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:
9 / 61
Injuries / Deaths:
14 / 0
Average Mileage:
55,975 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.
Warning came on stating engine was overheating and to pull over safely. After sitting for 3 days, tried to start the car again, with the same warning. The vehicle should not have been overheated at this time. Could not drive vehicle with this warning. Had to have it towed home.
I have a 2013 Ford Escape 1.6 liter. Manufacture date is 02/2013. Apparently slightly earlier manufactured Escapes had a recall for a coolant leak. Ford is telling me this car is out of that manufacture date yet this car is nearly in mint condition except this one thing which seems a little ironic to me. It is leaking coolant significantly and I can't tell where from.
Our 2013 Ford Escape has developed a coolant leak and oil leak. The coolant leak is from the water pump and the oil leak is unknown at this time. I have seen that there have been issues with this model and Ford has recalled some but ours does not come up under that recall.
Vehicle started losing antifreeze no leak was found. Dealership couldn't diagnose the problem. Now the engine is gone. Leaked coolant to the engine Ford should take full responsibility for this issue. I was told by the dealership that they are aware of the issues but Ford doesn't want to take any responsibility
- Garland, TX, USA
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Have had to replace the fuel pressure sensor twice in a year. Bought car a year ago and have smelled burning since. Turbo was replaced due to internal oil leak. Now car over heats and have to add coolant weekly. Smoke comes up through hood on occasion. Took to dealership who said they couldn't find any leaks or tell me why I can smell burning and see smoke. Said coolant level sensor needs to be replaced (should be covered under recall but VIN wasn't flagged) but how is that going to fix adding coolant weekly? Ford has been aware of cooling systems since 2010 and has done nothing to fix it.
Car starts to sputter then just die while driving almost causing a rear end collision. This is now the 9th time this has happened in the last 6 months. Vehicle was in motion on a main roadway.
In januaryand February of 2019 I took my 2013 Ford Escape to sonora Ford in sonora, ca because it started stalling on me. It happened usually after starting the vehicle and driving 50 to 100 feet and then it would start to sputter and die. I got no lights on the dashboard no check engine light. It seems to do it every two or three stops. Sonora Ford checked it and said they would have to check it later they told me something was wrong in the manifold but they would have to terret down to find out. They said I what is missing a bolt in my manifold gasket. The manifold gasket was replaced but after one week it was still was stalling. I took it back a week later and the manager of the service department drove it home to his house while it was hooked up to some machineand found nothing wrong. They told me they did not know what was wrong with it. I took it home and after a few weeks the stalling seemed to stop on its own until November 2020 now it's stalling again. I went on the internet and looked up my car and found that there's been trouble for years with this car stalling but sonora Ford did not bother to tell me this. There has been several close calls as I pull into traffic and the car stalled but yesterday I had my two younger grandchildren in the car and it seem to be fine and I pulled out in traffic, after about 20 yards it stalled and the vehicle behind me had to slam on their brakes and swerve to avoid rear ending me. I am sending you this email on a Saturday. I have an appointment on Tuesday, the 8th of December for my 5000 mile oil change and I plan on telling the dealership that they need to do something about this. Can you give me any advice about what to do to have them help me.thank you
Engine fault - service now light has come on at least once/year. When this happens the car hesitates and rides rough. I contact the Ford dealership immediately to have them fix the problem. The Ford dealership has worked on the car but the problem still exists. The warranty has expired. This has been an ongoing problem. Should I be responsible for repairs?
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact was concerned about a possible coolant leak in the vehicle however, there was no physical evidence of a coolant leak. Upon investigation, the contact linked the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 12V431000 (engine and engine cooling). The contact's wife took the vehicle to southgate Lincoln, llc (16800 fort St, southgate, mi 48195) where the vehicle was inspected and coolant was added. The mechanic found no defects with the vehicle. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 82,000.
For the last 2 years our Escape will stall out while driving when the weather is cold but after the car has been in motion for more than 20 minutes, this has been terrifying with my child in the car we have almost been in several accidents due to the car just stalling out while driving in traffic, we have taken it to the dealer and other mechanics and nobody can figure it out we have repaired the turbo and catalytic converter among other various repairs that have cost us thousands of dollars and nothing has fixed this issue. This is a safety issue! I've almost been hit by a semi on the freeway because my car stalled out while driving it! it happened again today.
Frequently and usually right after I turn the car on, the ABS light will come on, the traction control light will come on, and then my car will stall. I can usually crawl into a parking space/off the side of the road. Occasionally the hill start assist light will come on and occasionally the 4WD disabled light will come on. The ABS and traction control have come on on the interstate and highways before, but they have only caused my car to stall (luckily) right after I turn it on and begin to move. The hill start assist will usually only come on if I come to a full stop while driving, whether I am on a hill or not. This happened once when we first got the car (4.5 years ago). It did not happen again until about 6 months ago. It now has started happening very frequently at multiple times a day for the past 2 weeks or so.
Starting in may of 2020 my Ford Escape started stalling while driving on the street as well as the expressway it hesitates it does not accelerate the moment you tap the accelerator the car starts to sputter and then completely stalls out and stops in the middle of wherever you are the street parking lot it doesn't matter it also has done this back-to-back multiple times occurring maybe four to six times in a row barely allowing me to make it from one destination to the other. The Escape also overheated replaced the coolant sensor replaced the fuel regulator and it still does the same exact thing. It just decreased the amount of times that it would do it in a row so now it does it to three times. It also stalls out and dies while it stoplights making left or right turn as you're approaching an intersection coming to a stop barely hitting the accelerator
My 2013 Ford Escape continues to lose engine coolant. I took my vehicle in to gary smith Ford of fort walton bch fl after researching and finding the vehicle had a recall 13S12. This recall was completed on my vehicle 23-July-14 by autonation Ford of jacksonville fl at the time of repair the vehicle had 42780. I'm not the original owner however the recall was suppose to be the remedy to fix the problem I'm now having. I'm being told I have coolant leaking into the #3 cylinder and will require a engine replacement. Not to mention a possible engine fire. I would like to know what Ford's fix for this is. I'm sure consumers would like to know that they only have limited amount of miles on their engines. My vehicle has a 140K miles and well maintained only to find out it no longer any good because of either a design flaw or just a poor product. I've gone from taking my car in to be serviced for what seemed to be something minor to needing a complete motor replacement and Ford Motor Co is aware of this problem. So at this time I have to monitor my coolant levels so my vehicle doesn't overheat and pray the vehicle doesn't catch fire. However if it does catch fire I guess that will just be a issue between me and my insurance company. I really don't understand how Ford Motor Co can be allowed to do this.
Low coolant followed by engine overheating message on dashboard. Wondering why this VIN is not part of the 12V431000 recall on other 2013 Ford Escapes with similar sounding problem.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while the vehicle was in the driveway visual leaks were shown on the driveway ground. The contact stated that the while in motion or idle rate, the fluid pressure regulator to low warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who informed the contact that the fluid pressure system unit needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure recurred 3 additional times. The contact stated that he replaced his oil several times. The contact mentioned NHTSA campaign number: 12V431000 (engine and engine cooling) as a possible solution to the failure however, the VIN was not included. Autonation Ford union city service center 4355 jonesboro road, union city, ga 30291 (770) 674-6075 was contacted however the contact did not get a chance to speak with anyone. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.
While attempting to accelerate the vehicle stalls then shuts down. Then while just driving it does the same. This happens while actively driving the car.
While driving the car has stalled several times. It also will leak coolant sometimes im able to see the puddle under the car parked but sometimes no puddle which means its leaking into the engine. The instrument cluster also will go haywire and shut down while driving the needles will fall to the bottom shoot to the top and it will have an engine warming and sometimes just shuts off all together even though the car is still mechanically on and running. There are several recalls that all cover these issues im having however my vehicle is not listed in the effected vehicles. These issues happen while driving in any capacity or parked. It has happened on the highway the freeway the side streets while parked while moving slowly. It has become an issue that im worried to deal with because I dont have the funds to fix the car but the car is so unsafe im afraid to drive it. I do have a video of the instrument panel messing up if its needed.
My SUV has suddenly loss acceleration when pulling out from a parking space, stop sign and out of a restaurant parking lot onto the highway. It will sputter like it's not getting gas and two times has completely cut off while still in drive. I have smashed the gas pedal to the floor to no avail nothing happened. The SUV didn't speed up nor start to even move fast. It would slowly jerk onto the road, and as I said twice has cut off another time it did finally get gas and go. I took it back to the dealership, but no codes showed up on the machine that anything was wrong with the SUV. There is definitely something wrong with it, besides me being nervous to pull out into traffic without getting hit because the SUV won't accelerate down the road. It has also cut off while sitting in my driveway idle. It does start to shimmer/shake like it's not idled high enough and then it just cuts off.
I have had my car for a few years now and bought used from a dealership scott Ford. My car had low miles and it was in my budget, plus good on gas and from what I was told farley safe. This car has given me so many problems since purchasing it and has left me out of hundreds of dollars. My latest issue is a huge one and I believe that there should be a recall on this car after doing my research as so many other people have sadly had to deal with the same issue. I pick my young children up from a carline at their school, and one day when I was there my car started to rev up slightly then it stalled on me completely. I was able to get it started the second time with slight hesitation on the engines part. Long story short my car stalled on me a total of 5 times. The third time I was able to drive away from car line and parked across 3 parking spaces as it stalled on me again. I popped my hood and my engine seemed to be extremely hot, then I sat there with my 2 young children, thankfully on a decently nice day outside for a half hour. I was able to start it again and went to leave to head home, and just as I was about to get into the turning lane it stalled right across on coming traffic. I had to roll my windo down and motion people to stop as I frantically tried to start my car again. After 2 tries I was able to start it and went into reverse and parked in the schools parking lot, since this incident my car has stalled a total of 11 times, and just again once this afternoon when I was leaving the grocery store reversing out of my parking spot. I feel this is extremely unfair because I am still like so many people making payments on this vehicle. I shouldn't have to worry about my children's safety and others because my vehicle is a pos. I am very upset by this I paid good money for this vehicle and all the dealership will do is charge me outrageously and not care
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Franklin, ME, USA