2016 Ford Escape complaints

The head gasket and the car is pulling the car is smoking a lot the car is stopping in the middle of the street

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated. The warning light was flickering on and off. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was determined that coolant was leaking into the engine. There was no indication of a fluid leaking on the ground. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 77,000.

Check engine light is on at 63,000 miles. Ford dealer confirmed coolant in cylinder and immanent total engine failure, so vehicle is not safe to drive as it may stop at any time and loss of coolant. Only indication is the check engine light. Dealer quoted repairs for engine, turbo, and cat converter replacement at over $18,000. Research on the internet reveals that this is a common failure. Since the warranty is out of the time and 3k over the covered range they will do absolutely nothing to remedy the issue. The sticker price on the Escape Titanium is over $37,000.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 70 MPH, the vehicle started losing motive power. The contact depressed the accelerator pedal, but the vehicle failed to respond as designed. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to pull over when the vehicle stalled. The contact was unable to restart the vehicle and had the vehicle towed to a dealer. The dealer diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 101,224.

Driving the car with no signs at all, car instantly drops rpm’s and won’t accelerate at a busy intersection. Warning for transmission faulty or engine issues did not come on at all. Car was driving normal and then stopped as clutch started slipping. Confirmed with dealership that transmission is out. The car stopped in traffic.

This wasn’t an accident. Over Christmas weekend, my vehicle’s transmission would no longer shift gears correctly. After being told I was looking at thousands of dollars to repair, I decided to sell it. When I listed it on AutoTrader, I discovered a recall from 2022 FOR EXACTLY THE PART OF MY TRANSMISSION THAT MIGHT BE BROKEN. If Ford was supposed to notify me of this in 2022, they certainly did not. So now here I am with a vehicle that doesn’t move.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the vehicle started and was idling rough, with white smoke coming from the exhaust. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the vehicle started to lose motive power. The contact was able to drive the vehicle to a dealer who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that coolant had intruded into the cylinders and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced the failure several years ago, and a second engine replacement was needed. The contact researched online and related the failure to the Technical Service Bulletin Number: 19-2139 Coolant Intrusion into the Cylinders (Engine and Engine Cooling). The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 134,000.

While driving home going about 40 mph my Ford Escape lost acceleration and then completely shut off IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD! I was able to "limp" it to the side of the street where it would not start at all. I then placed it in reverse (as I was on a hill) to roll it backwards into a neighborhood to get it out of the way of on coming traffic. It was 10 PM at night! I waited for a few minutes and was able to get it to start but not change gears. I was able to get it to my neighborhood with hazards on going barely 10mph. It literally rolled into my driveway where it has been since (November 2023).

I am the original owner of this vehicle. I bought it brand new in 2016 and had all service done by Ford Dealership. I was told to have transmission flushed and serviced at 80,000 miles which I did. I was never advised to have anything done to the transmission before 80,000 miles. On 12/06/2023 with absolutely zero lights on the dash I went to put the car in reverse and it didn’t move. I had the car towed with 121,000 miles to a transmission shop where it cost $5,121.79 to have the transmission REBUILT! Again never had a check engine, service transmission not a single light or anything on the dash. I know nothing will get done but I have driven cars reach 200,000 miles with zero transmission problems. I see this is clearly a common problem with Fords across the board but it would have been nice to have been told by Ford to service the transmission every 30,000 miles as I have now been advised by the mechanic who rebuilt my transmission. Just disappointing this is my first Ford and I love this car it’s just really disappointing to have no indication that the transmission needed service BEFORE it shit the bed!

When driving the car at interstate speeds the transmission overheats after just a few minutes. When this happens it triggers the car’s information system to send a message stating “Transmission Fault Service Engine Now.” Just a moment or two later it sends another message stating “Speeds Reduced To Lower Engine Temperature.” Once that message is received you no longer have any throttle control and speed will continue to decline, speed dropped from 70 mph to 30 is maybe an minute, until you pull over and let the transmission cool down. This is especially hazardous on the interstate if your in faster moving traffic with cars behind you and you can no longer accelerate with no way to signal this to the traffic behind you except the four ways. The problem seems to be the fan to cool the transmission never gets the signal to turn on and cool down the transmission. This is an ongoing issue with this vehicle and has been since I got it, there are also multiple site and forums full of this same year make and model having the same issue.

A hole the size of a quarter suddenly blew out of the inside section of the metal wheel while driving 65 mph, and the tire instantly went flat. There was nothing in or on the road, no prior accidents that may have damaged the wheel, and there was no existing or resulting damage to the tire. Thankfully the wheel was on the rear passenger side. If it had been on the front end, the driver most likely would have lost control of the vehicle, causing a serious accident at a high rate of speed.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the rear wheels failed to roll and were dragging. Additionally, there was an abnormal popping sound heard. The contact pulled over to the side of the road after each failure. The contact stated that the vehicle was towed several times. The contact stated that the front and rear axles had been replaced by an independent mechanic; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the rear differential had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.

Engine coolant leaking into cylinders 1&2, causing check engine light to come on, misfires (over a period of 6 months)and block to crack. Had to replace. Bought escape in April 2023, Have car loan plus personal loan to pay for repairs. This was caused by defective design. Caused finical hardship for us. Could have caused engine overheating and fire. I will download one document for engine replacement, I have to many to download.

On November 14th, 2023, a red alert appeared on the dash that indicated an engine temperature warning indicating that there was a high temperature warning and that I should find a safe place to pull over and immediately stop the vehicle. The temperature indicator on the dash showed the needle move instantly into the red/high area and then drop down. This happened twice, back-to-back. I checked the coolant and it was below the minimum level indicator as shown on the reservoir. A day later, the service engine light illuminated. I took the vehicle to Advanced Auto and asked to pull the service code and was told there were two, P0303 and P0304 which indicated a cylinder three misfire and cylinder four misfire. I noted that the coolant was also low once again despite seeing no fluid on the ground after allowing the vehicle to run. Bill Collins Ford inspected the misfires and coolant and found the issue to be related to a flaw in the engine design which allows coolant to leak into the cylinders. I was told this could have allowed the vehicle to overheat and catch on fire as well as causing the engine to lock up while in operation. Bill Collins Ford provided an estimate of $13,000 to repair the vehicle stating it required a new engine. I purchased this vehicle used from CarMax on August 2, 2023 and have put less than 3,000 miles on it before experiencing this issue.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 55 MPH, the transmission inadvertently downshifted to a lower gear. The contact stated that the gear shifter became inoperable. The check engine and electronic throttle control system warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the motor mounts and transmission bushing cable needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but the failure persisted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 94,000.

The escape has a defective EcoBoost engine that cause coolant to leak into the cylinders, increasing the risk of engine failure or car fires. The 2016 escape had coolant leak into the cylinder of the engine that caused the engine to fail needing a new engine due to this. The problem of the coolant leaking into the engine has been documented by a Ford dealership and some models of the escape have been recalled due to this except the year of 2016. There was no warning lights or messages showing that this issue has happened. I was driving this vehicle when the issue was occurring and mine and my child’s safety was put at risk.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while his daughter was at a stop light and attempting to accelerate, the vehicle failed to move forward. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, but the vehicle was not repaired. The contact called the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact called three transmission specialists and was made aware of other vehicles with the same failure. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The approximate failure mileage was 120,000.

I was pulling out onto a major highway and my car quit shifting. Which caused me to be stranded in the middle of a busy highway.

In Aug. 2021 my 2016 Ford Escape’s Sync/NAV stopped connecting to my iPhone. I went to Fullerton Ford in Somerville, NJ and a Service Advisor (SA) determined that Sync would not connect with his iPhone or mine. Another SA connected with his Android phone and it worked perfectly. Everything else related to the Sync/NAV was working. I did research online on connecting Sync with iPhone, and was finally able to reconnect to Bluetooth, but never able to connect with the Sync/NAV system. After weeks of trying get the Sync/NAV to work I had it diagnosed by Fullerton Ford. On Sept. 29, 2021 I paid a $100 diagnostic fee to assess the problem. I spent 7 hours waiting while it was worked on. They talked with the technical “hotline” but were unable to determine why the Sync/NAV worked with the Android but not the iPhone. They suggested the problem “could be” the APIM which would cost $866.16 to replace, but told me that they could not guarantee that replacing the APIM would solve the problem. Without a guarantee that spending $966.16 would solve the problem I declined. It was noted on the invoice that the APIM had given a faulty reading but the Service Advisor never told me that or what else could happen if the APIM failed. I suffered with the iPhone issue until Nov. 6, 2023 when I brought the car to Ciocca Ford in Flemington, NJ for service. I’d learned there was an update to the Sync system so I asked them to do that upgrade. When the car was “finished” the SA advised me that the whole

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the vehicle experienced rough starts, overheating and the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who determined that there was coolant present inside the engine cylinders and that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 96,000.

The transmission went out suddenly while driving. My safety was at risk since it suddenly went out while the vehicle was in motion on a typically busy road. I had to pull over with my hazards on hoping no one would hit me.The car was taken to a local dealer where they determined there were metal shavings in the transmission and it needed to be replaced. A warning came up on the screen but when it came up it was determined that the cause was not need to fix immediately and did not relate to the transmission.

Outside key pad is making sounds of door locks locking and unlocking with flashers coming on driving down the rd second time after replacing outside keypad in 2021 at a ford dealership in northern michigan the problem has returned 11-1-2023.i tapped on the outside of the door keypad surface, the problem hasnt came back in the last few days, i believe it will reappear at some point though

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power. An unknown warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 87,277.

Randomly on10/26/23 my car started shaking while in the drive mode at a stop light. When I took off from the light the car stalled. This continued to happen all the way to my job. When I realized it would not shake when it was in neutral at a stop I would just do that. The stalls would continue. Next after one of the shake a wrench light came on saying "Engine Fault service now" I got to my destination. At lunch I went to take my car to Bobby and Erick at W.B Motors in Fairfax VA for a diagnostic thinking maybe a coil issue. I also noticed the wrench light was gone. No further lights ever came on. The evaluation from the shop was: "No codes or pending codes stored in the engine or transmission. The misfire counter shows zero misfires. Found engine idles very rough in gear. The actual slip RPMS under transmission data is less than 500 while desired is around 1000rpms. We believe the torque converter clutch may be sticking" They referred me to High Tech Transmissions. I called and spoke to a Gary before driving there. They could not get me in. Gary spoke to Bobby about the issue. I got back on the phone with Gary. He explained that I would have to leave the car. My only car had to get home. Here is where my complaint is. Gary said that he had 4 other ESCAPES IN his SHOP with the SAME issue. Being a female I didn't get into did he figure those out. I was so upset about mine. BUT 4 others. So I dropped it off at a ford dealer near my home for further diagnostic. That manager told

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the check engine warning light remained illuminated, with the engine overheating and the message Cylinder Number One Misfire was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed that coolant was present inside cylinder #1 and the engine needed to be repaired. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 123,000.

While driving the car shuddered and then shut off. The transmission light came on with a warning about 5 minutes after it shut off. So there was never a warning and we were unable to get it to go back into any gear.

When travelling on a surface roadway, we received a transmission failure warning. We were able to get to a safe area at reduced speed. I feel that if this had happened while on a freeway, our lives could have been jeopardized. The Ford tech said that the transmission needed to be replaced. The torque converter failed. The transmission has been replaced. I don't know where the failed component is now

The APIM failed. This is a safety issue in this day and age of cell phones. We are not to use our cell phones while driving.

My vehicle has 57 thousand miles bought it at Ford Dealership with 48k miles and already having transmission issues. Tow truck driver who picked my vehicle up claimed “Every Ford escape i pick up for a tow is always a transmission issue” Horrible car, Waste of money.

The Coolant is leaking out of the engine somewhere. The dealership said it was fixed with a new coolant bypass valve Yet when got home the coolant bottle was empty and there was overheating warning again.

I was driving home in 2016 Ford Escape and I noticed the RPM's getting higher and higher, but car's speed was actually declining. All maintenance work has been done at Maxwell d in Austin TX. Never had any problems with the transmission and no warning lights, nothing. Until this day....Transmission fault, Service Soon. I was close to being home, so somehow I made it. Be then, everybody wanted know what was going on so did i. I called the dealership, talked to Andrew and made arrangements for car to be towed to Ford on Tuesday, October 3rd. They finally looked at it the car on Monday the 9th....new transmission and labor, almost $8,000. I can not afford that. Having it towed to another repair shop. Getting an estimate from second shop. Why is this not a recall. It should be. Call me [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Transition suddenly failed when under normal driving. No symptoms were present when driving. Failed out of nowhere.

The car has a clicking noise and recently I lost power steering. I didn’t see any codes but was not looking as I was terrified I couldn’t get home.

Rear door inner panels will not allow the doors to be opened. I replaced them and it is doing it again. Ford says replace them again and save receipt in case it gets recalled. I can not let my grandchildren or any one else for that matter ride in the back they would be trapped in an accident!!

The rear view backup camera is faulty and doesn't always work. Sometimes it comes on, but most of the time it just doesn't turn on. There is no specific set of circumstances that dictates if it will work or not.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds the vehicle would jerk, lose power, and would not properly accelerate while pressing the accelerator pedal. Also, a warning message to "Turn the Vehicle Off" was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the transmission was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was later taken to an independent service center that replaced the transmission but the failures continued to occur. The manufacturer was notified of the failures but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 100.

The Power Steering Control Module failed as I was driving with my children in the car and I lost all power steering abilities. The car was taken to the dealership service department and reproduced and confirmed by the dealership. This part was replaced and it happened again 5 days after receiving the vehicle back. The Light that comes on states "Power Steering Assist Failure." this light began to happen when driving in very congested conditions and intermittently. After the repair and when the light came back on I was driving with my 4 year old in the car and completely lost power steering.

The power steering control module (PSCM) that replaced my original PSCM failed while I was driving with my 4 year old in the car and I lost power steering completely. We have been told it was reproduced by the dealership service center at 1hour 32 minutes of the car running. The car is at the dealership for the 3rd time for this issue and the warning light that came on was Steering Assist Fault Service Required.

Back Over Prevention ( backup camera), started acting up in Feb 2023, shows black screen, flips image, does not come on, (radio is displayed) when it does come on its granny and has black vertical lines, warning beeps stop working when this happens or don't sound off untill your on top of the person or object behing you. Contacted 2 Ford dealerships and they tell me other Escapes are on recall just not my year and no replacement camera is available.

Stalling in the middle of highway twice

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated while operating the vehicle, the instrument cluster had become inoperative, and the screen failed to display any information, including the speedometer. The contact stated that during the failure, the screen had displayed an extremely bright white light which created a visibility hazard for the driver. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 130,000.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the temperature sensor illuminated, and the vehicle overheated. The contact stated he was able to drive the vehicle to the shoulder of the roadway. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed as having coolant intrusion and a warped engine block. The contact was informed that the engine block needed to be replaced. 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 128,000.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated while reversing, the back over prevention camera screen went blank. The message "Rearview Camera Not Available" message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was informed that the rearview camera needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired due to parts not being available. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 73,000.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, she noticed the back over prevention feature was inoperable. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and confirmed that the back over prevention feature was inoperable. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure had occurred several years ago. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

I was driving at 50mph and a car pulled out infront of me. I had no option but crashing into them. The impact was in the front end of my vehicle causing enough damage to total the vehicle and the airbags did not deploy. The insurance aduster did look at the vehicle.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train). The contact stated that while the gear shifter was shifted to drive the vehicle jolted forward violently. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the transmission shifter cable needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 65-70 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power. The contact coasted to the side of the roadway. The "Transmission Fault" message was displayed. The vehicle was towed to a transmission specialist, who diagnosed that an unknown pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was 72,566.

Code p2111 Dealership said throttle body needs to be replaced. Vehicle has only 67,336 miles. Was driving and the warning on the dash appeared “service engine now.” I lost the ability to accelerate. Coasted out of traffic with what little ability the vehicle had left. Would have caused an accident in heavier traffic. Vehicle was towed to Ford dealership where diagnosed. This same problem occurred on earlier years

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle started overheating. The contact pulled over on the side of the road and waited until the vehicle cool down and added coolant to the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who stated that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NTHSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 130,000.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle failed to shift into gear as needed and stalled. The vehicle failed to go forward or reverse. The driver was able to shift into park, and the transmission service needed message was displayed. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a transmission shop and the contact was informed that the transmission needed to be repaired. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 61,000.