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.
After transmission shifter cable brushing repair I Received a transmission error warning on my car. Car is now going in reverse while in driving almost got into car accident with my kids in car. I believe there is a transmission problem with these model vehicle. Local shop unable to diagnose properly. Unable to drive.
The vehicle started and appeared to be working properly. Without warning, the message center displayed a message indicating that the automatic transmission had failed and advising the driver to pull over. Pressing the accelerator caused the engine to rev past 3000 RPM but did not cause the vehicle to move. After the engine had been shut off for a few minutes, the vehicle could be restarted but would only move a short distance before the transmission once again failed to engage. The vehicle was towed to a Ford dealer on a flatbed. The service department's inspection revealed that the torque converter had failed catastrophically and distributed metal shavings through the entire transmission hydraulic system. The service advisor noted that the transmission filter was clogged with metal fragments from the torque converter. She suggested that turning the engine off allowed enough fragments to drop out of the filter so that a small amount of fluid could get through -- enough to move the vehicle a very short distance before the problem repeated. The recommended repair is to replace the transmission and torque converter with remanufactured parts, flush the cooler and lines, install a new thermal switch, and fill the system with fresh fluid. The vehicle, with the defective transmission installed, is at the dealer awaiting parts. It has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police, or an insurance carrier; the only inspection was performed by dealer personnel as part of the trouble diagnosis. If this sudden failure had occurred on a freeway or major surface street instead of a side street with light traffic, it would probably have triggered a rear-end collision involving the Ford Escape and one or more vehicles behind it when the Escape abruptly lost drive and coasted down. The potential for injury in such an accident should be self-evident.
While putting the vehicle in park, the vehicle continued to roll and accelerate in an unintended direction, forward. This caused the vehicle to crash into and through a house, causing around $15,000 worth of damage. The vehicle remained difficult to control for the driver.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while her son-in-law was driving at an undisclosed speed, he heard an unusual grinding sound and stopped the vehicle and shifted into park(P); however, when he attempted to shift back into drive(D), the gear shifter was inoperable. The driver was only able to shift into reverse(R). The vehicle was towed to the dealer however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the transmission had been replaced twice. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 104,000.
Transmission Converter Torque. I have had the car 7 months and had nothing but issues with this used car. However, since the first day of having, there was a hesitation and sputtering which I was told was due to the fuel line. The dealer fixed that but than washed there hands of us. After, It kept shuddering so I took it back to a mechanic and was told the above. After reading the reviews, this should be recalled immediately and is dangerous to drive on and can cause a serious accident or injury for anyone in the car.
- Laporte , IN, USA
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The contact owns a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact stated while coming to a complete stop at a traffic light, the vehicle shuddered significantly. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure recurred several times. The vehicle was taking to the service station, where an independent mechanic replaced the sparks plugs. The contact stated while reversing out of the service station, the vehicle shut off. The contact was able to restart the vehicle. The contact stated that the failure persisted while reversing and while attempting to drive from a complete stop. The contact stated that she would quickly depress the accelerator pedal after shifting into drive(D) or reverse(R) to prevent the vehicle from shutting off. The contact stated that the failure had been occurring increasingly more. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle and attempting to drive, the engine revved, but the vehicle failed to respond. The contact stated that the vehicle was undrivable. The dealer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the local dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 103,000.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle seized. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who informed the contact that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the contact stated that the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where the transmission was replaced; however, the contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was taken to two different independent mechanics, who were unable to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.
Transmission has had issues since purchasing the vehicle 5 years ago. Upon acceleration, car jerks forward. Transmission recall for bushing came out in January 2023. In April, my car got stuck in reverse and would not change gears due to the recalled transmission part. In May, my transmission went bad while driving, and I could not change gears or accelerate speeds due to a faulty transmission. I believe that the recall is associated with my mechanical failure of my transmission.
Transmission failure. OBD reports gear 3 incorrect ratio. Research indicates this is a common and ongoing failure in the Ford Escape due to engineering and manufacturing by Ford.
At approximately 85,000 miles, the vehicle started experiencing issues where pressing the gas pedal would not make the vehicle move. It was intermittent, and luckily I was near my home and able to get it into the garage. If I had been on a main road at the time, I likely would have been hit, injured and/or killed. I was confident it was a transmission problem because I had the same thing happen on a 2014 Ford Escape in 2022. That vehicle had about 135,000 at the time. If you follow this Facebook link, you will see many more people who also have the same transmission issues with Ford Escapes. https://www.facebook.com/groups/811053262904301 Ford Motor Company and the local dealership were very difficult to work with on this issue.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving approximately 25 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and failed to accelerate as needed. The contact stated that the -??Service Transmission-?? warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the local mechanic who diagnosed that the transmission was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 183,000.
Ford case number - CAS-42845344 I was driving down the highway to attend my daughter's college graduation when I noticed that the vechicle wasn't moving when accellerating; it got worse as I again tried to accellerate and the engine was revving and RPM dial was increasing but car would not move. Then the car jumped and sputtered. As I was exiting the highway the Transmission Failure light came on. There was no warning to this event. Once I got the car off the highway and assessing the situation, we decided to try and start the car to see if it would drive and while the car did start, it would not move in drive or reverse. The car was towed to Columbia MO so I could attend the graduation and is being serviced by a transmission expert there. He confirmed that it needs to be rebuilt. This same repair shop has said they have serviced close to 60 Ford Escapes for transmission in the last 18 months. Another Ford dealer said its a known issue for these transmissions to fail. My car doesn't even have 100k miles on it. The danger and risk of this happening on an interstate is pretty obvious; the cars behind me had no idea my transmission was failing (heck, I didn't know it either) and that I was struggling to accellerate. We could have easily been hit by any car or semi that was travelling down that same highway - it was extremely scary. It is crazy to think of the number of Ford Escapes in the nation that are failing when a small town in Missouri has serviced 60 in less that two years! I hope that people are reporting this and that you have a way to investigate to determine the manufacturer liable for these very dangerous and expensive failures!
https://www.cars.com/articles/2013-2015-ford-escape-fiesta-st-fusion-transit-connect-recall-alert-1420694733115/ While driving 80 miles an hour on an 8 lane freeway, with the flow of high traffic-including semi commercial traffic, and my child in the car, the vehicle went into limp mode due to an overheat warning. I was unable to accelerate and was able to "limp" to the side of the road. Very scary and VERY dangerous. My child and I are lucky something worse did not happen. Root cause lack of coolant circulation resulting in the engine overheating. This possibly has caused a crack in the cylinder head, resulting in a pressurized oil leak that, in the presence of a heat source such as a hot engine surface, increases the risk of an under-hood fire. Through research, I found this is a known issue with my vehicle and besides a limited recall (of which my VIN is excluded) there is a class action pending in California. I contact FORD customer service and its answer was my VIN isn't included in the recall so nothing they could do. When I brought up on FORD's knowledge and request for someone in its escalation team to call me, they said a supervisor would call and the customer service supervisor said- my issue because my VIN not included in the recall. There have been 30+ cases of engine fires related to this issue and hundreds if not thousands of FORD owners affected. How is the NHTSA not taking action? This is very dangerous and a very expensive cost to consumers who were misled by FORD to purchase these dangerous lemons. This is a dangerous defect that FORD has known about for years. NHTSA should require FORD to recall these for the safety of children and consumers. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-caed-2_21-cv-00468/pdf/USCOURTS-caed-2_21-cv-00468-0.pdf https://www.change.org/p/hold-ford-accountable-for-fixing-their-ecoboost-engines https://www.lieffcabraser.com/2021/05/ford-ecoboost-engine-defect-lawsuits-consolidated-in-california/
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while parking the vehicle, the transmission failed to shift into park(P), with the Service Transmission Now message displayed. Additionally, the vehicle made abnormal sounds while driving. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where recall repair of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train) was performed; however, the failure recurred after the recall repair was performed. The contact stated that the transmission failed to shift into drive(D), and the parking brake was applied while the vehicle was parked. The vehicle was then towed to the residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 92,000.
While driving on rural roads (30-45mph) the vehicle had a sudden loss in power, as though the transmission was slipping. The problem went away as suddenly as its onset, but approximately a week later, a warning 'Transmission Failure, Service Now.' appeared and the vehicle immediately went into limp mode, and would not shift into higher gears. AAA was called to tow the vehicle to the dealer for service. The Ford dealer received the vehicle and reported that the clutch plates had failed. This vehicle had the original transmission fail at 65,000 miles. Ford refused to pay for any parts or labor, as the car was out-of-warranty (by 5000 miles). Customer payed out-of-pocket for diagnosis, parts, and labor to install a new transmission ($5820.86). The second failure noted above occurred at 81,000 miles (only 15,000 miles / 18 months on the new transmission) and was covered under the warranty of the prior transmission.
Complete Transmission Failure. Always serviced at 30,000 miles and regular maintenance done on vehicle. This occurred without warning and according to the Transmission Shop and looking at the internet, this is a common problem with Ford Escapes after 100,000 miles. Ford needs to pay for these repairs. $5000 for mine
Currently a Lemon Law Lawsuit is going on out west in reference to the Ecoboost failure which my vehicle year is included in that. The risks include engine failure and risks of fire. Currently my vehicle is missing/over heating/white smoke pouring out of my exhaust/losing coolant. This has caused my vehicle to be a major safety hazard for my children and myself. Ford has been called but was told nothing can be done since no recall has been put into effect.
Currently a Lemon Law Lawsuit is going on out west in reference to the Ecoboost failure which my vehicle year is included in that. The risks include engine failure and risks of fire. Currently my vehicle is missing/over heating/white smoke pouring out of my exhaust/losing coolant. This has caused my vehicle to be a major safety hazard for my children and myself. Ford has been called but was told nothing can be done since no recall has been put into effect.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Washington Dc , DC, USA