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 and engine cooling
342 reports, newest first. Show all
Engine, Engine and engine cooling, Mar 12, 2024
Widely known issue that the engine has coolant leaking into the engine. Ford issued a statement on it. Now the same thing is happening to my car. Safety of myself and others put at risk by vehicle running incorrectly and engine is now misfiring resulting in difficulty maintaining power while driving. Problem has been confirmed by independent body shop and is being confirmed but dealer now. Check engine light was on at 97k and now at 106k with same codes.
Engine, Engine and engine cooling, Mar 12, 2024
Went to start vehicle in morning after it had been sitting overnight. temperature gauge went all the way to red immediately and alert on dash said do not drive vehicle and turn engine off immediately. had it towed to dealer and they advised coolant was leaking which caused blown head gasket. only fix is to replace engine which will cost more than vehicle is worth
Engine and engine cooling, Mar 11, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The message "Engine Overheating" was displayed and there was smoke coming from underneath the passenger's side of the hood. The contact was able to veer to the side of the road. The contact stated that she was able to restart the vehicle; however, the vehicle was sputtering. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The contact stated that she replaced the coolant reservoir herself, and added coolant to the vehicle; however, the coolant evaporated. The vehicle was then towed to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that a coolant leak had caused damage to the timing belt, the pin, and the head gasket. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred six months later. The contact was able to pull to the side of the road and noticed that there was no coolant in the vehicle. The contact stated that she added coolant to the vehicle and drove to AutoZone, and a significant amount of coolant had poured out onto the ground. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The contact stated that the vehicle was undrivable. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.
Engine and engine cooling, Power train, Mar 11, 2024
See attached document for complaint
Engine and engine cooling, Engine, Mar 8, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed speeds, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that coolant had intruded into the cylinders. The dealer recommended that the engine be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 77,000.
Engine and engine cooling, Mar 7, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the High Engine Temperature message displayed, and the vehicle lost motive power. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion into the engine, and it was determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The contact was informed that the vehicle was included in Customer Satisfaction Program: 21N12 (Short Block Replacement After Coolant Intrusion); however, the vehicle had exceeded the mileage. The failure mileage was approximately 117,000.
Engine, Engine and engine cooling, Mar 6, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle shuddered, and a burning odor was detected. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who replaced the water pump and timing belt; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer, where the spark plugs were replaced, but the failure persisted, and the vehicle hesitated to restart. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the failure was related to Customer Satisfaction Program: 21N12 (Short Block Replacement After Coolant Intrusion). The contact was referred to the manufacturer. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The contact was informed that the VIN was included in Customer Satisfaction Program: 21N12 (Short Block Replacement After Coolant Intrusion); however, the vehicle exceeded the mileage limitations. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.
Engine and engine cooling, Feb 29, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light was illuminated. Additionally, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle failed to restart and was towed to the dealer, where the radiator was repaired. The contact stated while driving 35-40 MPH, the vehicle jerked, and the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that there was coolant intrusion into the engine. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that they could not assist due to the mileage on the vehicle. The failure mileage was unknown.
Engine and engine cooling, Feb 9, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the temperature gauge began to indicate that the engine was overheating, after which the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The contact was able to coast to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle failed to restart. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the cylinder water jacket, resulting in damage to the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 69,000.
Engine and engine cooling, Engine, Feb 7, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the check engine warning light started flickering and the vehicle vibrated and lost motive power upon depression of the accelerator pedal. The contact inspected the engine and discovered white rust on the spark plugs. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where a diagnostic machine showed an engine misfire in engine cylinders #3 and #4. Upon further inspection, the mechanic discovered coolant intrusion into engine cylinders #3 and #4. The dealer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that there were no recalls on the vehicle. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
Engine and engine cooling, Jan 30, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the temperature gauge began to indicate that the engine was overheating and was unable to accelerate above 30 MPH. There was a message to “Engine Overheating - Shut off Vehicle” displayed. The contact was able to pull over to the shoulder of the roadway to contact Roadside Assistance. Roadside Assistance arrived, and after a visual inspection of the engine compartment, observed a mixture of oil and coolant covering the engine. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who determined that coolant intrusion had damaged the engine, resulting in a cracked long block, and that the long 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 VIN was included but the vehicle had already been repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 82,000.
Engine and engine cooling, Engine, Jan 22, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 62 MPH, the service engine light illuminated. While driving, the engine light started to flash, and the vehicle was running rough. The contact pulled off the roadway. The vehicle was taken to a tire center, but no assistance was provided. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the head gasket had failed, and coolant had intruded into the engine. There was a misfire. The dealer recommended an engine replacement. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact called the manufacturer who opened a case and referred him to the NHTSA Hotline. The contact stated that the failure was related to Customer Satisfaction Program: 21N12. The failure mileage was approximately 129,000.
Engine and engine cooling, Jan 16, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine compartment. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, and it was determined that coolant intrusion had damaged the engine. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to Customer Satisfaction Program: 21N12, but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 72,000.
Engine, Engine and engine cooling, Jan 15, 2024
Coolant leaked into one of the Cylinders which is requiring major engine block repairs. It only has 80K miles on the car and is in great condition. No warnings happened before it almost overheated and threw a error code.
Engine and engine cooling, Dec 28, 2023
The contact owns 2018 Ford Escape. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was noticed that the vehicle had a coolant leak. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was contacted by the independent mechanic. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 90,000.
Engine, Engine and engine cooling, Dec 18, 2023
At roughly 54600 miles the engine began to shudder badly when starting the vehicle and driving for the first minute or so. The vehicle produced a check engine light that would come on and then would go off within the same day after it was parked multiple times over several weeks, finally staying on for 2 days. Shuddering from the engine became significantly worse in that time and the check engine light began to flash while driving along with experiencing sudden loss of engine power. Took the vehicle to Ford who found the cause was a known defect causing coolant intrusion into the engine, requiring short block replacement new spark plugs, gaskets, etc. The vehicle was retained by Ford for over 3 weeks for this repair.
Engine and engine cooling, Dec 18, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the check engine warning light had illuminated. Additionally, coolant needed to be added to the vehicle more frequently than normal. The contact stated that while accelerating from a stop sign, there was a large amount of white smoke coming from the rear-end of the vehicle. The contact pulled over and turned off the vehicle to allow the smoke to dissipate. The contact was able to push the vehicle back to the residence nearby. The contact stated that a mobile independent mechanic arrived and inspected the vehicle, where it was diagnosed that the engine had failed and needed to be replaced. The failure was related to NHTSA ID Number: 10214126 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and it was confirmed that there was no recall associated with the VIN. The contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline to file a complaint. The failure mileage was 60,100.
Engine and engine cooling, Dec 15, 2023
The contact's husband owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. Additionally, the engine was running rough, and the vehicle was shuddering while driving. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred several times while driving. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that there was coolant intrusion into the engine cylinders. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle a week later, the vehicle stalled and was undrivable. The vehicle remained in the driveway. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 127,000.
Engine and engine cooling, Dec 6, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, the message "High Temperature - Stop Engine" was displayed. The contact pulled to the side of the road and turned off the vehicle temporarily. The contact stated that she restarted the vehicle and was able to continue driving. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred while driving. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that there was coolant intrusion into the engine. The dealer determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 119,388.
Engine and engine cooling, Dec 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the vehicle was idling rough. The contact stated that the vehicle was shuddering and nearly stalled. The contact stated that while depressing the accelerator pedal the vehicle hesitated before driving forward. 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 coolant had intruded into the cylinders and referred the contact to a dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The contact researched online and related the failure to Technical Service Bulleting: 19-2139 Coolant Intrusion into Cylinders (Engine and Engine Cooling). The failure mileage was 100,131.
Engine and engine cooling, Dec 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, there was a coolant odor coming into the cabin while the vehicle idling or running. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that there was coolant leaking into cylinders #1 and #3. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 70,000.
Engine and engine cooling, Nov 24, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, the vehicle started to overheat, and the steering wheel became firm. Additionally, the vehicle failed to accelerate above 20 MPH. The vehicle eventually became inoperable. The contact pulled over to inspect the vehicle and noticed a fluid leak and smoke coming from the muffler. The triangle master warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure an advised the contact to have a diagnostic test performed. The failure mileage was approximately 97,342.
Engine and engine cooling, Nov 21, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle began to indicate that the engine was overheating, displaying a message reading "Stop Vehicle Immediately". The contact was able to pull to the shoulder of the roadway to let the vehicle cool down. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. After a visual inspection of the engine compartment, the contact observed that the coolant reservoir was abnormally low. 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 vehicle was then taken to the dealer, who confirmed the diagnosis. 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 but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 112,000.
Engine and engine cooling, Nov 17, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the vehicle vibrated and idled very roughly. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated while driving at approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that the rough idling with the check engine warning light had become a recurring failure. The contact had taken the vehicle to a dealer who determined there was coolant intrusion into the engine. The contact was informed that the short block needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The contact researched online and related the failure to Technical Service Bulletin Number: 19-2139 Coolant Intrusion in the Cylinders (Engine and Engine Cooling). The failure mileage was approximately 61,000.
Engine and engine cooling, Nov 16, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at unknown speeds, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact opened the hood and became aware that the coolant reservoir was empty. The contact's brother opened the coolant cap and topped off the coolant. The contact thought there might have been an air in the unit. While her father was driving the vehicle, the engine overheated. The contact was informed by an independent mechanic that the coolant reservoir was empty and topped off the coolant. While driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine fault service message was displayed. The contact had a friend check the vehicle and had retrieved unknown codes. The contact called the local dealer and was informed there was coolant intrusion and that the short block needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the dealer for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 109,000.