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 / 60
Injuries / Deaths:
14 / 0
Average Mileage:
56,186 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.
Fire started in engine from oil leak in cylinder head on Saturday, 9/9/23 at approximately 1:15 pm. Car had been running for around 2 hours with no signs or indication of malfunction. Driver pulled car over after entering Mt. Rainier National Forest at a viewpoint. At this point driver noticed engine was smoking. NO lights or indicators on dashboard lit up notifying of overheating or malfunction. The temperature gauge did not indicate the engine was over heating. The safety of 4 passengers was at risk. Fire started with four passengers including the driver in the car. Vehicle was located in Mt. Rainier National Forest where passengers and driver had no cellphone service. This also occurred in a National Forest during the high risk season for forest fires/wildfires. Fire could have put lives of passengers at risk as well as those in nearby area, if car went ablaze in the forest. With no service, preventing the car fire from turning into a forest fire would be very difficult. This problem occurred AFTER TSB on this vehicle was completed for safety recall 17S09-S1 in April 2014 at Bellingham Ford. The crack in the cylinder caused by the recall was patched by Bellingham Ford by filling it with Copper silicone rather than removing the cylinder and replacing it. Repair shop (Mike's Shop - Buckley Washington) that inspected vehicle after incident on Sept. 9th 2023, found that copper silicone patch had split causing oil to leak into engine and catch fire. This inspection indicates that the initial repair done by Ford Manufacturer did not prevent leak from occurring and causing a fire to start in engine.
The contact's wife owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, there was significant amounts of smoke coming out of the exhaust pipe. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure mainly recurred after the vehicle had been sitting overnight. The dealer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The contact related the failure to TSB Number: SSM-49210. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 140,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the vehicle was leaking engine oil. The contact stated that after leaving the vehicle running for an extended period, there was smoke coming from the vehicle. The check engine warning light and engine overheating message was displayed. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where they diagnosed that the failure was with the cylinder block. The vehicle was then towed to a dealer and the contact was informed that the VIN was not under recall related to the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that the vehicle was not included in a recall. The failure mileage was approximately 86,136.
I purchased my vehicle may 6,2020 Accident accord in Winnie, Tx June 22,2020 on the highway me and my kids father were on the highway at the time the highway was getting construction work done as we were driving down the highway street someone hit us broke one of my ribs and my left elbow as well I didn-??t have any knowledge of knowing my vehicle had a recall until I just realize searching on my vehicle I purchased and the reason why it wasn-??t taken cared before I had family matters sorry so late Briana Roy
My coolant is disappearing daily. I-??m putting at least three containers a week in the engine is overheating. I took my vehicle in for service. They had it for five weeks and told me nothing was wrong with it and did all kinds of diagnostic testing. I found a recall 13S12 which pertains to the exact situation. However, when I put in my Vin number, this recall is not coming up I don-??t know if my vehicle was serviced for this. It states that the eighth digit of the Vin number will be a letter X, mine is a letter X potential outcome can be my engine, catching on fire and nobody will listen to me.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine compartment, and the vehicle lost motive power. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle seemed to return to normal functionality. The contact stated that the failure had become more frequent over the past two years. The contact stated that during the failure the check engine and low coolant warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined there was a crack in the engine block. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to Customer Satisfaction Program: 21N12 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 97,612.
December of 2022 - Took car to shop due to engine overheat light and oil smell inside vehicle as well as other "codes coming up. Vehicle was repaired. May 2023 had to take car back to shop due to cranking and it immediately saying engine overheating, low coolant, and various other codes as well as brakes not properly functioning. Repair shop said it was low on coolant and added fluid, stated no leaks and returned vehicle. But repair shop shows it pulled 15 codes, including loss of communication with ABS control module A as well as 3 other "lost communication with" codes and the engine overheating. The NEXT day we had the same issues and had to put it back in the shop. They flushed system and replaced motor because a bad head gasket caused oil to mix with the water (again). Got the vehicle back July 10th and the traction control and braking felt off as it had before in Dec 2022 but then was fine. Noticed on 7/11 that there appeared to be something in the fluid tank that shouldn't be there (like black chunks) and called the repair shop to see about scheduling another diagnostic. On 7/13 my son was driving from work and the engine suddenly stalled saying overheating when it wasn't showing overheating. Pulled over, started to crank it back up and it was fine. On 7/14 on his was to work, he pulled to the edge of the roadway to miss multiple deer in the road and was unable to steer the vehicle back onto the roadway. The traction control kicked in and he could not steer the car back onto the road, brakes did not work and ended up causing him to crash. I have driven the car a few times when traction control would kick in when it really shouldn't and it would not allow me to steer, accelerate, or really do anything until it shut back off.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, a message that the engine was overheating and would soon shut down was displayed. The vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The contact was able to pull over on the side of the road and checked under the hood and noticed that the coolant level was low. The contact added coolant, and the vehicle operated normally. The dealer was contacted and stated that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 13V583000 (Engine). The manufacturer was contacted but provided no additional assistance and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was 123,000.
While driving down the highway, I suddenly got an alert that my coolant was low, and then that my engine was overheating. My car started slowing down, and I got a warning message to safely stop as soon as possible. I was barely made able to make it off the highway - And I am very glad I was not in traffic or going faster when it happened. I towed the vehicle to a Ford dealer who told me that the water pump needs to be replaced. I checked online and saw that many other 2013 Ford escapes had this part recalled, but my vehicle is not part of this recall. I have kept good care of my car and the vehicle only has about 60,000 miles on it. It seems like this part is clearly defective and my vehicle should be included in this recall.
Coolant leaks into the engine of my 2013 Ford Escape. This trips the coolant warning light on the instrument panel, prompting me to refill the coolant reservoir. I travel with a container of coolant and have so far been able to avoid fire or engine failure. But coolant leaking into the engine is an obvious, ongoing safety issue. The problem has been occurring for at least two years. I've taken the vehicle to two mechanics, who both have run pressure tests on the coolant system, have ruled out hose failures or other external causes of coolant loss and diagnosed the problem as coolant leaking into the engine. One of them said it is due to an engine design defect. I filed a complaint with Ford on June 2, 2023. The Ford representative I spoke with said there are no recalls on the vehicle and company has made no comment on the complaint. The case number is 43147023. This is a known problem with Ford's 1.6L EcoBoost engine which powers this vehicle.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal burning engine oil odor present inside the cabin of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. After retrieving the vehicle, the failure persisted. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
This car constantly stops in mid traffic. I have taken it everywhere and they can-??t seem to find anything wrong. I-??ve call ford a hundred times and nothing.
Transmission gave out twice while driving, causing the car to stop in an unsafe area. (in 2022) Gasket issue again causing he car to overheat, driving, car felt like it was going to explode, had it towed and they now say car needs a new engine. I have spent 15,000 to fix this car in the last two years something is seriously wrong with the quality of this car. Ford needs to stand behind their vehicles better, their recalls need to be for all the cars built in this timeframe not just certain vins, it's apparent it is pertaining to my VIN number even though Ford is telling me it's not.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at 35 MPH, both a check engine light and a warning message instructing her to pull over immediately appeared on the instrument panel. The contact pulled into a parking lot as white smoke began to fill the engine cabin. The contact opened the hood and saw that a flame had ignited inside the engine. The occupants inside the vehicle exited as the police officers who happened to be on scene were able to suppress the fire with fire extinguishers. The fire department later arrived and managed to fully extinguished the fire. No injuries were reported and a police report was filed. The vehicle remained at the scene and had yet to be towed. The dealer nor the manufacturer had yet be notified of the failure. The contact stated that those same warning lights had flashed two months prior to the failure. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where an unknown hose had burst which led to the over heating failure. The contact was informed that the hose was replaced and that the failure was remedied. The vehicle had yet to be deemed a total loss. The failure mileage was approximately 92,000.
Just bought this car from a Ford dealership back in Nov 2022, in the past 3 weeks I've put in over $2000 in repairs and now it may need a new engine, there cracks running all through and leaks coming from oil pan and gasket. And turbo is bad...... Which is gonna cost over 5000 to fix.... I've been seeing a lot of complaints on the engine of this model. Ford won't help, telling me there's nothing they can do. Clearly this make has engine problems and needs to be recalled. As I speak my car is just sitting at the dealership cause I cant afford to pay for a new engine, and why so it will go out again"??? The repairs cost more than the car.I'm a single mother that relies on my car to get to work so I can support my family without my car I'm at risk of losing my job. Why isn't Ford taking this seriously" Car has been in the shop basically since April 5 2023 and still there
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Carnation, WA, USA