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.
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
3 / 0
Average Mileage:
46,761 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.
Took car in for oil change. Dealer advised that left rear brake pad was worn to 1mm and that rotors needed replacing. Brakes, especially, rears, should not need replacing at 25,000 miles and it was only the left that was worn. Dealer indicated that it appeared the brakes had seized, causing the excessive early wear.
99% of the time I put my foot from the gas to the brake, my foot ends up under the brake pedal on the undercorner before I make a quick adjustment to get my foot on top of the brake where it belongs. This happens everyday since I got the vehicle. You can actually see where there is a worn spot under the brake pedal and on the very most right side of it. I curse it every single time, every single day. One of these days I can see it coming. I would say that this has been a problem since the vehicle was built.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at 25 mph, the engine stalled and the engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to a dealer, who replaced the tire wiring for the map return signal and the tcbp return. The contact stated that five months after the repairs the failure recurred. The contact stated that while driving 40 mph, the engine warning light illuminated and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was towed and was diagnosed that the fuel pump control module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 14,383. Updated 09/30/14 updated 02/27/2015
Foot slips off brake pedal..accelerator pedal and brake pedal are to close together.brake pedal needs to be wider to accommodate larger shoe sizes, mine are size 13.. in rainy conditions foot slides off brake pedal frequently. Bad design from Ford...hope I don`T have an accident before this condition is corrected.
- Saint Louis, MO, USA
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The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the vehicle rolled backward after being stopped on an incline. The contact mentioned that both the accelerator and brake pedal needed to depress in order to ensure that the vehicle would not roll backwards. No warning lights illuminated on the instrument panel. The failure recurred on a regular basis. The manufacturer was not contacted. There was no diagnostic test completed on the vehicle. The failure mileage was 12,000 and the current mileage was 15,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving 50 mph and applying the brakes, the brakes failed. The contact crashed into a concrete lane divider and went airborne. The vehicle crossed over four lanes of traffic before coasting to a stop. The contact sustained a fractured lumbar spine and injuries to the left elbow. The front passenger suffered a head injury, fractures to the lumbar and thoracic spine areas. The contact stated that the front passenger's side seat also failed upon impact. Both of the injured occupants were transported to the hospital from the crash site. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was neither diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 11,000.
The gas and brake pedal are so close together that when you push on the brake, you could also be pushing on the gas pedal if you have normal sized feet. This causes the engine to race and you step on the brake harder which pushes down the gas pedal more and causes the engine to race more. This has happened to me twice in the last month.
While stopped at a stoplight, with the car in drive and my foot on the brake the engine revs up and the car lurches forward and crashes into the car in front of me. This happened last week at a drive thru and I was fortunate that no one was in front of me.
While depressing the brake pedal in order to bring the vehicle to a full stop at a stop sign in a residential neighborhood, the engine raced and the vehicle lurched forward beyond the stop sign. I, the driver, was required to quickly place the vehicle into neutral gear as the acceleration of the engine and the fully depressed brake pedal seemed to be fighting against each other.
2013 Ford Escape situation is that when I transfer my foot from the accelerator to the brake pedal, besides lightly braking the vehicle experiences a surge in acceleration... causing unexpected acceleration when the driver would expect the vehicle to be braking. There are 1 or 2 problems: 1) the brake pedal is too close to the accelerator pedal [more so for a male driver with a wider foot than a female driver]. 2) the brake pedal has too much movement while the driver is trying to brake, in that pressure on the brake pedal pushes the pedal to and past the accelerator petal; in that if the foot is not exactly on the brake pedal, the accelerator pushes down and causes a power surge, when the driver is expecting the vehicle to be braking. The problem is the design and function of the brake pedal. The brake petal has such a long travel, that when a person's foot is not 100% on the brake that the foot also presses on the accelerator pedal, causing the vehicle to surge forward unexpectedly, instead of stopping. This is most likely to happen with a man's foot, being wider than a female's foot. I have experienced this on various occasions; all of which caused an extremely traumatic situation(s): 1) traveling on the freeway, when traffic backs up or another vehicle changes into my driving lane - in either condition, where forced to brake 'unexpectedly', the vehicle surges forward. 2) when braking at an intersection, taking the foot from the accelerator to the brake, initially the car slows down, but when the brake is pressed to stop the car, the car accelerates unexpectedly, I.e, a pedestrian is crossing the street in an intersection and the vehicle accelerates unexpectedly and possibly injuring the pedestrian.
2013 Ford Escape situation is that when I transfer my foot from the accelerator to the brake pedal, besides lightly braking the vehicle experiences a surge in acceleration... causing unexpected acceleration when the driver would expect the vehicle to be braking. There are 1 or 2 problems: 1) the brake pedal is too close to the accelerator pedal [more so for a male driver with a wider foot than a female driver]. 2) the brake pedal has too much movement while the driver is trying to brake, in that pressure on the brake pedal pushes the pedal to and past the accelerator petal; in that if the foot is not exactly on the brake pedal, the accelerator pushes down and causes a power surge, when the driver is expecting the vehicle to be braking. The problem is the design and function of the brake pedal. The brake petal has such a long travel, that when a person's foot is not 100% on the brake that the foot also presses on the accelerator pedal, causing the vehicle to surge forward unexpectedly, instead of stopping. This is most likely to happen with a man's foot, being wider than a female's foot. I have experienced this on various occasions; all of which caused an extremely traumatic situation(s): 1) traveling on the freeway, when traffic backs up or another vehicle changes into my driving lane - in either condition, where forced to brake 'unexpectedly', the vehicle surges forward. 2) when braking at an intersection, taking the foot from the accelerator to the brake, initially the car slows down, but when the brake is pressed to stop the car, the car accelerates unexpectedly, I.e, a pedestrian is crossing the street in an intersection and the vehicle accelerates unexpectedly and possibly injuring the pedestrian. The Ford dealer said that they cannot fix a "design flaw".
2013 Ford Escape recall NHTSA campaign id no. 12V319000. This is a serious problem. I cannot drive the car safely without removing my right shoe. The pedals are too close together. I really don't see how streaming the carpet to the left of the gas pedal is going to make any differences. I have to kiddy-corner my foot over to the gas pedal as it is now.
The gas pedal is too close to the brake. When I wear big shoes, the back left side edge of my shoe catches the back side of the brake when I lift it off the gas. Serious problem that should be corrected.
The accelerator and brake pedal are very, very close - dangerously close. The vehicles need to be recalled to have this design and manufacture flaw corrected. Otherwise, there will be multiple accidents due to this design/placement flaw.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Dexter, MI, USA