What 1,025 owners told NHTSA about the 2016 Ford Escape Phev

I am the owner of a 2016 Ford Escape. In October 2025, I received a safety recall notice regarding the rearview camera. The notice explained that the camera could fail, display a blank or distorted image, and increase the risk of a crash. Since receiving the recall notice, I have repeatedly contacted Ford dealerships to schedule the repair. However, I have been told that the replacement part is not available or that there is still no remedy available. As of today, many months have passed, and my vehicle has not been repaired. The rearview camera is an important safety feature, especially when backing up in parking lots or areas where pedestrians or children may be present. Driving without a properly functioning rearview camera exposes me and others to an unnecessary safety risk. I believe Ford has failed to provide a timely remedy for this safety recall. I respectfully request that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigate this delay and require Ford to make the necessary repair available as soon as possible. This delay has been unreasonable. More than eight months have passed since I received the recall notice, yet Ford has been unable to provide the required repair. A safety recall should be resolved within a reasonable time, and I am asking NHTSA to take appropriate action to ensure that Ford complies with its obligations and protects vehicle owners. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

NHTSA ODI 11748704

The electrical radio backup camera does not work it's all malfunctioned.

NHTSA ODI 11748799

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while reversing, the rearview camera persistently flickered and displayed a black screen. The dealer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that the parts were unavailable. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. No further information was available. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ODI 11748537

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention). The rearview camera was turning on and off, but the vehicle became inoperable. There were no warning lights illuminated. The local dealer was contacted and informed the contact that parts were only available for Ford Mustang vehicles. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact called the manufacturer but was unable to navigate the prompts to speak with a representative. The failure mileage was approximately 66,000.

NHTSA ODI 11747874

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. While the contact's wife was reversing out of a driveway at approximately 1-3 MPH, the rearview camera displayed a white image and failed to operate as needed. The contact stated that due to the failure, the vehicle almost struck a child riding a bicycle behind the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention). The vehicle was taken to a Ford dealer where the contact was informed that the rearview camera needed to be replaced; however, the parts was not available. The contact declined to pay out of pocket for a replacement rearview camera and was waiting for the part to become available. The manufacturer had not been notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 56,000.

NHTSA ODI 11747889

The contact’s parents owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the dealer because the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that shortly after starting the vehicle there was white smoke coming from the vehicle for approximately 5 seconds. The dealer diagnosed the vehicle and determined that there coolant was leaking intrusion into cylinder #2, and an issue with the engine block. The dealer recommended that the engine be replaced; however, the contact was informed that the replacement engine was on back order. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 58,000.

NHTSA ODI 11747911

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while reversing, the rear-view camera displayed a black screen. Additionally, the contact stated that occasionally the rear-view camera displayed an upside-down image. The failure was intermittent. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or a dealer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

NHTSA ODI 11748041

Back up camera has failed.

NHTSA ODI 11747130

There is an active safety recall on the vehicle and FORD wants to charge to diagnose the recall. When I first inquired about the recall they said they didn’t have the part to fix that recall but wanted me to bring it into the shop to diagnose it and that would cost money. They said that even if I did bring it into to diagnose they could not do anything but let me know if they get the part but that the company no longer makes the part so it won’t get fixed anyways.

NHTSA ODI 11746936

The infotainment system does not relay any sound now both for radio listening or alerts such as backup interference. The camera glitches on and off and sometimes is blank. I have had this issue for about a month now. There is still no remedy and it has gotten worse.

NHTSA ODI 11746646

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that while reversing, the rearview camera image displayed a blank image. The dealer was made aware of the failure but confirmed that parts were not yet available. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

NHTSA ODI 11746690

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (BACK OVER PREVENTION); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted and confirmed that the part was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact stated that while in reverse, the camera image failed to display. The failure mileage was 32,000.

NHTSA ODI 11746520

Coolant has leaked into the engine cylinder which apparently is a well known issue that Ford is refusing to rectify. Ford dealership confirmed this diagnosis and says I have to pay $12k for a new engine.

NHTSA ODI 11746259

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NTHSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); 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 manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The contact stated that failure was experienced while reversing, the rearview camera was flashing or there was no image displayed. The failure mileage was approximately 62,000.

NHTSA ODI 11746156

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact stated that the rearview camera displayed a distorted image. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000.

NHTSA ODI 11746199

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while reversing, the back over prevention camera failed to operate. The image displayed previously was inverted. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention). The local dealer was contacted and confirmed that parts were not available for the recall repair. The dealer informed the contact that the recall repair was being performed on Ford Mustang vehicles. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.

NHTSA ODI 11745885

While driving my car home, my transmission completely gave out. I was trying to get up a hill, and out of nowhere, my car was just revving and was not going anywhere. I tried to turn the car off and back on, but it did nothing. We towed my car to a mechanic and they gave me the unfortunate news that my transmission needed completely replaced or rebuilt. I towed it to a transmission specialist, and they had to rebuild my entire transmission. I was without a car for an entire month and found out from them that this is a major known issue with these car's transmissions and that Ford had known about this issue for a long time and did not do anything. I am out a lot of money and wish I had known about this issue before. I had a few instances of the "bucking" a few years ago but got everything checked and had a clean bill of health at that time. I also have had my check engine light on for 6 years, due to an emissions issue that happens in this car because of the flap on the gas tank instead of a cap. They said the flap isn't always secure and can let out emissions. They said it's expensive to fix and not worth it.

NHTSA ODI 11745490

My head gasket blew on the escape with only 104,000 miles on it. It cost me $3500 to fix. 5 months later it blew again and I’m being told my engine block is cracked. I’m now being quoted another $3500 to put another engine in it with 90,000 miles on it.

NHTSA ODI 11745045

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while reversing, the rear-view camera screen displayed an upside-down image. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with rear-view camera failure. The contact was informed that the rear-view camera display needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was informed that the part to repair the vehicle was unavailable. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.

NHTSA ODI 11744437

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact stated that the rearview camera displayed a blank image. The approximate failure mileage was 30,000.

NHTSA ODI 11744132

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); 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 manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure.

NHTSA ODI 11744139

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while reversing into the garage to park the vehicle, the back over prevention sensor failed to alert the driver of the proximity to the wall and the vehicle almost struck the wall. The contact stated that dealer was contacted about the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 58,000.

NHTSA ODI 11744220

For about 2 years now my 2016 Escape would periodically show a distorted image in the camera when reversing. It was infrequent and would often correct itself before I was done reversing or if I just stopped and put it into park and then reversed again. I received the recall notification when it came out and have been waiting for the update on when parts are available. For about 5 months now the issue has become more frequent and days ago it has stopped working multiple times, not even giving the display error and keeping the radio screen on and playing music. I just hit 88k miles and take very good care of my car. I haven’t called the dealership because everything I can find when I look says the parts are still not available, even my auto insurance login knows there isn’t a fix. For such an important safety issue this is taking too long for them to do something.

NHTSA ODI 11743973

My car overheated repeatedly and it was diagnosed by Liberty Ford Aurora Ohio to be caused by Coolant Intrusion. I was quoted a price of more than $11,000.00 to replace the engine

NHTSA ODI 11743854

My Ford escape recently has been experiencing what I believe to be a coolant issue. There was a stained spot on the driveway a couple of times in May 2026 and technicians had said my coolant fluid was on the low side so they topped it up while I was getting the car serviced for an oil change. The car was seemingly running fine though until we started the car on 6/4/26 and waiting for the AC to kick in before driving when we realized the air wasn't getting cold after a couple minutes, which was abnormal and something we hadn't experienced before. Shortly after inspecting our AC settings to make sure they were set correctly, the dashboard issued an overheating warning. We immediately turned the car off and let it cool down for a while before turning the ignition on again. After restarting the car and letting it idle in the parking lot, everything appeared to be working as normal again. Luckily we were able to safely drive the car back home and will have to get it looked at. In the mean time, I have read that many 2016 Ford Escape owners have experienced serious coolant intrusion failures, which align with our recent experience, and pose a dangerous driving hazard. We will have to get an inspection to know for sure, but I'm fearful that this is a larger issue among these Ford models and we will both have to rely on our other car until we know if the car is safe to drive or not. The Ford Escape only has a little over 87,000 miles on it currently and a serious coolant issue could require a very expensive engine repair and be a large financial burden to justify and comprise the value of our vehicle. The high number of reports and complaints of so many others experiencing similar mechanical failures is very concerning and I believe my car is in the early stages of showing the same problem. A widespread issue like this should have a recall issued or compensation returned to vehicle owners for repair costs and damages associated with any manufacturing faults of Ford.

NHTSA ODI 11743829