What 1,734 owners told NHTSA about the 2018 Ford Escape Gas

The contact owned a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact noticed flames coming from the hood of the vehicle. The vehicle was parked, and the contact and the passenger exited the vehicle. The contact stated that the contact's mother was an additional occupant in the vehicle and was seated in the rear seat. The contact and the contact's mother exited the vehicle. The contact stated that within seconds, the entire vehicle was engulfed in flames. In addition, the contact stated that no warning lights were illuminated prior to the failure. The vehicle was towed to a local tow yard. No injuries were sustained. The contact stated that the vehicle had not been inspected. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The contact was informed that the VIN had no recalls associated with the VIN. The failure mileage was approximately 98,000.

NHTSA ODI 11720444

The car hit 101,000 miles, and the check engine light came on. I do not remember having the spark plugs replaces, so I took the car in to the dealership to have those done thinking that was the problem. They have the car for two days. The dealership replaced the spark plugs and the crank case. The day after the car came back it did not start. Then the next time I drove it, I made it half a mile down the road and it started smoking. After the car was towed to the dealership at 9:57 am, this is the first message I received from the dealership at 4:48pm on Tuesday. "I wanted to inform you the tech did take a look at the vehicle and found a bunch of codes to different parts of the system. The shop foreman, my manager, and my director are all involved to correct this for you. Still performing inspections of different parts of the engine & under the hood." The second message I received was 11:37 Thursday "I apologize, I had to leave office yesterday at 1030 unexpectedly. I have been catching up on everything since returning today. I was informed there is coolant intrusion on the engine after performing the spark plugs. That is what caused the vehicle to start overheating. Our sincere apologies. There is a recall on the vehicle for this exact concern. It calls for an engine replacement. However, your vehicle is outside of the allotted mileage for that recall. I have submitted to both Ford and our rep for assistance to have these repairs taken care of. Per my manager, Jess & director Chris, please stay in the loaner vehicle (our cost) until we can resolve this matter. I should have an answer from our rep/Ford by this afternoon." Then I did not hear from them again until the Monday after at 1:37 pm asking for me to call them. The news on the phone call was that it was an extended warranty not a recall and that Ford was not willing to do anything about it.

NHTSA ODI 11659127

Engine failure due to coolant intrusion. Ford has known about this issue for years. A recall needs to be issued.

NHTSA ODI 11626311

I bought a 2018 Ford Escape 1.5L ecoboost as the 2 or 3rd owner. There were no recalls I checked and also did a carfax when I bought the car 7/4/2024. I was driving the car and all of a sudden the car slows itself down from 50mph to 5mph and give me a warning car is overheating. Got to side of road safely and took to the mechanic he then told me about fords customer satisfaction program but since I have 95k miles my car does not qualifiy as they only gave 4 months to people with 84k miles to get fixed free if you are over they will nto fix. I did not own the car when they sent this out in 2022 and there was nothing made public about this engine isssue they are aware of. I am still sore from the seat belts locking up and have neck issues. this car sits in my garage as a paperweight now.

NHTSA ODI 11615323

Another driver ran stop sign and hit middle of car, mostly the left door behind drivers seat. The back and passager airbags released but the driver side airbag didn't fully release. I didn't know at the time that this was weird and was actually relieved it didn't. Since then, my son's dad drove my suv and told me that the front windshield may not have been bonded correctly, he has to put additional force on the breaks and the engine makes random noises whenever it does, it looses power and he has to put the pedal to the metal. He says since my suv only has 18,000 miles, it shouldn't be doing these things. It also burns through coolant. I don't know if any other fords have issues likes this too.

NHTSA ODI 11509865

SUV began "shuttering" at idle. Drove for another 10-15 minutes then made an appt to bring to a mechanic to check codes. As I drove vehicle for about 30 seconds the next morning, white smoke began to pour out of the tailpipe and the engine temperature gauge showed it was overheating. Pulled over and opened hood. Saw flames near engine and extinguished with an old t-shirt. Towed to mechanic. Claimed Ford had a new technical bulletin out (TMK 22-2229) that directed mechanics working on vehicles with these symptoms to replace the engine long block. Vehicle only has 67,000 miles on mostly the highway. All occurred while on vacation so I had to buy airline tickets to get back home from the vacation spot. Incident occurred 6/29. Still awaiting word from Ford on whether they will help with engine repairs/replacement. Should be a recall. Pending class action lawsuit. Danger the engine could catch fire and injure.

NHTSA ODI 11478797

ON DECEMBER 26, 2019, ANOTHER OTHER VEHICLE HIT THIS 2018 FORD ESCAPE, SPINNING IT INTO ANOTHER VEHICLE. THIS ESCAPE CAUGHT ON FIRE AND WAS TOTALLY DESTROYED. ALL INVOLVED VEHICLES (ALL FORDS) WERE IN MOTION TRAVELING ABOUT 50 MPH. THIS ESCAPE WAS TRAVELING NORTH ON ROUTE 122 NEAR BURNT CHIMNEY, VA. THE OTHER TWO FORDS WERE TRAVELING SOUTH ON THIS TWO LANE ROAD.

NHTSA ODI 11291920

WHILE TRAVELING IN A ROTARY OUR CAR WAS STRUCK VIOLENTLY BY A VEHICLE ON THE LEFT TRYING TO MAKE AN INCORRECT EXIT. THE IMPACT WAS HARD ENOUGH TO CAUSE THE ENGINE TO STOP OPERATING RESULTING IN A TOTAL LOSS OF STEERING LAND BRAKING. BECAUSE OF NO POWER, THE STEERING DID NOT RESPOND NOR DID THE BRAKES. THE DAMAGE TO THE CAR WAS PRIMARILY COSMETIC AND LITTLE MECHANICAL DAMAGE. THE AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY AND IF THE CAR HAD REMAINED IN CONTROL IT COULD HAVE BEEN STOPPED BEFORE IT PROCEEDED INTO THE ONCOMING LAND CAUSING DAMAGE TO THIS VEHICLE AND THE ONE THAT WAS HIT. IF THERE IS SOME TYPE OF DEVICE TO TURN AN ENGINE OFF WHEN HIT WITH ALL OF OUR POWER STEERING AND BRAKES THIS IS A PROBLEM WHEN THE VEHICLE IS STILL OPERABLE.

NHTSA ODI 11180975

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2018 FORD ESCAPE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE EXPERIENCED A LOSS OF ENGINE POWER. AS A RESULT, THE CONTACT EXPERIENCED A COLLISION WITH A TREE. A POLICE REPORT WAS NOT FILED. THE FAILURE OCCURRED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO LUGOFF FORD (LOCATED AT 979 US-1, LUGOFF, SC), BUT THE FAILURE COULD NOT BE DUPLICATED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE AND DID NOT ASSIST. THE CONTACT WAS ADVISED NOT TO OPERATE A VEHICLE WITH LESS THAN A QUARTER TANK OF FUEL. THERE WERE NO INJURIES. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 7,000. *TT CONSUMER STATED CAR WAS REPAIRED 12/03/18*JB

NHTSA ODI 11128106