2017 Ford Escape

It is only the low beams, but every couple months, the passenger side goes out. Then within 3 weeks to 2 months later the driver's side goes out. This has been happening since a month after I bought the car in 2021. This does not matter if they are changed individually when one of them goes out or if they are both changed at the same time. Occasionally, they will both just go out at the same time. This is extremely unsafe when driving down the road. I have had the car looked at by different mechanics different times when this issue was happens. It can happen when I turn the car on and it's just been running a few minutes or while i'm doing city, highway and interstate driving. Today is the most recent time it happened my passenger side just went out again. The passenger and drivers side light bulbs (low beans) were last changed just after Thanksgiving. I have never had any issues with the high beams. Those have worked just fine. It is only the low beams.

While driving vehicle at night on [XXX] to Richmond, VA my headlights both stopped working completely. The only way I could see was by turning on my high beam headlights. The high beam headlights worked fine. There was no warning lights, no sounds, the interior lights and everything interior was working normal. It was just the low beam headlights both at the exact same time. The running day lights work. The bulbs were fine the fuses were in perfect condition it just stopped working. This was a SERIOUS and dangerous incident that occurred on a major highway while driving at night suddenly and without warning. Had my high beams not worked I could have been in serious accident trying to drive or get off the highway to get a tow. In addition, all turn signals and break lights work perfectly. I have appt w/Ford dealership in Culpeper, VA on Friday Jan 2, 2026 to figure out why they are not working. I shouldn't have to pay thousands of dollars for a problem that Ford knows is happening with our vehicles. The amount of complaints of similar issues with the Ford Escape on Ford's help thread is in the thousands. This is a serious failure which can increase the risk of a crash and potential injury. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the contact became aware that the driver's and passenger's side taillight housings were filled with water. The contact stated that when the trunk was opened, some of the water in the driver's side taillight housing drained out onto the ground. The contact stated that because of the failure, the taillights and the hatch failed to function as intended. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed. The contact was informed that the failure was not covered under any known recall. In addition, the contact was quoted a fee for the repair. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The contact was advised to contact the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

Prior to May 2022, both of the quarter panel mounted tail light assemblies on my 2017 Ford Escape SE started taking in water due the seals on the tail lights failing. Soon after those started failing the same thing began happening to the tail light assemblies on the hatch. I have replaced all 4 tail lights with OEM parts sourced from a salvage yard. All parts sourced from the salvage yard had a perfect conditions rating per the salvage yard. Fast forward to November 2024 and I began to notice the seals on the quarter panel mounted tail light assemblies begging to fail. Since then, the passenger side tail light assembly has began taking on water, with the driver side soon to take on water as well. Water and electricity do not mix. The tail lights are available for inspection upon request and I have included pictures. Driving at night or in low light conditions with my tail lights like this puts me and other drivers at risk due to water potentially shorting out my lights/electrical system and making my lights harder for other drivers to see. The problem, to my knowledge has not been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center. The vehicle component has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others. There were no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure. First appeared prior to May 2022 and again, after replacing the components, around November 2024. I have appealed to the Ford motor company about this and no recall or programs are in affect for this issue at this time. I have also consulted with other owners of the same vehicle with the same issue and there are multiple online forum threads about this issue.

Failure of defective and dangerous head and tail lights - total of six. Luckily, I identified the problem before a serious accident. This was previously reported without details or supporting documentation under NHTSA Complaint 11600823 by a family member. The uploaded documents show the actions of the dealership (Art Hill Ford) and Ford Motor Company.

Vehicle burns out low beam headlights at a rapid rate. I’ve been the only owner of this car, and have replace the headlights 8 times in 168k miles. I do not drive abundantly at night, primarily during the day. In the span of the past two weeks I have replaced the headlights twice. I have come to a point that I keep spare headlights in the glove box for when they will go out again. Researching the issue online lead me to many forms of drivers with the same vehicle going through the same issue. The vehicle causing the headlights to go out at such a fast rate has presented a dangerous nighttime driving scenario when combined with the daytime running lights that give off enough light to make it unknown if the headlights are truly functioning or not. Given the consumable nature of bulbs the issue has not been taken to the dealer for, only serviced by replacement of bulbs.

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the rear driver’s side and rear passenger’s side brake lights and taillights failed to illuminate. The contact discovered water and condensation inside the rear taillight assemblies. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who informed the contact that the rear brake light and taillight assemblies needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 34,000.