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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.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
4 / 21
Injuries / Deaths:
5 / 2
Average Mileage:
43,560 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 miscellaneous problems

miscellaneous problem

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2014 Ford Escape Owner Comments (Page 1 of 11)

problem #206

Oct 222023

Escape

  • miles

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

As I was driving down the highway my dash started blinking my car shut off and I saw smoke coming from under the hood. I lift the hood and under the hood is completely covered in fire. Another vehicle behind me while driving stopped and told me he seen fire under the car as I was driving.

- Marshall , IL, USA

problem #205

Sep 292023

Escape

  • miles
1) Steering went out without having issues prior. It reads "steering assist fault service required" on the dash 2) Lost all steering capabilities without warning. The car did not lose all power, it was still running and driving just zero steering. I drive daily with my children in the vehicle most of the time. This time, thankfully, I was alone and not in traffic to harm other drivers. Steering does not work at all, it's not just hard to turn, there's no movement in the wheel no matter how hard you try. 3) It has been checked out by our mechanic and he states "the code reader brings up nothing, no loose wires, tried resetting the battery, it doesn't have power steering fluid that could even be low, but there are cars recalled 2011-2013 with the exact same issue but this is a 2014" 4) It has not been checked by the dealer or manufacturer yet. 5) There were zero warnings. After the incident, a light came on the dash reading "steering assist fault service required"

- Buckeye Lake, OH, USA

problem #204

Sep 262023

Escape

  • miles
My car the power steering/steering rack failed while driving the vehicle. At first it gave me a slight warning that the power assist had a fault then it warned steering failure, brake safely. At which time the steering was completely gone. My son and I were in the car driving while this happened and luckily were able to get to the side of the road. I had it towed to the nearest ford dealership to see what the problem was. They called to tell me the entire steering rack had to be replaced for a total of $3,396, when I only owe $4700 on the car as well.

- Nazareth, PA, USA

problem #203

Aug 262023

Escape

  • miles

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

The steering wheels started to get hard. The car warned me to stop safely. It was to hard that I couldn't do much to turn the steering wheels.

- Toa Alta, PR, USA

problem #202

Aug 062023

Escape

  • miles
In the early morning of August 6, 2023, I was driving on the interstate and began to notice that my SUV was failing to accelerate when I attempted to go at the minimum speed of 70 MPH. The SUV started to decrease in speed and acted like the engine was beginning to stall. Knowing that this was beginning to be a dangerous situation I pulled off to the side of the road and called for roadside assistance. should be noted that I did hear a hissing sound on the driver side when I pulled out of my driveway but thought nothing of it as I had my tires rotated on July 31, 2023.* Thinking that it might be my transmission, I had my car towed to my home and had it towed to Carfix on Monday, August 7, 2023. Attached is what Carfix told me. While I would like to be reimbursed by Ford after purchasing a 2nd Ford (other a 1995 Mustang, I newly purchased) vehicle where I have had to replace the transmission, I would like to bring to the attention of NHTSA that this seems to be an ongoing issue with Ford vehicles. I contacted Ford and due to no unrepaired recalls for the SUV, they suggested I reach out to NHTSA. Also, I have a Ford Case No. I live in a rural area and this would have been devastating to me if I did not have the money to pay for a re-built transmission and I am hoping that it will last at least 2 years.

- Silver Point, TN, USA

problem #201

Aug 212023

Escape

  • miles
I bought this vehicle exactly 1 year ago back in June from The BMW dealership in Arlington, Texas Under the assumption that there was nothing wrong with it Mechanically. The dealership Lied to me because not even a week later. I had to take it to a Firestone to see what was wrong with it. And they said that there was coolant loss, They did do a pressure track and said at the time it was not the gasket period I have taken it to other mechanics since then trying to fix what they said the issue was but there has been a loss of coolant in that vehicle and we don't know where it's going period period I don't know what to do because there was a recall on it. From what I searched on the internet long ago? But it is no longer available. And that's unfortunate for me. Because I believe that the recall that they had back in 2017 I believe that's the issue that is currently wrong with the vehicle the recall code was 17s09. I don't know what else to do because I'm at a loss. I spent eight thousand dollars on a vehicle that I cannot even enjoy Because it has been in the shop more times than I have driven

- Fort Worth, TX, USA

problem #200

Jul 012023

Escape

  • 124,547 miles

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

The shift cable bushing and other parts around is bad. Ford auto nation in blanding Ave Florida said my car needs work $1,100 I had diagnostic done by ford automation on July 22, 2023 on a Saturday from service center name Chris I needed that shift cable bushing fixed.

- Green Cove Springs , FL, USA

problem #199

Aug 072023

Escape

  • miles
Transmission was slipping while in drive, did not engage drive or reverse easily. Jerked in and out of drive. Mechanic days or could be the -??turbo-??.

- San Antonio , TX, USA

problem #198

Aug 082023

Escape

  • miles
Car started having smoke out of tail pipe, been having to fill anti freeze once a month in to, vehicle, and has started misfiring not sure. Apparently antifreeze is leaking in to engine. May 2023 is when we have started having issues with anti freeze

- Dequeen, AR, USA

problem #197

Jul 272023

Escape

  • miles
Transmission fault error code. The transmission is not shifting into gear whether I am trying to go forward or backwards. I have been stranded twice within the last six months because of this issue.

- Spanaway, WA, USA

problem #196

Jul 022023

Escape

  • miles

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

The car accelerates very choppy. I-??ve also been getting a warning saying -??ENGINE FAULT, SERVICE NOW.-?? I-??m not sure what is wrong with it, it still drives as of right now and there is no recall for me to get it fixed.

- Logan, UT, USA

problem #195

Jun 082023

Escape

  • miles
Turned in the ignition. I heard air coming from the brake when i turned on the car. I then could feel resistance when pushing the brake after pushing to the floor. Brake booster fixed once and after a month. The air sound started again when not pressing the brake. I had to use my emergency brake to drive home from work.

- Clayton, NC, USA

problem #194

May 272023

Escape

  • miles
On May 27, 2023, I took my Ford Escape SE to dealership for service (mileage: 99742). I had Works Synthetic Oil Change, Mutli-point inspection, rotation of tires, coolant system cleaning, brake systems fluid exchange, spark plugs replaced, air filter replaced. Diagnostic for A/C. Total cost: $1005.90. Results from service: (1) Emergency flasher or hazard light button does not work. $199.95 Diagnostic fee to repair flasher/hazard light button. Due to cost of Diagnostic fee, repair to Emergency flasher or hazard light button was not conducted. (2) AC not working. Diagnostic Fee $199.95. AC leakage. Repair parts, YN* Refrigera10009G and BV6Z*19850 Evaporato22105B cost $486.96 and labor fee $2150 + tax $171.40. Total Cost: $2808.36. Due to total cost, repair to AC was not conducted. (3) When replacing the spark plugs, oil was found in the valleys of the spark plugs. Unsure if the valve cover or something else that pertains to it is damaged or some other type of issues. Due to cost of diagnostic test ($199), service was not conduct.

- Winter Park, FL, USA

problem #193

May 042023

Escape

  • miles
While driving 30 minutes home from work, High Engine Temperature Warning popped up and stuck car in Limp Mode 20+ times. Had to use a Code Reader to clear the code P1299 that says Cylinder Head Overtemperature Protection Active in order to get car to drive home. Meanwhile it was leaking coolant, car went thru 1.5 gallons of coolant during that time frame.

- Hastings, MI, USA

problem #192

Apr 072023

Escape

  • miles
While driving down the road a warning pops up on the dash that says "High Engine Temperatures. Please Stop Safely" Had to have the car towed because it got stuck in Limp Mode and would not drive. Had the codes read and it comes up with code P1299 which says Cylinder Head Overtemperature Protection Active. Car stays in Limp Mode and is undriveable until code is cleared with a code reader. Happens several times over and over again within a 30 minute drive.

- Hastings, MI, USA

problem #191

Apr 232023

Escape

  • miles
While driving down the road my Ford escape lost most of its power while still in drive and running (was running at roughly 6000-7000rpms but going no faster than 15 MPH, when after about a mile of this it completely died, lost any ability to brake or steer, then the engine started smoking very bad and within seconds we saw flames coming up onto the windshield from under the hood. within about 10 minutes the entire car was engulfed in flames and totally destroyed/melted/burned.

- Port Saint Lucie, FL, USA

problem #190

Apr 122023

Escape

  • miles
Car is burning and leaking coolant dude to faulty head gasket and engine over heating. Engine also stalls out when slowing down and shuts off. I see multiple people are having the same issues. This has been a on going thing I took it to the shop to have coolant leak fixed and it still has reoccurred.

- West Carrollton, OH, USA

problem #189

Dec 162022

Escape

  • miles
My transmission went out on my vehicle in January 2022, I took it to a transmission shop in the town I live in and had a rebuilt transmission put in it. I paid for everything and was told by the owner the the transmissions on these are junk and and Ford knows this and does nothing about it, I did look up reports and complaints on the internet and seen many of these with the same year as my vehicle. Then a recall came out for the transmission to be fixed, I took my vehicle in to be fixed and I was told by a Customer Service person with Ford, I could send in my paperwork to be reimbursed. I sent it in the the address they gave me and got a letter back about 2 months later saying they were not reimbursing me. I had all my paperwork submitted to them regarding this issue. I think this is so unfair that they knew this and won't do anything about this. Sherri Eastham 4531 Bonita Dr. Apt 115 Middletown, Oh 45044 (765) 265-7549

- Middletown, OH, USA

problem #188

Aug 012022

Escape

  • miles
The driver side rear door can not be opened. It appears the paneling of the door is caught on the frame, which prevents the operation of the door. This has been reported twice to the dealership, and so far they have ignored the request to inspect or fix it. In an emergency if needed passengers would not be able to exit through this door, which would put that at risk if the car were pinned on one side and the front too damaged to operate. Also the rear camera has failed and does not operate. This is the second camera to do so as the first was replaced under warranty a few years after purchasing the vehicle. If a child were behind the vehicle there would be no way to know looking over your shoulder, as you could only see them on camera. The only warning or indicator of the camera failure is a black screen with a message that you need to contact a service professional.

- Roseville, CA, USA

problem #187

Feb 242023

Escape

  • miles
I've been having rear suspension issues, due to the fact I just had to replace my rear shocks on my 2014 Ford Escape Titanium. I recently got my rear shocks replaced through Goodyear in Bartow, Fl. about 2-3 weeks ago & had to return to Goodyear again 3 different times in this month of February of 2023 to tighten up the rear passenger side. I'm told by mechanic techs at Goodyear that it appears I might be having "control bar" issues on this 2014 model & it being NOT the rear shocks after all. But I'm having to replace the front end with new struts as well. I feel it is neccessary to let anyone having the same issue with the suspension on my 2014 Ford escape needs to investigate this!

- Winter Haven, FL, USA

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