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2016 Ford Escape

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2016 Ford Escape do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 996.

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When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

612 reports with mileage · 503 unknown

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Power Train. Review the 320 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Back Over Prevention. Review the 206 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Engine. Review the 199 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

36 crash reports10 fire reports16 injury reports

Back Over Prevention complaints

206 reports
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90,000 miles · Jan 22, 2026
Back Over Prevention

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while in reverse(R), the rearview camera was inoperable. The stated that the rearview camera displayed an intermittent and brief image. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to d…

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The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while in reverse(R), the rearview camera was inoperable. The stated that the rearview camera displayed an intermittent and brief image. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair were not yet available. The dealer was contacted and confirmed that parts was not yet available. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 90,000.

NHTSA ODI #11712640

120,000 miles · Jan 21, 2026
Back Over Prevention

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated while reversing, the rear-view camera displayed a blank image. The contact stated that the message “Camera not Available” was displayed. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the dealer prior to the recall. Th…

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The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated while reversing, the rear-view camera displayed a blank image. The contact stated that the message “Camera not Available” was displayed. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the dealer prior to the recall. The contact was informed that the rear-view camera screen display needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact later received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The dealer was recently contacted, and the contact was informed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.

NHTSA ODI #11712534

Mileage unknown · Jan 15, 2026
Back Over Prevention

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that while in re…

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The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that while in reverse, the back over prevention camera image was distorted, or the screen was black. Additionally, the back over prevention system failed to audibly alert the contact when objects and or a person was behind the vehicle. The dealer was contacted and confirmed that the part was not yet available. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ODI #11711080

47,000 miles · Jan 12, 2026
Back Over Prevention

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The back-over prevention camera dis…

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The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The back-over prevention camera displayed a distorted image. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined that the camera needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was approximately 47,000.

NHTSA ODI #11710380

76,000 miles · Jan 12, 2026
Back Over Prevention

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while attempting to reverse, the rearview camera became inoperable. The contact stated that the rearview camera image fluctuated on and off, with the message “Rearview Camera Not Available” displayed. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V69500…

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The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while attempting to reverse, the rearview camera became inoperable. The contact stated that the rearview camera image fluctuated on and off, with the message “Rearview Camera Not Available” displayed. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the parts to do the recall repair were not yet available. The dealer was contacted, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The approximate failure mileage was 76,000.

NHTSA ODI #11710331

50,000 miles · Jan 12, 2026
Back Over Prevention

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while reversing, the rear-view camera screen displayed a blank image. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The dealer was contacted; however, the contact was informed that parts were not available. In addition, the contact sta…

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The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while reversing, the rear-view camera screen displayed a blank image. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The dealer was contacted; however, the contact was informed that parts were not available. In addition, the contact stated that the manufacturer had enough time to fix the vehicle. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.

NHTSA ODI #11710320

Mileage unknown · Jan 8, 2026
Back Over Prevention

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the parts to do the recall repair were not yet available. The dealer was not contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repai…

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The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the parts to do the recall repair were not yet available. The dealer was not contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure.

NHTSA ODI #11709653

39,000 miles · Jan 8, 2026
Back Over Prevention

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (BACK OVER PREVENTION); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted, and it was confirmed that the part was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had excee…

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The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (BACK OVER PREVENTION); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted, and it was confirmed that the part was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact stated that while reversing, the back-over prevention camera failed to display an image of the rear of the vehicle, creating a rear visibility hazard for the driver. Additionally, while driving forward, the rear-view camera erroneously activated and displayed the rear image on the screen. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who diagnosed that the back-over prevention camera was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact later received the recall notice related to the failure. The failure mileage was 39,000.

NHTSA ODI #11709609

58,000 miles · Jan 6, 2026
Back Over Prevention

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while in reverse(R), the rearview camera image displayed a blank image. Additionally, the rearview camera failed to alert the driver when an object or vehicle was nearby. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); howe…

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The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while in reverse(R), the rearview camera image displayed a blank image. Additionally, the rearview camera failed to alert the driver when an object or vehicle was nearby. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. Several dealers were contacted and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 58,000.

NHTSA ODI #11709208

Mileage unknown · Jan 5, 2026
Back Over Prevention

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was contacted. The manuf…

Read full complaint

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was contacted. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure.

NHTSA ODI #11708814

Official recalls

4

26V011000 · Equipment:electrical:engine Block Heater

Jan 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.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: An electrical short circuit can increase the risk of a fire.

Remedy: 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.

25V695000 · Back Over Prevention: Sensing System: Camera

Oct 13, 2025

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015-2019 Flex, 2015 Explorer, Lincoln MKT, Lincoln MKZ, 2015-2016 C-Max, Escape, Taurus, 2016 Fusion, 2018-2019 Taurus, 2019 Lincoln MKT, Fiesta, and 2020 Mustang vehicles. The rearview camera may display a distorted, intermittent, or blank image when the vehicle is in reverse.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: A rearview camera that fails to properly display an image can reduce the driver’s view behind the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will inspect and replace the rearview camera as necessary, free of charge. This will be a phased campaign, with the remedy becoming available in different phases based on model and model years. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on October 25, 2025. Additional letters will be mailed once the final remedy is available on each phase. Mustang owner notification letters were mailed January 2, 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25SA9. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on October 14, 2025.

22V413000 · Power Train:automatic Transmission:gear Position Indication (prndl); Power Train:shift Linkage/cable/rod

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.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: 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.

Remedy: 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.

Additional source detail variants (2)

Power Train:shift Linkage/cable/rod

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.

Consequence: 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.

Remedy: 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.

Power Train:automatic Transmission:gear Position Indication (prndl)

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.

Consequence: 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.

Remedy: 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.

17V398000 · Air Bags:knee Bolster

Jun 26, 2017

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2016 Ford Escape vehicles. The driver's knee airbag modules installed in these vehicles were produced without the inflator gas generant material, and, as a result, the air bags may not inflate properly in the event of a crash. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: In the event of a crash, if the driver's knee air bag does not inflate as intended, the driver has an increased risk of injury.

Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace driver's knee air bag, free of charge. The recall began on August 8, 2017. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 17C11.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.

Go deeper into Ford Escape problems