car to the local Ford service center several times and got the DTC P2112 code each visit. Ford service center approved the throttle body replacement on 2/10/2020 (car mileage 26688) but the same issue came back a few months later. P2112 was detected again on 4/30/2023 (mileage 40215) It was not very frequent but it happened once per month or every other month. I brought this car once again to the same local Focal service center and they diagnosed the throttle body and motor to be defect again (mileage 46476) and replaced it on 10/15/2024.

NHTSA ODI 11620225

Ford Escape is experiencing multiple symptoms: * Fuel smell in the cabin * Sluggish acceleration * Hard start (cranks several seconds without ignition) after refueling * (RARE) Engine stall when coming to a stop.

NHTSA ODI 11618608

The car was running fine, but check engine light came on. Took it to the dealer to have it checked out. They told me there is coolant intrusion into engine cylinder 2 (I think number 2) and the engine needs to be replaced. Apparently this is a known issue that can lead to overheating, “catastrophic” engine failures and potential engine fires. They quoted me roughly ten thousand dollars to have it replaced. I told them it was still running fine. They said I could maybe keep driving it but there is no way to know what will happen and when but it needs to be replaced. I am only now seeing page after page of consumer complaints regarding the same issue.

NHTSA ODI 11617275

Power reduced to lower engine temperature message appeared on the dashboard. Stopped and saw coolant seemed empty. I filled it up to the max line. The next day it was empty again. It’s been 2 days and I filled it again today.

NHTSA ODI 11615701

Catastrophic engine failure. "Engine skipped timing; timing codes coolant intrusion in cylinder#1 inside cylinder head". Car towed to Portland Oregon Ford dealership and remains there. When warning lights appeared saying "engine failure pull over safely", the driver pulled over; it was not a safe area to be parked indefinately. The Escape vehicle has needed towing twice for related engine /coolant problems including driver being on a road out of town alone and needing to take a bus back home from the rural area. Engine/vehicle is available at dealership for inspection. Problem has been recreated and the Ford mechanic has given the above description.

NHTSA ODI 11614188

Ive had my vehicle since February 27, 2024 and around May time the engine began to overheat. Itook it to Pepboys and they said it was possibly a head gasket issue, but didnt check the coolant levels. I tried to fill it up and it all dumped on the ground at my apartment. I filled it up again the next day and it held for about 2 months. 1 week ago, while driving to work I the engine had reduced power to precent overheating. Ever since sincr each time I go fill the overflow tank with coolant it dumps completely on the ground.

NHTSA ODI 11613372

After riding around with a friend one afternoon, we went to a drive-thru for a snack and my car began to notify me that it was overheating. The dashboard stated that I should pull over and immediately shut off the engine for it to cool down. Upon doing so, I checked the coolant level, and upon releasing pressure, I noticed the coolant was low. I drove to the nearest Autozone and appropriately filled the coolant levels as needed. After that, the engine never overheated again, but it began to have issues accelerating, as well as running rough upon starting the engine and while in idle. A couple days later, the check engine light came on so I took my vehicle to the nearest Ford Dealership to see what was going on. Ford concluded that coolant was leaking into the 2nd cylinder of my engine. Due to this, the entire engine needs replaced at only 160,000 miles on a not even 10 year old vehicle. After investigating online, I noticed that thousands of other Ford vehicle owners with the same make, model, and year, are having this exact same issue. Ford knew that they were mass producing engines with faulty head gaskets and now their customers are paying for it out of pocket. Ford needs to make this right for their customers and issue a recall on the entire engine.

NHTSA ODI 11613633

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The contact stated that the engine misfired and the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to another dealer where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion into cylinder #1, and engine failure. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure had been persistent for a year. In addition, the contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the previous dealer several times due to the failure; however, the failure could not be duplicated. The contact stated that the check engine warning light illuminated intermittently. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The contact was advised to contact the NHTSA Hotline and report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.

NHTSA ODI 11612385

The following all occurred in just the past year. The following is a report from this May 2024: Performed Cooling System Pressure Test, Discovered Coolant to Be Leaking From Behind Engine Next to Firewall, Continued Diagnosis and Performed Physical Inspection Removing Wiper Cowl to Get a Better View of Behind the Engine, Once Wiper Cowl Was Removed Discovered Rear Heater Hose to Be Leaking Coolant Causing Customers Concern. Recommend Replace Heater Hose and Perform Cooling System Service During the Courtesy Inspection Aaron Noted: ***Coolant Fluid Very Low Due to Coolant Leak, Recommend Perform Cooling System Service with Hose Replacement ***Vehicle is Equipped With Timing Belt, Check Customers Records For Previous Replacement - The inital issues was the purge valve stuck open, which lead to a misfire code, so they mechanic had a replacement of purge valve chassy and replace spark plugs. - 2 weeks following this event, we were told the engine would need to be replaced due to an internal coolant leakage that resulted from a broken gasket. The vehicle does not even have 200,000 miles.

NHTSA ODI 11610729

At 116k miles the Turbo had to be replaced, immediately following by the transmission failed and needs to be fully replaced.

NHTSA ODI 11609970

The car has less than 100,000 miles and has been diagnosed with coolant intrusion into the engine. This is a known issue and Ford has not recalled this particular model for the same issue it has done recalls for. It is discussed in TSB 19-2208. The only known repair according to Ford is to replace the engine which is unacceptable for a car of this age and mileage. We have brought it in to check on the engine light and have been replacing coolant and have just found that the issue is that the engine has to be replaced according to a service station and Ford dealership. There are numerous social media accounts and class action suits filed for this very issue, and even Ford said that there "could" be a recall but so far there is not.

NHTSA ODI 11610049

Vechile showing transmission not in park

NHTSA ODI 11608790

Uncontrollable acceleration increase; Difficult and rough starting; Engine overheating warning lights and message alerts; Coolant empty and no visible leak; Continued loss of coolant; Copious moisture smelling of anti freeze coming from exhaust; Check engine light codes: P1450, P1450 pd, PO302

NHTSA ODI 11604055