2016 Ford Escape

On July 7, 2026, at approximately 113,080 miles, my 2016 Ford Escape displayed a “Transmission Fault – Service Now” warning. The exact failed component is currently UNKNOWN, but the issue appears to involve the transmission/powertrain and possibly an electrical fault. While driving, I experienced abnormal symptoms including a rotational/squeaking noise from the front-right area and an air-leak/pressure-type noise from the right side. The pressure-type noise could also be heard while revving the vehicle at idle. The Check Engine Light also illuminated. I took the vehicle to an independent repair facility on July 7, 2026. The mechanic documented the symptoms and diagnostic trouble codes and advised that additional electrical diagnosis was necessary to determine the exact cause. The transmission itself has not been conclusively diagnosed as failed, and I am not claiming a specific failed internal component without further inspection. I consider this a serious safety concern because an unresolved transmission or powertrain malfunction could potentially cause improper shifting, hesitation, reduced propulsion, loss of acceleration, or other unexpected vehicle behavior while driving in traffic. I contacted Ford regarding the problem and followed up again on July 17, 2026. After receiving no resolution, I contacted Ford again on September 9, 2026. Ford advised me that there was no exact timeframe for when the ASO would contact me and that the ASO may or may not contact me at all. I requested that Ford make a final escalation of the safety concern. Ford confirmed that my escalation and my intention to submit the unresolved safety issue to NHTSA were documented under Ford case CXH-08511841-T8X5L4. To my knowledge, Ford has not inspected the vehicle or provided a substantive resolution to the transmission/powertrain concern. I am also concerned that this may not be an isolated maintenance issue. I am aware of other owners reporting transmission and powertrain problems.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving approximately 25 MPH, the vehicle sputtered and intermittently lost motive power. The message "Transmission Fault" was displayed on the instrument panel. The contact was able to drive to her sister's residence. The vehicle was then towed to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with burnt transmission fluid, and the transmission was replaced with a rebuilt transmission. The contact stated that while driving after the repair, the RPMs fluctuated intermittently and the message "Transmission Fault - Service Now" was displayed. The independent mechanic was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the warranty company of the rebuilt transmission. The vehicle was in the process of being repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 173,000.

I was driving home on se stark to go to 60 uh then turn into burnside I was going 30 Mph per speed limit then all the sudden it jerked and slowed down very unsafe when the transmission just went slow and I had no warning or light never came on to say need transmission service. This was mind boggling then I had it towed to the shop and apparently I need a whole replacement for transmission and I’m at 165 k I do maintance and everything .. I know there was a recall abt the power train in 2022 however but I don’t know if it still active bec I am the second owner of this car

While driving my car home, my transmission completely gave out. I was trying to get up a hill, and out of nowhere, my car was just revving and was not going anywhere. I tried to turn the car off and back on, but it did nothing. We towed my car to a mechanic and they gave me the unfortunate news that my transmission needed completely replaced or rebuilt. I towed it to a transmission specialist, and they had to rebuild my entire transmission. I was without a car for an entire month and found out from them that this is a major known issue with these car's transmissions and that Ford had known about this issue for a long time and did not do anything. I am out a lot of money and wish I had known about this issue before. I had a few instances of the "bucking" a few years ago but got everything checked and had a clean bill of health at that time. I also have had my check engine light on for 6 years, due to an emissions issue that happens in this car because of the flap on the gas tank instead of a cap. They said the flap isn't always secure and can let out emissions. They said it's expensive to fix and not worth it.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while stopped at a traffic light and depressing the accelerator pedal, there was a clanging sound coming from the front of the vehicle. The vehicle then started to work as intended before coming to a complete stop at the second traffic light. The contact stated that once the traffic light turned green, the accelerator pedal was depressed and the vehicle rolled backwards. The contact was informed by her husband to shift the gear shifter into park(P). The husband jumped into the driver’s seat and shifted the gear shifter to low and driven to a safe place and stopped the vehicle. The contact stated that while the vehicle was stopped, the vehicle was turned off for thirty minutes then restarted and operated as intended. The transmission shifter failure warning light was illuminated while her husband was driving. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it diagnosed and determined that the transmission needed to be replaced and provided an estimate for the repair. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 99,000.

I am the 2nd owner of my 2016 Ford Escape 1.6L ecoboost, my aunt and uncle were the original owners. Between us we have every maintenance record of every on time and professionally performed requirement the Escape has needed and it ran beautifully. Then, in February 2026 the idle started to get a bit rough and I was preparing to put in the OEM sparkplugs when 3/28/26 the engine overheated, I was stranded on the side of a 45 mph street waiting for it to cool so I could move to safety. Between that incident and 4/29/26 I went thru 9 gallons of coolant, replaced the sparkplugs, put the front end up and "burp' the system as there was constantly air bubbles being introduced from a source I could not find. I had the hoses and clamps inspected, replaced the coolant reservoir and the reservoir cap, the vehicle started to shutter upon starting even after it was warmed up and every day needed to be burped and topped off before and after driving in town but often had no coolant loss during freeway driving, finally 4/28/26 I noticed smoke from the exhaust when I started the car in the morning and that smoke was accompanied by a foul, burnt, electric smell. While burping the air and topping the coolant that morning, the engine sputtered and died 2 separate times. I decided that it was time for a cooling system diagnostics as I still could still see no evidence of an external leak. The Ford technician recorded this tech story. "The vehicle ran rough and smoked for a couple seconds after starting.the vehicle ran its self test and had p0316, b0303, p1299, and p0217. These dtcs relate to cylinder misfire on startup and cylinder misfire and cylinder 3 and over temp/protection being active. ... I suspected a possible coolant intrusion concern into cylinder 3, performed a pressure test on the cooling system and observed a drop in the pressure. I remove the spark plug and found coolant on the cylinder walls and the top of the piston in cylinder 3." Advise to replace long block assembly.

2016 Ford Escape with 50,000 miles developed transmission fault codes P0741 and P1744, indicating torque converter clutch failure. A transmission fault alert appeared on the dashboard with erratic shifting and slipping while driving, creating an unsafe driving condition. The vehicle was taken to a Ford-certified dealer in Athens, GA, and service charges were paid. Dealer stated no transmission fault was found and confirmed other eligible recalls had been fixed. The dealer became unresponsive to multiple follow-up calls after collecting payment. Codes P0741 and P1744 were subsequently confirmed at an independent service center. Ford issued TSB 19-2100 acknowledging this exact issue on 2013-2015 Escape vehicles with the same 1.6L EcoBoost engine. The same manufacturing defect is present on 2016 model vehicles. Ford Customer Relationship Center was contacted and refused any assistance or goodwill repair coverage. A Ford-certified dealer collected payment, failed to diagnose a known transmission defect, and then became unresponsive. Transmission failure at 50,000 miles on a properly maintained vehicle is a manufacturing quality control failure. Component is available for inspection upon request.