CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2013 Ford Escape has been in the news quite a bit and for all the wrong reasons. Within a few months of its release the SUV was recalled three times, twice because of engine fires.
In July 2012, due to a fuel line that could split and leak, Ford told owners to park their cars because even driving to the dealership for repairs was deemed too dangerous. Instead, in a somewhat unprecedented move, Ford sent tow trucks to pick up the affected vehicles and handed out rental cars while the owners waited for repairs.
A few months later the Escape was recalled again because antifreeze could leak out onto the engine due to a freeze plug becoming dislodged. As the coolant hit the hot engine there was, once again, a threat for fire.
The 2013 is the first model year of the Escape's 3rd generation and proves once again that you want to avoid the first model year when at all possible.
3.7
definitely annoying
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
34,301 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
My windshield front windshield wipers stopped working. The back one works fine. I took it to the Ford company and they want $100.05 a hour for three hours just to tell me what is wrong. This price does not include any repairs. If it is electrical, isn't there a recall on this vehicle?
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. While driving various speeds, the windshield sensor failed to function. The failure recurred numerous times. In addition, while driving 60 mph and changing gears, the vehicle lost power and stalled. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the electronic sensor and transmission failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 14,000.
It was approximately Aug. 5, 2015. It was raining that evening, and the wiper quit working while my wife was driving our 2013 Ford Escape sel in a parking lot. We were unable to get it working and had to change vehicles until the rain stopped that night. We took it to a local Ford dealer. The wiper motor had already gone bad. The service department's employee indicated the car's european style wipers were more prone to failure. On this vehicle, the driver's side wiper rotates right to left and the passenger side wiper rotates left to right.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving approximately 50 mph in rainy weather, the windshield wipers became inoperative. The vehicle was maneuvered to the side of the roadway until the heavy rain subsided. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer on two different occasions and repaired each time. The replacement part was unknown. The manufacturer was not notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 21,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that she was stopped at a light when the engine RPM's started to increase and the vehicle erroneously accelerated into traffic before stalling. The vehicle was diagnosed at the dealer and the torque converter was replaced. The contact also stated that the windshield wipers would intermittently fail while being utilized in inclement weather. The vehicle was diagnosed at the dealer but the failure was unable to be duplicated. No repairs were performed to the wipers. The manufacturer was not contacted in reference to the defects. The failure mileage was 23,850.
- Burlington Flats, NY, USA
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Very disappointed by the design. Wheel well are extremely difficult to remove ice and slush they are too small and can't remove debris. Wipers in the front is not the greatest. Loses contact on windshield have a heard time seeing where I am going. Terrible wipers when purchased new wipers required. Engine having really odd noise and sluggish. I supposed they replaced the injectors. Had some torque but sounds like timing chain loose or lifters issue. Seats are not comfortable in the rear. Not enough cushion. Windows barely went up and down. Lots of give... too much replaced front window motors.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while traveling approximately 70 mph, the sunroof shattered. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where the failure could not be diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted about the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 12,000.
On titanium models, the HVAC vents have a chrome surround. This chrome surround causes a bad reflectivity problem with the outside rear view mirrors on days with strong sunlight, which makes it hard to use the exterior mirrors. Both the passenger and drivers side mirrors are affected. The correct solution would appear to be changing the chrome surround from chrome to matte black.
Last week I noticed when I was in park that I sprayed my widows and the wipers did not turn on. I had to lift the wipers and slap them against the window and then go back into the car and they worked fine. Thought it was just a fluke. Today driving to work I had another issue. When I initially started the car the wipers worked fine to clean off the rain drops and I shut them off. When I was on freeway I used the spritzer and the wipers did not start. I moved the switch to all setting and still nothing happened. I spritzed the water 2 more times and still nothing other than I was blinded by the water on the windshield. I had to pull on the shoulder and get out of the car and lift the wipers off the window. When I got back in the car they started up fine and again worked as they should. This was very dangerous this morning. I called service and they told me they would look at them.
The rain sensor does not operate properly when the wipers are used in the 'intermittent' setting. The operation of the wipers when using the intermittent feature are very unpredictable, regardless of the delay setting used. The wipers will often not activate allowing rain to accumulate on the windshield to the point of impairing visibility drastically. At other times the wipers will activate when rain water is not collecting on the windshield, such as when stopped under a highway overpass.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Monroe, LA, USA