2018 Ford Escape complaints

Evap purge valve issue ( well recognized by Ford itself as part of a recall with Ford focus models after 2009.). But also needs to be addressed with Ford escape models of the same period. Multiple reports noted online as well ( seeking remedy on youtube and forums). I have Ford protect warranty. They refused to address it as part of the plan!!

There have been several instances of the vehicle completely shutting off while sitting idle and at red lights. I took it to the dealership and there is coolant leaking into the cylinders causing it to misfire. This is very dangerous and could cause the car to run hot or burn up! The said I should replace the engine but FORD should be responsible as this seems to be a problem in many of their escapes!

Took car in due to heater not working correctly, was not blowing hot air, was told coolant was leaking into engine, would need new engine, head gasket and block damaged. No warning or check engine lights on. Car is available for inspection if needed. I drive this car with ,y son on a daily basis if not for a cold front that past I would have never knew my heater didn't work and would be driving this car without knowing there was a problem which could lead me to be stranded. I was also told by the mechanic that this is not the first 2018 Ford Escape they have encountered with this same problem, they had worked on one just a week prior to me bring in my car. We were also informed by several Ford and other dealership service departments that it is an ongoing problem right now with all the 2018 escape to where there is a shortage of engines right now to replace them. I feel like this should qualify for a recall and that Ford needs to replace these engines at their cost since its a known fact online and in person that its faulty engines.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 10 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed as a catastrophic camshaft failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 66,000.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that after his daughter started the vehicle and started accelerating, the vehicle was jerking. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who informed her that the oil level was low and that cylinder #4 was misfiring. The contact was referred to the dealer. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The mechanic confirmed a misfire in cylinder #4 due to coolant intrusion into the engine. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 43,780.

This 2018 Ford Escape Titanium has 32,000 miles on is experiencing chronic, substantive defects in the rear powertrain. Specifically, it is having its second replacement rear differential unit (RDU) installed. This means it will have worn out 3 RDU's in 32,000 miles. -Original RDU was replaced at ~23,000 miles and failed ~30,000 miles. Third RDU in vehicle's life is currently being installed. Additionally, this vehicle has already had its Power Transfer Unit (PTU) replaced at 22,000 miles and is now on its third set of rear brake rotors. My contention is that there are serious, substantive defects in the vehicles rear powertrain causing premature wearing of the brakes and potential for serious accidents related to the loss of rear differential control and brake damage.

There is a recall for shifter cable issues. Had scheduled to have the recall done. While waiting on parts delay to have work completed was told can still use my ford escape. Driving one-day transmission lost all power I was able to get safely to side of road as it was late at night and not much traffic would have been a totally different outcome if in heavy traffic or traveling at highway speeds. Ford now tells me something broke in my transmission. Waited 3 weeks to find out they did the recall cable fix and inspected my transmission and told me something broke inside my transmission and now they expect me to pay 5K for a rebuilt transmission. Car only has 62,706 miles on it and they said the warranty exp at 60,000 miles. I find this interesting they have a transmission cable issue that causes the vehicle to not go into gear properly and now my transmission fails prematurely and they will not cover it. I am lucky i was not driving on highway when this issue happened could have been worse this needs to be looked into no reason for a vehicle that is up on all maint done by the dealer even at 30,000 miles did full service at dealer shop which included the transmission and at just over 60,000 miles transmission fails. I suspect it is related to this faulty cable and transmission not going properly or fully into gear. Someone needs to look into this issue and hold Ford accountable someone is going to get severely injured or worse.

Coolant intrusion into the engine from the cylinder. Check engine light came on for a misfire. My mechanic read the diagnostic codes as a misfired cylinder. Ford admits they know this is an issue with the 1.5L Eco-boost Engine but will only cover 60% of the repair.

2018 Ford escape with 53,700 miles. Ford designed a faulty metal plate between the cylinders. Too thin. It cracked. Coolant flooded the engine. The engine needed to be replaced. The dealership replaced the lower half of engine, luckily, before my 60,000 mile warranty. This is a common problem that has been happening since 2018!!! Please issue a recall. Ford is just waiting until people are stranded on the side of the road facing thousands of dollars in repairs!

FMVSS 208 has a lockability standard. The outboard seatbelts in this vehicle do not switch over to a locked mode for car seats as required by law, I have video I can send on the seatbelts. The video would not attach to this report.

2018 FORD ESCAPE. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO HNTSA SAFETY RECALL 22V-413. THE CONSUMER STATED AN APPOINTMENT WAS MADE TO SERVICE A RECALL BUT INFORMED AFTER ARRIVING THERE IS A SHORTAGE OF PARTS AVAILABLE TO PERFORM THE RECALLS AND LONGER WAIT TIMES. ALSO, FORDS INABILITY TO ADEQUATELY SERVICE RECALLS IN A TIMELY MANNER.

Coolant has leaked internally, without warning, until a few days ago when I got a "high engine temperature" warning and my car is now unusable. My engine is shot.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at approximately 70-80 MPH, the vehicle started to shake and the engine misfired. The check engine warning light illuminated. The contact’s wife was able to maneuver the vehicle onto the shoulder. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where the tires and brakes were replaced, and the vehicle was diagnosed, and it was determined that cylinder #1 had failed. The vehicle was then taken to another independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the engine block had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion into cylinder #1. The contact was informed that the short block needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that the VIN was not included in a recall. The contact was provided a case number. The failure mileage was approximately 95,000.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the check engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle started to hesitate while depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic who stated that coolant was leaking into cylinder #2. The contact was also informed that the engine needed to be rebuilt. The contact called the manufacturer who referred her to a dealer. The dealer was notified of the failure and scheduled an appointment. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 112,000.

The engine has a coolant leak in the cylinders, due to a bad design on the engine block, too many people experiencing the same issue, others with only 20k miles on their cars,ford won't even help paying the engine replacement, online there are thousand of people with the same issue, the design on the engine block let coolant go into cylinders ford is aware of this matter and they had redesign the engine already but they won't replace it since is not consider a recall even when this needs to be a recall since is a ford design issue

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power with the overheating and check engine warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that there was a blown head gasket and that the tie rod had detached, causing damage to the suspension. There was white smoke coming from the engine, and the antifreeze temperature was high. The mechanic informed the contact that the head gasket and engine 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 116,301.

I was told after only 4 years the car has a major leak into the cylinder and needs a new engine. I have seen this problem online by many consumers and this needs to be corrected. In the last few days the engine light came on and I called and made an appointment. I noticed grey smoke only on start up now that the weather was getting colder.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH at night, the low-beam headlights turned off inadvertently. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact immediately veered to the side of the road and parked the vehicle. The vehicle remained on the side of the road while the contact returned to his residence with the assistance of his fiancée. The contact returned to the vehicle during daytime and drove to his residence. The contact replaced the headlight bulbs with H9 headlight bulbs himself; however, the low-beam headlight bulbs remained inoperable. The high-beam headlights operated as needed. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 49,850.

The contact 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated after the vehicle was serviced at a local dealer, the front driver’s side door failed to latch securely. The contact took the vehicle back to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the door latch motor to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 85,000.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 MPH and attempting to merge onto a highway, the vehicle would not accelerate while the accelerator pedal was depressed. The contact stated that the RPM’s would rise as he depressed the accelerator pedal and the vehicle almost stalled. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact pulled off the roadway and placed the vehicle in park(P). The contact turned the vehicle off and on and was able to shift the vehicle into drive(D) however, the vehicle would not accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact drove the vehicle to a dealer, and it was diagnosed that the turbo charger needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that the engine was replaced; however, the failure was not due to the turbo charger. The contact stated that he had experienced another turbo charger failure a year later. The contact stated that the second engine was replaced. The contact stated that both the replaced turbo chargers had displayed code P0035. The contact was informed by the dealer that the first turbo charger had a valve that became stuck closed and on the second turbo charger a valve had remained in the open position. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000.

Piston #2 failed in the engine. The piston head broke and pieces of metal traveled through the engine. It is available for inspection. This occurred at night while driving down a state route at speeds between 50-55mph. The engine immediately began to run extremely rough, check engine light came on and began blinking, the car began to sputter and shake, which caused the car to become unsafe to operate. We had the vehicle towed to avoid causing any damage to the engine. The Ford dealership that we buy our cars from did the diagnosis, performed an engine tear down, and was able to determine the piston was the route cause. The technician confirmed that it was the piston itself that failed, and was not due to any maintenance issues, other part, or driver neglect. It has not been inspected directly by Ford, police, or insurance. It has only been inspected by the Ford certified technicians at the Ford dealership. We contacted Ford Motor Company's customer affairs department, opened a case with them in regards to the faulty part being installed when the the car was originally built. They have the pictures and service departments notes about the piston. There were no warning lamps, notifications, or alerts. The check engine light appeared the moment the failure happened, and began to blink. We did notice that the exhaust would expel a large amount of black smoke when we would need to accelerate the vehicle in areas such as highway on-ramps. That recurring behavior has been documented

Our vehicle started having problems with the coolant appearing to drain to quickly. Having a mechanic check out the system is was diagnosed with the water pump going. We got the vehicle back home, needing to wait to get funds to have the waterpump replaced, when the vehicle shut off on its own in our driveway. The vehicle then wouldn't even turn over. Now having the vehicle checked out we are told the coolant leaked into the engine and has destroyed it. It will cost us over $10,000 to have the engine replaced. The vehicle only has 53,000 miles on it. This is something that should not have happened with a 4yr old vehicle with only 53,000 miles on it. Thankfully the engine didn't go on us while we were on the highway driving home. Ford needs to step up and take care of this serious issue and not leave it to the consumer to be leveled with the cost of their failures in putting out a better product. The seriousness of what may have happened if the engines had caught fire or just died on us while on the highway is too great to consider.

Within 30,000 miles, my spark plugs failed and had me on the side of the road. By 60k miles, I needed a whole new engine. After the engine was put in, my purge valve went out. And now, at 110k miles, my transmission has blown.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an unknown speed, the contact became aware of smoke coming from the rear of the vehicle. The check engine warning light illuminated. The contact was able to drive to his residence. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the contact was informed that the vehicle had engine block failure and that the engine block needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline to file a complaint. The failure mileage was 107,000.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an unknown speed, the Global Positioning System (GPS) became inoperable. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the GPS cable needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and provided a case number. The failure mileage was approximately 44,381.

There is a coolant leak which is cause the car to make a misfire on cylinder 2. Car is overheating suddenly and can not drive

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that on multiple occasions, the vehicle could not be restarted. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who indicated that water was present inside the camshaft; additionally, the engine solenoids and engine hoses were worn and damaged. The vehicle was not repaired and later was taken to an independent mechanic. The manufacturer was not yet notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 103,000.

TOOK FORD ESCAPE TO DEALER BECAUSE OF SERVICE ENGINE ALERT. WAS TOLD IT PROBALLY NEEDED A TUNE UP OR A COMPRESSION PROBLEM. I THEN GOT A CALL BACK TO SAY COOLANT WAS LEAKING INTO THE CYLINDERS. AND THEY WOULD HAVE TO REBUILD THE BLOCK. SEEMS THEY WOULD REPLACE THE ENGINE SINCE THIS IS A CONTINUING PROBLEM FOR THE FORD ESCAPE SINCE 2013. TECH DID STATE THIS IS AN ON GOING PROBLEMS AND THEY GET SERVICE ALERTS ALL THE TIME.

My car at 49000 miles had a steering malfunction that when driving the steering wheel became too hard to turn, I took it to Ford schomp in Aurora to get that fixed and also get the recall attended, after a week they told me that the part was in backorder and that they don't have a date to get my car fixed, Since the part was not available I decided to pick up my car aince I was paying too much for a rental and I did not know for how long, so when I went to pick up my car they charged me for the diagnosis and the fee for restocking, even when they did not have the part available. I think that the steering failing in a middle of a trip is very dangerous for anybody, especially when the vehicle is a 2018 with less than 100000 miles,

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. 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 had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

Today for the second time the vehicle power steering failed at approx 40 mph. The service engine / Fault light then lighted. I pulled over and restarted the car (since this worked last time) and the power steering came back. After the first occurrence about 2 months ago we brought it to a dealer . Saybrook Ford Old Saybrook CT. They could not duplicate intermittant problem said it MAY need a steering GW-AR" but did retirieve at U300 repair code - they could not do a pinpoint test due to the stored code. Battery tested good. No repair done . Repair invoice available.

The contact owned a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train) and would like to be removed from the recall distribution list as she no longer owns the vehicle. The local dealer and manufacturer were not contacted.

Swollen and deformed lug nuts told to me by ford dealer. They need to be replaced.

On April 2022 my vehicle began to malfunction while I was driving. My car was in drive and when I hit the gas pedal it began moving backwards. Then, the vehicle would not move at all when it was in drive. I turned the car off, restarted, and was able to drive to a safe location. When I tried driving the vehicle again it was moving in reverse even though it was in park. I at that time called AAA and had my vehicle towed to a service center. During this time my safety was in danger as I was on the road and could have been in an accident with the way my car was malfunctioning. Before this problem occurred there were no warning lights, it just happened out of nowhere. I would later learn the engine needed repairs and I needed a new transmission.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. Additionally, there was a message that cylinder #2 had misfired. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and stated that the engine needed to be replaced due to coolant leaking into cylinder #2. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 42,000.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle and shifting into reverse(R), the transmission fault and another unknown warning light were illuminated. After the contact made the local dealer aware of the failure, the contact was informed that the VIN was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train); however, she stated that she had not received a recall notification. The vehicle was not yet diagnosed or repaired, and a service appointment was scheduled. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The contact was advised to file a complaint with the NHTSA Hotline. The approximate failure mileage was 78,500.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V4130000 (Power Train) 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 manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

Check engine light came on and went to get it diagnosed. Came back with code PO302 cylinder misfires. Took to Firestone who did a tune up, changed spark plugs and got told the coolant was low. Which was weird because I just filled it. Have never got an alert about any leaks or that the engine was running hot. I always check the fluids and only recently did i notice going thru coolant more. Started to smell something sweet in the car and on my way home today, the car over heated and I got one of those engine alert things. Started researching and here I am.

The engine in this vehicle experienced a loss of coolant into cylinder #3 in late August 2022. This led to white smoke from the exhaust, rough idle and a complete loss of coolant from the cooling system into the engine. This occurred during a trip to Canada and back. After returning from the trip, the check engine light came on. The vehicle was immediately brought to a Ford dealership (Salem Ford NH) where the PCM codes (P0303 and P0316) and engine inspection confirmed engine failure. The dealer confirmed the engine must be replaced.

My vehicle is under 80,000 miles. The check engine light came on and the car was not drivable. Fortunetely, I was in my driveway when the check engine light blinked and car did not run. If it was on the road, I would have been in danger. I immediately towed it to the business I have a warranty with. Bill Collins Ford has determined the engine has a cracked cylinder and coolant was leaking in. I now have to have the short block replaced costing near $7,000.

The check engine light came on and an engine fault error message come on when you start the car. took the car to my mechanic who couldn't find anything that would cause these. He started looking into issues and found Ford is fully aware there is an engine coolant leak into one of the cylinders, all escapes from 2013 to 2019 could be affected. The only way to fix this is to replace the small block (minimum $6000 repair according to ford)... possible for engine to catch fire according to the information I found). How is this not a recall, that Ford needs to be responsible for? They're aware of the issue and that it's not consumer caused.

Coolant leaking in to cylinder

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the vehicle would shake while the gear shifter was shifted into drive(D) or reverse(R). The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 96,617. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. 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 had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. An unknown local dealer was contacted. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the accelerator pedal was depressed and the vehicle started jerking and failed to respond. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact persistently depressed the accelerator pedal until the vehicle responded, however the failure reoccurred while driving and the vehicle was making abnormal sounds. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor 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 failure. The failure mileage was approximately 52,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

CEL came on and showed code P0302. I replaced the coil pack and spark plug, problem was fixed for a week and then the code came back on. Did research and realized when the car is on the coolant totally depletes and returns after the car is off, the coolant should not deplete like it did. This is a known issue with these vehicles that the coolant goes into the engine when it should not and causes problems with cylinder 2. This is a manufacturing defect and should have a recall so that Ford can fix their mistake. There are no recalls for this problem even though Ford has many customers with Escapes that are having this same exact problem and caused by no fault of our own. Ford will not fix it since it’s out of warranty so will need to pay out of pocket.

Some time the shifter dosent want to come out of park or go in gear. It happens both ways.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that there was a rodent’s nest underneath the hood. The dealer removed the rodent’s nest; however, the failure recurred and the vehicle was taken back to the dealer. The dealer determined there was a coolant leak in the engine and that the engine needed to be replaced. The dealer referred the contact to Dorian Ford (35900 Gratiot Ave, Clinton Twp, MI 48035) and scheduled an upcoming appointment for the service. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The manufacturer advised the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was 18,682.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. 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 had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the vehicle would vibrate while in park(P) or drive(D) without warning. The contact also stated that an abnormal thumping noise was coming from the vehicle while shifting gears, without warning. The dealer had been notified about the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer had been notified of the issue. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The failure mileage was unknown. VIN tool confirms parts not available.