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
1,124 reports, newest first.
Engine, Dec 7, 2022
I was driving to work and my temperature gauge starting moving all over and car stated, "pull to safety." I pulled over and had car towed to Northside service center in brockport where they had it towed to West Herr dealership in spencerport. West Herr stated the recall doesn't match my VIN and is refusing to repair it.
Power train, Dec 6, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of the NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train) however, the contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, she heard a grinding sound. The contact then stated that while shifting into drive(D), the vehicle hesitated and then stalled. The vehicle was able to be restarted. The dealer was previously notified of the failure, and the contact was provided and appointment date; however, the vehicle had not yet been diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 80,048.
Power train, Dec 5, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving approximately 50 MPH, the vehicle decelerated to 5 MPH, and the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact coasted to the side of the road and the vehicle was towed to the dealer. The vehicle was diagnosed, and it was determined that the transmission had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and opened a case. The approximate failure mileage was 88,000.
Power train, Dec 2, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train). The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle hesitated while accelerating. Additionally, the vehicle was jerking while shifting gear. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed and determined that the transmission was faulty. The dealer was made aware of the failure and scheduled an upcoming appointment. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 77,000.
Power train, Dec 2, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated received notification of the NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train) however, after the vehicle was retrieved from the dealer, while her aunt was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle failed to properly respond while shifted into gear. The contact stated that the following day the transmission fault warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer was notified of the failure; however, the contact was awaiting a response. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 112,000.
Engine, Nov 30, 2022
I checked this site and my car had 1 recall that I was never informed or made aware of by my manufacturer. I don’t know if it’s a minor recall or a major one, but it’s scary.
Other or unspecified, Nov 27, 2022
Hi, we have a 2016 Ford escape ecoboost Titanium that upon ramping up speed to get on a highway, hesitates and loses power. Our son who was driving felt multiple tugs from the steering wheel and then very quickly had to get to the side of the road as a message appeared “loss of power”, the car was going into limp mode. He turned the car off but it was weird in that it didn’t seem to be fully off. We think the battery may be involved here but can only tell you that when police arrived we could not roll down windows or do anything electrical - when we outside, only one hazard light was flashing. We took it into the Van Horn Ford in Sheboygan, Wisconsin where it is currently. We’ve had it towed 3 times. The first 2 times the dealership said there were no codes to go by. Since it happened 2 times after stopping for gas then getting on highway we thought maybe it was the gas. We had the fuel tank emptied and flushed, the fuel injectors flushed and were returned the car. This last time, I had driven 2 hours to Madison, parked the car for an hour then started back. I was ramping up speed and I felt tugging on the steering and was terrified. I decided not to stop to get gas but see if I could make it home (2 hours). I did. After letting the car rest I went 1 mile to get gas at our local gas station. The battery light came on and the car wasn’t shutting down properly. I filled up with gas and got the car back to my garage. It would not start the next day, so we had it towed. Dealership said that because multiple codes came out due to battery failure. New battery installed and dealer was able to recreate problem with no codes. We are pulling our hair out. The info I find online seems EXACTLY to match problems that ford owners have resolved with a new ELECTRIC THROTTLE BODY. We haven’t tried this yet. This is a dangerous situation. Please advise. Our Ford person is [XXX] [XXX] please call him. [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
Steering, Suspension, Electrical system, Nov 22, 2022, crash
I crashed car because is park according with transmission and car still moved and hit fence, I contact ford for this incident and still waiting someone contact me. So I decide lawsuits against Ford
Other or unspecified, Nov 15, 2022
Received a Recall letter notice 22S43/NHTSA Recall22V413 on my 2016 Escape Titanium about the damaged transmission shifter cable bushing damaged or missing. Said I would get letter when parts came in but never got a letter to schedule an appt. with dealership and I received the letter in July 2022. Can you please check on this and email me at rpile@wilsonmuirbank.com..thank you. Rose Pile
Power train, Nov 14, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH uphill, the transmission started slipping. The contact coasted the vehicle to a flat surface where the failure was self-corrected temporarily; however, the failure reoccurred. The contact coasted the vehicle to a safe area where the transmission completely failed. The vehicle was then towed to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the transmission had failed due to metal shavings in the transmission filter. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired by a certified mechanic. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 93,000.
Fuel system, Gasoline, Nov 14, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the transmission was previously replaced. The contact stated that after refueling, the vehicle was unable to restart immediately. The contact depressed the accelerator pedal while turning on the vehicle to correct the failure. Additionally, the vehicle made abnormal sounds and would shake and then stall while driving. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the canister purge valve needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that there was no recall associated with the VIN. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.
Steering, Nov 11, 2022
As I was turning onto a street the power steering assist fault light briefly flashed and the car lost all power steering causing me to nearly hit oncoming vehicles. It was impossible to steer the car. After stopping and waiting several minutes the power steering returned. This is the second incident I have had like this with this car.
Power train, Nov 9, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated while the vehicle was stationary at a traffic light, she removed her foot from the brake pedal and the vehicle independently started to reverse. The driver stated the transmission warning light was illuminated after turning off and restarting the vehicle. The contact continued experiencing the failure while driving back to the residence. The contact towed the vehicle to the local dealer and the recall repair was performed. The vehicle was repaired; however, after leaving the dealer, the failure immediately recurred. The contact parked on the side of the road and towed the vehicle back to the dealer. The vehicle was not yet diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 88,693.
Power train, Nov 7, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of the NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while stopped at a stop light, he heard a noise under the hood of the vehicle. The contact then stated that while the accelerator pedal was depressed, the vehicle failed to immediately respond. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle. The transmission fault warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the third gear failed to operate. The vehicle was then taken to another independent mechanic but was not yet diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 92,000.
Power train, Nov 7, 2022
Our 2016 Ford Escape transmission failed at 121,000 miles with no warning. There was no slipping or leaking fluid. The transmission was serviced at 100,000 miles. When the transmission failed the engine started to jump in rpm's with the speed dropping till the car wouldn't go anywhere. When it was placed in park the transmission warning light came on. I had the car towed to a transmission repair facility where I was told that I needed a new transmission that something went internally and was plugging the filter. I looked at the forum for 2016 Ford Escapes and see this is a common problem. Shouldn't this be a recall? It's not safe to just to have this go all at once on the highway.
Engine, Nov 2, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that on multiple occasions while attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle failed to start. The contact stated that she notified a tow truck to jumpstart the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to Pep Boys however, the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was not repaired. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 109,000.
Steering, Suspension, Engine, Oct 29, 2022, crash
INGINE LIGHT/SUSPENSION LIGHTS WENT ON. CAR JERKS AND SHAKES ON THE ROAD AND PULLS TO THE RIGHT MAKING IT HARD TO KEEP THE STEERING WHEEL STRAIGHT
Power train, Oct 28, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, there was an abnormal humming noise detected. The vehicle decelerated, jerked, and lost motive power. The contact placed the shifter in park(P) and restarted the vehicle. The accelerator pedal was depressed but the vehicle was slow to respond while the RPM redlined. The transmission fault message was displayed. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 110,401.
Power train, Oct 28, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train) 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 manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
Power train, Oct 27, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train) 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 attempting to accelerate from 35 to 40 MPH, the vehicle made an abnormal whining sound under the hood. The RPM increased; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate. The contact coasted the vehicle to the residence. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and filed a case. The approximate failure mileage was 68,000. Parts distribution disconnect.
Power train, Oct 24, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 76 MPH, the vehicle decelerated with the transmission failure warning message displayed. The contact depressed the accelerator pedal; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate. The contact stated that the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The contact restarted the vehicle and pulled over safely. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the vehicle needed to be taken to an authorized dealer. The failure mileage was 75,366.
Other or unspecified, Oct 21, 2022
Recvd a recall letter in July '22. No part available yet!!?? Come on! This is serious! The transmission shifter cable bushing is damaged, or worse yet, missing??!! I call that critical! When will this be fixed!!!??
Service brakes, Oct 19, 2022
This has been an intermittent problem that Ford dealership cannot rectify unless it happens to them. Because I can't make it happen, and it has not happened close to a dealership, they cannot see it. The brakes seize up and won't stop the vehicle. I have no idea when it will happen - it happens with no warning. It has happened in the mountains in NC and on the highway, in a gas station, in parking lots and in my garage among other places. It is very frightening. Last night when it happened it lasted for about 45 minutes - the longest ever, and the brakes made a terrible blaring noise. When the brakes seize up, I have to drive very slowly and practically stand up on the brakes to bring the car to a halt. Thankfully it has not happened at high speed. This puts me, any passengers and other vehicles and their passengers and drivers at risk. The problem has occurred several times, but has not been confirmed by a dealer. By the way, the brakes have been squeaky since the first few months of ownership. At one point the dealership resurfaced the brake pads and rotors. It seems like the same issue the 2016 Expedition was recalled for. I am scared that this will result in a terrible wreck. The first occurrence was on April 1, 2019. The most recent was last night, 10/18/2022. Today, Ford Customer Service gave me a case number of CAS39180084
Power train, Oct 18, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train) 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 manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
Power train, Oct 14, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was not available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The local dealer was notified of the issue and confirmed that parts were not available. The manufacturer was not notified of the issue. The contact stated that after his wife placed the gear shifter in park, the gear shift indicator showed that the vehicle was not in park. The contact stated that the parking brake was engaged. VIN tool confirms part not available. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.