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 and engine cooling
508 reports, newest first. Show all
Engine and engine cooling, May 21, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the engine ran rough, and the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle shut off and failed to restart until after approximately five hours. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was observed that fluid was leaking from the engine block and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
Engine, Engine and engine cooling, May 14, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle misfired, with the check engine warning light illuminated. In addition, the RPMs were unusually low. The vehicle was driven to an independent mechanic however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was later towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion into cylinder #2. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. In addition, the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 68,000.
Engine and engine cooling, May 13, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the engine was misfiring with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that coolant was leaking into the engine, causing the misfire. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was referred to the NHSTA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 87,000.
Engine and engine cooling, Engine, May 10, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the contact heard a loud clanking noise coming from the engine with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated the engine began to misfire. The vehicle was able to be restarted on the third attempt; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to AutoZone where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine was misfiring. The contact was informed that the spark plugs, and ignition coils needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure persisted with the engine warning light illuminated and the engine continuing to misfire. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with a failure with the engine block. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and advised the contact to call the NHSTA Hotline for further assistance The failure mileage was 101,000.
Engine and engine cooling, May 9, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the "Engine Fault, Service Now" and "Change Oil Soon" messages were displayed. The contact stated that the oil change was due after 2,000 miles. Additionally, the contact stated while driving and making a turn, the vehicle stalled. The message "Engine Fault, Service Now" was displayed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that a mixture of oil and coolant was leaking into the engine. The dealer determined 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 approximately 122,000.
Engine and engine cooling, May 8, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, the vehicle was shuddering abnormally. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion into the engine which caused an engine misfire. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to Customer Satisfaction Numbers: 21N12 and 19B37. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that the vehicle was not included in the Customer Satisfaction programs. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.
Engine and engine cooling, May 7, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the spark plugs had been replaced previously; however, there was a misfire in the engine, and there was coolant leaking into the engine. The contact stated that the coolant reservoir had to be refilled constantly. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed that there was a coolant leak present and that the engine needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.
Engine and engine cooling, May 7, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at 35 MPH, the overheating message was displayed. The contact pulled over and turned off the vehicle. The contact added coolant. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that there was coolant in cylinder #2. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure was related to Technical Service Bulletin: 22-2229. The manufacturer was contacted, opened a case, and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 127,140.
Engine and engine cooling, May 6, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing excessive oil consumption. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the turbo was leaking oil, and the turbo drain tube was replaced. Additionally, the contact stated that there was white smoke coming from the exhaust pipe while starting and while driving the vehicle. Additionally, the contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle mainly responded while depressing the accelerator pedal harder than normal. The contact also stated that while starting the vehicle, the engine made an abnormal tapping sound and was misfiring. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the failure was related to the purge valve; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed. The contact declined to pay for the repair. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion in the engine. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The mechanic recommended a compression test and referred the contact to the dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 85,000.
Engine and engine cooling, Engine, Apr 29, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the vehicle was idling rough. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion into the cylinders and determined that the engine block 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 contact related the failure to Technical Service Bulletin: 22-2133 (Coolant in Cylinders, White Exhaust Smoke, And/or Illuminated MIL); however, the vehicle was not covered under the TSB. The failure mileage was approximately 89,000.
Engine, Engine and engine cooling, Apr 29, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the engine would shake. The contact scanned the vehicle and diagnosed that cylinders #2, #3, and #4 were misfiring and there was a coolant leak. Additionally, the vehicle started to stall on a few occasions. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed that there was a leak in the engine block and 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. The failure mileage was approximately 119,887.
Engine, Engine and engine cooling, Apr 29, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, the vehicle made an abnormal sound. The check engine warning light was illuminated, and the temperature gauge displayed that the engine was overheating. An unknown message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to AutoZone, where it was diagnosed with a cylinder #3 misfire, and determined that the spark plugs needed to be replaced. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the head gasket was blown. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 149,000.
Engine, Engine and engine cooling, Apr 23, 2024
I own a 2017 Ford Escape SE with an eco boost engine. All service of the vehicle was done in the dealership except the tune up. At 100,000 miles, I had a full tune up done on the vehicle. 30 days later, the engine light turned on so I had it checked. The frequency of the light turning on increases. I notice a slight shaking at times when the vehicle was cold. The company that did the tune up told me that they notice the car is loosing coolant but there were no visible leaks. When the coolant is replenished, the light turned off and the car works until one morning it just would not start. I towed the vehicle to the dealership to have it checked. They kept the vehicle for three weeks trying to figure out what was wrong with it since the car was not giving them any codes. They notice the second cylinder bore was corroded and so was the spark plug indicating that there was coolant intrusion into the cylinder bores. The car never gave me any indications of overheating. I spoke to Ford customer care to address the issue and was told I’m out of luck. I had found a letter they sent to me back in 2020 “ Customer Satisfaction Program 19B37. The letter described coolant intrusion into the cylinder bores that can lead to coolant loss, excessive tailpipe smoke, or illuminated malfunction indicator lights ( MIL ) due to engine misfire and could potentially lead to engine damage. Ford dealership said this recall has expired. They diagnosed the issue of the car as engine failure due to coolant intrusion in the engine and quoted me $10,000 to replaced the engine. Upon my research I learned that there’s a class lawsuit again Ford regarding this issue with their eco boost engines. I have a voice message from regional manager of the dealership claiming that all recall on this issue has expired and they can not do anything about it. The fact that the car did not give proper code for its engine light is a safety issue. Please investigate.
Engine and engine cooling, Engine, Apr 23, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that upon start of the vehicle, the check engine warning light appeared on the instrument panel with heavy white smoke coming from the exhaust pipe. The contact also stated that vehicle hesitated while depressing the accelerator pedal. The vehicle was initially taken to an independent mechanic where the contact was informed that the high-pressure fuel valve needed to be replaced. The vehicle was then taken to a dealer where it was determined that there was coolant intrusion into cylinder #1. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that there were no recalls on the VIN. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000.
Engine, Engine and engine cooling, Apr 22, 2024
Coolant intrusion into engine cylinders causing engine overheating.Due to defective ford 2.0 ecoboost engine.
Engine and engine cooling, Apr 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the engine experienced rough operation, reduced power, and the check engine warning light remained illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed an engine misfire was present in cylinder #3. The vehicle was not repaired. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 80,000.
Engine and engine cooling, Apr 12, 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 catalytic converter. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 94,000.
Engine and engine cooling, Apr 5, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 65-70 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was parked for a while. The contact stated that while continuing to drive, the warning light was no longer illuminated. The contact stated that approximately two days after the first failure, the failure reoccurred; and the warning light started blinking instead of remaining constantly illuminated. The dealer diagnosed the vehicle and determined that coolant was leaking into the cylinders causing engine failure. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 58,000. The VIN was unavailable.
Engine and engine cooling, Apr 3, 2024
The contact's daughter owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while her daughter was driving at various speeds, the check engine warning light illuminated intermittently. The vehicle was taken to both an independent mechanic and the local dealer; however, the failure could not be duplicated. The contact stated that the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that there was a coolant intrusion in the engine, and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.
Engine, Engine and engine cooling, Apr 3, 2024
There is a known problem with the Ford Escape engines leaking coolant into the cylinders. I have a 2.0 which for two years there have been issues with engines needing to be replaced but Ford will not help owners of the 2.0 engine, only 1.5 and 1.9l engines. My 2.0 has coolant in the cylinders and needs a new engine. Ford claims there is not an issue with this engine yet and will not cover the repair. The warranty ran out two weeks ago and been dealing with this issue for months. There needs to be a recall on all Escape engines to protect the owners from being charged for an issue that Ford knows about but will not help all owners.
Engine, Engine and engine cooling, Apr 2, 2024
The check engine light came on so we called the dealership. This is a 7.5 year old vehicle with under 50,000 miles. They made an appointment for us to come up over a week later. In the meantime the vehicle started to blow a lot of smoke when starting. Smelled like anti-freeze. We took it to the dealership early. Two days later they told us it needed a new engine. Our extended bumper to bumper warranty just ran out 6 months prior and we were hit with an estimate of $8000. I researched and found that Ford knows about this issue, and has for a few years now. There are recalls for this 2.0L engine in the Fusion, but not in the Escape. From what I read it seems to be a flaw in the design of the coolant channels, which can cause a coolant leak, engine over heating, and possibly a fire. We did not have this happen as we seem to have caught the issue early enough, however at this point we are without the vehicle and waiting for a new engine to be installed. And we are stuck with the bill.
Power train, Engine, Engine and engine cooling, Apr 2, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that upon the start of the vehicle, a heavy, blueish-colored smoke would emit from the exhaust pipe as the check engine light would intermittently appear on the instrument panel. In addition, the contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would hesitate upon the depression of the accelerator pedal. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was discovered that coolant had leaked into an engine cylinder. The dealer replaced the turbo; however, the failure returned soon after the repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. Upon investigation, the contact discovered that the vehicle was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train). The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.
Engine and engine cooling, Apr 2, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that coolant was leaking into the engine. The contact also stated that the pistons were missing. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who informed the contact that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that an engine replacement was needed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the local dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 82,000.
Engine and engine cooling, Apr 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 136,000.
Engine and engine cooling, Electrical system, Mar 29, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 FORD Escape. The contact stated while driving the vehicle, it ran rough and the contact noticed the cooling level was low. No warning lights was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the water pump was replaced. However the failure persisted. The contact referenced NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V416000 (Engine and Engine Cooling, Electrical System) as a possible solution however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact the vehicle was not included in the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 84,000.