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, Oct 9, 2021
A couple of months the "check engine" light turned on. After three appointments, two diagnosis and almost $1,000 down the drain I was told that the coolant is leaking into the engine’s cylinders which is being caused, according to a Ford authorized dealer service department, by an engine design issue that has been apparently ignored by Ford for many years. I contacted Ford directly and they simply talked to me about "offering financial options to cover the cost" which ascend to almost $9,000, for a 5-year old car with less than 50K miles. They stated that this isn't covered by any warranty, that it's impossible to extend the warranty, and that there's no recall despite the many indications that this is a known issue. I found further information about this exact issue on: https://www.motorbiscuit.com/overheat-fail-fire-big-ford-ecoboost-class-action-lawsuit/ https://www.classaction.org/news/newer-ford-lincoln-vehicles-plagued-by-ecoboost-engine-defect-linked-to-coolant-leaks-class-action-says http://www.fordproblems.com/ecoboost-fires/ https://www.carcomplaints.com/news/2020/ford-ecoboost-problems-class-action-lawsuit.shtml
Power train, Sep 29, 2021
On August 13, while driving in stop-and-go traffic I noticed the car was handling funny. It was hesitating when I pushed the gas causing me to accelerate in an unpredictable way in traffic. That weekend I took the car to my mechanic who told me that he couldn’t replicate the issue but if I had the issue again to bring the car back. There were also no error codes so any issue couldn’t be diagnosed. On August 30 while driving home, I attempted to accelerate at an intersection (across 6 lanes of traffic) and the car would rev but not exceed 25 miles per hour. I literally limped into my mechanics shop but once again there were no error codes. However it was clear that something was completely wrong with the car. The car was towed to a transmission shop who inspected it and told me I needed a full transmission rebuild. They also couldn’t explain why the car wasn’t displaying any error codes. In the end I was without my car for 2 weeks, paid over $4,000 for the job, and had to borrow cars just to get to my teaching job. My car is well maintained. It is only four years old but has 100,000 miles – obviously past the warranty. However, I have never had a transmission fail on me. This is also the first time I’ve ever purchased a Ford.
Engine, Sep 29, 2021
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine light illuminated. The contact had to refill the coolant to prevent the vehicle from overheating. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and diagnosed with engine failure from the hydro-lock due to an internal coolant leak from the cylinders. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but informed the contact that there were no recalls on the VIN and that the vehicle was out of warranty. The failure mileage was 83,958.
Other or unspecified, Sep 28, 2021
Paint around windshield column defective and peeling in multiple spots.
Wheels, Sep 27, 2021
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while having routine maintenance at the local dealer, he was informed that the lug nuts were swollen, and all the lug nuts needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 88,000. The VIN was not available.
Other or unspecified, Sep 21, 2021
Engine cracks due to design and leaks coolant into cylinders, causing engine to misfire. This is a known issue with Ford in the 1.5L ecoboost engine and they refuse to do anything.
Wheels, Sep 20, 2021
2-piece "laminated" lug nuts (steel nut covered by sheet metal trim) have failed and are a safety hazard since they are difficult or impossible to remove and replace. This is a design defect and affects multiple Ford vehicle models and years.
Steering, Sep 13, 2021
While driving the Escape the steering suddenly became unresponsive and the steering wheel became very very hard to turn, we were barely able to get off the road. On the instrument panel a warning light said Steering Problem Service Vehicle Immediately. The car was towed to Ford Dealer where it has sat outside now for 3.5 weeks without any service, due to issues at the dealership beyond my control.
Engine, Sep 8, 2021
Ford dealership verified that check engine light coded P0304, engine misfire due to coolant intrusion caused by crack in cylinder. This is a known and well-documented problem with 2.0 L EcoBoost Escapes and Lincoln vehicles that use same engine (MKZ/MKC). VIN # of this particular vehicle matches those known to have the problematic engines. Ford is clearly aware, having released multiple Technical Service Bulletins on this subject of Engine/Coolant issue. The issue is Ford refuses to provide assistance to customers whose vehicles have surpassed 5 yr/60,000 Engine/Powertrain warranty. In this case, vehicle has 66,600 miles. A vehicle with a cracked engine block cannot be operated and presents a safety risk.
Other or unspecified, Sep 7, 2021
Replacement of all swollen lug nuts. And was told the replacement lug nuts would go bad again, wasn’t offered a safer or better choice for my 2017 escape. This is a sad day for Ford. A family generation of Ford owners. I was told my escape is not safe to drive until this is corrected. Ford manufacturers you can do better very unprofessionally. Sad.
Power train, Sep 5, 2021
The car would not get into gear without warning. The car would not produce power when I would press the gas. Then, moments later, without warning, the engine would rev without input, however, the car would not accelerate. I had to pull over and the turn the car off multiple times. I ended up getting a warning light indicating to service the transmission, but when I turned the car off, the warning light would go away, but continue to not get into gear and then jerk, especially at low speed. i ended up taking to the car to a mechanic and got an error code indicating that the car could not get into 5th gear. I was told that the vehicle needed transmission fluid change, which I did. I then drove for about 200 miles without issues. Then suddenly while driving at about 70mph, I the service transmission light came on. i pulled the vehicle over and turned off the car. About 20 minutes later, I again started driving at highway speed for about 5 miles, and the service transmission light did not show and I had no additional issues. I then parked the car over night and then started to drive to the highway. Approximately 5 minutes of driving at highway speed the car would no accelerate when I pressed the accelerator, and i attempted to accelerate the car, but the vehicle would not rev the engine nor provide power, I had no warning lights. When this happened, the car started to decelerate as if the car was in neutral. I ended up having to get the car towed and serviced. i am currently awaiting the results of what is wrong with the car.
Power train, Aug 26, 2021
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 15 MPH, the vehicle stalled with the service transmission message displayed on the instrument panel. The vehicle failed to restart and was towed to a dealer where he was informed that the clutch had failed and that the transmission needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred him to NHTSA. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 98,000.
Other or unspecified, Aug 19, 2021, crash
I made a left at the light onto 1100 Town East Blvd and a truck side swipe on the passengers side in the back . The other person failed to stop to exchange information. The glass part of my tail light has been busted.
Other or unspecified, Aug 16, 2021
My car has just reached 60,000+ miles and it began to jerk, as if shifting gears and decelerate while driving, and has even come to a complete stop while driving. This has happened while in motion on the freeway and main streets, posing a risk to both myself and my child to cause an accident. When taken to the dealer, they did not see a problem after running many diagnostic tests, and offered to "reset" my vehicle for almost 200 dollars. This posed a great risk, as it came back again to a complete stop on the Main Street again while my family was in the car. Once this reset was done, it showed a "transmission fault". However, this should have been caught before and how is a transmission at fault at 60,000 miles with excellent maintenance? This incident would occur whether it was 35 mph to 70 mph
Engine, Aug 9, 2021
The coolant leaks into the spark plugs creating miss fire cylinder “3”
Engine, Aug 7, 2021
Engine started out running roughly a couple days later it overheated the car gave me a notice to pull over safely I turned the car off the oil looks milky , It only has 71,000 miles on it
Engine and engine cooling, Engine, Aug 2, 2021
The car was overheating so I brought it to the dealership to have it looked at. I was informed that there was coolant leaking into one of the engine cylinders causing the car to overheat with the possibility of it even catching on fire.
Exterior lighting, Jul 30, 2021
My 2017 Ford Escape began letting water inside of the tail light assembly, eventually filling up to the point that it shorted the brake light. When I went to replace the bulb, I found out that it is not replaceable unless you replace the ENTIRE tail light assembly, a $750 fix. Ford refuses to fix this for free, as they deem condensation not a reason. Upon doing research, it’s come to my attention 1,000s of people have had this exact same problem. The tail light assembly, the seam on top of the assembly has faulted. Not only did Ford produce a faulty product, they produced a light that costs $600 to replace. This is highway robbery, not to mention unsafe since the brake light does not function.
Engine, Jul 28, 2021
Check engine light came on at 60,240 miles with a cylinder 2 misfire code. Took it to the dealer and they said it has coolent in cylinder number 2. It is no longer safe to drive the car. The car needs a new engine. Tbs 20-2100, they have a technical service bulletin that stats this is a common problem. They want $9,200 new engine block.
Structure, Jul 25, 2021
Underneath safety shields Heat shield came loose due to broken clips that held it up Took the vehicle back numerous times,while under warranty ,and requested it to be fixed dealer said it was fixed but it would fall down soon as started driving. Scraped the road when it fell down. Took it back was told to just remove it because that's what most people do well I refused to remove it and will not remove it. I called Ford main headquarters was told not to remove it and take it to another dealer. I took it to another dealer they actually ordered clips and installed new clips to hold the panels up. Within 2 weeks of being fixed it has another clip broke again. I feel this is a huge safety hazard when driving and should one or both panels fall off it could cause a wreck and or damage to other vehicles that may be behind my vehicle. I have read were this is an on going issue and I do not understand why it can not be fixed and why I have to keep paying for it to be fixed when its been an ongoing issue since the purchase of the car. I understand the warranty is now out but this is a hazard that needs to be fixed instead of waiting until someone is hurt or killed due to an accident because the panels feel off the underneath of the car. Do not know exact date when it fell down and dragged on the road. I drove very slow and when I got home fixed it to were it would stick back up until I could get it into dealer.
Structure, Jul 16, 2021
There are thousands of complaints regarding this vehicle year and model paint pealing around the windshield. First it was my left and now its my right. This is a known issue with Ford!
Power train, Engine, Jul 8, 2021
I went to Lenoir City ford with issues of misfiring cylinder and mostly Limp Mode on the highway. They cleared my codes and sent me on my way. ^ This occured while my vehicle was still under warranty. Now, expired warranty, I have the same issue and they will not cover under warranty when the issue was first discovered. Good lord I need me a recall
Electrical system, Engine, Fuel/propulsion system, Jul 6, 2021
Upon parking the vehicle in my driveway, the vehicle would not turn off after turning off he ignition and removing the key. All the dash lights were on as the would be normally and the engine remained running. Tired everything including in and out of gear, driving, turned key on and off several times, tired both keys. Googled and seen there had been similar issues with earlier models that resulted in a recall, but this is a 2017. Found some online suggestions and after an hour figured out where the fuel pump fuse was and removed it and the engine stopped. The dash still stayed lit up and had a warning to get engine serviced. Put key in ignition and turned to run not start position and vehicle cranked and tried to start. Could not get dash console to power down or look the doors, the horn would beep twice every time I tried to lock the doors. Ended up disconnecting the battery to kill the power to everything. Plan to take it to Ford today if I can get it started again.
Engine, Jul 4, 2021
On 3-7-2019 brought vehicle in for service at Larsen Ford in Lakewood NJ for engine light turned on with OBN code P3020. Service dept employee, Mitch Sperling their was anti freeze in number two cylinder. They kept vehicle till 3/15/2019 and stated repair was made. Except the repair for this should have been a new engine. On 7-2-2021 brought vehicle into service dept for engine light with OBN code P0303. This time it was anti frreze in number 3 cylinder approx 55,000 mileage. Service dept checked vehicle and came back and stated I need new engine. That they would order engine from ford and get back to me in about a week when to bring vehicle back and it would take 3 to 4 weeks to install engine and they will rent me a car. My problem with this is that i have to drive a vehicle that could stall and get rear ended until they get back to me. This vehicle should have gotten new engine back in 3-15-2019 because that is the fix ford recommends. Their on hundreds of complaints for this same problem going back to 2010 with the turbos. My vehicle has a 2.0 turbo and should never have been sold without this problem being corrected. Now I have a vehicle with a history of engine problems and if I attempt to trade in will come back on vehicle history. My position is ford was hoping that I would go over the 60,000 warranty and they would not have to cover any further repair without me shelling out 8,000 dollars for repair.
Power train, Jul 3, 2021
I was driving along, approaching an intersection, and suddenly my car had no gears! The rpm's went sky high when I pressed on the gas but I had no drive. Thankfully I was able to coast to a turning lane and into a parking lot without incident. There had been no warning lights or funny noises and this was completely unexpected and could have caused an accident! I had to call a tow truck and the ford dealer that I took it to is now telling me the transmission needs replaced and that this is a common problem with this vehicle! And this is only 4 months after they replaced the engine that was bad! Shame on ford for not recalling this vehicle!