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:
10 / 6
Injuries / Deaths:
12 / 0
Average Mileage:
66,774 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.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. While the vehicle was in reverse, it failed to shift out of gear. The contact had to move the gear shifter back and forth to shift out of reverse and into park. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing because it could not be driven. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and did not assist. The approximate failure mileage was 120,000.
I have owned my 2013 Escape for approx. 4.5 years. I bought it with approx. 40K miles and it is now at 80K. For the last 6 to 9 months it has been acting as though it will stall, the rpms will drop, the car will shudder then recover most of the time. It has actually shut off twice, once in a parking space while idling and the other at a stop light while idling. The places the stall issue seems to occur the most is at stop light, idling in parking spaces, sitting in drive throughs, etc. It has bucked several times while driving but has managed to recover without losing too much speed or without shutting off. I have taken it to several mechanics and dealerships, no one can find the reason for the "stalling". yesterday, when coming out of work in flat parking lot, instead of stalling the vehicle jerked once when I put it into drive and then there was no power when I pushed the gas to drive forward. The vehicle inched forward but did nothing else. I then put it in reverse and the same thing occurred. I turned off the vehicle, let it sit for about 5 minutes, restarted it and drove it without issue to the dealership. The dealership called me today and said the transmission needs work. I have yet to find out what this "work" entails but from reading all the entries, recalls, and investigations this sounds like the same issues other people are having with their Escapes.
Cars transmission failed with only 33,000 miles on the car! I think there is an electrical problem with the car because the battery and the internal components failed at the same time! both times I was driving the car and moving forward when the car stalled out both times, the second time I had just left Ford with the vehicle and they said it was fixed when it stalled out again in forward motion, this time I had the car towed back to Ford and it's been sitting there since April 13th and today is May 1st and Ford has not responded back to me to resolve the issues with the car" I had the car towed to a transmission place on 4/30/2019 that is only charging me $3,100 for a rebuilt transmission with a 2 year 24,000 mile warranty and Ford wanted $7,400 to put a rebuilt transmission in the car? hmmmmm what would you do? customer service at Ford is sloooooow to say the least? it's bad enough I've got a car with only 33,000 miles on it and with an internal transmission issue and than Ford wants me to wait until when to respond back with a solution"
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. While driving various speeds, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was taken to golden circle Ford Lincoln, Inc. (1432 us-45 byp, jackson, tn 38305, (731) 554-3673) where the contact was informed that there were no active recalls on the vehicle and that a diagnostic test needed to be performed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 105,000.
- Elizabethton, TN, USA
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After pulling into a parking lot and putting my 2013 Ford Escape in park, the car continued to move forward. Prior to having this occuring, when I pulled into a parking spot with the car in drive position, when I put the car in reverse to backup, the car gave a hard jerk before the car actually moved backward. Since this has occurred, the car has a hard jerk before able to backup about every 3 times I put the car in reverse.
As I was driving down local roads my engine was making S sound as if a fan was running on high speed and I could feel the engine losing power. After about 2 miles a message appeared on the screen that said transmission failure. I pulled into a parking lot and had to have it towed. I had it towed to a local repair shop and was told it needed a new transmission.
I purchased the car with 60,000 miles I put 6,000 in 7 months and now my transmission is slipping. I was almost rear ended when it dropped out of nowhere. There are transmission recalls on similar Ford.
The contact owned a 2013 Ford Escape. Two minutes after the vehicle was parked in the driveway, the contact heard a loud crash. The contact went outside and noticed that the vehicle rolled down the driveway and crashed into a vehicle passing by. The contact was not in the vehicle at the time of the failure. The contact stated that the house was on a hill and the vehicle went into reverse independently. The air bags did not deploy. The occupant in the other vehicle was injured and received medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a tow yard and deemed totaled by the contact's insurance company. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and provided a case number. The failure mileage was unknown.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. While driving at low speeds, the vehicle sputtered and stalled. The contact had to turn off and restart the vehicle multiple times in order to drive. The contact stated that the same failure occurred while driving in reverse. The vehicle was taken to wall's Ford (2 merrill St, salisbury, MA 01952) where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 123,000. The VIN was unavailable.
Intermittent stalling of my 1.6 liter ecoboost engine. It happens every 3 to 4 days and only happens after you start the engine and drive about 100 feet. The engine will lose power and die. You start it back up and it will display loss of power and die again. Normally the 3rd time the engine starts and runs properly. It will then not have any issues for 3-4 days. It is dangerous because it will normally have this problem after gong to the store and when leaving you pull out of parking lot and it will stall merging into traffic. It has never done this while traveling at speed limit.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. While driving highway speeds, the transmission would randomly downshift, which caused the engine to rev and the speed to decelerate. An unknown dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not notified. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 70,000.
At 68,000 miles, the transmission went out on my Escape. I was at a stop light and tried to accelerate when the light turned green. Without 1st gear, the car wouldn't budge. I had to press the accelerator to the floor to go anywhere.
My 2013 Ford Escape sel 1.6L with ecoboost is having the same coolant issues as many similar models have been having. However, my car's VIN number was not included in the official recall so I have to foot the bill despite it clearly being the exact instance in which the recall was issued. For a clarification of the issue. The coolant is rapidly depleting despite no visible leaks or smells of it burning off, indicating that it's leaking into the engine (fire hazard as its a potential to ignite) caused in part by faulty hosing equipment. When the coolant levels get too low, the check engine light comes on and an immediate alert that the engine is overheating... even though the temperature remains unchanged. The car then begins to stall until the coolant levels are returned to normal.
The engine will stall while driving. It has been doing it after being off for 0-60 minutes. I won't be able to accelerate and then the car starts shaking and shuts down.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. While idling at a drive thru window at a restaurant, the vehicle jerked forward and almost crashed into the preceding vehicle. The contact attempted to drive off, but the vehicle stalled and the check engine indicator illuminated. The vehicle was towed to North hills automotive (1428 augusta St, greenville, SC 29605, (864) 233-9002) where it was diagnosed that new bushings needed to be installed along with a new transmission. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and did not assist. The failure mileage was 153,300.
I purchased my Escape with 50,000 miles on it, within a few months I had a low coolant alert- I was told at the dealership they did not replace the cap correctly after an oil change, they flushed the lines and couldn't find any leaks so the cap was replaced. I had a low coolant warning again and my coolant was replaced at home, and then another warning shortly after, again replaced, coolant clearly leaking from under car but no leaks could be identified. Then... driving on the highway at 70mph "transmission fault" warning- pulled over. Car was shifting normally, restarted and the warning was gone. Took to dealership and was told they pulled the code: "for tcc judder, which is because the torque converter is slipping under any load, and there is a hard shift between 2nd and 3rd gears." Was told I needed a transmission overhaul (car has 64,000 at this point.) brought the car home and in the driveway it started leaking transmission fluid. Opened a case with Ford and was told they "decline assistance" to help with repairs. Brought to 2nd shop for 2nd opinion and was told: Transmission fluid was completely burnt, transmission overheated at some point, this caused the cooling tank to crack explaining the disappearing coolant problem I had been having since buying the car, no explanation why the transmission would over heat. Car serviced at Ford regularly and was not heavily driven. I have had the car for 10 months at this point and will be paying thousands for a new transmission that failed with low mileage.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the vehicle's gear shifter failed to change into any gear. The contact had to maneuver the gear shifter to ensure that the gears properly changed over. In addition, the engine coolant indicator kept randomly flashing and coolant leaked from the vehicle. The coolant had to be constantly checked due to being low or nearly empty. The vehicle was taken to king Ford (9555 kings auto mall rd, cincinnati, oh 45249, 513-683-0220), but was not yet diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was excluded from NHTSA campaign number: 12V551000 (engine and engine cooling). The manufacturer was notified of the failures. The failure mileage was not available.
02/03/2019 I purchased the car 12/31/2018. These things occurred in the vehicle when it was stationary, taking off and excelling, in motion, on a city street and on a highway (interstate), driving straight, turning, braking, and on inclines and down hill. It also involves fuel/propulsion, engine, speed control, suspension, wheels. It started with the dash lighting up with no key in it. Then it started a hard idle almost shutting down the vehicle. Since I had it in last week, there is rattling, popping, grinding sounds with grabbing and pulling under the back of the car. Now it is the traction and intelligence control all wheel warnings and shutting down the control on its own. It stalls in traffic while the computer attempts corrections that fail to correct it. It has slid from one side of an off ramp to the other side, because the traction/all wheel intelligence could not get traction. I could not control the car. Grateful there was no one in the other lane. It is putting my life and everyone around me in serious danger of being killed. I have mentioned some of the issues prior to the last service on it and taken it to (purchased from) jarrett gordon Ford winter haven, fl and (work done at) jarrett scott Ford plant city, fl. I am told they can't diagnosis it unless it is doing this with them. I will be taking it back in tomorrow with all the new issues going on with it. It is seriously dangerous and getting progressively worse. I've already had the oil changed, transmission fluid drained and refilled, fuel induction, injector serviced (it did not help with fuel consumption), tune-up, plugs changed (did not help), coolant flush. This needs to be addressed before I die or any others die as a result of this vehicles issues. These liability issues belong to Ford company, not me. All this since I purchased it 12/31/2018 proof of contacting 6 + members of the dealerships.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Glen Burnie, MD, USA