2011 Ford Escape
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Steering is the leading concern among 1,316 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 10th highest complaint count among 26 Escape model years with reports.
Of the 2011 reports, 38 involved a crash and 7 involved a fire. 38 people were injured.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Fuel system, gasoline, delivery, fuel pumpOct 26, 2016
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2010-2012 Ford Escape vehicles manufactured February 26, 2009, to April 29, 2012, and 2010-2011 Mercury Mariner vehicles manufactured February 25, 2009, to December 12, 2010. On vehicles with a 3.0L engine, the Fuel Delivery Module (FDM) may crack, causing a fuel leak.
A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source increases the risk of a fire.
Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the FDM flange with one that has a redesigned fuel supply port, free of charge. Remedy parts are currently unavailable. Interim notices were mailed to owners on December 13, 2016. Owners will receive a second notice when remedy parts become available. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 16S41.
Campaign 16V777000 on NHTSA.gov
Suspension, front, wheel bearingJun 3, 2015
The Timken Company (Timken) is recalling certain aftermarket front wheel bearings, part number 510072, sold from January 22, 2015, to May 21, 2015, to be used as service parts on 2001-2012 Ford Escape, 2001-2011 Mazda Tribute, and 2005-2011 Mercury Mariner vehicles. The affected wheel bearings have incorrect dimensions of a 42mm bore, 76mm outer dimension, and 39mm width, instead of a 42mm bore, 78mm outer dimension and a 45mm width.
Use of an incorrectly sized wheel bearing can adversely affect the braking and steering of the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
Timken has begun notifying distributors who will offer purchasers replacement wheel bearings, free of charge. The recall began on May 21, 2015. Owners may contact Timken customer service at 1-866-984-6536.
Campaign 15E045000 on NHTSA.gov
Steering, electric power assist systemMay 29, 2014
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2008-2011 Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner vehicles manufactured August 18, 2006, through September 11, 2010. The affected vehicles have a steering torque sensor that may not be able to properly detect driver steering input. As a result, the system could remove the Electric Power Steering (EPS) assist.
If power steering assist is lost, greater driver effort would be required to steer the vehicle at low speeds, increasing the risk of a crash.
Ford will notify owners, and dealers will update the software for the power steering control module (PSCM) and the instrument cluster module, free of charge. If a vehicle shows a history of a loss of the torque sensor signal or fault codes relating to the PSCM when the vehicle is brought in for the recall remedy, the affected components will be replaced, free of charge. The recall began on July 18, 2014. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-800-392-3673. Ford's number for this recall is 14S05.
Campaign 14V284000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints
1,316 reports, newest first.
Steering, Aug 23, 2022
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Escape. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle the power steering malfunctioned and the steering wheel was difficult to turn in either direction. After turning off and restarting the vehicle, the power steering operated normally. The contact indicated that the power steering failure was intermittent and no warning lights were illuminated. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V284000 (Steering). The contact indicated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in the recall. The local dealer was not notified. The failure mileage was 110,000.
Suspension, Structure, Aug 20, 2022
I found a piece of rusted metal on my garage floor. After having both my mechanic and the man who did earlier body work on this vehicle it was found that the shock tower is rusted. To the extent that the driver's side back wheel is leaning into the fuel line. Making my Escape unsafe to drive. There are many Youtube videos that discuss this problem. So, this is not an isolated case. This is a safety concern that should lead Ford to recall and repair the Escape that this affects.
Structure, Aug 11, 2022
I am the second owner of my 2011 Ford Escape Limited. I live in Michigan. The previous owner also lived in Michigan. I purchased this car January of 2021 from Sundance in St John’s. Recently we have had a noise coming from the rear passenger shock and I took my car to a Firestone to get it repaired. They made me aware of my shock rusting through the body and into my trunk panels. The car was deemed unsafe to drive at just less than 230,XXX miles. This car is just over 10 years old and has been beautifully maintained. I have all documents pertaining to maintenance and I recently spent $9000 dollars on this car from the dealership. Surely this isn’t an issue that started in just this last year as the entire frame where the shock was attached had rusted through. I frequently drive myself and my family around and this not only has been disruptive but could have easily caused harm if gone unnoticed. There was no warning light, there was no indication that it would fail, I am glad I caught it right away. Even July of 2021 I spent about 1.5K on repairs and it was not mentioned to me then that this could be an issue. This is not the kind of issue that happens over night. I am glad no harm was done to me or my family, but I feel cheated.
Steering, Power train, Engine, Aug 6, 2022
When I turn at slows down and stalls. Nearly cuts off
Engine, Jul 26, 2022, fire
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at 50 MPH, he heard abnormal knocking sounds coming from the engine. The oil pressure warning light was illuminated. The contact pulled to the nearby gas station where an independent mechanic inspected the vehicle and informed the contact that the engine had thrown a rod and there were metal shavings in the engine oil. The contact stated the failure increased significantly while driving at 50 MPH. The contact veered to the side of the road and unlocked the doors. Another driver informed the contact that there there was a fire underneath the vehicle. The contact was able to extinguish the fire with a fire extinguisher. There were no injuries sustained. The contact stated upon towing the vehicle there was a significant amount of oil leaked from the oil pan onto the tow truck vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who diagnosed that the engine blew up and had shattered. The dealer diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced and additional repairs needed to be completed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 151,000.
Steering, Jul 25, 2022
Power steering assist fault. Lost power steering intermittently then once pulling in to safe space lost all power steering. Available for inspection. Safety of myself and others in that I was driving on a busy road and lost the power steering. Car goes to mechanic on the 3rd. No other warnings besides the notification on the dash and the fast beeping.
Steering, Jul 7, 2022
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the power steering assist failed with the traction control, and an unknown warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that there was no recall associated with the VIN. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V284000 (Steering) however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was 129,861.
Other or unspecified, Jun 30, 2022
Hood latch is stuck. Will not open.
Steering, Jun 29, 2022
The power steering goes out and you are unable to turn the wheel. It is very dangerous especially for my wife it’s happens at least once a week. When you turn the ignition off and turn it back on everything seems to reset.I noticed that there are some recalls on this problem with some of the 2011 Ford escapes I am hoping and assuming mine is covered under the warranty because it’s the exact same issue We have not had any inspection done yet I was just researching online what steps I could take and this site came up I would love for somebody from Ford to look at it
Steering, Wheels, Engine, Jun 24, 2022, crash
got rear ended/t-boned in january 2022 at low rate of speed, started having issues for the first time since 2011, check engine light comes on periodically since the accident, power steering has gone in and out periodically since the accident, engine seems to stumble periodically since March 2022, AC has never worked since 2011, recently (june 3rd 2022) the tire pressure sensor light has come on despite air pressure being adequate in all 4 tires, took car to a collision specialist and they repaired cosmetic damages but cleared 3 codes and did not repair/resolve any of the actual issues affecting drivability and safety because they could not attribute it to the mechanism of accident, took the print out of codes in to my normal mechanic when I got the tires and oil changed June 3rd 2022 and he said if there were no active codes I would have to take it to the dealership, yesterday June 24th 2022 while waiting for a light to change the car pedals suddenly stopped working, car stayed idling at a stop while still in drive, would not work even when shifted into park, drive, or reverse, air still blowed, music still playing, a horrid smell started to fill the car, turned everything completely off and turned hazards on and waited for 2 minutes then turned the car back, car resumed working with tire pressure light still on and smell still coming out of engine. Car now smells constantly of putrid burning plastic/carpet and stumbles frequently, had the car stumbled while at a high rate of speed during rush hour, both mine, my infant son, and the other drivers lives' could've been devastated or lost. These are the codes they reset at time of incident/repair 1) ANTI-LOCK BRAKE SYSTEM: C1963-20 - STABILITY CONTROL INHIBIT WARNING 2) ACCESORY PROTOCOL INTERFACE MODULE: U3000-04 -CONTROL MODULE - SYSTEM INTERNAL FAILURES 3) POWER STEERING CONTROL MODULE: B2278-2F - STEERING SHAFT TORQUE SENSOR MALFUNCTION
Steering, Jun 8, 2022
Complete power steering failure
Air bags, Jun 2, 2022
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the air bag warning light was illuminated upon starting the vehicle and remained illuminated while driving. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where they diagnosed that the front passenger’s side air bag sensor was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and confirmed that the vehicle was not included in a recall. The approximate failure mileage was 195,500.
Steering, May 5, 2022
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 5-10 MPH and making a turn, the vehicle lost power steering inadvertently. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact continued to drive by using physical strength to steer the vehicle. The contact stated upon reaching her destination, she turned off and restarted the vehicle and the vehicle regained power steering functionality. The contact stated that the failure recurred while driving. The local dealer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the software for the power steering control module (PSCM) and the instrument cluster module needed to be updated, and the torque sensor signal needed to be replaced. The independent mechanic informed the contact that the failure was associated to NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V284000 (Steering). The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that they could not assist as the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA. The failure mileage was approximately 128,000.
Steering, Apr 4, 2022
When I start My 2011 Ford Escape it randomly looses all power steering. I have to put car in park & turn it off, then back on & the power steering returns. This is very dangerous because what happens if I loose all steering while on the highway. Upon researching the problem I have found that a whole bunch of other 2011 Ford escapes have a recall for the exact same problem. I took my car to be inspected and diagnosed by the dealership I bought it from( it's the torque sensor) , they said however that my car isn't under the recall. It should be. This is a serious safety hazard. My dealership is willing to fix it but It will be a complete out of pocket expense that I can't afford right now. All of us other folks are having the exact same issues for the exact same car and we are not under recall.
Steering, Mar 22, 2022
Ultimately, what happened was a loss of steering control. I did not completely lose steering, but suddenly with no warning, my vehicle became very difficult to steer (required a lot of "muscle power" to turn the wheel. The vehicle is available for inspection if necessary.) Sudden loss of steering control is a pretty obvious safety risk! The problem has not yet been reproduced/confirmed by anyone as it just happened yesterday (3/21/2022.) I am doing research into whether there was a recall on my vehicle for this issue before we take it in for repairs. No inspections have been done by anyone yet. This happened at a lower speed (while turning into a parking lot, mid turn, at the point where you are letting your steering wheel recover and starting to pick up speed again, so I was probably going 10 - 15 MPH.) There were no warning lamps or messages prior.
Steering, Mar 16, 2022
When driving under 15mph the steering is hard to turn as if the power steering has gone out completely. When you turn the engine off then car is able to turn until it happens again.
Steering, Feb 25, 2022
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle experienced a loss of electric power steering assist. The dealer was made aware of the failure and scheduled an upcoming appointment for diagnostic testing. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to file a complaint with NHTSA. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V284000 (Steering) however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was 91,910.
Fuel/propulsion system, Feb 23, 2022
I TRIED TO GET FUEL LATE AT NIGHT IN WINTER WARNING AFTER WORK AND UPON DOING SO, THE NOZZLE AT THE GAS STATION WOULD NOT FIT PROPERLY TO FUEL THE TANK. GAS BEGAN TO LEAK OUT AS I WAS FUELING THE VEHICLE, SQUIRTING UP ONTO MY BODY AND CLOTHING. I DID NOT UNDERSTAND WHY THE NOZZLE DID NOT FIT, HOWEVER I NEEDED DESPERATELY TO GET GAS SO THAT I COULD RETURN HOME IN A MOUNTAINOUS AREA WHERE I LIVE. I TRIED FILLING THE GAS TANK SLOWLY TO NO AVAIL. THEN I PROCEEDED TO ANOTHER GAS STATION AS THERE ARE NOT MANY AROUND, AND AGAIN NOZZLE WOULD NOT ENTER THE TANK. THIS TIME I COULDN'T EVEN TURN ON THE PUMP. AFTER INSPECTING THE SITUATION, I COULD SEE THAT THE FUEL TANK AREA LOOKED AS THOUGH THE HOLE FOR THE TANK NO LONGER ACCEPTED NOZZLES, THE FUEL FILLER AREA SEEMED TO HAVE SLIPPED AND I NOW I AM UNABLE TO GET GAS AT ALL. THERE WAS NO WARNING- THIS JUST HAPPENED SUDDENLY, PUTTING ME IN A DANGEROUS SITUATION, WITH GASOLINE ON MY CLOTHING, FREEZING TEMPERATURES AND NEARLY STRANDED. LUCKILY I HAD ENOUGH GAS TO GET HOME, HOWEVER I CAN NOT FUEL MY TANK AND THIS COULD HAVE BEEN A DIRE STRAIGHTS EMERGENCY.
Steering, Electrical system, Feb 23, 2022
When driving, the power steering goes out and you are not able to steer the car. It is very noticeable when I am making a right or left hand turn. You have to turn the steer wheel manually (a lot different from manual steering in older cars). When this happens, I put the car in neutral, turn the car off, restart the car, and put it back in drive. This temporarily fixes the problem. Very difficult to turn the wheel. It is extremely stressful and difficult to control the car at that point. I have not been in an accident yet and no bodily harm has been caused; however, I am hoping it doesn't ever happen. I was told by Ford that this is the Electric Power Steering Gear. There was a recall for Ford Escape 2011 and my VIN is not included. It should be as I am experiencing the same problems. There is no warning before this happens. It just happens and you cannot prepare for it. I would truly appreciate to be included in the recall as I do have a 2011 Ford Escape and I am experiencing the same problems/issues the other cars did that were included in the recall. As this was purchased as a used car, I was not aware of the possible recall and this problem. The date below only indicates the most current incident.
Steering, Feb 17, 2022
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The contact was awaiting a response. The failure mileage was approximately 112,000. THE CONSUMER STATED THE TORQUE SENSOR FAILED AND WAS NOT COVERED BY THE RECALL 14S05, WHICH WAS EXPIRED.
Steering, Feb 9, 2022
Hello I am contacting you about my 2011 Ford Escape. Approximately January 14, 2022 I was driving on the freeway when my steering started to feel slightly rigid. I got off the freeway and pulled into a parking lot Where I attempted to maneuver into a space when my power steering went completely out .It appeared to be manual steering only. I had to slam on my brakes to keep from hitting the vehicle next to the space I was trying to park in. There was no warning prior to this event. I contacted Ford who opened a case. I explained I had found on the Internet this had been recalled however my VIN number was not in the recalled numbers. The dealer told me they charged $140 an hour to diagnose plus if it was not covered that is additional .The Ford representative advised me to take it to the dealer to be inspected. The dealer confirmed there is a power steering failure and it DID need to be replaced however it was going to be at my cost as it was not covered under the recall. This amount is close to 800.00 The dealer has had my vehicle since January 21st almost 3 weeks now. They have not provided or offered a vehicle while I wait. They advise me they are waiting on parts and they would call me when they have completed the repairs after my second call for an update. I also have a recall I was contacted about which they are going to take care of at the same time. The case number Ford assigned me is as follows CAS34964338 I am very fortunate I was able to get off of the freeway before losing complete steering ability. My vehicle is at Germain Ford in Beavercreek Ohio. Safety Recall 14S05 for my exact circumstances doesn't include my VIN # but includes exact problem in the recall. My vehicle was made at the Kansas plant. Mr Michael Berardi from Ford wrote an article which I found on internet which instructs dealers to fix the defect free of charge even if they didn't receive a recall letter 800-325-5621. They refused to speak with me and said they only talk with dealers.
Steering, Feb 7, 2022
In the last month, the car has gone into manual steering mode by itself. It looses power steering. The risk of accident is significantly higher when this happens. The car has not been inspected by a dealer yet. I have an appointment on Thursday, Feb 10, 2022. The is a open recall, 14S05, however, when I spoke to the dealer they were not aware of it. I also called Ford Customer Service and the rep there didn't know about it either. My car 2011 Ford Escape was built at the Kansas City Plant. There is no warning when this happens.
Steering, Feb 7, 2022
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the power steering assist failed and the steering wheel locked up. The contact restarted the vehicle to correct the failure. The dealer was made aware of the failure; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA. The failure mileage was 182,479.
Steering, Feb 4, 2022
2011 Ford Escape XLT power steering column assembly internal failure. Power steering lost. The steering wheel locks up while the car is in motion causing no control of the vehicle. Same as the ones recalled. My VIN number falls short TWO days after the Ford recall window #14S05. NHTSA Recall # 14V284000
Steering, Feb 4, 2022
The contact's son owns a 2011 Ford Escape. The contact stated after the vehicle was serviced for front brakes at an independent mechanic; while driving 35 MPH, the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The contact stated that the traction control warning light was illuminated. The contact parked on the side of the road and restarted the vehicle. The contact stated she depressed the traction control button and was able to regain control of the steering wheel. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic and associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V284000 (Steering) however, the VIN was not included. The contact called the local dealer and made them aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired but was pending repairs. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 111,982.