2016 Ford Escape
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Power train is the leading concern among 1,124 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 11th highest complaint count among 26 Escape model years with reports.
Of the 2016 reports, 36 involved a crash and 10 involved a fire. 19 people were injured.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Equipment, electrical, engine block heaterJan 15, 2026
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013-2018 Focus, 2013-2019 Escape, and 2015-2016 MKC vehicles equipped with a 2.0L engine. The engine block heater may crack and develop a coolant leak, causing it to short circuit when the block heater is plugged in.
An electrical short circuit can increase the risk of a fire.
Owners are advised not to plug in their block heater until the vehicle is remedied. Dealers will replace the block heater, free of charge. Owners will also have a alternative option to replace engine block heater element with a threaded plug, and remove the block heater electrical cord. Interim letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, were mailed March 6, 2026. Additional letters will be sent once the final remedy is available. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 26S01. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on January 16, 2026.
Campaign 26V011000 on NHTSA.gov
Back over prevention, sensing system, cameraOct 13, 2025
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015-2019 Flex, 2015 Explorer, Lincoln MKT, Lincoln MKZ, 2015-2016 C-Max, Escape, Taurus, 2016 Fusion, 2018-2019 Taurus, 2019 Lincoln MKT, Fiesta, and 2020 Mustang vehicles. The rearview camera may display a distorted, intermittent, or blank image when the vehicle is in reverse.
A rearview camera that fails to properly display an image can reduce the driver’s view behind the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
Dealers will inspect and replace the rearview camera as necessary, free of charge. This will be a phased campaign, with the remedy becoming available in different phases based on model and model years. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on October 25, 2025. Additional letters will be mailed once the final remedy is available on each phase. Mustang owner notification letters were mailed January 2, 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25SA9. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on October 14, 2025.
Campaign 25V695000 on NHTSA.gov
Power train, automatic transmission, gear position indication (prndl)Jun 10, 2022
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013-2019 Escape, 2013-2018 C-Max, 2013-2016 Fusion, 2013-2021 Transit Connect, and 2015-2018 Edge vehicles. The bushing that attaches the shifter cable to the transmission may degrade or detach.
A damaged or missing bushing may prevent the vehicle from shifting into the intended gear, and cause the vehicle to move in an unexpected direction. Additionally, the vehicle may roll after the driver selects the 'Park' position. Either scenario increases the risk of a crash or injury.
Dealers will replace the under hood shift bushing and add a protective cap over the shift cable bushing, free of charge. Interim owner notification letters, informing owners of the safety risk, were mailed July 1, 2022. Remedy parts are expected to be available in 4th Quarter 2022. Owner notification letters were mailed October 27, 2022. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 22S43.
Campaign 22V413000 on NHTSA.gov
Air bags, knee bolsterJun 26, 2017
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2016 Ford Escape vehicles. The driver's knee airbag modules installed in these vehicles were produced without the inflator gas generant material, and, as a result, the air bags may not inflate properly in the event of a crash. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."
In the event of a crash, if the driver's knee air bag does not inflate as intended, the driver has an increased risk of injury.
Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace driver's knee air bag, free of charge. The recall began on August 8, 2017. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 17C11.
Campaign 17V398000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints: back over prevention
217 reports, newest first. Show all
Back over prevention, Jan 22, 2026
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention). The contact stated that occasionally there was no image displayed on the screen, or the image was frozen. The failures had occurred several months before receiving the recall notification. The local dealer was contacted several times, and the contact was informed that parts for the recall repair were still not available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.
Back over prevention, Jan 22, 2026
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while in reverse(R), the rearview camera was inoperable. The stated that the rearview camera displayed an intermittent and brief image. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair were not yet available. The dealer was contacted and confirmed that parts was not yet available. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 90,000.
Back over prevention, Jan 21, 2026
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated while reversing, the rear-view camera displayed a blank image. The contact stated that the message “Camera not Available” was displayed. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the dealer prior to the recall. The contact was informed that the rear-view camera screen display needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact later received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The dealer was recently contacted, and the contact was informed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.
Back over prevention, Jan 15, 2026
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that while in reverse, the back over prevention camera image was distorted, or the screen was black. Additionally, the back over prevention system failed to audibly alert the contact when objects and or a person was behind the vehicle. The dealer was contacted and confirmed that the part was not yet available. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was unknown.
Back over prevention, Jan 12, 2026
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The back-over prevention camera displayed a distorted image. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined that the camera needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was approximately 47,000.
Back over prevention, Jan 12, 2026
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while attempting to reverse, the rearview camera became inoperable. The contact stated that the rearview camera image fluctuated on and off, with the message “Rearview Camera Not Available” displayed. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the parts to do the recall repair were not yet available. The dealer was contacted, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The approximate failure mileage was 76,000.
Back over prevention, Jan 12, 2026
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while reversing, the rear-view camera screen displayed a blank image. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The dealer was contacted; however, the contact was informed that parts were not available. In addition, the contact stated that the manufacturer had enough time to fix the vehicle. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.
Back over prevention, Jan 8, 2026
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the parts to do the recall repair were not yet available. The dealer was not contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure.
Back over prevention, Jan 8, 2026
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (BACK OVER PREVENTION); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted, and it was confirmed that the part was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact stated that while reversing, the back-over prevention camera failed to display an image of the rear of the vehicle, creating a rear visibility hazard for the driver. Additionally, while driving forward, the rear-view camera erroneously activated and displayed the rear image on the screen. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who diagnosed that the back-over prevention camera was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact later received the recall notice related to the failure. The failure mileage was 39,000.
Back over prevention, Jan 6, 2026
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while in reverse(R), the rearview camera image displayed a blank image. Additionally, the rearview camera failed to alert the driver when an object or vehicle was nearby. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. Several dealers were contacted and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 58,000.
Back over prevention, Jan 5, 2026
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was contacted. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure.
Back over prevention, Jan 2, 2026
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while reversing, the rear-view camera displayed a snowy image. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or a dealer. The dealer was made aware of the failure; however, the contact was informed that parts were not available. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, parts were not available for the recall repair. The contact stated that the unrepaired recall was very dangerous because she was unable to see anything behind the vehicle while reversing. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 45,000.
Back over prevention, Dec 29, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while in reverse(R), the rearview camera image was blank. Additionally, the rearview camera failed to alert the driver when an object or vehicle was nearby. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 96,000.
Back over prevention, Dec 17, 2025, crash
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while reversing, the rearview camera became inoperable and crashed into an unknown Pontiac. The bumper was damaged, and there was no insurance coverage. The contact received the recall notification letter for NHTSA Campaign Number 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention) after the crash. A police report was filed. There were no reported injuries, air bag deployment or fires. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified about the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 90,345.
Back over prevention, Dec 12, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (BACK OVER PREVENTION). However, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the rearview camera intermittently displayed a black screen while the vehicle was in reverse(R). The contact stated that the failure obstructed the driver's visibility, which prevented the driver from safely operating the vehicle. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was unknown.
Back over prevention, Dec 12, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the rearview camera displayed a black image while the vehicle was in reverse(R). The contact stated that the failure obstructed the driver's ability to see the roadway. The contact was unaware of any warning light was illuminated. The local dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was approximately 54,000.
Back over prevention, Dec 8, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while shifted in reverse(R), the rearview camera system failure message was displayed on the instrument panel. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was not available. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
Back over prevention, Dec 5, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was not contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair, and the vehicle was parked. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure.
Electrical system, Back over prevention, Nov 21, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that while in reverse, the back-over prevention camera failed to display the image behind the vehicle. The failure became more persistent over time and caused additional electrical failures. The contact was unable to connect devices to the vehicle, and the radio failed to operate as needed. The dealer was contacted and confirmed that the part for the recall repair was not available. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was approximately 17,000.
Power train, Back over prevention, Nov 18, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (BACK OVER PREVENTION). However, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while driving 60 MPH, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal. In addition, the vehicle vibrated abnormally. The message "Motor Work Required" was displayed on the instrument panel. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that three weeks after the vehicle was purchased, the transmission failed to operate as intended. The contact replaced the transmission. The contact stated that the failure persisted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was unknown.
Power train, Electrical system, Back over prevention, Nov 18, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (BACK OVER PREVENTION); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the rearview camera displayed a distorted image while the vehicle was in reverse(R). The contact stated that the failure obstructed the driver's visibility, which prevented the driver from safely operating the vehicle. In addition, there was an abnormal sound coming from the camera. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that on a separate occasion, after the vehicle was purchased, the liftgate failed to function as intended. The liftgate occasionally opened and closed independently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but the vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that on a separate occasion, the message "Transmission Fault - Service Now" was displayed on the instrument panel. The contact had the transmission fluid changed. However, the message was displayed again. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was unknown.
Back over prevention, Nov 17, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while reversing, the rear-view camera system failure message was displayed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or a dealer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was not available. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
Electrical system, Back over prevention, Nov 14, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (BACK OVER PREVENTION). However, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the rearview camera displayed a distorted image while the vehicle was in reverse(R). The contact stated that the failure obstructed the driver's visibility, which prevented the driver from safely operating the vehicle. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that on a separate occasion, the alarm activated independently. The alarm was unintentionally activated during the day or night. Most recently, while the front driver’s side door was opened or closed, the alarm activated until the key was inserted into the ignition. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic; however, no cause for the failure was found. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was unknown.
Back over prevention, Nov 12, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the rearview camera displayed a black image while reversing. The message "Camera Unavailable" was displayed. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.
Power train, Back over prevention, Nov 7, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that upon refueling the vehicle and resuming driving 55 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power in bumper-to-bumper traffic. The contact was unable to pull over to the side of the road. The contact shifted to neutral(N) and shifted back to drive(D), but the vehicle failed to respond and started rolling backwards on leveled road surface. The contact activated the hazard lights and continuously depressed the brake pedal while steering the vehicle on the busy road. The contact was able to coast to the side of the road. The contact stated that the vehicle made two abnormal loud popping sounds and came to a complete stop. The vehicle was towed to Firestone, where the contact was informed that the failure could be related to the transmission, and that the transmission could not be serviced. The vehicle was then towed to Autohub, where it was diagnosed with transmission failure, and the contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The auto warranty company was contacted and confirmed that the vehicle was no longer covered. Additionally, the contact stated that the rearview camera image was inverted and distorted while reversing. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failures. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.