2017 Ford Escape

2,690 complaints on file, page 1 of 135.

1. Filed Oct 1, 2026Failure Aug 6, 2026Chambersburg, PAEngine

   On [XXX], I was driving the 2017 Ford Escape and while attempting to merge onto [XXX] at Greencastle, PA, the vehicle started to lose power and I couldn't accelerate to the speed of other traffic. I was almost hit on the left side by a tractor/trailer and the car behind me almost rear ended my car. While being at an almost stand-stii in the right lane of [XXX], traffic had to swerve to the left lane to avoid me. With much difficulty, I was able to get the car to the side of the road, where it totally shut off & wouldn't restart for almost 40 minutes. After having the car evaluated, it was determined that coolant was leaking onto the cylinders. I had been losing coolant & experiencing other issues w the car that I didn't attribute to an engine problem. At this time I dicovered that Coolant Intrusion is a globally known manufacturing defect with the 2017 Ford Escape. While Ford Motor Company has acknowledged this problem & put out several bulletins & such, they have not effected a RECALL. If I had known this was a problem, I would hv never bought this car. On 09/29/2026, the car was evaluated by Keystone Ford & an official diagnosis of Coolant Intrusion was made. I was presented with an invoice for almost $14,000 to replace the engine, which is absurd. I am currenty without a working car for which I still owe $4900. And while the dealer offered to get me into another car, they refuse to help with the negative equity. I also contacted Ford Motor Company on 09/30 & they said they cannot help. Many other Ford owners also hv this same issue & a CLASS ACTION was approved 06/22/2026. In addition to much inconvenience & financial peril for myself and others, this car is a huge SAFETY HAZARD. Ford should have issued a RECALL, but have not done so as of writing. In the meanwhile, many of these DANGEROUS cars remain on the road. PLEASE HELP! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

   NHTSA complaint 11768265
2. Filed Sep 28, 2026Failure Jul 1, 2026Basehor, KSEngine

   Has a issue with the coolant intrusion and the car loses coolant and has white smoke on start up and when it overnight

   NHTSA complaint 11767368
3. Filed Sep 27, 2026Failure May 1, 2026Evansville, INEngine

   I have a 17 escape with a 1.5l engine. Few years ago I had engine block replaced. The engine block that was installed in my engine has the coolant intrusion issue. This is the second motor put inside my vehicle due to this issue. (Last motor was due to neglect from previous owner aka my ex wife)

   NHTSA complaint 11767242
4. Filed Sep 26, 2026Failure Apr 27, 2025Guntersville, ALEngine

   With just over 115,000 miles, and overall our 2017 Ford Escape being in excellent shape and well taken care of, the check engine light came on and all of a sudden on the interstate the car stopped running. We ahead to pull to the side and have it towed as whatever we did would not get the car to start. The issue turns to be with coolant leaking into the cylinders and per the mechanic the only solution is to have the engine replaced. This appears to be a known issue with this car, yet there is no recall or ownership by Ford.

   NHTSA complaint 11767154
5. Filed Sep 26, 2026Failure Sep 11, 2026Charlotte, NCEngine

   The engine light on my 2017 Ford Escape EcoBoost 2.0L has come on a couple times in the last few months. My trusted mechanic has diagnosed the following codes: P0301 and P0316 - which indicates cylinder misfire and misfire detected on start up. There is an active TSB 22-2226 (Coolant intrusion into Spark Plug/Cylinder Bore) that matches up with those codes. This is my daughter’s primary vehicle and we are not comfortable with her continuing to drive it for fear of total engine lockup. I took it into my local dealership to have them do their own diagnosis and to contact Ford corporate to determine the appropriate path to resolution. Current mileage is approximately 72,700 miles.

   NHTSA complaint 11767130
6. Filed Sep 24, 2026Failure Sep 16, 2026216,000 milesMontross, VAPower train

   The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while exiting the vehicle, the vehicle started rolling backwards while shifted to park(P). The contact referenced NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train); however, the recall repair was previously performed in 2024. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer to be diagnosed, and the contact was informed that the transmission shifter cable bushing was missing. The shifter cable and bushing were replaced with similar parts and the vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was 216,000.

   NHTSA complaint 11766714
7. Filed Sep 23, 2026Failure Aug 25, 2026Dundas, ILEngine

   The coolant has been leaking into the cylinders the symptoms were violent shaking, low coolant, white smoke, misfires, and engine light and warning on. My safety and others safety were put at risk because if the motor is not replaced it can become a fire hazard and it could break down on the road endangering mine and others lives. The problem was diagnosed by a ford dealership and cost me $201 to just diagnose where they quoted me $14,000 to replace. It was inspected by the manufacturer (dealership). About 3 weeks ago there was an “Engine Fault Service Now” code on the screen then a couple days later the engine light came on and it was either constant or blinking.

   NHTSA complaint 11766494
8. Filed Sep 22, 2026Failure Sep 8, 202670,293 milesBaltimore, MDEngine and engine cooling

   The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving 25 MPH, a high alert warning light illuminated. The contact pulled over to the right side of the road, turned off the vehicle, and waited for fifteen minutes before restarting the vehicle. However, the failure persisted. An independent mechanic was contacted. The vehicle was taken to the independent mechanic and was diagnosed with cylinder #2 failure. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The failure mileage was 70,293.

   NHTSA complaint 11766207
9. Filed Sep 21, 2026Failure Sep 7, 2026Many, LAEngine

   My 2017 Ford Escape starting having issues about a year ago and was losing coolant and then car would read hot. It’s an Ecoboost motor and coolant is leaking into the motor and damaging it. The motor needs replacing and ford knew about this issue but refuses to repair it. I have repaired car 5 times or so trying to fix this but keeps getting worse and now destroyed the engine. It is a known flaw by ford repair and many people but I was not told anything when I bought the car.

   NHTSA complaint 11765935
10. Filed Sep 21, 2026Failure Sep 4, 2026Binghamton, NYEngine

    Vehicle Information: Year/Make/Model: 2017 Ford Escape Titanium Engine: 2.0L EcoBoost 4-Cylinder Drivetrain: All-Wheel Drive (AWD) Current Mileage: Approximately 118,000 miles Description of the Safety Problem: The vehicle experienced a sudden and severe loss of engine coolant with no external leaks visible on the ground. Diagnostic inspection revealed that engine coolant is intruding internally into the engine cylinders due to a known structural defect in the Ford 2.0L EcoBoost engine block/head gasket design.Prior to diagnosing the failure, the vehicle exhibited rough idling, misfires, and white smoke from the exhaust due to coolant burning in the combustion chambers. Unrelated components, including the ignition coils, were previously replaced in an attempt to correct the misfires before the internal coolant intrusion was identified as the root cause.This defect poses an immediate safety hazard. The internal coolant loss causes the engine to overheat rapidly and threatens to force the vehicle into an abrupt emergency "limp mode" or cause complete, sudden engine failure while driving at highway speeds. This creates a severe risk of a rear-end collision or stranding the vehicle in active traffic without warning. Ford has failed to issue a recall for this systemic powertrain defect, leaving consumers to operate unsafe vehicles or face catastrophic out-of-pocket engine replacement costs.

    NHTSA complaint 11765862
11. Filed Sep 21, 2026Failure Sep 4, 2026Binghamton, NYEngine

    It is common knowledge that my particular vehicle has a known engine defect - coolant intrusion - that in effect renders the engine inoperable eventually in models from 2013-19. Mine is a 2017. It was sold to me without anyone referencing the known engine issue. Over the last couple of years, my family was nearly stranded when the car suddenly began to experience shuddering, very rough driving, coolant disappearing and having to be replenished, and the engine coils misfiring and having to be replaced. Now, the engine has failed and is in need of more than $4,000 in repairs. While Ford did not issue a recall, it did alert its dealerships to the known manufacturing defect. As a consumer, I was NOT told of this problem during the sale.

    NHTSA complaint 11765853
12. Filed Sep 19, 2026Failure Sep 11, 2024Dewey, AZEngine

    well known problem with ford 2,0 Eco boost engines. mine is 2017 escape 2.0 Eco boost. radiator loosing fluid, pep boys checked it and said it was a cracked head gasket and would cost about 5,000.00 to fix.looked up info about this engine and found it is a well known problem and Ford will not fix it.said to call NHTSA and report it and hope you have Ford do a recall to replace engine.

    NHTSA complaint 11765473
13. Filed Sep 16, 2026Failure Sep 16, 2026Seven Lakes, NCElectrical system

    The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. While driving at an undisclosed speed, the "Service Engine Soon" warning light illuminated on the instrument cluster. On a separate occasion, the vehicle shut off unexpectedly while driving but was able to be restarted. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer for a diagnostic test associated with the warning light; however, the technicians only replaced external sensors. The warning light remained illuminated. The manufacturer was notified of the issue and referred the contact to the dealer for assistance.

    NHTSA complaint 11764765
14. Filed Sep 15, 2026Failure Sep 15, 2026East chicago, INUnknown or other

    My vehicle has been giving me warning messages at complete stop at red light, stop sign or even park. Engine turns off and the message pop ups as auto startstop manual restart required put on p shift position restart engine manually. Im scared this will happen while driving. Vehicle completes shuts off in the middle.of intersection.

    NHTSA complaint 11764557
15. Filed Sep 15, 2026Failure Sep 15, 2026Jackson, MSEngine

    Engine problem. Blown head gasket. Common problem among 2017 Ford Escape models.

    NHTSA complaint 11764524
16. Filed Sep 14, 2026Failure Aug 7, 2026Yadkinville, NCEngine

    My car has experienced Catastrophic Engine Failure. There is a coolant intrusion into the cylinders and now the car is inoperable. It runs for 2 minutes before shutting the engine off.

    NHTSA complaint 11764179
17. Filed Sep 11, 2026Failure Sep 7, 2026Rockford, ILEngine, Fuel/propulsion system

    A coolant intrusion caused the head gasket to fail

    NHTSA complaint 11763712
18. Filed Sep 11, 2026Failure Sep 11, 2026105,000 milesCollierville, TNInstrument cluster/panel, Engine and engine cooling

    The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while the vehicle was at the service center for an instrument panel failure, a diagnostic test was performed on the engine. The contact was informed that in addition to the instrument panel failure, there was coolant inside the cylinders, and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The failure mileage was 105,000.

    NHTSA complaint 11763703
19. Filed Sep 8, 2026Failure Sep 4, 2026Aurora, COEngine

    Coolant leaks internally into the engine cylinders. This is resulting in needing a full engine replacement for $15,000. It has been confirmed by the dealership. The check engine light came on.

    NHTSA complaint 11762866
20. Filed Sep 8, 2026Failure Jul 3, 2026Ranson, WVEngine

    Head gasket and coolant intrusion issue, requiring complete replacement of engine costing over $7,000.00

    NHTSA complaint 11762760