Ford Escape / 2017
2017 Ford Escape problems
Owners have filed 3,271 complaints about the 2017 Ford Escape with NHTSA. Engine accounts for 47.5% of them — far more than any other system, ahead of engine and engine cooling at 15.5%.
Complaints3,271
Crashes52
Fires23
Injuries70
Deaths0
What owners report breaking
Engine 47.5% · 1553
Engine and engine cooling 15.5% · 506
Power train 12.0% · 394
Electrical system 4.7% · 154
Unknown or other 4.6% · 151
Wheels 2.5% · 81
Fuel/propulsion system 2.2% · 71
Structure 1.9% · 62
Severity
Of those complaints, 52 describe a crash, 23 describe a fire and 70 report an injury.
Reading the numbers
Across the 24 model years of the Ford Escape in this data, 2017 ranks 2nd by complaint volume — 2013 draws the most.
Filings are rising — 1894 in the last three years against 911 in the three before. For a vehicle this age that usually points to a wear-related failure owners are hitting now.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 70,000 miles.
In owners' own words
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle shuddered and stalled. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 106,000. Engine · reported at 106,000 miles
Escape 2.0 Liter check engine light turned on. Code was cylinder misfire. Diagnosis was no issues with spark plugs. However coolant was low after having been checked and topped off during an oil change 2 weeks prior. Technician performed leak test and identified coolant intrusion in number one cylinder (attached photo is diagnosis). Ford Technical Services Bulletin recommends replacing with new long block engine. Engine
Coolant Intrusion: A design flaw in the open-deck engine block allows coolant to leak into the combustion chambers, leading to misfires, white smoke, and severe engine damage. Affected Vehicles: Primarily 2017-2019 Escapes and 2014-2019 Fusions with the 1.5L EcoBoost engine, built before specific dates. Symptoms: Low coolant, white exhaust smoke, rough idling, check engine light, and DTCs like P0300, P0301-P0304. Engine
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…