2017 Ford Escape

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, the vehicle stalled with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was able to restart. 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 dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 49,000.

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that on two occasions while driving under 30 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact coasted to the side of the road each time and the vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but the failure reoccurred five months later. The vehicle was towed to another independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with engine failure and the contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 116,000.

I am writing to formally express my deep dissatisfaction and concern regarding a serious mechanical failure in my 2017 Ford Escape, which has associated with safety issues. The issue began with a check engine light accompanied by a diagnostic trouble code indicating a misfire in cylinder 2. Upon further inspection, it was determined that coolant was leaking into the engine — a problem that ultimately led to catastrophic engine failure. Searched online and found it is common issue for this type of car but we did get notice and no warranty coverage offered to address it. The fact that this is a widely reported problem suggests a potential manufacturing or design defect that Ford has failed to proactively acknowledge or address. This issue also caused a big safety issue to the customer.

The engine suddenly failed mid-driving, began sputtering and became very weak. It would stutter at intersections or when trying to accelerate and became quite scary to drive. I was on a major freeway heading home when this happened. Upon taking it to a dealership for analysis, they reported a well known TSB-22-2229 had been out for this issue for a few years, but that since none of the "warning signs" were reported at earlier service appointments, they were instructed by Ford to not report it to us consumers unless we first mentioned those issues occurring. When speaking to the technician at the dealership, he acknowledged that due to a design flaw in the original engines, they have been replacing these specific engines in both Ford Escapes and Fusions with wholly new redesigned engines quite frequently. Its should be noted that Ford has extended the TSB at least once since releasing to accommodate more vehicles for coverage, further acknowledging the error on their part. As for warnings - the only warning I had to this catastrophic engine failure was an engine light code P0303 the day before for cylinder 3 misfire, and 1 "warning" the day after it occurred when I started the car and some white smoke came out of the tailpipe. The P0303 code could have been confused with a simple spark plug change, not total engine failure. According to the TSB, these were things that supposedly happened long in advance of failure. The problem has been confirmed by both the dealership I took it to, as well as many people across internet forums and other body shops. The vehicle has been inspected by a dealership and the diagnosis provided below.

Coolant is leaking into the cylinders, causing misfire. Per this document that you guys posted: "Customer Satisfaction Program 21N12", this is a known manufacturing defect in the engines that are in the model of car that I am driving currently. This is a safety issue and an environmental issue. Coolant gets into the cylinders and burns, emitting into the atmosphere. But the coolant also runs low, and the engine could overheat or catch on fire. The mechanic is estimating currently that the repairs to either change the head gasket or take the engine apart and rebuild it will cost around 7-9k, money we don't have. Ford should fix this manufacturing defect at not cost to us, as their CSP 21n12 document states. The only caveat is that the car has 98k miles on it while the cutoff for these repairs ends at 84k miles.

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.

Coolant is disappearing. It isnt in the oil and nit leaking under vehicle. It is going into cylinder and burning off causing vehicle to miss and shudder while driving. There is 117,000 miles on my vehicle. I keep oil changed every 5,000 miles. I can smell coolant intermittently and have to keep pulling over to check levels to prevent it overheating. I have read several people are having this issue and there is technical bulletin from Ford. So they are aware and have not issued a recall yet. I shouldn't have to pay over $5 grand for a new motor installation with this low of mileage.