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.
3.2
definitely annoying
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
43,000 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 bushing for the internal shifter does not stay in place and the car can then not change gears. It has been a recall on -€œvin specific-€ cars. How can a recall be vin specific when all 2013-2014 Ford Escape vehicle are having the same issue. My vehicle did not have a protective cap on top of the bushing to prevent it from coming off which is what the recall is for.
Transmission linkage bushing crumbled apart and the vehicle rolled out into parking lot isle as I was in the store. The car showed it was in park but was actually stuck in gear. This part was recalled in 2018 but my vehicles Vin was not part of recall.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that after shifting to the park position with the engine running, the vehicle suddenly began to roll backward. The driver was able to stop the vehicle by using the parking brake. The vehicle was then unable to be restarted and was towed to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the transmission shifter cable bushing had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, and the failure was remedied. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The contact was informed that the vehicle was not included in the NHTSA Campaign Number 18V471000 (Power Train). The contact indicated that the vehicle had experienced the same failure listed in the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 186,000.
When parking, transmission failed to go into park. After engine was turned off and my foot removed from brake, the car unexpectedly rolled forward downhill into the curb. The shifter cable bushing had disconnected from the transmission, so the vehicle failed to go into Park even though the shifter in the cabin showed to be in Park. This has been confirmed by the Ford dealership that repaired it. There was no prior warning. Luckily, I parked facing a curb rather than another vehicle or roadway, so I didn-€™t hit anything other than a bush at the curb. However, the vehicle did have to be towed into the dealership for repair. Ford has recalled other 2013-2014 Escapes for this EXACT issue, but my 2013 Escape is not covered by the current recall.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that after shifting the vehicle to PARK, the vehicle continued to roll away as if the vehicle was in neutral. The day after the contact discovered that the battery power had drained because the gear shifter was not in the park position. The cause of the failure was not determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The contact was informed that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V471000 (Power Train). The contact indicated that the vehicle had experienced the same failure listed in the recall. The failure mileage was 115,000.
- Alviso, CA, USA
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The vehicle will not shift gears. Luckily it is in my garage and I was not out driving when this happened. It appears to be in park, but it is actually in natural and I cannot shift it. In doing some research, I found that a the gear shift bushing is defective. In doing further research, I found that Ford does have a recall on this car for the EXACT reason (18S20) issues July 18, 2018 for 2013 Ford Escapes manufactured from May 15-Sept 15, 2013 in the Louisville plant. I contacted Ford and my car was manufactured on May 13, so it is not covered. This is extremely dangerous. Had I not done research online I was not aware that my car was not in park and all I had to do was simply push it forwards or backwards-with ease-to get it to roll. I have choked the tires to prevent this. But Ford refuses to fix it and I cannot locate a very simple replacement part that costs about $20 and 2 minutes to fix. Rather, I will have to spend $500+ towing to have an entire new cable installed. This is EXTREMELY dangerous and defective. Forth-eight hours or less for this not to be include in the recall is more than concerning and this recall must be updated to include more cars. I found several people online having the exact same issue...while driving and loosing control. Thank you.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Tuucson, AZ, USA