Coolant is somehow invading the spark plug cavity. I fill up coolant reservoir and it disappears. Car uncontrollable shaking and engine light is on with a warning the car is unsafe to continue driving.
2017 Ford Escape
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
More warning signs than most Escape years
Owner complaints for the 2017 Ford Escape are substantially higher than the model-year median of 996.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Escape years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
1,155 reports with mileage · 1,522 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.
- Engine. Review the 1,564 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Engine And Engine Cooling. Review the 507 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Power Train. Review the 390 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
Engine complaints
1,564 reports2017 Ford Escape coolant leaked into engine causing vehicle to, all of a sudden, not accelerate when driving on city road. This happened at night with woman driving alone which obviously not safe! Since vehicle would not go over 2-3 mph traffic was backed up and had to put hazard lights on until could get car over. Vehicle was…
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2017 Ford Escape coolant leaked into engine causing vehicle to, all of a sudden, not accelerate when driving on city road. This happened at night with woman driving alone which obviously not safe! Since vehicle would not go over 2-3 mph traffic was backed up and had to put hazard lights on until could get car over. Vehicle was taken to dealer and found out the issue of coolant leaked into engine. The only way to fix the Escape would be to replace the engine. We did get the engine replaced costing $7,439. Researching this problem we have found this is a known issue but Ford has not issued a recall. This problem is not safe for anybody on the road. This should be a recall and Ford should reimburse us for the cost of repair. I do have the receipt as proof of what we paid to replace the engine. This happened in August 2023
Car is exhibiting symptoms of coolant intrusion into cylinder 3, but needs to be confirmed by Ford. Was getting a misfire on cylinder 3 and replaced the spark plugs and coil pack. Coolant consumption with no visible leaks has begun in the last 2 weeks. This is a known issue and Ford has not issued recalls to fix this. If F…
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Car is exhibiting symptoms of coolant intrusion into cylinder 3, but needs to be confirmed by Ford. Was getting a misfire on cylinder 3 and replaced the spark plugs and coil pack. Coolant consumption with no visible leaks has begun in the last 2 weeks. This is a known issue and Ford has not issued recalls to fix this. If Ford would like to inspect and troubleshoot the issue at no cost, I am willing to take the vehicle into the dealer. Engine seizure is a possible result of this defect and could cause an accident and even death.
The dealership reported that coolant was leaking into the engine cylinders, and now the whole engine needs to be replaced. They also informed us that this was a "known issue" but is not covered via a recall. This is due to a flawed design, and they do not have a way to prevent it from happening again if we were to replace the …
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The dealership reported that coolant was leaking into the engine cylinders, and now the whole engine needs to be replaced. They also informed us that this was a "known issue" but is not covered via a recall. This is due to a flawed design, and they do not have a way to prevent it from happening again if we were to replace the engine. We started with a check engine light, and the car had issues getting to highway speeds and reversing uphill. Then the temp warning would go off if we used the AC even for short trips.
This is a 2.0L ecoboost engine with known manufacturing defect that causes leak of coolant into cylinders. Check engine light came on. Diagnostics at automotive service center disclosed by Ford Technical Service Bulletin. The engine cannot be repaired it must be replaced with a new engine that has been upgraded to correct the in…
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This is a 2.0L ecoboost engine with known manufacturing defect that causes leak of coolant into cylinders. Check engine light came on. Diagnostics at automotive service center disclosed by Ford Technical Service Bulletin. The engine cannot be repaired it must be replaced with a new engine that has been upgraded to correct the internal defect. Cost is $7,000. This same defect occurs in other model Fords built in same year and the Fusion engine was recalled. The engine poses an imminent danger for seizure during operation, overheating and fire. The engine is scheduled to be replaced. A new upgraded engine is on order with expected delivery by August 31. The defective engine is available for inspection as well as mechanic report of duagnostics.
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 25 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was steered to the side of the road and turned off. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that there was coolant intrusion in the engine, and the sh…
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The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 25 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was steered to the side of the road and turned off. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that there was coolant intrusion in the engine, and the short block needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was determined that the short block needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 46,000.
I have a 2017 Ford Escape with a 1.5L engine. I bought the car 4 years ago certified pre-owned from a ford dealer. Four weeks ago I brought my car to another dealer (one that was recommended) because I was experiencing problems starting my car, a pop up message saying “Engine Fault - Service Now”, and some vibrations while driv…
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I have a 2017 Ford Escape with a 1.5L engine. I bought the car 4 years ago certified pre-owned from a ford dealer. Four weeks ago I brought my car to another dealer (one that was recommended) because I was experiencing problems starting my car, a pop up message saying “Engine Fault - Service Now”, and some vibrations while driving the car. But no check engine light or any other problems. That ford dealer when I brought it in said they could not duplicate the problems I was expecting after 2 days of testing and gave the car back to me. Two weeks later and I get the same problems but worse. I start seeing some smoke coming from my exhaust when starting the car, engine light came on and the last straw was a pop up message saying “High Engine Temp - stop car safely” and the car would not excel over 12 mph. So I took it to my local mechanic since I could not drive it far and they said to bring it to my dealer because they thought I needed my Powertrain Control Module repaired. I had it towed to a new dealer (closer to me) than the first one who diagnosed it saying I needed my long block engine replaced due to a coolant intrusion. They said it would cost at least $10,000 and recommended I get rid of it and offered me $500 for them to buy it. After doing my research I can see that this is a huge problem with ford and that there were 2 customer stratification programs done to fix the issue. Luckily the dealer I purchased the car from completed the first customer satisfaction program 19B37 on July 15 2020 but did not complete customer satisfaction program 21N12 prior to me purchasing it because the car was not showing any problems. Now, my car is showing those problems but Ford has told me since my warranty expired 6 months ago I am no longer able to get the repair covered. But my mileage is way under the 84,000 mileage cap. I am planning to call the three dealers I have dealt with now to see if there is anything they can do for me. Any other advice would be greatly appr
I have a 2017 ford escape with a 1.5L engine. My engine is having an issue with the 1.5L short block, due to coolant intrusion to the cylinder bores. This is causing my motor to misfire at cylinder 1 as well as I have to constantly add coolant to my car due to the internal coolant leak. After much research I came across somethin…
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I have a 2017 ford escape with a 1.5L engine. My engine is having an issue with the 1.5L short block, due to coolant intrusion to the cylinder bores. This is causing my motor to misfire at cylinder 1 as well as I have to constantly add coolant to my car due to the internal coolant leak. After much research I came across something called “customer satisfaction program 21N12.” This program also references “Customer satisfaction program 19B37 – supplement #4” AND “Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) 22-2134” This program covers 2017-2019 Ford Fusion and Ford Escapes with the 1.5L engine that has the same internal coolant leak. My vehicle is experiencing exactly what this program (21N12) covers. I have called ford about this program, and they state that although this program does cover same type of vehicle and motor. However, my vin number is not associated with that recall/program. Ford customer relations informed me to contact you and make a complaint in order to add my vin number to that recall so that I can have my car’s engine replaced by ford, for a problem that is a known issue. Please add my vin number to this recall/program (21N12) so that I can have my car fixed. My vehicle was purchased new, and I am the only owner. My vehicle has approximately 74,400 miles on the odometer as I type this (8/22/24). I know for a fact that this engine has a internal coolant leak for the simple fact that I have to constantly add coolant to my vehicle every 1 - 2 weeks.
The engine light came on, we took it to a mechanic who replaced the spark plug and a coil. We were told it was safe to drive long distances. We drove the car about 8 hours with no issues. The car was parked for 2 days. We then turned it back on to drive home and white smoke blew out of the exhaust and the engine over heating lig…
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The engine light came on, we took it to a mechanic who replaced the spark plug and a coil. We were told it was safe to drive long distances. We drove the car about 8 hours with no issues. The car was parked for 2 days. We then turned it back on to drive home and white smoke blew out of the exhaust and the engine over heating light came on. We turned the car off and had it towed to a mechanic in the area who stated coolant had leaked and the entire engine would need to be repaired. The car has less than 60,000 miles on it, but is over 5 years old, so it is out of warranty. We have maintained it carefully. Original mechanic stated the gasket must have blown when the white smoke came out because we could not have driven 8 hours if there had been an issue when we originally brought the car in. Ford dealership quoted us $11,000 to repair/replace engine. Ford customer service stated no goodwill repairs were available. Looking into joining the class action lawsuit for the manufacturing defect in the engine that we are now painfully aware of. We are thankful that the gasket blew in a drive way and not on the highway as it easily could have.
Coolant leak and erosion into cylinder on 2017 Ford escape titanium 2.0L
Official recalls
426V374000 · Visibility:power Window Devices And Controls
Jun 9, 2026
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2017 Escape vehicles previously repaired incorrectly under recall number 16V617. The power-operated windows may exert excessive force when encountering an object, before they automatically reverse. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 118, "Power-Operated Window Systems."
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: A closing window that does not reverse direction as expected can pinch a driver or passenger before retracting, increasing the risk of injury.
Remedy: Dealers will update the power window operating system software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 22, 2026. Owners may contact customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 26C29. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will become searchable on NHTSA.gov on July 6, 2026.
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.
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.
16V617000 · Electrical System:software; Visibility:power Window Devices And Controls
Aug 24, 2016
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2017 Ford Escape Titanium and SE vehicles manufactured October 5, 2015, to May 12, 2016. The settings for the closing-force of the power-operated windows may allow the windows to close on an object such as a body part and injure it before the windows auto-reverse. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 118, "Power-Operated Window Systems."
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: If a window closes on a body part, it can increase the risk of injury.
Remedy: Ford has notified owners, and dealers will update the power window operating system software, free of charge. The recall began on September 6, 2016. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 16C12.
Additional source detail variants (2)
Electrical System:software
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2017 Ford Escape Titanium and SE vehicles manufactured October 5, 2015, to May 12, 2016. The settings for the closing-force of the power-operated windows may allow the windows to close on an object such as a body part and injure it before the windows auto-reverse. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 118, "Power-Operated Window Systems."
Consequence: If a window closes on a body part, it can increase the risk of injury.
Remedy: Ford has notified owners, and dealers will update the power window operating system software, free of charge. The recall began on September 6, 2016. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 16C12.
Visibility:power Window Devices And Controls
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2017 Ford Escape Titanium and SE vehicles manufactured October 5, 2015, to May 12, 2016. The settings for the closing-force of the power-operated windows may allow the windows to close on an object such as a body part and injure it before the windows auto-reverse. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 118, "Power-Operated Window Systems."
Consequence: If a window closes on a body part, it can increase the risk of injury.
Remedy: Ford has notified owners, and dealers will update the power window operating system software, free of charge. The recall began on September 6, 2016. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 16C12.
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
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.
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