2019 Ford Escape
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Engine is the leading concern among 588 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 18th highest complaint count among 26 Escape model years with reports.
Of the 2019 reports, 24 involved a crash and 3 involved a fire. 28 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
TiresMar 10, 2021
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018 F-150, 2018-2020 F-250, F-350, and 2019 Escape vehicles equipped with Continental tires. On the affected vehicles, it is possible that one or more tires were cured for too long during tire production.
Over cured tires may develop a break in the sidewall, resulting in sudden air loss or belt edge separation which could lead to tread/belt loss. Either condition can cause a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.
Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the tires, and replace them as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on March 27, 2021. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 21S10.
Campaign 21V155000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints
588 reports, newest first.
Power train, Mar 28, 2024
The conditions Ford has placed on getting the recall repaired are unreasonable. The dealership told me that for this repair, the car must be on their lot for at least 10 days, and no, an appointment is not available, and there are no loaners available for this repair.
Steering, Mar 25, 2024
After the steering wheel became SIGNIGICANTLY stiff and a warning light come on when trying to pull out of a parking space, I called a tow truck. The driver was able to turn on the Escape and we had no problems with steering. After I had a mechanic examine the vehicle, he said the issue is the electronic rack with the steering system. I did some research and Ford has been sued in the past for similar issues on this model, but not year. The estimated cost for repair is over $2000. I am told that with this particular steering system, a full replacement is required. I am also told that while it is drivable, the problem is unpredictable. It might be as simple as letting it sit (as it was in the parking lot) and restarting to as hard as the system giving out while driving and the wheel becoming so stiff to turn that it can put the driver and others at risk. From what I've read, others have experienced similar issues.
Power train, Mar 19, 2024
It's two Recalls for 2019 Ford Escape
Exterior lighting, Mar 2, 2024
Low beam headlight bulbs keep burning out, literally replacing bulbs at least once a year
Electrical system, Other or unspecified, Feb 27, 2024
Liftgate fails to open and/or close completely. Rarely, Randomly it works. Safety issue should there be a child or animal back there. No manual lift opening options!
Power train, Feb 27, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, the vehicle slipped out of gear and failed to accelerate. The contact stated that the vehicle was placed in neutral and was coasted down the hill, where the gear would not change. The vehicle was able to restart several hours later but, the failure persisted. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a complaint was filed. The failure mileage was 94,000.
Engine, Feb 26, 2024
While driving on the highway, the engine suddenly started sputtering, and it could no longer maintain speed (up to about 25-30 mph). This was very unsafe on a highway no safe place to bring the car to a stop. The Ford dealership diagnosed the issue as coolant leaking into the cylinders in the engine because of cracked channels. They shared with me this is a known issue (Customer Satisfaction Program 21N12), however, my car is 3 thousand miles over the maximum limit of this program, so they will not fix the problem for free. The dealership suggested a full engine replacement, for which they estimated about $9,800 for the repair. This issue comes after a previous issue a few months ago where my wife was driving and the engine overheated, went into "safe mode," and she was unable to accelerate beyond about 10-15 mph. She was on a busy road and called me in tears after managing to bring the car to a stop on the side of a road without a large shoulder. At the time, the mechanic said it was only a thermostat that was stuck wide open, and I spent $1,200 on this repair. I continued to notice low coolant levels and would refill the coolant regularly. This issue persisted and led to the above failure. Ford knows this is an issue with their vehicles, and they have created two dangerous safety instances for my family in the past few months. There are 27, now 28 complaints related to this issue on 2019 Ford Escapes alone. I also learned there is a class action lawsuit related to this issue. Those complaints are Complaints # 11568017, 11561318, 11556483, 11551020, 11550783, 11542737, 11537997, 11534353, 11528142, 11520853, 11516926, 11498957, 11492059, 11489799, 11482570, 11482636, 11463646, 11453678, 11440977, 11437303, 11427846, 11385495, 11353322, 11330042, 11323757, 11311097, 11307636. This is a serious safety issue that Ford needs to be held responsible for.
Engine and engine cooling, Feb 21, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Escape. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, the vehicle shuddered and vibrated significantly. The check engine warning light was illuminated. Additionally, the vehicle failed to accelerate as needed. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that there was coolant intrusion in cylinder #4, and the dealer determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 51,000.
Engine, Feb 20, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Escape. The contact stated that when the vehicle was started, the contact stated that a big white puff of smoke was came from the exhaust pipe. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with engine failure. 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. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.
Air bags, Fuel/propulsion system, Feb 16, 2024, crash
A car cut me off and I rear ended them going under 20 miles per hour. And my air bags went off and they exploded and I recieved chemical burns
Engine and engine cooling, Feb 16, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle was hesitating while accelerating, with white smoke coming from the exhaust. The check engine warning light remained illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that coolant was present inside the engine cylinders. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 58,000.
Engine and engine cooling, Feb 14, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving 30 MPH, the EVAP failure message was displayed, and the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that occasionally the vehicle failed to immediately restart. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who replaced the high-pressure fuel pump, but the failure persisted. The vehicle was later driven to the local dealer who diagnosed that the engine was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was contacted but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 88,375.
Power train, Feb 12, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at 65 MPH, a message displayed reading "Service Engine Now, after which the vehicle lost motive power. The contact was able to reach her destination, where the failure persisted. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the battery, requiring the battery to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred. The contact stated that upon leaving the dealer, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer and diagnosed with transmission failure. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact also stated that the transmission had failed years earlier and had been replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 239,000.
Engine and engine cooling, Feb 6, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power with the check engine warning light displayed. The vehicle was towed to the residence and later driven to the local dealer who diagnosed that coolant was present inside cylinder #2. The contact was advised that the head gasket 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 63,000.
Engine and engine cooling, Feb 6, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle began to drive rough and was hesitating. The vehicle was taken to the local service center who diagnosed a misfire in the cylinder #2 and that the number two spark plug was fractured. The vehicle was repaired but the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was later taken to the local dealer who discovered that coolant was present inside cylinder #2 and informed that the engine short block was faulty 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 74,800.
Electrical system, Engine, Jan 29, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled with several warning lights illuminated. Due to the failure, the vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was discovered that an electrical spike had burned out several electrical sensors. The dealer replaced the alternator to correct the failure; however, the failure returned nearly a week after the repair. The vehicle was towed back to the dealer where a short in the electrical wiring harness was found. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle remained in the possession of the dealer unrepaired. The failure mileage was 59,512.
Engine, Engine and engine cooling, Jan 26, 2024
Coolant intrusion into the engine Ford says known issue with 2019 escape but they are not going to do anything about it till they are made to
Suspension, Jan 22, 2024
I have to replace the rear trailing arm bushings, it is pulling out of the arm. I have 49k in mileage and do not drive off road. I think this was a bad part when built or installed incorrectly for this to happen. I am [XXX] old never have I had never had to repair anything like this before on any of my vehicles. I took my car in for a oil change at ford Ciocca in Flemington and was told I need back brakes rotor and rear trailing arm. I replaced the brakes and rotor and they had to order the part for this bushing 833 dollar for part. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Latches/locks/linkages, Structure, Jan 17, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, he observed that the rear door latch was separating from the door panel. The contact stated that the door was able to open, close, and lock as needed. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was determined that the door assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and opened a case. The failure mileage was 57,598.
Other or unspecified, Jan 9, 2024
The COWL on my 2019 Ford Escape needs to be replaced all of a sudden, I researched and found an investigation by NHTSA was being done on 2019 Ford Explorers. I would like to complain about this issue and get back the results of the Explorer investigation I have the repair invoice but was unable to upload on this complaint
Engine, Dec 27, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the vehicle started to hesitate. The RPM then rose to an elevated level. There was an abnormal knocking and rattling sound detected. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the connecting rod bearings were worn and recommended that the engine block needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 61,194.
Engine, Dec 21, 2023
The contact's son owns a 2019 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while his son was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle shuddered with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion in the engine and 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 manufacturer advised the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 101,250.
Other or unspecified, Dec 14, 2023
I purchased my car 2019 FORD ESCAPE in September 2023, last week it cut off. It will not crank. I changed the key forb batteries, then the engine stated "ENGINE FAULT SERVICE NOW". The car did start but after running about 40 mins, I noticed the heat was not working, only cold air coming out. All of a sudden, the ENGINE ran HOT. I pulled over cut it off. Looked under hood, coolant reservoir was empty. Finally got coolant in the car. After driving another week, added more coolant. I am now on my 4th container of antifreeze in a little over 2 weeks. no visible leak on the ground under the hood. This morning , my car would not start again. And a smell was inside the car like exhaust fumes, a sweet smell, plastic burning smell. the smell was inside however when I got out of the car you ccould smell the smell away also like 10 feet. I checked my oil and the stick was covered with black thick oil; however when i checked the dipstick MY CAR WAS EMPTY OF OIL.
Electrical system, Fuel/propulsion system, Dec 2, 2023
When getting gas..afterwards went to start and it would act like it wasn't getting gas..within hours after the check engine light came on..took to dealer to read trouble code..came up as a p0496..evap purge valve sticking open..also have noticed the built in remote start function is not working and will sound horn briefly instead..also looked up code my self and understand that it is a emissions safety issue being that it is evap purge valve..and have scheduled a appointment with dealer to have it fixed..due to the fact I have a extended service warranty on it..
Engine, Nov 22, 2023
The vehicle went from normal operating temperature to max temperature on the gauge in a matter of seconds and triggered a vehicle overheat warning message. The vehicle was consuming coolant and has the issue described in TSB 20-2100. Coolant was leaking into the cylinders and hot exhaust gas was leaking into the coolant, which quickly caused the engine to rapidly overheat to an extreme temperature. The extreme engine temperature could have caused a fire.