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
2,686 reports, newest first.
Engine, Mar 21, 2024
MY FORD ESCAPE IS IN THE. DEALERS SHOP WITH A DIAGNOSIS OF COOLANT IN THE CYLINDERS THE FIX IS ENGINE REPLACEMENT AT $8,000.00 TO $9,000.00. I UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IN AN ONGOING PROBLEM WITH FORD 1.5 AND 2.0 LITER ENGINES. MY CAR HAS 50,419 MILES AS OF 2-21-24. WHY HASN’T THERE BEEN A RECALL OR OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM? APPARENTLY A LARGE NUMBER OF FORD CUSTOMERS HAVE THIS PROBLEM.
Engine and engine cooling, Mar 20, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at 30 MPH, the temperature gauge indicated that the vehicle was overheating. The contact stated that he pulled to the shoulder of the road; however, the failure persisted. The coolant temperature warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who determined that the coolant level was abnormally low, and the coolant reservoir was refilled; however, the failure reoccurred. The contact stated that after inspecting underneath the vehicle, she noticed coolant leaking from underneath the engine compartment. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, who determined that the vehicle was not experiencing a coolant leak but excessive coolant consumption; however, the dealer was unable to diagnose the vehicle. 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 80,000.
Engine and engine cooling, Mar 20, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the check engine warning light was illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle was driving rough and failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that there was coolant intrusion in the cylinder number one. The dealer determined that 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 53,000.
Engine, Mar 19, 2024
Due to the faulty design of the Ford ecoboost, coolant has leaked into my car's cylinders. The Ford technician at my local dealership has informed me that my car now needs a new engine at a cost of $7300 before tax. I have kept up with the maintainence and service on this vehicle. No one from Ford warned me this engine flaw. Only after discovering the leak did I become aware of this widespread problem with the Ecoboost.
Engine and engine cooling, Mar 19, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the vehicle was idling roughly and misfiring. The contact stated that there was white smoke coming out of the exhaust pipe. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring. The vehicle was towed to an unknown local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that coolant had intruded into the cylinders, and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The contact related the failure to Ford Technical Service Bulletin Number: 19-2139. The failure mileage was approximately 73,000.
Wheels, Mar 19, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while attempting to change a flat tire, he became aware that the lug nuts became deformed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the lug nuts, informing the contact that the lug nuts were over torqued, resulting in damages to the lug nuts. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 77,000. The VIN was not available.
Engine, Mar 19, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at approximately 50 MPH and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle failed to accelerate as needed, and the vehicle was shuddering. The check engine warning light had illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a local independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that there was a significant amount of oil in cylinder #2. The local dealer was contacted, but due to the warranty being expired the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000.
Engine, Mar 19, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that upon her husband starting the vehicle, the vehicle hesitated and failed to accelerate above 25–40 MPH. The check engine warning light was illuminated and flashing. The vehicle misfired and jerked while driving. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who performed a compression test, which was at 25 lbs. on the cylinder #4. The contact was informed that the head gasket was blown. The mechanic replaced the coil pack and spark plugs, but the failure persisted. The local dealer was contacted, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 81,309.
Engine, Engine and engine cooling, Mar 18, 2024
My car has roughly 55,000 miles on it. The check engine light was turning on and off intermittently. Every time I took it to the dealership, the light would go off and they could not retrieve a code. Recently it started idling rough when it would first start. Within a few days it started driving very rough. Took it to the dealership and they determined that coolant was leaking into the cylinders causing the engine to misfire. They have told me I need the entire long block replaced. I searched online and this appears to be a known issue on Ford 2.0L EcoBoost engines.
Engine, Mar 18, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. Additionally, the vehicle stalled, and, on several occasions, there was white smoke coming from the rear exhaust pipe. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the failure was unable to be duplicated. The failure was persistent. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to report the failure to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was unknown.
Engine and engine cooling, Mar 18, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the vehicle shuddered and vibrated after starting. While driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated and the message "Engine Fault, Service Now" was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local service center who discovered that the engine coolant level was extremely low. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The contact was informed of the Manufacturer's Extended Coverage for the failure, but after contacting the manufacturer the contact was informed that the VIN was not included. The local dealer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 87,000.
Engine, Firerelated, Mar 18, 2024, fire
The contact's wife owned a 2017 Ford Escape. While the contact's wife was driving at 80 MPH, both a stop engine and check engine warning lights appeared on the instrument panel. The contact's wife called the contact who was then informed to immediately pull over. As the contact's wife pulled over, black smoke began to emit from the engine. The contact's wife exited the vehicle as the vehicle quickly caught fire. The authorities were called to the scene and the fire was extinguished. A police report was filed and no injuries were reported. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it remained in their possession. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The vehicle was destroyed as a result of the fire. The failure mileage was 100,000.
Engine, Engine and engine cooling, Mar 15, 2024
Coolant Leak. An Internet search revealed that this was a common problem among this model (coolant leaking into cylinder #2). I keep coolant in the car at all times in case of overheating.
Engine and engine cooling, Mar 14, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle would not properly accelerate. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer who determined that coolant was present inside the cylinders of the engine and the engine needed to be replaced. The engine was replaced but the vehicle continued to experience the failure with the check engine warning light remaining illuminated. The engine was misfiring. The failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 85,000.
Power train, Engine, Mar 13, 2024
Good morning, yesterday I noticed that the engine is not running smoothly when starting (i.e. when it is cold). The yellow engine light came on. Errors 0301 and 0316 were detected in the car workshop. Most likely, the engine head was cracked or the head gasket was damaged. Moreover, a week ago I noticed a strange knocking noise in the rear axle. The workshop wanted to change the oil. Unfortunately, there is no drain plug in the rear axle housing. In my opinion, these are design defects of the engine and rear axle. These elements are important for the safety of the car in road traffic. A person cannot be allowed to buy a car that cannot be operated properly. Although the user manual says that it can be done.
Engine, Engine and engine cooling, Mar 12, 2024
Engine stopped entirely while going up a hill. Had a mechanic look at it about a month agoa nd told me that the engine has coolant intrusion issue. Making the engine misfire and makes it lose power and shuts engine off on the middle of the road!! Ford knows about this and redeigned the engine due to this issue.
Engine, Mar 9, 2024
The engine has had a head gasket failure at 40,000 miles less than 7 years old. This is caused by the FORD engine design according to the dealership. The dealership tells me that it is a "ticking time bomb". Ford covers the 1.5 l engines but not the 2.0 l ones in a TSB 22-2134. This is a 9500.00 fix which I cannot afford. The check engine light has been on since Sept 2023 and the Ford dealership told me the car was fine. It was not until I continued to bring it in with the check engine light on that they admitted they knew there was a problem that caused the engine to fail catastrophically. This is a safety hazard to the driver and anyone on the road as the engine fails.
Power train, Mar 8, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled with an unstated message displayed on the instrument panel. Due to the failure, the vehicle was towed back to the contact's residence. An independent mechanic went to the residence to inspect the vehicle; the mechanic diagnosed the vehicle with transmission failure. The contact was then provided an estimate for the repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 117,000.
Engine, Mar 8, 2024
Recently, I noticed that my car has been leaking coolant fluid. I brought it into my local auto shop and was informed that it's an issue with my engine. I was handed a pamphlet of information on the known issue with 2017 ford eco boost having coolant leaking into the engine. I checked to see if there were any recalls for this after doing research and seeing that this is quite the known issue.
Engine and engine cooling, Mar 7, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed speeds, the vehicle failed to accelerate as needed. There was white smoke coming from the exhaust. Additionally, the vehicle had failed to start. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who informed the contact about a coolant leak and a Customer Satisfaction Program. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, and the contact was informed that the vehicle did not meet the requirements for the coverage. The vehicle was diagnosed, and it was determined that coolant was leaking into the cylinders. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, but no additional assistance was provided, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline. The approximate failure mileage was 103,000.
Engine, Mar 7, 2024
Car misfired while driving. Check engine light came on [XXX]. Car was taken to Ford Murfreesboro service center and we were advised coolant is leaking into the engine. Per the. CSP during the pandemic, Certain 2017-2019 Model Year Fusion and Escape Vehicles Equipped with a 1.5L GTDI Engine – Short Block Replacement After Coolant Intrusion. Car was not included in the Customer Satisfaction Program [XXX], although it is having the exact issue. My car was manufactured at the Louisville plant, which is one of the impacted manufacturing facility locations. This is a widely known issue and I believe the car should have been included in the CSP in 2022. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Engine, Mar 6, 2024
The engine failed due to catastrophic damage to the engine due to coolant leaking into the engine block. We were driving on the highway on a two-lane, mountain pass road when the car suddenly shut down. Yes, a Ford dealership confirmed the problem and a Ford customer representative confirmed that it is a known Ford issue with not enough complaints to warrant a recall. Yes, the vehicle has been inspected and quoted at $12,000 in repairs. I had only owned the car about 9 months when this happened and still owe $11,000 in financing. No, there were no warning lamps or symptoms of the problem prior to the failure. They first appeared on this drive when the car broke down.
Engine and engine cooling, Power train, Mar 5, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal sound coming from under the hood of the vehicle. No warning light was illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to a local mechanic and the contact was informed that the water pump was leaking, and that the bearing in the water pump was inoperable causing the abnormal sound. The mechanic recommended the removal of the stress belt and replacing the timing belt. The vehicle was not repaired due to the cost. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was approximately 105,000.
Engine, Mar 4, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. In addition, the vehicle was shaking. The contact stated that the vehicle was initially driven to the dealer the first time; however, the second time the vehicle was towed to the dealer. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a coolant leak, and it was determined 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 70,000.
Engine, Mar 4, 2024
Their vehicle’s engine has a defect in the design created by Ford Motor Company that results in coolant leaking into the cylinders which causes engine failure, corrosion, and fire, which causes a severe safety risk to passengers and other vehicles and persons unless a new engine without the defective Ford design is placed into the vehicle. Numerous other Ford vehicle owners with vehicles containing the defective engine have reported the exact same failures and coolant leaks, as determined by Ford service technicians or other auto repair technicians. Ford as the manufacturer knows of their defective design but refuses to replace the engine through their expense by recall or other means. The check engine light is illuminated due to the engine misfiring because of the coolant leak, which causes failed emissions tests and does not allow me to be able to register the vehicle according to state and county requirements. Attached are a picture of the current engine’s defect and a new engine. The defect in the old engine is a slit cut into the wall between cylinders. This compromises the integrity of the cylinder walls and engine as a whole. The newer engines are manufactured after 2020 and they have removed the defective slit and replaced it with a drilled hole that doesn’t compromise the engine.