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.
We replaced new battery and the wiper arms and motor act up and destroy the wiper arm and motor for 2nd time and now I have to order new one arms and motor and I think ford should recall that wiper motors and arms
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed in rainy weather, the front driver-??s and passenger side windshield wipers failed to operate as needed. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the wiper motor failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 104,500.
I was driving in the snow and the wipers had stopped completely. The passenger doesn-€™t move at all. The drive side goes up and stays completely up. As I-€™ve done research I-€™ve noticed a ton of 2013 escapes have wiper problems. I took it to the dealership. They arnt 100 percent sure what is wrong with it. They think it-€™s the wiper switch. I-€™m gonna take it to ford aswell tomorrow. No warnings, just started happening & seems to be a common issue with ford.
I have 2 issues 1.) my car is leaking coolant not sure from where. The leak is getting worse. I have coolant in my car, it was parked in the garage I made it a block from my house and my car shut down. Said it was overheating, don-€™t even know how it coul have been that hot. The car was not registering hot inside, also the temperature gauge not registering hot. I waited 1 1/2 hours came back and my car won-€™t go anywhere because I-€™m still getting the overheating message. 2.) my rear windshield wiper started making odd noises, then I kept finding my windshield wiper hanging straight down. It no longer wipes, but still makes noise. But it no longer works at all. A friend looked up this vehicle and saw there were common issues in complaints and told me to look to see if there were any recalls before I continued forward. But I don-€™t see anything pertaining to either issue.
Both of my windshield wipers completely stopped working. The cost would be over a grand to fix it. Seems like a common issue with this car. Beyond dangerous! My car has 74,000 miles on it.
- Philadelphia, PA, USA
Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...
Windshield wiper malfunction While granddaughter and children were driving in rain on freeway, wipers started malfunctioning by working out of synchronization then failing forcing her to pull into emergency lane and stopping. After restarting engine they started wiping for a short time than quit. It was extremely dangerous. Research showed me this was a re accuring problem with other people that has caused dangerous situations, expensive and sometimes unsuccessful solutions.
Both windshield wipers suddenly stopped working making it extremely unsafe to drive. Dealership said both motors are bad and need to be replaced. Automatic lights just started going on randomly in the daylight and the brake lights would be illuminated when not braking. Back windshield wiper suddenly does off when it's not turned on. In the last month I have spent more than half of what this car is worth on repair! what a lemon!
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. While driving various speeds, the front windshield wipers failed intermittently and without warning. The contact scheduled an appointment with link Ford and rv rice lake (2700 decker dr, rice lake, wi 54868) to have the vehicle diagnosed and repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 58,000.
My wipers have completely stopped working multiple times at this point even after replacing 2 modules meant to fix the problem. The wiper locator sensor keeps malfunctioning after starting the car.
Wiper motor malfunction. Wipers stop working randomly making it dangerous and difficult to drive. Wipers become unaligned and don't work in unison causing issues with the wipers performance and at times wipers stop working at all making it unsafe to use vehicle at all. Wipers stop working at any time during different vehicle operations. This is unsafe and should be addressed before this issue causes a fatal accident. This issue can be seen in many different Ford Escapes and have been a common issue for this vehicle by many different Ford owners. This matter must be addressed. The issue is now constant and my vehicle does not have working wipers. After much research performed on my part I have seen this as a common issue among Ford owners but with no solution.
Takata recall. The computer system has run irregularly since purchase. The vehicle stalls when being driven after the first 10 miles or so on city streets. Have to pull to the side of the road, turn key off, restart engine... may require several times before the vehicle can proceed.
Both windshield wipers don't always work at the same time. Very often one or the other will completely stop in the upright position. They have collided a few times and once the wiper blade flew off from being hit by the other wiper. There is no pattern to this problem. It happens in light rain, heavy rain, when the vehicle is moving or stopped. The wipers have stopped completely in heavy rain causing a very hazardous situation. Two nearby dealerships have told us that no code comes up and that even though the problem was witnessed in the parking lot by staff, it couldn't be replicated in the shop. Therefore, they could do nothing. We have been struggling with this for over 2 years now and the problem is just getting worse. Thankfully, we haven't had an accident yet, but this is a safety hazard. A recall would be appropriate.
Started vehicle and the wipers came on automatically and would not shut off (despite the wipers being in the off position). The car was stationary. Turned car off. Immediately turned car back on and the wipers would not work at all. Wipers will not work when raining and go from constantly working to not working at all for no reason. Very dangerous if it is raining, snowing, or any precipitation in the sky.
My wife was driving and the sunroof just exploded all over her and my daughter. She was in an area where nothing could have fallen on it. She said it sounded like a gunshot.
The driver's side wiper will randomly stick in the up position. This causes both wipers to stop working, making it difficult to see. It will eventually start working again. Sometimes on it's own, or sometimes I roll down the window and give it a push. This does not always work immediately, resulting in a hazardous situation. Then the same thing may happen again in a minute or two, or not at all that day. I don't seem to see any pattern in what makes it stop, highway or city, wipers on intermittent or not, in the rain, or once just trying to wash the windows by squirting the fluid. It seems completely random.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the windshield wipers malfunctioned. The dealer diagnosed that the failure was due to an electrical issue. The failure mileage was 60,700.
I was driving on an interstate and my back windshield made a popping sound as a baseball sized piece of glass fell out. Then it started making a crackling sound as the rest began to shatter and slowly fall out. There was nobody around to throw anything at it. It was very cold out, but the defroster was not on.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Colorado Springs, CO, USA