2018 Ford Escape
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Engine is the leading concern among 1,795 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 6th highest complaint count among 26 Escape model years with reports.
Of the 2018 reports, 25 involved a crash and 5 involved a fire. 30 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
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
Service brakes, hydraulic, foundation components, hoses, lines/piping, and fittingsFeb 12, 2018
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018 Ford Escape and Lincoln MKC vehicles. These vehicles may be equipped with incorrect front brake hoses that may chafe against other components, possibly resulting in a brake fluid leak.
A brake fluid leak may lengthen the distance needed to stop the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the brake hoses, replacing any that are incorrect, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin March 2018. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 18S04.
Campaign 18V104000 on NHTSA.gov
Air bags, side/windowDec 18, 2017
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018 Ford Escape vehicles. The side curtain air bags on these vehicles have a component that may detach during deployment of the inflatable curtain air bag.
If the component detaches during deployment, it may enter the passenger compartment and be a projectile within the vehicle cabin, increasing the risk of injury.
Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver and passenger side curtain air bags, as necessary, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin January 2018. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 17S44.
Campaign 17V803000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints: engine
1,426 reports, newest first. Show all
Engine, Jun 17, 2023
I took the car into the dealer for a check engine light which was misfire on cylinder 3. It seemed like he knew that it would be a cracked block and it was. The repair is a $6,000 engine. This is ridiculous. I had the same model engine previously and it would probably still be running if the car hadn’t been totaled. If you look on the internet there are many complaints of the same issue. Ford knows that this is a problem and refuses to stand behind this engine. I didn’t buy the extended warranty because I have never needed it. I would settle for paying 1/2 the cost, because I have over 100,000 miles on the car. But 6 thousand seems excessive for a known problem.
Engine, Jun 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while the vehicle had a routine oil check, the mechanic stated that the coolant was low. The vehicle was diagnosed but failure was found. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted but did not provide any assistance and advised to contact NHTSA. The failure mileage was 21,000.
Engine, Jun 14, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated he was unable to start the vehicle. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact stated the vehicle was jumped started. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle failed to exceed 35 MPH. The contact stated that the engine started overheating and a message to “Pull Over and Park” was displayed. The contact stated that he continued driving to his residence. The vehicle was not drivable after parking the vehicle. The contact towed the vehicle to an independent mechanic, where the vehicle was diagnosed, and the contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact towed the vehicle to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 90,702.
Engine, Jun 10, 2023
The engine isn’t working. Took to Ford Dealership in Selma, Alabama and they told us it will cost 10k to fix the car and I still owe 15K for the car. It started out not cranking. It is not safe for a woman to be in a car and not crank to get me home back and forth to work everyday. I have only had the car for 4 years. The warning lamp came in for me on Monday, June 5th, 2023 and at that time my husband immediately got it to the Ford Dealership on Thursday of that week so he could get a dolly to take it there. The car is at the dealership in Selma right now. We don’t have an invoice yet. Paying 10k for a new engine is almost paying the car off on what I owe on it. My husband is trying to find someone else to look at the car at a reasonable cost. Hope you can help. This has put me out of a car.
Engine and engine cooling, Engine, Jun 9, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that upon his wife starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated. After a visual inspection, the contact observed a failure with the second cylinder spark plug, which he replaced. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred and that he became aware that the coolant level was low. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined there was engine damage due to coolant intrusion, resulting in a cracked engine block. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The contact related the failure to Ford's Customer Satisfaction Program: 21N12 (Power Train). The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was 73,600.
Other or unspecified, Engine, Jun 8, 2023
What happened was I was Driving down the street at thirty miles per hour and the speed limit changed to thirty five miles per hour so I put my foot on the gas and nothing happened. The engine did not rev and the speed did not go up the speed kept going down. Quit thinking made me push the auto start off button and then I pushed on the gas again and the Car speed went up as I pushed on the gas pedal. There were no cars in front of me or beside me in the next lane but there was a pickup truck behind me. He was far enough back that he did not have to step on his breaks. This scared me to death and if quick thinking had not been a part of the situation for the auto off button, Then I would have easily caused a wreck with the truck behind me if he would not have been paying attention. This just happened about five minutes ago so I have not been able to tell the dealer yet. I am already scheduled for next tuesday to get my transmission bushing recall fixed next week at the ford dealership in my town.
Engine and engine cooling, May 31, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, there was white smoke coming from the exhaust. The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced rough driving, vibration, shaking with the check engine light remaining illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was notified of a misfire in cylinder #2 due to coolant intrusion. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure and informed the contact that the Extended Warranty had expired. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.
Power train, Engine, May 31, 2023
2 weeks after our warranty expired for the power train we experienced failure with a misfire of Cylinder 1. We replaced all of the spark plugs at around 41,000 miles. 1 month into replacement cyclinder 1 misfired again, we replaced the spark plug thinking it was that and also the coil. 2 months after we are having the same issue, replaced the spark plug again, and the code will not go away, the check Englishwoman light continues to flash. I brought it to the dealership where it has been preliminarily determined I have a coolant intrusion in cylinder 1 and a new king block will be required at the tune of about 9k. There was tsb 19-2346 on my car and nothing was done to prevent this from happening. We suddenly lost all coolant around the same time we replaced the spark plugs as well. There was no visible leak. Ford needs to cover this repair in full, and issue a recall. My 17 year old drives this vehicle and when she was driving yesterday is when the failure began as she was turning left she had a sudden loss in power, almost getting tboned.
Engine and engine cooling, Engine, May 26, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while her son was driving 65 MPH, the temperature gauge began to raise quickly. Additionally, the “High Engine Temperature - Stop Vehicle Immediately” message was displayed. The driver parked the vehicle on the side of the road for an hour before continuing to drive to his destination. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the thermostat to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but continued to experience the failure. The contact towed the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the engine to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 85,000.
Power train, Other or unspecified, Engine, May 22, 2023
The dealership, All American Chevrolet of San Angelo TX, sold me this car 12/14/2022 without fixing the recall that was issued 6/2022. My battery has died 2x within a month, my check engine light came on yesterday but there are only 68k miles on the car. It's against federal law for a dealership to sell a car with an open recall, isn't it?
Engine and engine cooling, May 19, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving the message "Service Immediately" was suddenly displayed. The vehicle was immediately driven to the local dealer who diagnosed that coolant had leaked into the engine and that the engine was severely damaged and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 124,000.
Engine, May 18, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while the transmission was shifted into Reverse(R) or Drive(D), the vehicle was shaking. The check engine warning light was illuminated, and the "Pull Over" message was displayed. Additionally, there was white smoke coming from the exhaust pipe. The contact's boyfriend, an independent mechanic, diagnosed that there was a misfire in cylinder # 1. 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 failure mileage was approximately 93,400.
Engine and engine cooling, Engine, May 17, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH and overtaking another vehicle, the contact heard an abnormal sound before the vehicle started to hesitate. The contact stated that the coolant warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that she parked on the side of the road and restarted the vehicle and drove slowly back to her residence. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with needing the four spark plugs to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but continued to experience the failure. The contact took the vehicle back to the independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with needing the four spark plugs, four coil boots, and the engine to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.
Engine, May 16, 2023
Purchased vehicle brand new. Transmission light is coming on. There is jerking while driving and hard to put in gear. I have the premium extended warranty on car. At 58,099 miles the light has been on. I travel for work and have tried to get an appointment for repair in GA. FL, and two places in AK no one can get me in in a reasonable time. All a least 3 weeks to a month out which leaves me unable to travel for work because I can't afford to rent a car for a month. This is a inconvenience. They say they have so many cars with engine issues in the shop. Ford needs to take full responsibility for this. There should be a recall on these cars. I am almost forced to buy a new car just to be able to work. Ive called my warranty and Ford head quarter and no one can assist. I'm stuck with this lemon. It's unacceptable. Ford needs to be held accountable!
Engine, May 13, 2023
Defective engine block, getting cooling leaking into the engine causing overheating and creating hazard of starting fire , when got tested in the dealership they found problem and we’ve been told they found a recall on that issue but they cannot fix this right now due to shortage of parts could be months could be years and now car is not safe to drive park at the dealership , Ford dealership can only provide a rental car for the time car being fixed after parts comes in
Engine, May 9, 2023
The check engine light came on so I checked the code and it indicated a misfire in cylinder 2. I was headed to the shop for a tuneup when the temperature gage shot up to hot and the engine lost power. It's pouring white smoke from the exhaust and is not drivable. The coolant was completely gone but no leaks found. It's running hot on startup and won't go over 10mph. There was no warning lights until it was too late. The vehicle stalled in the middle of the road and a car almost wrecked into me and my daughter.
Power train, Engine, May 5, 2023
The antifreeze is leaking into the cylinders. My car has been diagnosed as being HYDRO-LOCKED. This happened in March. I took the car to REA Ford in Monticello where it was diagnosed. A claim was submitted to the warranty company who said they are not responsible for the repair because the manufacturer knew of this defect and had a Customer Satisfaction Program 21N12 - Short Block Replacement After Coolant Intrusion. This is dated June 09, 2022. There were program limits set in place which ended on November 30, 2022. This issue occurred with my car after this date. It is the same issue and I am being told by everyone that they are not responsible for the repair. The car will not start and had to be towed to REA Ford in Monticello where it is currently sitting. The check engine light came on. I took it to be diagnosed and was told this is the issue. I was told that they could not identify where the leak was until it got to the point that the car was having more difficulty starting and running. The car is now unable to start. My safety was impacted because I was told it was safe to drive but around March 15th, the vehicle would not exceed 6 miles per hour and just stopped moving. It had to be towed to the dealer's garage.
Engine and engine cooling, May 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that after the vehicle was started, the vehicle idled roughly and started to shake. No warning lights were illuminated. The dealer was notified of the failure and the vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that coolant had leaked into the engine cylinder, and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that she would be transferred to the recall department; however, the contact was transferred to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 108,000.
Engine, Apr 28, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that there was delayed response while starting the vehicle. Additionally, the vehicle sputtered while driving; with the failure recurring increasingly while in reverse(R). The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who informed the contact that the battery, the starter, the spark plugs, and the ignition coils needed to be replaced. However, after further inspection of the vehicle, the dealer determined that coolant was leaking into the engine, and the engine needed to be replaced. The dealer informed the contact that the failure was related to Ford Campaign Numbers: 19B37 and 21N12; however, the service campaigns had expired. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 125,800.
Engine and engine cooling, Engine, Apr 25, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at speeds of 35 MPH or lower, the vehicle was hesitating and jerking. The RPM’s would erroneously be reduced. The failure also occurred while the vehicle was idling. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that coolant was leaking into cylinder #1. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be rebuilt or replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 82,915.
Power train, Engine, Fuel/propulsion system, Apr 24, 2023
The car began overheating while in operation. The driver immediately pulled over and shut the car off, and the car was towed to the dealership. It was discovered that there was a crack in the gasket, allowing coolant to slowly leak into the engine over time. The engine seized and is no longer operable. This is, as confirmed by my Ford mechanic, and KNOWN and COMMON issue with this particular year/model. Ford is aware that this is a manufacturing defect and has not issued a recall at this time.
Engine and engine cooling, Power train, Apr 19, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at various speeds the vehicle would overheat and shutoff inadvertently. A message indicating that the vehicle was overheating was displayed. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact veered to the side of the road and opened the hood until the vehicle had cooled down. The contact then restarted the vehicle and continued driving. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where an unknown filter was replaced; however, the failure reoccurred while driving, with the message "Powertrain Malfunction - Reduced Power" displayed. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer several times. The dealer diagnosed that the coolant pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was taken to a second dealer, Friendly Ford, Inc. (1077 State Route 5&20, Geneva, NY 14456), where it was diagnosed that coolant was leaking into the engine and that the engine needed to be replaced. The dealer informed the contact that the failure was related to an unknown recall; however, the vehicle could not be repaired under the recall due to the mileage. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 117,000.
Engine, Apr 18, 2023
Coolant leaked into engine causing engine replacement
Engine, Apr 17, 2023
In my 2018 ford escape, that I purchased only two years ago, my check engine light came on for the first time. I took my car to the dealership, and they stated that there was a coolant leak and had leaked into my cylinder 4 causing the vehicle to misfire and not function properly. Due to this, the dealership stated that this repair would cost me 8500 dollars to repair this issue and that was by replacing the short block of the engine.
Engine, Apr 17, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that after purchasing the vehicle while driving at an undisclosed speed, the front driver’s side seat pivoted back requiring the contact to stand on her left foot to reach the brake pedal while the seat inadvertently adjusted backward without warning. The contact then stated that the rear passenger’s and driver’s side door failed to open, and the front passenger’s side door intermittently failed to open. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle started to shake, and the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to Midas where it was diagnosed that the air intake tubes were glued together causing a lack of intake air. Additionally, cylinder #3 had misfired. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 101,918.