Home · 2021 Ford Escape Gas · Complaints

What 325 owners told NHTSA about the 2021 Ford Escape Gas

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (325)Crash / fire / injury (18)Body & structure (90)Fuel system (66)Brakes (49)Engine (39)Transmission & drivetrain (38)Electrical system (31)Visibility & wipers (21)Backup camera & sensors (11)Driver assistance (7)Seat belts (6)

7 of 325 complaints match · Driver assistance · clear filters

Jul 1, 2026Transmission & drivetrainElectrical systemDriver assistance

This vehicle has had transmission slipping issues since I bought it. I had the PCM flashed and reset but it still jerks and slips out of gear ALL the time. The car actually stalled on me while turning through an intersection. This almost cause me to be t boned via a car crash. The transmission has already been replaced and still malfunctions. When it stalled there were no lights and the car would not go into neutral unless you pulled the emergency latch for it. This is a HUGE safety issue and from what I read a lot of people are having the exact same problem. Ford is just giving me the run around and my local dealer literally acted like he didn't know what I was talking about when I mention the new service bullentin. This transmission has clearly been an issue since the vehicle was new according to service records. The fact that ford isn't reaching out to people is nuts to me. They are also saying it may be over miles for the work to be covered. I really don't understand that as the transmission was replaced with only about 75000 miles on it. That's not normal. They are not honoring any work on an item they built poorly.

NHTSA ODI 11747792

Feb 14, 2026Transmission & drivetrainEngineDriver assistance

THERE ARE SWVERAL ISSUES WITH THIS MODEL, THE WORST BEING THE CONSTANT JERKING/ BUCKING WHILE DRIVING. THE SECOND BEING THE FORWARD COLLISION WARNING ALERTING WHEN NO VEHICLES ARE NEAR YOU, IT JUST RANDOMLY ALERTS.THE THIRD MOST ANNOYING ISSUE IS THE DASHBOARD FROM TIME TO TIME GOES OUT AS IF NO ELECTRICTY IS FLOWING THROUGHT IT, IVE ALSO EXPERINCED THE VOLUME NOT ADJUSTING PROPERLY AT TIMES.

NHTSA ODI 11717958

Apr 28, 2025Electrical systemEngineDriver assistance

Vehicle will completely cut off when stopped at lights sometimes. And I have to turn off vehicle and restart it to get vehicle going again.

NHTSA ODI 11657127

Sep 9, 2023SteeringDriver assistance

I was in the middle of driving and going around a curve and all of a sudden advance Trac warning light is on hill assist warning comes on and pre collision assist comes on and none of the stability sensors are working in my car and I noticed my steering is very off sometimes it’s stiffer than usual and sometimes it’s not as stiff and that is dangerous I think it definitely needs to be recalled that’s very serious can cause loss of control of the vehicle

NHTSA ODI 11543584

Dec 30, 2022BrakesDriver assistance

The contact leased a 2021 Ford Escape. The contact stated while reversing and depressing the brake pedal, the brakes emitted an abnormal squealing sound. The contact stated that the failure mainly occurred while reversing. Additionally, a message indicating that the Forward Collision Avoidance camera had failed and needed to be repaired was displayed. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 48,971.

NHTSA ODI 11499495

Jul 8, 2022Electrical systemLane DepartureDriver assistance

I just had it in the shop. The car acts like there is going to be a collision when nothing is in front of it. Also try’s to pull me off the road. Been computer and electrical issues since I bought the vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11472992

Jan 13, 2022BrakesDriver assistanceCrash

My daughter was coasting and the person in front of her slammed on their brakes causing her to slam on hers. Her collision warning did not go off until after she hit the car in front of her so she had didn't have enough time to stop. We pulled off into a parking lot and called the police to inspect the cars. Two weeks later there was a recall on the back brake pads. She ended up getting a ticket for impeding traffic which ended up costing $150.00 plus $5.50 for fees. I also have damage to the grille and bumper on my car that needs to get fixed.

NHTSA ODI 11447432

Working with the data? Download all 325 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 18, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2021 Ford Escape Gas verdict →