2015 Ford Escape complaints

Leaking coolant overheat the engine. It was unexpected and left us stranded since the car could not be driven once it overheated. Got coolant and fill it in, so was able to drive back home. But the leak is so severe I had to park my car in my garage and stop using it.

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact's husband stated that while driving 35 MPH, the vehicle started to stall. The contact’s husband looked in the rearview mirror and saw blue smoke behind the vehicle. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact's husband pulled over to the side of the road and inspected the vehicle. The contact's husband saw oil on the exhaust pipe. The vehicle was driven to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with turbo boost system failure. The contact's husband stated that while driving, the vehicle was driving rough and failed to accelerate as intended. The local dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 98,700.

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact stated while his daughter was driving 20 MPH, the message "Please pull over immediately, temperature high" was displayed. The contact stated that his daughter pulled over immediately, shut off the vehicle, allowed the vehicle to cool down, and refilled the coolant reservoir before proceeding to restart her vehicle, and continuing to drive. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where the vehicle was diagnosed, and the contact was informed that the engine had experienced coolant intrusion and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 135,283.

Coolant intrusion on the engine block which is causing misfires. Issue was confirmed by an independent service center.

While driving my 2015 Ford Escape at a speed of 35MPG and stopped at a stop sign, proceeded to turn left and car would not move. It seems to coast backward as if transmission was in neutral. I coasted back into a parking lot and turned off vehicle. I then restarted it and it started just fine with no warning lights. I then tried to put into gear and the RPMs went up and still felt like it was in neutral. I then had it towed to a mechanic and was told that it was a total transmission failure. 5500.00 to have repair. More than what the car's book value it. I have not reported to manufacturer but that is my next step.

I was stopped at a stop light and when it turned green and I stepped on the gas the engin reved up but the car would not move. I looked down to see if the gear shift had been moved and when I saw it had not I stepped on the gas again and this time slowly moved and then jerked to a stop. I stepped on the gas again and it started rolling and the spead up so that it peeled out and then jerked to a stop again. I was right by a Les Swab and very slowly was able to pull into their parking lot. I had just had my breaks done and thought maybe something went wrong with them. They checked and said it was the transmission. I was afraid to try to drive it so I towed it home. After seeing other Ford Escape transmissions haveing issues and being recalled I wanted to report this. It sounds just like the complaints that are listed for the recalled transmissions. After checking with a local transmission shop they told me they had replaced 3 of these transmissions in the last month. So I know a lot of people do not look into this kind of stuff but I want someone to know this was very scary for me and if there had been another car close to me there could have been a accident.

We were driving down the highway when the ford escape shut down and the the check engine light came on for the Evap system several parts have been replaced but I get the same code and the car is dying at idle and losing power a different times while driving

The engine failed at 96,000 miles and we had it replaced with a new engine. Then at 131,000 miles the dealer stated that the engine has failed again and needs to be replaced because there is some delaminating happening in the engine. The 1.6L ecoboost engine is known for early failure. The new engine is only 3 months out of warranty and Ford will do nothing to assist in the engine replacement.

Coolant leaking into cylinder causing misfire. The reason why the coolant is leaking into the chamber is because of a manufacturers defect. The engine block has impurities that eventually rusted away causing pinholes between the cylinder and coolant. This is a well known issue with mechanics. If someone has this issue and does not know the engine can seize or blow causing the engine to not work. If this happens while on a highway the potential for an accident goes way up. Please make Ford make this right. I have had this defect verified by a certified Ford dealership and two independent mechanics. This is a costly repair due to the entire engine being defective from the bad casting.

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the contact became aware that the front driver’s side seat belt was inoperable. The contact stated that the seat belt failed to latch properly, and the contact had to pull the seat belt several times to securely latch the seat belt. The dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer referred the contact to the manufacturer for additional assistance. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHSTA Hotline for assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 126,000.

The engine suffered a catastrophic failure on 11/26/2024 with coolant leaking into the engine producing a white noxious smoke from the exhaust, engine overheating, and engine misfires. The engine light did not appear. It was the smoke from the exhaust that alerted me to the issue. At the time of the engine overheat I was driving interstate 10 in Desert Center CA. It was apparent the coolant was leaking. There were no mechanic shops nearby. A good samaritan driver had coolant to add to my engine. I had the engine inspected by three separate mechanics, all identified the issue as a known defect in the 2.0l ford ecoboost engine. The engine failure occurred at approximately 73,500 miles, which I believe is premature given the vehicle's maintenance history and mileage.

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the message "Liftgate Ajar" was displayed while the liftgate was securely closed. Additionally, the contact stated that the failure had caused the interior lights and the marker lights to remain illuminated upon parking the vehicle. An unknown dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not under a recall related to the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 73,000.

Malfunctioning Canister Purge Valve. There was a recall for the Ford Focus but not the Escape. We have an Escape in the same date range as the Focus recall and are having the same issue. Our Purge Valve is malfunctioning and needs to be replaced.

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while the vehicle was started, and attempting to turn the steering wheel, the steering wheel was stiff and failed to move as needed. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic; however, the failure was not duplicated. The contact was advised to warm up the vehicle and after 15 mins the steering wheel should unlock. The vehicle was then taken to the residence and parked. The contact stated that the following day after the vehicle had warmed up for 25 minutes, the steering wheel unlocked; however, while accelerating, the steering wheel started shaking abnormally. Additionally, the contact stated that there was an abnormal sound coming from the front of the vehicle. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 103,266.

All 4 tires the inside sidewall . Are coming apart like a split . The size is 235/45/19 Kelly edge . Have only a little over 27.000 thousand miles on them .

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the dealer for an oil change. The contact was informed by the dealer that the lug nuts were swollen, making it difficult to remove wheels from the vehicle. The contact was informed that the lug nuts needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The contact stated that the manufacturer had disconnected the call after multiple attempts to contact the manufacturer. The failure mileage was approximately 26,470.

EVAC Canister in rear of vehicle fails. While driving, a noise can be heard from the rear section of the vehicle followed by a foul odor. Then, the vehicle dash board will light up ALL warning lights followed by a complete shut down while driving! The issue seems to take place after filling the gas tank. This dangerous situation has happened on numerous occasions and almost caused several accidents as a direct result. Many many other owners of this vehicle are reporting the same issue.

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at 35 MPH, when the accelerator pedal was depressed there was an abnormal sound and the vehicle independently shut down. The check engine warning light was intermittently illuminated. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the vehicle stalled. The failures occurred on several different occasions. The "Electrical Malfunction" message was displayed on the instrument panel and the Check Engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that after waiting for an hour, the vehicle restarted. The failure occurred on several different occasions; the infotainment screen had to be reset whenever the failure occurred. The contact stated that while driving at an unknown speed, the vehicle made an abnormal sound whenever the vehicle was in reverse. The Check Engine warning light was illuminated. The failure occurred on several different occasions. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to get a diagnosis however, the contact stated that the failure was not diagnosed or repaired; The contact stated that the independent mechanic gave a diagnosis stating that the water pump needed to be replaced and repaired the vehicle however, the contact was concerned that the failures that had occurred was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact stated that upon taking the vehicle to the dealer for an oil change, the contact was informed that there was coolant intrusion into cylinder #1. The contact was then informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 64,000.

Vehicle was inspected by third party shop and a Ford Dealership. Both indicated that this is a manufacturer error and should be considered a recall. Lots of different Ford models have experienced this manufacturing error and this issue was considered a recall. This includes: 2015-2018 Ford Edge 2017-2019 Fusion/MKZ 2017-2019 Escape 2017-2019 MKC My 2015 Ford Escape is built incredibly similar or the exact same as these other models and since it is experiencing the same issue as these other models, the recall should extend to mine and be covered under Ford as a recall. Error: Presence of coolant in the engine cylinders, white exhaust smoke and/or runs rough condition (with or without an illuminated MIL) 2.0L EcoBoost engine Error Code: P0217 TBS: 22-2229

Similar to other complaints, my son got in his 2015 Ford Escape this morning and the power steering was not working. It was very difficult to turn the wheel. When I went to check it out, I noticed a warning that there was a "Steering Assist Fault, Service Required" message. He drove it yesterday without no issue. We have seen this happen in the past sporadically but it always seemed to somehow fix itself. Sounds like there is an issue here that needs to be addressed by Ford.

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the RPM raised to high with heavy white smoke coming from the tailpipe. The check engine light warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was initially taken to an independent mechanic where the ignition coils and spark plugs were replaced; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was then taken to another independent mechanic, and it was determined that there was a coolant intrusion in cylinder #3. The contact was informed that the head gasket needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was unknown.

Head gasket is bad according to the mechanic.

I replaced the transmission in 02/2023. Then the bushing failed in 08/2023. Had it replaced at dealership (after paying $150 for diagnostic & $200 for towing.... Then the bushing failed again last Tuesday (XXX). Was told not longer covered by Ford despite it previously recalled. Then repaired again. Broke same night. $250 in towing.... repaired Saturday - yesterday. Now the bushing is out AGAIN today (sunday). This is ludicrous. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while attempting to operate the vehicle, the transmission failed to shift out of neutral. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer where it was diagnosed that the axle became loosened. The vehicle was left at the local dealer for further diagnostic testing. In addition, the contact stated that the front wheel bearings were previously replaced at the same local dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000. The VIN was not available.

The contact called on behalf of their daughter who owns a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact stated that their daughter attempted to start the vehicle while parked, the vehicle shuttered and stalled, and then proceeded to start back up again, upon noticing the abnormality the vehicle was no longer used. The contact drove the vehicle to a local dealer where it was diagnosed that coolant was leaking into cylinder number two, and that the engine would have to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 110,000.

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at approximately 10 MPH, the vehicle became difficult to maneuver. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the steering assembly gear needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact did research and discovered NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V250000 (Steering) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000.

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the vehicle would leak coolant, and needed to be refilled consistently. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where a hole in the coolant tank was discovered and replaced the tank, however, the coolant continued to leak and the engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where it was diagnosed and advised that the Turbo engine eco boost failed and that the vehicle coolant was leaking into the engine. As a result, the engine needed to be replaced. The contact referenced NHTSA Campaign Number: 12V551000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING). The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 136,000.

The vehicle has coolant leaking into the cylinders. The dealership shows that it was due to overheating but the vehicle has not overheated. The dealership states that the engine needs replacement but is unable to verify any damage in the cylinders. The vehicle was taken in due to misfiring and the vehicle dying upon starting after a short period of time being turned off.

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 50 MPH, the vehicle started losing motive power. There was an abnormal sound coming from the engine with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact drove the vehicle to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that there was coolant intrusion into the cylinder head, causing engine damages. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 107,300.

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while her husband was driving at an undisclosed speed, the temperature gauge began to indicate that the engine was overheating. After a visual inspection of the engine compartment, the driver observed that the coolant reservoir was abnormally low, prompting him to refill the coolant reservoir. The following day the driver observed white smoke coming from the exhaust prompting him to discontinue driving the vehicle. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who determined that the coolant intrusion had damaged the engine. The contact was informed that the engine and turbocharger needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to Technical Service Bulletin: 22-2229. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 115,000.

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact stated while her daughter was operating the vehicle, the check engine warning light remained illuminated. The vehicle lost motive power and stalled on several occasions. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed an engine misfire in cylinder #1 due to coolant intrusion into the engine. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 114,000.

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the headlights became inoperable. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that neither the VIN nor the vehicle was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V861000 (EXTERIOR LIGHTING). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 13,000.

We bought this car used from the Ford dealership in Ellensburg WA in 2021. It had 79k at the time. We performed a lot of maintenance on the vehicle; new tires, alignment, coolant flush, transmission flush, spark plugs, and updated the Synce software. Then the turbo failed about 5 months later. And we replaced the turbo with a brand new one at the same dealership for 5k. Then we replaced the coolant system. We performed all the recalls as they came in, regarding the transmission shifter and something to do with a solenoid, and we never missed an oil change. In September 2024 the transmission failed and it needs a whole new one. There's a class action lawsuit in CA for the type of transmission in this year of Ford Escape, but it's only for CA residents. Too bad. It's been less than 3 years since we bought it, we've paid twice the price it's worth in repairs and on maintenance, and now it's junk. DON'T BUY AN ESCAPE!

At 120k the transmission went bad. Dealership charged $7k to replace. We chose to replace because it was cheaper than buying a new vehicle. A few months after the transmission was repaired, we started losing a lot of coolant. The dreaded coolant leak through the head gasket into cylinder 2 is the diagnosis. Dealer, told us $12k for a new motor. This is not okay!!!

With no warning, car suddenly refused to start after parking it for a brief errand. Jump starting had no effect (battery was healthy and fully charged). Keys would switch instrument cluster on but cluster would go dark when key was turned to start position or when shifter release was pulled. After reviewing YouTube, other owners found that the 50A mega fuse connected to the fuel pump and BCM (yellow wire) would degrade to the point that its internal connection would become intermittent. This causes intermittent no-start condition and could result in the vehicle shutting off while being driven on the road. Rapping on the front panel of the battery box can temporarily reconnect the internal failure of the fuse and allow the car to start.

My backup camera glitches and my APMI module has gone out, which was diagnosed by Ford. I’ve seen this is an issue with other Ford models as well, however there are no active recalls for my VIN. The Airbag light is also on.

The contact owned a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at highway speeds, the vehicle died without warning. Due to the failure, the contact was left stranded in the middle of the highway. While the contact was on the phone with 911, another vehicle crashed into the contact's vehicle from behind. The air bags did not deploy upon impact. The contact sustained mental trauma due to the accident, but no physical injuries. The police arrived at the scene and a police report was filed. The whereabouts of the other driver were unknown. No medical attention was rendered at the scene. No property damage was reported. The vehicle was towed to an independent tow yard where the vehicle was deemed a total loss. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

Coolant has leaked into the engine and the whole engine needs to be replaced

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with spark plug failure. The contact was informed that the spark plugs needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was taken back to the independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion into the cylinder and engine failure. The contact was advised to take the vehicle to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that there was coolant intrusion in cylinder #2 and engine failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was informed that the repair was not covered under an unstated recall. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The contact was advised to contact the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 102,000.

THE CAR KEPT OVERHEATING AFTER i PURCHASED IT EARLIER THIS YEAR. THEY HAD TO REPLACE THE MOTOR. I HAD TO PAY OUT OF POCKET AND THE INSURANCE i ADDED ON COVERED MOST OF IT FOR A USED MOTOR TO BE INSTALLED. THE DEALER NEVER FIXED THE RECALL ON THE LOCKS WHICH THE DOORS OPENED WHEN I CAME TO A STOP. IF MY GRANDKID OR DOGS WERE IN THERE THEY COULD HAVE FELL OUT AND GOT HURT.

Coolant intrusion My car has the 2014 engine in it and has coolant leaking into the cylinder combustion chamber

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact stated while attempting to reverse out of the garage, the steering wheel seized. The contact stated that the “Steering Service Required” message was displayed. The contact stated turned off and restarted the vehicle and the steering returned to normal operation. The contact stated that several days afterwards while exiting a parking space, the failure reoccurred. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 33,841.

I was driving this car down the road 50mph when the engine turned off. The dash board indicated no rpm, no warning lights and to shift the car into park. When I rolled safely to a stop, the engine would not crank over with the key and none of the dash board warning lights were on. The issue with this was the 50a BCM fuse #9 opened but did not blow. Wiggling the main wires by the battery caused the BCM to regain power and the car restarted. The fuse was replaced for the repair.

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, there was a white cloud of exhaust smoke coming from the rear of the vehicle. The contact stated that there was an excessive amount of exhaust odor entering the cabin of the vehicle. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that there was coolant intrusion into cylinder #1, causing an engine misfire. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The mechanic advised the contact to keep the coolant reservoir filled with coolant to prevent complete engine failure until the vehicle was repaired. The mechanic referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 132,000.

Climate Control Housing is broken. Air will not come out of the face vents. This caused me to overheat because the AC could not cool me off while driving. Even with AC coming out of the feet and defrost vents, it was not able to cool my car off enough to be a comfortable temperature. A dealer and an auto shop both said this is a known issue.

My daughter borrowed my car and experienced a loud rattling noise. We had it towed to our local shop who recommended bringing it to a Ford Dealership for the issue. We had it towed there and I was informed after they looked at it that we had a cracked flex plate. It horrifies what could have happened while she was in the car. There was a check engine light on, but that was not connected to this issue apparently because I had to pay an additional cost to get that fixed. I have never heard of a cracked flex plate but when I googled it I found Ford had several recalls for it, but not attached to my VIN

Two separate events - In parking lot, started the vehicle, backed out of the spot, pulled forward and received an alert regarding a power steering assist failed. The ability to control the car at slow speeds with regards to steering was extremely impacted. I could barely turn out of the way of traffic and pull back over into a safe area. I turned the car off then stared it back up and the error went away. The second event approx. a month later was while I was driving down a winding hill and the error error popped up on my screen again regarding the power assist failure. The even though i was traveling at 45 mph, the loss of steering assist about caused me to go off the road and down the embankment. I could have just as easily gone into incoming traffic. I was able to slow the car down significantly and put a lot of effort to get off the side of the road safely. Again, I turned the car off then back on and the problem was no longer present. Research on the internet shows this isn't an isolated event and has been reported by other owners of the same vehicle type. I will be taking the vehicle to the dealership for inspection but I'm confident they will not be able to re-create the issue since this has been a random event.

The vehicle with this VIN was blocking access to a federal building on 7/30/24, DURING BUSINESS HOURS, and I have photographic proof with a date and time stamp.

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine was idling roughly with the check engine warning light illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The contact was advised to contact the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 94,000.