2017 Ford Escape
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Engine is the leading concern among 2,686 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 2nd highest complaint count among 26 Escape model years with reports.
Of the 2017 reports, 39 involved a crash and 15 involved a fire. 56 people were injured.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Visibility, power window devices and controlsJun 9, 2026
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2017 Escape vehicles previously repaired incorrectly under recall number 16V617. The power-operated windows may exert excessive force when encountering an object, before they automatically reverse. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 118, "Power-Operated Window Systems."
A closing window that does not reverse direction as expected can pinch a driver or passenger before retracting, increasing the risk of injury.
Dealers will update the power window operating system software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 22, 2026. Owners may contact customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 26C29. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will become searchable on NHTSA.gov on July 6, 2026.
Campaign 26V374000 on NHTSA.gov
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
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
Visibility, power window devices and controlsAug 24, 2016
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2017 Ford Escape Titanium and SE vehicles manufactured October 5, 2015, to May 12, 2016. The settings for the closing-force of the power-operated windows may allow the windows to close on an object such as a body part and injure it before the windows auto-reverse. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 118, "Power-Operated Window Systems."
If a window closes on a body part, it can increase the risk of injury.
Ford has notified owners, and dealers will update the power window operating system software, free of charge. The recall began on September 6, 2016. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 16C12.
Campaign 16V617000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints: engine
1,983 reports, newest first. Show all
Other or unspecified, Engine, Aug 9, 2024
Coolant intrusion due to design flaw...motor is skipping really bad and running extremely rough
Engine, Aug 8, 2024
While driving car on expressway, my car was slowing down like it was going to shut off, and I immediately exit the highway and got off the nearest exit, and car shut off right as I was trying to exit highway. Ecoboost on vehicle is also not working. i believe also something on fire within vehicle.
Engine and engine cooling, Aug 8, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, while attempting to leave the residence, the vehicle made an abnormal sound. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was driven to a dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that there was coolant intrusion into the engine and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 53,000.
Engine and engine cooling, Aug 8, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the vehicle was idling roughly, causing the vehicle to vibrate abnormally. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent but had become a recurring failure. The contact had taken the vehicle to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed and determined that ignition coil #2 needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred, and the vehicle was taken back to the same independent mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the air intake assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that failure reoccurred, and the vehicle was taken to another independent mechanic who informed the contact that coolant had leaked into cylinder #2, and that the valve cover was cracked. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The contact stated that the independent mechanic related the failure to Technical Service Bulletin Number: 19-2208 - Coolant In Cylinders (Engine and Engine Cooling). The failure mileage was 104,590.
Engine, Fuel/propulsion system, Aug 8, 2024
On a routine drive, my 2017 Escape SE, traveling at 68 mph on cruise control made a quick thud sound and instantly became unresponsive to gas pedal depression, and immediately began to slow down from 68mph, rapidly slowing to 30-35mph with fast moving traffic behind me. My Escape and displayed an Engine light that flashed continuously, and I drifted over to the shoulder and came to a stop noticing the rough and choppy engine operation. upon the use of a general OBD II scanner, P0300, P0301, P0302, P0303 were displayed as the cause for the engine light illumination. The vehicle was towed to a repair shop (receipt attached) and the spark plugs, coils were replaced at a cost upwards of $500. Upon the Escape being returned to me and its initial 50 miles driven, once again the engine light illuminated and the code P0302, P0303 were read once again as well as “Multi cylinder misfires detected” The vehicle vibrated violently, and accelerated was deeply compromised resulting in a near miss accident from the rear, and subsequently not being able to accelerate through an intersection. This was another safety issue as opposing traffic in all directions were required to go around my disabled vehicle at risk of collision with my vehicle. Vehicle was then taken to a Ford authorized dealership for inspection and possible repairs. At that time I was informed coolant had been leaking into cylinder 2 & 3 causing continued and extensive damage to the internal working components of my 1.5L Ecoboost engine. The repair required and sugggested was a Long Block Replacement with an estimated cost of $10,000+, surpassing the value of the vehicle three times over. I took the vehicle home and parked it, and bought a 2018 Ford Escape, and was unable to use my 2017 Escape as a trade in as it was considered a worthless vehicle due to its disrepair. Ford knows about this issue and refused assistance or advice knowing this problem exists and affects most of their vehicle lineup
Engine, Aug 8, 2024
Coolant leaking into engine cylinders. Could potentially cause fire
Engine and engine cooling, Aug 7, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 35-40 MPH, the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with a misfire in the engine. The mechanic cleared the check warning light; however, the failure recurred while driving. The vehicle was taken to a local independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion into the engine. The mechanic determined that the engine block needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 51,000.
Power train, Engine, Aug 6, 2024
Two years ago in 2022, my engine block was replaced at a ford dealership free of charge due to the customer service bulletin/satisfaction program. A month ago I was hearing a super loud rattling and the engine completely cut off while I was driving. Thank goodness I was able to get over to the side of the road and have it towed back to the ford dealer that did the repair previously. With less than 80k miles, they are now telling me that there is something in the engine head and will be more than 10k to fix. They cannot tell me what is in the engine head and claim it could have nothing to do with the other issue fixed previously. I am having to completely scrap a car that should otherwise be worth 10k. Something is wrong here. Not only is it a dangerous situation but just horrible customer service on the part of Ford.
Engine, Aug 6, 2024
This vehicle has approximately 53,000 miles on it. My wife and I are [XXX] so we do not drive fast. I also take excellent care of my vehicles. My vehicle is now burning radiator fluid. I had a long conversation with a test engineer at Ford who told me that Ford is having a LOT of issues with this engine. The engine is failing. The problem appears to be that this engine was developed with a short block when it should have been developed with a long block. Engines should last well beyond 53,000 miles. I recommend a recall on 2017 Ford Escapes to properly repair the engine to a long block. I have paid too much money for this vehicle to have these issues so young in its life. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Engine, Aug 5, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the spark plug in cylinder #2. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, who then determined that the spark plug in cylinder #2 had exploded. The contact was informed that all the spark plugs, and ignition coils needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure reoccurred. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The contact was able to pull to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who determined that coolant intrusion had damaged the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 76,000.
Power train, Engine, Aug 5, 2024
This morning while driving think white vapor started pouring from the exhaust and the whole vehicle started shuttering and lost power. Needs a new engine now. Thanks Ford. The 2.0 issue/no issue has struck another.
Engine, Aug 5, 2024
My mom has always kept up all maintenance and car has never produced a check engine light. When driving to work the other day she started having engine problems. Had it immediately towed to the Ford dealership and they said the engine was blown. The technician says he sees it quite often on this model car from water leaking into engine. The technician tried to get ford to fix it but to no avail. The car has 54,000 miles on it and 3 months over the 7 year warranty. I see many other postings on this car and it is time for someone to do something. No car should only go 54,000 miles when well taken care of. Thanks
Engine and engine cooling, Aug 5, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while his son was driving approximately 65 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated, the vehicle started losing motive power and stalled. The vehicle was later towed to the local dealer who diagnosed that the engine had failed due to coolant intrusion into cylinder #2. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 86,020.
Engine, Aug 3, 2024
The vehicle lost power while driving nearly causing a rear end collision. There was no warning when incident occurred. Check engine light illuminated with code for misfire on number 1 cylinder and misc misfire. After this happened I’m constantly adding coolant to engine. When I first start the vehicle coolant smell and steam from tail pipe. Did not take to dealership because of cost involved for verification and dealership said new engine would cost approx 10000.
Engine and engine cooling, Aug 2, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked and attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle failed to respond as intended with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that several days later while attempting to start the vehicle, there was a considerable amount of white smoke coming from the exhaust pipe. The contact inspected the coolant reservoir and became aware that the coolant reservoir was empty. The contact refilled the coolant reservoir; however, two days later the coolant reservoir was empty again. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed with a coolant leak. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 106,000.
Engine, Aug 2, 2024
Car only has 42,000 miles on it. Was just told it needs a new engine due to a known manufacturing defect that lets coolant into the cylinders causing rough starting and running.
Engine and engine cooling, Engine, Aug 2, 2024
The contact called on behalf of his daughter who owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine was misfiring. The contact stated that the failure persisted and the engine overheated. The contact was able to pull the vehicle to the side of the road, where white smoke was coming from the front of the vehicle near the engine compartment. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion into cylinder #1. The vehicle was not repaired and remained with the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 75,000.
Engine, Aug 1, 2024
Engine coolant leak: Car has always been well maintain, but all of sudden I am starting to have a coolant leak. From what I have read it is very common and require a motor replacement.
Power train, Engine, Aug 1, 2024
This vehicle has an internal coolant leak causing white smoke out of the tail pipe, rough idling and constant misfiring. I know its an internal coolant leak because I have to constantly add coolant to the vehicle as well as the rough idling and rough start/ misfiring
Engine, Aug 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the check engine and engine overheated warning lights illuminated. The vehicle went into low power mode, and the contact parked and turned off the vehicle. The contact stated that the failure was related to Customer Satisfaction Program: 21N12. The vehicle was towed to her daughter's residence. The daughter is a mechanic instructor, and her husband is a mechanic who determined that the head gasket was blown, and the engine needed to be replaced. The local dealer was contacted and informed the contact that a diagnostic test needed to be performed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, and a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 110,766.
Engine and engine cooling, Aug 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The contact was able to pull to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle failed to restart. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined that coolant intrusion had damaged the engine. The contact was informed that the short block 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 78,000.
Engine, Aug 1, 2024
2017 Ford Escape, only owner, just out of warranty. Service engine light came on and vehicle seemed to have an odd sound when first started in the mornings, took to dealership and was told cause was cylinder 4 misfire, had low coolant and the pressure test showed cooling system-coolant intrusion into cylinder 4. I was given an estimate of $7300 to replace short block per TSB 22-2322. My vehicle has a little less than 40,000 miles on it, and just had an oil change with inspection about a month and half ago with no issues found. Don’t know how I can have a cracked block with less than 40,000 miles. I believe this to be a factory defect, and have seen many other complaints online about the same issue. I did see that Ford had a recall for this same issue on the 2017 Ford Escape ecoboost.?.?.? I believe there should be a recall on my vehicle also. I have maintained my vehicle and do not drive it hard.
Engine, Aug 1, 2024
The vehicle began idling rough when starting and was also blowing white exhaust smoke, which triggered an engine code. We took the vehicle to a local mechanic who ran the engine codes that had been pulled from the vehicle and determined that it was related to a TSB that involved coolant leaking into the engine possibly due to an intake manifold bolt backing out which caused damage due to coolant subsequently leaking into the engine. We took to our dealer who advised us that Ford will not do anything for us due to vehicle not being under warranty, even though this was an ongoing concern that Ford was aware of for quite some time.
Engine and engine cooling, Jul 31, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to several independent mechanics who diagnosed the vehicle with a coolant intrusion into cylinder #2. 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 approximately 93,000.
Engine, Jul 31, 2024
Service engine light came on and I called Ford Service to get the car inspected. I had to wait a few days until there was an opening in the service department. I continued to drive car but engine stopped in the middle of my road while backing out of my driveway several times. I live on a busy street but luckily no cars when this happened. When Ford finally inspected vehicle I was informed that the engine needs to be replaced due to head gasket leaking into engine. I have an extended warranty but it won't cover replacing the engine because this is a known problem with these engines so a loop hole was written into warranty. The Ford service department indicated that this is a known factor for 2017 Ford Escapes and I am surprised there is no recall as my engine stopped while in the roadway.