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

Transmission problem. Car slow down drastically. Cannot back up.

NHTSA ODI 11627884

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

The vehicle flashed to move it to park, which i did and then the vehicle proceeded to die in the middle of a busy intersection. My children were in the vehicle on an incredibly hot day, surrounded by lots of traffic, making it incredibly dangerous for us. I had my vehicle towed to my home, where my husband, who is a mechanic, was able to figure out that the 50 amp fuse in the fuse box had blown, but it never registered on the scanner, that the fuse was the issue. He changed the fuse, thus fixing the issue. I would just like other owners of this type of vehicle to know, that hopefully this could also be their issue, and a simple fix.

NHTSA ODI 11619506

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the transmission shifted gear independently with the "Shift to Park" message displayed on the instrument panel. The contact stated that several icons on the instrument panel were blinking intermittently. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 121,312.

NHTSA ODI 11618731

Transmission suddenly loosing power without any signs on highway , car has only 93k miles , at highway speed I lost all power without warnings .

NHTSA ODI 11618295

I was driving on a highway. All of a sudden the transmission fail light came on and my vehicle almost came to a complete stop. I NO warning. I was scared to death!!!! I see I am not the only one. I see several similar reports online.

NHTSA ODI 11618211

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted to first gear. Additionally, the contact stated while attempting to drive from a complete stop, the vehicle rolled backwards while in drive(D). The contact stated that the vehicle responded as needed and shifted to first gear after a while. The contact was able to pull to the side of the road. The contact stated that an unknown transmission message was displayed. The contact stated that after restarting the vehicle, the vehicle failed to shift into gear. The vehicle was towed to the residence. An independent mechanic was contacted and informed the contact that the torque converter might have failed, causing the transmission filter to be clogged. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 101,700.

NHTSA ODI 11617431

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

Transmission, currently available for inspection. Vehicle stalled in traffic. Yes, confirmed by dealership No other inspections On occasion it did seem to stay in low gear too long. Dash message said Transmission Fault on September 10, 2024 but no other warnings prior. While driving "Transmission Fault" displayed on dash after revving up, gearing down, and apparently shifting into neutral while driving causing it to stall in traffic. It was towed to dealership and diagnostics showed a transmission replacement was needed but the cost was book value of the vehicle, $9100+. Vehicle has 111,000 miles.

NHTSA ODI 11614549

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, there was an abnormal rattling sound coming from the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that while depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle failed to accelerate as needed. Due to the failure, the vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where the vehicle was diagnosed with transmission failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that there were no recalls on the vehicle. The contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline to file a complaint. The failure mileage was approximately 148,000.

NHTSA ODI 11610444

Vechile showing transmission not in park

NHTSA ODI 11608790

transmission needs to be replaced as it went bad. getting done 7/15/24 for a cost of $7,041. only 68,000 miles on the car and just out of warranty. these need to be recalled and or owners be reimbursed for costs related to replacement and/or rebuilding.

NHTSA ODI 11601836

I recently purchased a 2016 Ford Escape with a 6f35 transmission in it. I have been experiencing hard shifts out of the transmission. This is a current on going problem with many users of this vehicle with this transmission. The valve body fails causing the harsh shifts, soft shifts, and shift flares which leads to catastrophic failure. Please issue a recall of this as it’s a defect in the development of this transmission.

NHTSA ODI 11601842

The car completely died at a busy intersection with no previous issues. Ford states I need a new transmission.

NHTSA ODI 11600960

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 MPH, the vehicle began chugging and lunging. The vehicle was steered to the side of the road into a parking lot and restarted but the failure persisted. On another occasion while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle began lunging and chugging. The contact stated that while attempting to place the vehicle in park(P), the gear selector was stiff. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was then towed to another independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 90,796.

NHTSA ODI 11600494

This car is an accident waiting to happen. 1st car kept on shuddering or pulling while driving over 40 miles per hour. Took it to Ray Price Ford in Stroudsburg PA 4 times they couldn’t diagnose or replicate what I was talking about. I had to pull over a few times because I thought a cable popped or I hit something. Took it back the 5th time 6/2020 92,000 miles just out of warranty they finally diagnosed it with a bad transmission. $6,000. I fought with them and was able to get them to split the cost because they weren’t able to diagnose it when it was under warranty. I thought I was past the nightmare called Ford Escape. However around 5/2024, 115,00 miles my daughter was driving the car on the highway. Cruising at 60mph, when she had to press the gas pedal to speed up to get to her exit. The car lost power, she floored it and it wouldn’t move. She pulled over and called us. She said the check engine light came on and the car had no pickup when she stepped on the gas pedal .I told her to drive it home with the hazards on. We took it to Ray Price and they said the turbocharger was on the way out and cleared the code. I called Ford customer service to complain again about the piece of garbage that they sold us and their answer was if the car is over 7 years old and 100,000 miles they can’t help. I think that’s total [XXX]!!! I have never had a car that the transmission went before 100,000 miles. Ford customer Service is a joke. There was just a huge recall on their F-150’s for transmission problems. They are making dangerous vehicles and they need to fix them. It’s not fair that you buy a vehicle for $30,000 or more and then you have to replace the transmission and turbocharger just over 100,000 miles. These vehicles should be recalled and fixed once and for all. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11597022

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle was shuddering and chugging significantly. Additionally, the transmission was slipping between gears. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where the engine was replaced. Additionally, the contact stated while driving 70-75 MPH and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle jerked and lunged forward. The contact also stated that while attempting to drive from a complete stop, the accelerator pedal was depressed, but the vehicle failed to respond while the engine was revving. The contact stated that he continuously depressed the accelerator pedal until the vehicle responded. The contact was able to continue driving. The vehicle was towed to the independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the transmission had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 114,000.

NHTSA ODI 11592660

The contact's daughter owns a 2016 Ford Escape. While the contact's daughter was driving approximately 25 MPH, the vehicle stalled upon depressing the accelerator pedal. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact and the contact's husband were called and arrived at the scene where an attempt was made to restart of the vehicle; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was then towed to the dealer where it remained in the dealer's possession for a week. The contact called the dealer and was informed that the vehicle was diagnosed with transmission failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was filed. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 68,000.

NHTSA ODI 11589355

I have 2 ford escapes a 2015 and a 2016 (2016 referenced in this complaint) both have experienced catastrophic transmission failure within weeks of each other. The transmission would slip and hard shift, eventually disable completely and would indicate the transmission needed to be serviced.

NHTSA ODI 11586791

The car started revving without any warning lights while I was on the highway 635 which caused the car to suddenly lose speed and despite every effort I put into getting it to move putting my life and that of other road users at risk. The car would revv jerk forward and then decline in speed. The "Transmission Fault" warning indicators only came on much later. This led me to conduct research and discover that a lot of other drivers have had the same issue with the same car model. I took it to TownEast Ford and they confirmed the transmission was slipping. I have since taken it to two independent repair companies who ran diagnostic tests on it and confirmed that the transmission was completely faulty. A general search on google has shown to me that this is a very common issue with the 2016 Ford Escape costing users an unbelievable amount of money in repair costs.

NHTSA ODI 11582235

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 80 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The contact was able to pull to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle failed to restart. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the transmission. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train) however, 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 90,000.

NHTSA ODI 11581376

While Driving the vehicle Car came out of gear and the tachometer revved. I had to pull the car off the side of the road shut the car down and then restart it and it then was able to go into gear but for only a short time maybe a minute or two. No lights appeared on the dash. Luckily I was on a residential street and not a highway where my life definitely could've been put at risk. Car was towed to a Ford dealer and they stated complete transmission failure. Car has 85,xxx miles on it.

NHTSA ODI 11581226

The transmission suddenly failed with no warning. 2016 under $90k miles. Mechanic saying very abnormal and was because a small piece inside broke that is manufacturer error.

NHTSA ODI 11581233

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while the son was driving approximately 55 MPH the vehicle suddenly began to lose motive power and stalled. The "Transmission" warning message was displayed after the failure had occurred. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer who diagnosed that the transmission was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 72,000.

NHTSA ODI 11580945