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CarComplaints.com Notes: The top problem trend for the 2014 Escape is transmission failure at around 70k miles.

This is relatively low mileage for an expensive transmission failure ($4,500 average to fix), but unless the trend becomes more established, we are only awarding the 2014 Escape our "Beware of the Clunker" badge for now.

3.3

definitely annoying
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
40,941 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.

2014 Ford Escape engine problems

engine problem

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2014 Ford Escape Owner Comments (Page 2 of 2)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #17

Sep 182019

Escape

  • 1 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I'll be driving, the it will stop and throw up the oil light, battery light and the airbag light. I took it to the Ford dealership on 122nd St in portland, they said they couldn't find anything wrong because it wasn't throwing any codes. Now I'm sitting on the side of the road and the error code says engine fault service now. I've had regular maintenance on the car so not sure why this is happening. Cars/SUVS shouldn't just stop working while you're driving them.

- Portland, OR, USA

problem #16

Feb 062018

Escape

  • 35,000 miles
Transmission has a hard shift from time to time making it feel like the engine is just going to fall out. It does not happen during a specific occurrence but it seems as if the transmission is delayed going gear to gear wether it be from park to reverse to drive, or from gears 1-5

- San Diego, CA, USA

problem #15

Jan 232019

Escape

  • 113,000 miles
This car has had 13 recalls since manufactured for different mechanical and safety issues some even resulting in spontaneous eruption of fire to the engine bay. While replacing my battery the delearahip notified me of several recalls that required attention, so I had them replace each item that had been recalled, one of which was a sensor within the transmission. After I took the vehicle to have it replaced subsequently, maybe 6 months later I had driving issues while operating it on the expressway. The vehicle would go in and out of gear while driving and I could not control the speed of the vehicle. This occurred the entire drive home to the point where I had to drive with hazard lights on so that I would not get rear ended for having intermittent speed/driving issues. The car would literally over rev the the engine as if I was flooring the pedal when I wasn't even touch the gas at all. The sensor literally took control of the engine as if it was driving itself. I didn't drive it until the next morning then the next day, the only way to drive it was if I slowly transitioned speeds. I had to take the vehicle to have the same sensor replaced. After replacing the sensor it stills seems to need to be driven slower than when I first bought it or it might break again. This is a safety hazard. I'm afraid to drive the vehicle with my daughter in it due to the fact that I might have mechanical issues while driving again & be on the highway to have a high speed collision with a toddler would kill one or both of us. This model in particular has had more recalls than any car I've ever had or even heard of having. I have to continue making payments on it due to my negative equity yet it isn't reliable enough to get me to work everyday. Ford needs to replace this model for all owners.

- Jax, FL, USA

problem #14

Nov 152018

Escape

  • 45,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I purchased my 2014 Ford Escape in April 2017. I also purchased the Ford protect 75000 mile extended warranty. From time to time I would notice a hard shift or slip. I was getting close to my warranties end and brang the vechile in to the dealership from which it I had purchased it from. They said they updated the pcu (which after researching is Ford recommended fix). Couple weeks past and its still doing the same thing. Warranties over not my problem is what im told. Both from the dealership and Ford. I have a recall from Ford do to shifter cable bushings being faultly. Were your car could roll away due to being in the wrong gear. But the kicker is they have not yet provided a part and you can get it fixed and be reimbursed or always use your parking brake. Which im sure is great for hot rotors and breakpads. And this is not the only problem I have. My vechile now has quite a few issues. Which include stalling when backing up shifter stuck in park (finally when it does release slams into reverse) randomly draining battery because car is in power saving mode not starting because if hill assist mode? backup cam intermittently not working touchscreen displaynot working or black. All these problems seem to be common among 2014 Escape owners when reading online forums for both owners and mechanics. Yet Ford states that even with the recalled issue. No consumer complaints or injuries have been filed. I will be document every occurrence from this day forward.

- Howard City, MI, USA

problem #13

Sep 112018

Escape

  • 140,000 miles
A dozen times now when we start it up it run real ruff and will lurch, the rpms go up but not mph being gained. I have to pull over and turn it off and restart and it runs fine. We get a message that reads "engine fault service now". when we take it to the dealer they can't fine any errors on when they hook it up to their computer. This has happened multiple times within the last week and over the almost 4 years I've owned the car. I was driving it on a city street and had just backed out of my drive way, other times it's happened has been on city streets shortly after pulling forward, and those times I had not backed up at all prior to it doing it. This morning when it happened I almost had someone rear-end me because my car would not get above 5mph. I had driven about a block from my home before the error message came on and was forced to pull over. Thankfully I wasn't on the highway yet.

- Vermillion, SD, USA

problem #12

Dec 052016

Escape

  • 63,000 miles
Engine light keeps on and off with not a reason and when I bring the car for an oils change into the dealer they are saying that is not important and it is going off when the oil is changed. I also notice that the car is very short after the gently breakdown. The other issue is the unexpected acceleration itself, even if I do not use the accelerator pedal. This happens anywhere anyhow and when the vehicle is in motion.

- Dover Plains, NY, USA

problem #11

Dec 272017

Escape

  • 41,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Vehicle was being driven approximately 65 mph on a highway in moderate traffic at the time of the incident. Road conditions were dry, outside temperature was cold (<32 degrees F). Vehicle was being driven on a route that is often driven with this vehicle. Vehicle has approximately 40K miles with no known mechanical problems. Driver routinely uses cruise control almost every time the vehicle is driven. In this instance, driver attempted to engage cruise control and the control engaged for only 1 sec before automatically disengaging. Driver attempted this three more times to the same effect. At the same time as this cruise control malfunction, the driver was receiving a cellular call on an iphone 6, service with us cellular. Driver did not pick up the phone but continued to let it ring. The iphone was sitting in the drivers left front pants pocket. On the fourth attempt to engage the cruise control, it failed again but after another 2 seconds, immediately engaged without input from the driver. When the cruise control engaged, it engaged at 72 mph, causing sudden, unintended acceleration from approximately 67 mph to 72 mph. Driver disengaged cruise control and then continued to drive normally. At this time, the iphone also stopped ringing. Continued driving since that time - with no additional calls received on the iphone - have no had any further effects on the cruise control. Unknown cause for cruise control malfunction, but given that it is used frequently every time the car is driven for commuting without problems with the exception of this instance, driver suspects emi/interference.

- Rockville, MD, USA

problem #10

May 152017

Escape

  • miles
Instrument panel flickers and goes black. We are told this is the software update which is part of a recall. However, the recall does not cover this date of manufacture.

- Mint Hill, NC, USA

problem #9

Feb 152017

Escape

  • 35,000 miles
February 2017, vehicle in motion, 50 mph & suddenly alarm/engine light & temp gauge went crazy, vehicle stalls out from overheating in left lane of 2 ln hwy. Able to cruise to shoulder. Knew it was an issue w/ radiator or coolant from the smell & warning on dash. In close proximity of store where friend works so waited 45 min to cool& vehicle did start. Able to nurse it over to the parking lot that was 5min away, eng light stayed on. Time of incident was 8:00 pm viewing engine under better light, coolant was critically low.purchased coolant from store where refilled reservoir, waited until he was off work, 9:20 pm, so can follow me home in case I need more assistance. Arrive at my home without incident, engine light on. In following days, I monitor coolant for 2 weeks& figure its an isolated incident. Engine lt remains on for 7 days. After 3wks, need to top off coolant as it drops under fill line. I purchased this vehicle @19kmi & time of incident had 35K miles. Feeling it is a bit unusual to have these issues at such low mileage but im no expert, figured something that needs to be monitored reg as the temp gauge reads normal/no engine/warning light has been on since. I received in April-safety recall17S09/17V-209. I read that repair not available until late 2017& I will be notified by Ford when to sched.service appt for cooling sys.upgrade. Have not rcvd any further notice & have had to top off the coolant once again.letter states to "maintain proper coolant level to reduce risk of overheating that can lead to a fire" am I reducing risk only" not eliminating this risk" idid some research, leading me to this complaint. I'm financing this vehicle for $380/mth & very unhappy with this situation & am not sure of my options if there is no resolution yet. I do not want to break down in traffic again if there is a risk of repeating the initial incident, or worse.

- Lebanon, NJ, USA

problem #8

Nov 072015

Escape

  • 10,500 miles
I experienced on three occasions that this vehicle misfires, stumbles, shudders and almost shuts off under heavy acceleration while attempting to merge onto a highway.the last time this problem occurred I was forced to pull onto the breakdown lane and almost caused an accident due to highway traffic traveling at 70 mph and my inability to attain a suitable merging speed. I have further observed that this situation has only occurred and could be replicated during rain and high humidity. This problem is a definite safety hazard that needs to be addressed!

- Charlotte, NC, USA

problem #7

Jun 022014

Escape

  • 12,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. While driving at various speeds, the vehicle experienced unintended acceleration and surged forward. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who was unable to diagnose the cause of the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 12,000.

- Rhodell, WV, USA

problem #6

May 132015

Escape

  • 5,753 miles
"engine fault service now light" came on twice with "hill start assist not available" both times. After stopping at traffic light and stepping on gas pedal, car would not move and gave no indication it had stalled. All normal lights were on. I put car in "park" and restarted. This has happened twice on hills and has died on me four times.

- Cincinnati, OH, USA

problem #5

Apr 222015

Escape

  • 12,000 miles
I have issued a complaint about three and a half months ago. Again, my mother is still having acceleration problems with her car. On April 22nd, she stated that she was going up a hill, and the car suddenly started revving to 4000-5000rpm. At one point, she said she lightly went on the gas to see if the fuel would kick in and it revved up 500 RPM past the redline, and still no acceleration. One day, my mom is going to end up being rear-ended when this happens and I would not like that to happen. Ford absolutely needs to do something about this. I've scrolled through all complaints of this model year and I've seen that at least 50 people are experiencing these problems. Ford must fix this (that means issue recalls!!!)!!!!!

- Leola, PA, USA

problem #4

Mar 122014

Escape 4WD 4-cyl

  • 6,000 miles
While accelerating to pass a slower vehicle the engine started stumbling and went into some type of limp mode and lost power. I had to rapidly pull back into the slower lane to avoid having cars behind me rear-end me. I stopped the car, turned it off, and when I restarted the car the problem was gone. I took the vehicle to a Ford dealer but they stated there was no error codes stored in the ECU so they couldn't diagnose or fix the problem. Then a few months later it happened again just like before- I was passing a slower vehicle and suddenly the car went into a limp mode and I lost power and had to quickly pull back into the slow lane to avoid having cars from behind rear-end me. This time I had my wife use her phone to video the engine failure lights on the dash.again I had to stop my car, turn it off, and when I restarted the cars it was ok. And again I took it to a different Ford dealer, I showed them the video of the problem occurring, but again they couldn't find an error code so they said they could not fix the problem. My wife is afraid to take this car on trips because she is afraid the problem will happen again and she will be rear-ended. I did some internet research on this issue and there are numerous complaints from other drivers describing the exact same problem. The two Ford dealers we took the car never told us that this is a known problem and there have recalls for the older Escapes for the same issue. NHTSA can you help before someone gets hurt.

- Grass Valley, CA, USA

problem #3

Oct 252014

Escape

  • 150 miles
We leased a 2014 Escape in March of 2014. From the start it has a problem on acceleration, it will hesitate and almost stall when pulling out into traffic. The hesitation is sporadic as at times it is ok. We notice at low speeds around 20 30 mph when accelerating it bucks, will not take gas. At times it has become so frustrating I will stop the car and re start if traffic permits. This could be a very unsafe condition as we never know when it will do it. It does it usually when it is cold however it has done it after driving for hours, stop for 15 minutes and it does it then too. We have taken it to the dealership but it never happens then. This is constant and annoying [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Indlay, OH, USA

problem #2

Oct 182014

Escape 4-cyl

  • 9,500 miles
I was driving along with cruise control on at 73 mph, when I could no longer accelerate, my Escape just died with no warning lights, stall out or anything. Just as if someone turned it off. I had to coast to the side of the road. I waited a few minutes and tried to start it again with no luck. When I turned the key over, it seemed like it wanted to start but was not getting the gas to. I tried 3 more time and finally called Ford roadside assistance and had it towed to the nearest Ford dealership. I am waiting on a reply (with no loaner etc) the reason I buy new is for peace of mind. Not even, 10,000 miles on the car and it brakes? what gives. I have already taken it back to the dealer once (the day after I bought it) because it tries to stall when switching from reverse to drive, but the dealer made some excuse and said to watch and see if it continues. I am just glad that I was within cell phone signal range because I had just not been a few minutes before (scary).

- Borger, TX, USA

problem #1

Jul 272014

Escape

  • 5,595 miles
Travelling center lane on route 81, at 65 mph, car lost all throttle, felt like it came out of gear, while driving, and could not get into gear. Managed to get off to shoulder. Had a tractor trailer been behind me, there is no doubt they would've hit me. Apparently the dealership had 3 other Ford Escapes with the same problem in their shop. Another friend of mine just purchased her Ford Escape a couple of months ago, and she had the same problem. I feel this is a safety issue, as this happened while I was traveling at 65mph.

- Flemington, NJ, USA

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