2019 Ford Escape

My Ford Escape was driving as usual, but as I was traveling on a down ramp in a left turning lane, the engine overheated abruptly and serious audible and visual alerts appeared on the screen. I was in heavy traffic and was forced to pull over quickly into the right turning lane. This could have easily caused an accident because all of a sudden, the Escape started stalling and would hardly move. It was terrifying, and I was barely able to maneuver it into a nearby parking lot. That night, it was towed to a Ford dealership that inspected it and now says that I need a new engine because the engine block is cracked.

After turning the car on, the car started to shake for a couple minutes, the engine light came on after a few minutes of the car doing that. Took it to get it scanned and the code given was P0302 and P0304. Took the car to a ford dealership and after almost a week it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion into the cylinders and needed it a new engine. Since the coolant was leaking it also damaged the power steering system due to rust and an electronic power steering gear was also needed since it was giving intermittent failure and was very hard to turn the car. Ford is not owning anything and it is clearly an engine poor design by ford. It is happening to thousands of owner that have that engine.

The car had a rough idle (only for the first few minutes) for one day before the engine light came on. The car was taken to the dealership on the third day (less than 20mi of driving between the light coming on and the car being inspected). According to their scans, my 2.0L engine is experiencing water (coolant) intrusion into the clyinders (after only 5 years of service). The Ford technician said it is TSB 22-2229 (a known issue since 2019 TSB 19-2172). There are currently no NHTSA Customer Satisfaction Programs or recalls for this TSB, which is astonishing, as there is one for the 1.5L engine made in the same plant AND Ford completely redesigned the engine because they know it is so bad. The fix is to completely replace the engine ($10,000-$15,000). The danger is that the manufacturer knew there was risk of water intrusion, which can crack the block…this could leave the vehicle in a dangerous situation if driving at highway speeds or in heavy traffic.

My engine had a coolant leak a few years ago (2021) and needed a complete engine replacement since the car would no longer run. Since it was under warranty then it was replaced. However, the engine once again has had a major issue with the engine bearing and needs another full replacement and will no longer run. Many people are struggling with needing to get full engine replacements on Ford Escapes. There are Ford retailers keeping stocks of Ford Escape engines in preparation for these engine replacements, but Ford has refused to offer any assistance for this known issue. Requiring a 2nd full engine replacement at the value of the car itself is absurd. I received a warning message on my car, but when I took it in to have the issue assessed - it was notified as a minor gas cap issue.

The contact owns a 2019 Ford Escape. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked and occupied, while attempting to start the vehicle, the contact noticed a cloud of white smoke coming from the exhaust. The check engine warning light was illuminated. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that there was coolant leaking into the cylinders, and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to Customer Satisfaction Program: 21N12: (GTDI Engine – Short Block Replacement After Coolant Intrusion); however, the VIN was not included in program. The manufacturer was notified of the issue and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in the program and opened a case. The contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 56,000.

On or about June 1, 2025, the vehicle began losing coolant without a visible leak. Took the vehicle to dealer for a diagnosis. Dealer claimed than a coolant hose was bad and required an $1100 repair. I reported to the dealer the low coolant, water in the oil and white smoke at start up but they dismissed the complaint. Stated they would need the $1100 repair done before any other diagnosis could completed. July 1, 2025, after consulting Ford corporate directly, they are "looking" into my concern. No offer of repairs, at all.

The failed component is the coolant leaking into cyl 4 TSB 22-2229 which has been a problem with this model in the 1.5 L turbo before. This model is the 2.0L turbo but having the same problem. According to the dealership, "This is the entire process need to either rebuild or replace the vehicle's engine. This is a process needed when the vehicle's engine is in need of serious repair." Reasoning according to the dealer: "Without replacing or rebuilding a damaged engine, the car will not be able to function and will be left useless." This car has only 46,391 miles on it for 2019 and has been meticulously taken care of since it's purchase in Aug 2021 as a used vehicle from the dealership. After an oil change was completed on the vehicle at 46,300 miles, the check engine light came on and the vehicle was taken into the dealership for it to be assessed. That's when it was found to be cyl 4 that was the problem.