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2018 Ford Escape

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2018 Ford Escape do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 996.

About this comparison →

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

668 reports with mileage · 1,123 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 1,145 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Engine And Engine Cooling. Review the 342 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Power Train. Review the 269 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

25 crash reports5 fire reports23 injury reports

What owners actually said

1,791 reports
100,000 miles · Dec 4, 2024
Engine

The motor couldn’t handle the weight of the car and cost me $7000 to replace. That’s almost the cars entire value.

NHTSA ODI #11628734

40,000 miles · Dec 3, 2024
Engine And Engine Cooling

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine compartment. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that there was an internal coolant leak into the engine and that the…

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The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine compartment. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that there was an internal coolant leak into the engine and that the short block needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact researched and became aware of an unknown recall however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was contacted and confirmed that the VIN was not included in the recall and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000.

NHTSA ODI #11628681

105,169 miles · Dec 3, 2024
Power Train

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH with the cruise control activated, the vehicle lost motive power. The vehicle was steered to the side of the road and turned off. The vehicle was then towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed and determined that the torque converter had di…

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The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH with the cruise control activated, the vehicle lost motive power. The vehicle was steered to the side of the road and turned off. The vehicle was then towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed and determined that the torque converter had disintegrated and there were metal fragments inside the transmission, causing transmission failure. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 105,169.

NHTSA ODI #11628565

Mileage unknown · Dec 2, 2024
Engine

Confirmed by the Ford Dealer, coolant leaked into the engine causing complete engine failure. No warnings, car began to shake, lost acceleration. Known issue with Escapes, we did not receive ANY notification of this known problem which has been confirmed due to this VIN not attached to this known Ford Escape problem. After mult…

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Confirmed by the Ford Dealer, coolant leaked into the engine causing complete engine failure. No warnings, car began to shake, lost acceleration. Known issue with Escapes, we did not receive ANY notification of this known problem which has been confirmed due to this VIN not attached to this known Ford Escape problem. After multiple attempts with Ford Customer Service, they confirmed Ford has a customer satisfaction program under the guidelines of 7yrs or 84K miles. This vehicle has 101,000k. Ford will not support the financial burden of $11,000 to repair the vehicle. This car has been well taken care of, all maintenance has been completed per scheduled. It is available for inspection. Only diagnosed by the Ford dealer and there was no warning or problems before this incident. The vehicle has not been in an accident. We need help in getting this repaired and nobody is taking responsibility for a KNOWN issue.

NHTSA ODI #11628444

60,000 miles · Dec 2, 2024
Engine

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that there was a misfire in cylinder #3, and the coil was replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, after the r…

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The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that there was a misfire in cylinder #3, and the coil was replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, after the repairs were completed, the vehicle failed to exceed 25 MPH and was shuddering with white smoke coming from the exhaust. The vehicle was taken back to the same local independent mechanic where the spark plugs were replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the vehicle failed to start after the repairs were completed. A check engine temperature message was displayed. The vehicle was not repaired. The local dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired due to the warranty being expired. Upon further investigation, the contact related the failure to the Technical Service Bulletin: 22-2134; however, the vehicle was not included. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.

NHTSA ODI #11628281

150,040 miles · Dec 2, 2024
Engine And Engine Cooling

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the vehicle was slowly losing coolant, and there was no indication of the location of the leak. While the contact’s son was driving at an undisclosed speed, the low coolant warning light illuminated. The contact's son refilled the coolant reservoir. The warning light w…

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The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the vehicle was slowly losing coolant, and there was no indication of the location of the leak. While the contact’s son was driving at an undisclosed speed, the low coolant warning light illuminated. The contact's son refilled the coolant reservoir. The warning light went off and the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that the failure was related to Customer Satisfaction Program: 21N12. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who determined there was coolant in the cylinder and the engine needed to be replaced. The low coolant indicator was not working properly. The contact called the local dealer and was referred to the manufacturer for assistance. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, and the contact was informed that there was no warranty coverage on the vehicle, opened a case, and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 150,040.

NHTSA ODI #11628251

Mileage unknown · Nov 27, 2024
Engine

Coolant is getting into oil. Misfires. And coolant disappears and causes engine to get hot.

NHTSA ODI #11627798

107,000 miles · Nov 27, 2024
Engine And Engine Cooling

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the message that the engine was overheating was displayed and the vehicle shutoff. The contract stated that the failure was related to TSB: 19-2375. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that there was coolant…

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The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the message that the engine was overheating was displayed and the vehicle shutoff. The contract stated that the failure was related to TSB: 19-2375. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that there was coolant intrusion into the engine. The mechanic recommended an engine replacement. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 107,000.

NHTSA ODI #11627764

Mileage unknown · Nov 27, 2024
Engine

Car has less than 100,000 miles on it. Engine failed due to coolant intrusion from manufacturing defect in the cylinder walls. (Ford TSB 19-2139) Now Ford wants $11,500 to fix a problem they created.

NHTSA ODI #11627655

69,000 miles · Nov 26, 2024
Engine And Engine Cooling

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the temperature gauge rose to H(Hot). The contact stated that upon shifting to reverse(R), the vehicle started chugging. The message "High Engine Temperature Safely" was displayed, and the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehi…

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The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the temperature gauge rose to H(Hot). The contact stated that upon shifting to reverse(R), the vehicle started chugging. The message "High Engine Temperature Safely" was displayed, and the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine needed to be replaced due to coolant intrusion. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 69,000.

NHTSA ODI #11627550

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.

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.

18V104000 · Service Brakes, Hydraulic:foundation Components:hoses, Lines/piping, And Fittings

Feb 12, 2018

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018 Ford Escape and Lincoln MKC vehicles. These vehicles may be equipped with incorrect front brake hoses that may chafe against other components, possibly resulting in a brake fluid leak.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: A brake fluid leak may lengthen the distance needed to stop the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the brake hoses, replacing any that are incorrect, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin March 2018. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 18S04.

17V803000 · Air Bags:side/window

Dec 18, 2017

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018 Ford Escape vehicles. The side curtain air bags on these vehicles have a component that may detach during deployment of the inflatable curtain air bag.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: If the component detaches during deployment, it may enter the passenger compartment and be a projectile within the vehicle cabin, increasing the risk of injury.

Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver and passenger side curtain air bags, as necessary, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin January 2018. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 17S44.

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