I purchased this Escape with 38,000 miles on it 2 months ago. The first day I had it home, I was looking it over, checking fluids, etc. Noticed the coolant in the overflow was "a little" low relative to the "cold fill" line. I didn't think anything about it as I assumed that the factory fill may not be that accurate. So I added enough antifreeze to fill it back to the cold fill line and went about my day. 3,000 miles later, the vehicle started running warmer than usual on the temp gauge. A well controlled cooling system, being used primarily for highway driving, shouldn't really make the gauge move at all once it's up to temperature. As I got closer to work, the temperature gauge was running about 7/8 of the way to hot. It never overheated, but knowing that it shouldn't be doing that, I dropped it off at the local Ford dealership and hitched a ride to work. They called me later in the day to inform me that it was almost a gallon low on coolant and that a pressure test of the system showed no leak. As an engineer with years of experience in engine design and analysis, let me tell you something. Engines don't use coolant. Sure, a minute amount of weepage from the water pump seal can be considered normal, but it should never hit the ground. This engine had gone through a gallon of coolant in 3,000 miles. They topped it off, purged the system, and told me to keep an eye on it. I immediately checked the oil in the parking lot and noticed that it was overfull compared to when I checked it 3,000 miles ago. I brought this to the attention of the tech, where I was informed that the oil looked normal and that it had probably been over filled at the last oil change. I attempted to argue the point but go nowhere. Read up on coolant contamination effects on engine oil sometime, it's not a pretty thing. Running coolant in your oil is a great way to make your engine eat itself alive in a short amount of time.
I drive 60 miles/day for my normal commute. By the end of the following week, I had added coolant to the engine twice to top off the overflow bottle. It was going somewhere. After a long series of failed diagnostic attempts at the dealer (not their fault, the problems was not showing itself easily), an oil analysis showed coolant in the oil and high iron. Upon seeing this, they started to tear the engine down. Long story short, they found coolant in the intake, but could not determine where it was coming from. My theory was that it was condensation from boiling it out of the oil. With the mystery coolant leak to the oil, coupled with the high iron content reported in the oil analysis, they agreed to put a new engine in the vehicle.
3 weeks after my initial complaint, I got my Escape back. There is still a shift flare when the vehicle is cold, but that's being looked into. Honestly, I'm not sure how long I'll keep this vehicle. I'm normally the type to run a vehicle to 200k miles before I'm ready to buy again, but this one will probably be sold off before it's powertrain warranty expires. Between the engine replacement, and the current transmission shift problems, I have lost confidence in this vehicles ability to last for as long as I initially expected when I purchased it, and I cannot afford to pay for a new engine or transmission out of warranty.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
I purchased this Escape with 38,000 miles on it 2 months ago. The first day I had it home, I was looking it over, checking fluids, etc. Noticed the coolant in the overflow was "a little" low relative to the "cold fill" line. I didn't think anything about it as I assumed that the factory fill may not be that accurate. So I added enough antifreeze to fill it back to the cold fill line and went about my day. 3,000 miles later, the vehicle started running warmer than usual on the temp gauge. A well controlled cooling system, being used primarily for highway driving, shouldn't really make the gauge move at all once it's up to temperature. As I got closer to work, the temperature gauge was running about 7/8 of the way to hot. It never overheated, but knowing that it shouldn't be doing that, I dropped it off at the local Ford dealership and hitched a ride to work. They called me later in the day to inform me that it was almost a gallon low on coolant and that a pressure test of the system showed no leak. As an engineer with years of experience in engine design and analysis, let me tell you something. Engines don't use coolant. Sure, a minute amount of weepage from the water pump seal can be considered normal, but it should never hit the ground. This engine had gone through a gallon of coolant in 3,000 miles. They topped it off, purged the system, and told me to keep an eye on it. I immediately checked the oil in the parking lot and noticed that it was overfull compared to when I checked it 3,000 miles ago. I brought this to the attention of the tech, where I was informed that the oil looked normal and that it had probably been over filled at the last oil change. I attempted to argue the point but go nowhere. Read up on coolant contamination effects on engine oil sometime, it's not a pretty thing. Running coolant in your oil is a great way to make your engine eat itself alive in a short amount of time.
I drive 60 miles/day for my normal commute. By the end of the following week, I had added coolant to the engine twice to top off the overflow bottle. It was going somewhere. After a long series of failed diagnostic attempts at the dealer (not their fault, the problems was not showing itself easily), an oil analysis showed coolant in the oil and high iron. Upon seeing this, they started to tear the engine down. Long story short, they found coolant in the intake, but could not determine where it was coming from. My theory was that it was condensation from boiling it out of the oil. With the mystery coolant leak to the oil, coupled with the high iron content reported in the oil analysis, they agreed to put a new engine in the vehicle.
3 weeks after my initial complaint, I got my Escape back. There is still a shift flare when the vehicle is cold, but that's being looked into. Honestly, I'm not sure how long I'll keep this vehicle. I'm normally the type to run a vehicle to 200k miles before I'm ready to buy again, but this one will probably be sold off before it's powertrain warranty expires. Between the engine replacement, and the current transmission shift problems, I have lost confidence in this vehicles ability to last for as long as I initially expected when I purchased it, and I cannot afford to pay for a new engine or transmission out of warranty.
- krugford, Waverly, IA, US