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: engine
245 reports, newest first. Show all
Engine and engine cooling, Dec 11, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at approximately 25 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that there was an internal coolant leak into the engine and that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and confirmed that there was no recall on the VIN for the failure. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 44,000.
Engine, Dec 6, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while stopped on several occasions, the vehicle was idling rough. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that there was a misfire in cylinder #1. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that an undisclosed DTC code was reset however, approximately a week later the code reappeared. The engine then started overheating and coolant was added to the coolant reservoir was administered. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.
Engine, Nov 30, 2024
Has internal coolant leak
Engine, Nov 30, 2024
The car is releasing large amounts of white smoke when starting the car in the morning, and shows declining levels of coolant (way below MIN when I checked). I suspect this is due to a leaking gasket.
Engine, Nov 27, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle intermittently hesitated while accelerating. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined that the engine block was cracked, and that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.
Engine and engine cooling, Nov 26, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, there was thick white smoke coming out of the exhaust pipes, and the engine was running rough while driving. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion into the cylinders. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 63,500.
Engine, Nov 21, 2024
Transmission faulty
Engine, Nov 20, 2024
Ford is aware of a design flaw with the 2.0 Ecoboost engines. It impacts Escapes, Fusions, Edges, and some Lincoln vehicles. They issued TSB # 22-2229 about this. According to Ford, the only fix is to replace the engine. The engine block has a design flaw that causes the head gasket to blow and cause severe coolant leakage into either cylinder 2 or 3. Ford says to replace the Long block. My vehicle had less than 70k miles on it and started having issues just a month or so after the warranty expired. An engine should last much longer than this. Now our vehicle may be worth $500 instead of about $9,000. Ford knows this is an issue and there is significant information on the Internet about this. Ford should have been forced to recall these engines. From a safety standpoint, our engine fails to start at times. The cylinder is so full of coolant at times, the engine won't turn over for a while. We have to keep bumping the starter to get it to finally turn over. We purchased this vehicle new from a Ford dealership. The vehicle is otherwise in excellent condition and has had the oil changed every 4,000 miles, much less miles than required by Ford.
Engine and engine cooling, Nov 20, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle failed to properly accelerate with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that there was a coolant intrusion in cylinder #1. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The local dealer and manufacturer were not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 135,000.
Power train, Electrical system, Engine, Nov 17, 2024
My car overheated when I pulled over I noticed my engine coolant low. I had a mechanic add more fluids then a day later car shuts off why I was going 65 on a highway . I was pushing down on the gas peddle but my car would not go. It was barely moving no matter how far I pushed gas peddle. I finally found a somewhat area to pull over . I almost died or was seriously injuried in a few close call accidents this day. Had someone look at it from a garage in town he said it was a fuse and a cylinder misfire. No engine light no issues then my car over heated again no warning just shut down but the car still on Emmy lights didn’t work my turn signals didn’t work . Then my car stopped dead in a busy roadway over heated smoking . Now I’m time I need an engine replacement Let me add my car only has 60000 miles on it and is in great maintained condition I am a single mother of 3 young kids and take care of my mom. Not employed due to a bad relationship and trying to get back on my feet and now this . Coolest leaks into cylinder causing over heating and catastrophic engine damage , so upset over this and ford won’t even diagnose my car with out a 200 dollar charge to start with . It’s pathetic
Power train, Engine, Oct 17, 2024
65,000 miles, coolant intrusion into #1 cylinder confirmed by Ford service center. First signs were Check Engine Light, rough idle. Replaced all spark plugs and coils. Check engine light returned the following day with loss of coolant in tank. Engine runs rough and overheats with coolant loss and continued intrusion into engine, endangering occupants
Engine, Oct 16, 2024
Throttle body and motor was replaced twice due to engine keep stalling issues on the roads intermittently. Had faced life threatening occasions multiple times because the car engine stalled while car was driving on the roads. I brought the car to the local Ford service center several times and got the DTC P2112 code each visit. Ford service center approved the throttle body replacement on 2/10/2020 (car mileage 26688) but the same issue came back a few months later. P2112 was detected again on 4/30/2023 (mileage 40215) It was not very frequent but it happened once per month or every other month. I brought this car once again to the same local Focal service center and they diagnosed the throttle body and motor to be defect again (mileage 46476) and replaced it on 10/15/2024.
Engine, Fuel/propulsion system, Oct 7, 2024
Ford Escape is experiencing multiple symptoms: * Fuel smell in the cabin * Sluggish acceleration * Hard start (cranks several seconds without ignition) after refueling * (RARE) Engine stall when coming to a stop.
Power train, Engine, Sep 30, 2024
The car was running fine, but check engine light came on. Took it to the dealer to have it checked out. They told me there is coolant intrusion into engine cylinder 2 (I think number 2) and the engine needs to be replaced. Apparently this is a known issue that can lead to overheating, “catastrophic” engine failures and potential engine fires. They quoted me roughly ten thousand dollars to have it replaced. I told them it was still running fine. They said I could maybe keep driving it but there is no way to know what will happen and when but it needs to be replaced. I am only now seeing page after page of consumer complaints regarding the same issue.
Engine, Sep 20, 2024
Power reduced to lower engine temperature message appeared on the dashboard. Stopped and saw coolant seemed empty. I filled it up to the max line. The next day it was empty again. It’s been 2 days and I filled it again today.
Engine and engine cooling, Sep 18, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the temperature gauge indicated that the engine was overheating. After a visual inspection of the engine compartment, the contact observed that the coolant reservoir was abnormally low, even though the coolant reservoir had recently been refilled. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined there was coolant intrusion into cylinders#3 and #4, resulting in engine damage. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to Customer Satisfaction Program: 21N12. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 86,000.
Engine, Sep 12, 2024
Catastrophic engine failure. "Engine skipped timing; timing codes coolant intrusion in cylinder#1 inside cylinder head". Car towed to Portland Oregon Ford dealership and remains there. When warning lights appeared saying "engine failure pull over safely", the driver pulled over; it was not a safe area to be parked indefinately. The Escape vehicle has needed towing twice for related engine /coolant problems including driver being on a road out of town alone and needing to take a bus back home from the rural area. Engine/vehicle is available at dealership for inspection. Problem has been recreated and the Ford mechanic has given the above description.
Engine and engine cooling, Sep 10, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while his nephew who is a mechanic was replacing the front passenger’s side ball joint, he observed that the radiator was hanging down and the support brackets were rusted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 160,000.
Engine and engine cooling, Sep 10, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle went into LIMP Mode, with the "Engine coolant over Temperature" message on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where a diagnostic test revealed that there was coolant intrusion into an engine cylinder and the contact was provided an estimate for the repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to file a complaint. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 124,500.
Engine and engine cooling, Sep 10, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while cold starting the vehicle, there was an abnormal knocking sound coming from the vehicle. In addition, the contact stated that the check engine warning light intermittently illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was initially taken to an independent mechanic where a diagnostic test was performed on the vehicle. The mechanic discovered a misfire in cylinder #2 due to coolant intrusion into the engine. The dealer and an independent mechanic informed the contact that the engine needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 85,000.
Engine, Sep 9, 2024
After riding around with a friend one afternoon, we went to a drive-thru for a snack and my car began to notify me that it was overheating. The dashboard stated that I should pull over and immediately shut off the engine for it to cool down. Upon doing so, I checked the coolant level, and upon releasing pressure, I noticed the coolant was low. I drove to the nearest Autozone and appropriately filled the coolant levels as needed. After that, the engine never overheated again, but it began to have issues accelerating, as well as running rough upon starting the engine and while in idle. A couple days later, the check engine light came on so I took my vehicle to the nearest Ford Dealership to see what was going on. Ford concluded that coolant was leaking into the 2nd cylinder of my engine. Due to this, the entire engine needs replaced at only 160,000 miles on a not even 10 year old vehicle. After investigating online, I noticed that thousands of other Ford vehicle owners with the same make, model, and year, are having this exact same issue. Ford knew that they were mass producing engines with faulty head gaskets and now their customers are paying for it out of pocket. Ford needs to make this right for their customers and issue a recall on the entire engine.
Engine, Sep 9, 2024
Ive had my vehicle since February 27, 2024 and around May time the engine began to overheat. Itook it to Pepboys and they said it was possibly a head gasket issue, but didnt check the coolant levels. I tried to fill it up and it all dumped on the ground at my apartment. I filled it up again the next day and it held for about 2 months. 1 week ago, while driving to work I the engine had reduced power to precent overheating. Ever since sincr each time I go fill the overflow tank with coolant it dumps completely on the ground.
Engine and engine cooling, Sep 4, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine overheated. In addition, the vehicle was consuming excessive amounts of coolant. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion into cylinders #3 and #4, causing engine failure. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 86,000.
Engine, Sep 3, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The contact stated that the engine misfired and the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to another dealer where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion into cylinder #1, and engine failure. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure had been persistent for a year. In addition, the contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the previous dealer several times due to the failure; however, the failure could not be duplicated. The contact stated that the check engine warning light illuminated intermittently. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The contact was advised to contact the NHTSA Hotline and report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.
Engine, Fuel/propulsion system, Aug 25, 2024
The following all occurred in just the past year. The following is a report from this May 2024: Performed Cooling System Pressure Test, Discovered Coolant to Be Leaking From Behind Engine Next to Firewall, Continued Diagnosis and Performed Physical Inspection Removing Wiper Cowl to Get a Better View of Behind the Engine, Once Wiper Cowl Was Removed Discovered Rear Heater Hose to Be Leaking Coolant Causing Customers Concern. Recommend Replace Heater Hose and Perform Cooling System Service During the Courtesy Inspection Aaron Noted: ***Coolant Fluid Very Low Due to Coolant Leak, Recommend Perform Cooling System Service with Hose Replacement ***Vehicle is Equipped With Timing Belt, Check Customers Records For Previous Replacement - The inital issues was the purge valve stuck open, which lead to a misfire code, so they mechanic had a replacement of purge valve chassy and replace spark plugs. - 2 weeks following this event, we were told the engine would need to be replaced due to an internal coolant leakage that resulted from a broken gasket. The vehicle does not even have 200,000 miles.