Owners have filed 25,371 complaints on the Ford Escape, covering 2001–2024. The system named most often is Structure (682 reports). Worst years by volume: 2013, 2017, 2008; cleanest: 2024, 2023, 2022. 697 reports describe a crash, 487 a fire, 12 a death. On average the car was 6.1 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Ford Escape
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 25,371 Escape complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Structure 682 Read
While driving home from having a few drinks with my friends, a deer ran out in front of me and although I slammed on the brakes, I couldn't stop quick enough to avoid hitting the deer and smashing in the grill of my new car. When the state patrol arrived, they gave me a ticket for speeding and after I told them that I…
While pulling into a residential parking space at low speed, the vehicle (2023 Ford Escape) suddenly accelerated unexpectedly without additional throttle input. The acceleration was abrupt and forceful, and I was unable to stop the vehicle before it struck the structure in front of the parking space. The incident…
We were rear ended from a stopped position on the highway. . My fianc was driving and suffered whiplash. I was in the front passenger seat and broke my back and separated my pelvis, requiring surgery to stabilize. The front passenger seat is now very squeaky. Concerned there was an issue with the passenger seat or…
Engine 611 Read
The contact owns a 2023 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while her husband was driving at 55 MPH he smelled a burning odor. The vehicle was pulled into a parking lot where the hood was lifted and the odor emanated strongly from the engine compartment. Additionally, he noticed sparking, and then flames erupted. The…
The contact owned a 2022 Ford Escape. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the contact heard two loud explosions, when the contact looked outside the vehicle was in flames, causing the siding of the contact's home siding to melt. The contact stated that there was no warning light illuminated, but the…
I am writing to formally demand immediate action regarding my 2022 Ford Escape, VIN [XXX] a 0% financing plan and Ford’s New Vehicle Limited Warranty. Since purchase, the Escape has suffered serious safety defects, including gasoline fumes inside the cabin, burning odors, and repeated performance failures tied to the…
Power Train 505 Read
The contact owns a 2021 Ford Escape. The contact stated while reversing down her driveway, that as soon as she had placed the vehicle in reverse, it independently accelerated to approximately 20 MPH. The contact attempted to depress the brake pedal and did not have any brake function. The contact stated she did not…
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that she had parked the vehicle in the driveway and went to manually open the garage door to reverse inside the garage. The contact stated that while opening the garage door, the vehicle started rolling back. The contact stated that the front driver's side door…
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while shifting into reverse, the vehicle drove forward instead of reversing. During the most recent failure, after starting the vehicle, the contact shifted the vehicle into park, and the vehicle collided with the contact's home. No warning lights…
Electrical System 349 Read
As I was driving home with about 5 minutes to go, in my brand new (2 week old)2023 Ford Escape, I smelled something burning. I pulled over and saw smoke so I turned off the car and got out. As I got out of the car I looked under and saw fire. I got away from the car and as I did, the fire kept growing and growing from…
The contact owned a 2023 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the infotainment center would display a black screen, and while doing so, the radio would continue to play. The contact stated that while driving at different speeds, the trunk would suddenly open, causing the contact to have to pull over and close the…
In September 2021 the car had 2 incidents of not being able to stop with the brakes while backing down my drive. The auto stop shut down was on. In the first instant I almost hit a senior with a walker. He fell but only scraped his hand and was not hit by the car. The second time, May 2022, the car crashed into the…
Service Brakes 229 Read
I found the brake pedal too high.i was involved in a very low speed crash. I found my right foot caught between the accelerator and break peddle .unable to stop in time. Am checking for a video and police report at this time
The brakes failed completely, the pedal touched the ground. It is currently getting inspected a ford dealership. The vehicle was unable to stop causing it to crash into my house. This could out the driver and passengers are risk if it occurred on a main road or highway. It has not been inspected yet. It is in the…
Wife was driving vehicle. Came to intersection at end of our street. Applied brakes. Brakes did not work. Went through intersection crashed into tree. Injured, taken to hospital, vehicle towed, police report made. Vehicle is available for inspection. Would like to have vehicle inspected! Not yet inspected by anyone.…
Fuel System 218 Read
The contact owns a 2021 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while making a right turn at approximately 10 MPH, a fuel odor had begun to leak into the interior cabin before the engine caught on fire. The A/C was activated during the time of the failure. No warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that while…
The contact owned a 2019 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was white smoke coming from the rear driver's side and there was a burning odor. The vehicle was parked and the contact noticed smoke coming from the driver's rear side of the vehicle. No warning lights were…
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 30mph when the vehicle lost engine power. The contact stated fuel pump warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to pull over and towed the vehicle to a local mechanic where it was informed that the vehicle had experienced a…
Air Bags 204 Read
The contact owned a 2017 ford escape. While driving 35 mph, the contact's vehicle was t-boned by another vehicle exiting a parking lot. The contact's vehicle was pushed into a stop sign and a pole, and landed in a ditch. None of the air bags deployed inside the vehicle. Instead, the air bags deployed outwardly, which…
I was in a car accident on july 26, 2015 and the side impact airbag did not deploy after I had received a recall notice many months prior to the accident> every time I took it to the dealership for maintenance, they said there was no "fix" yet at the time. My 2013 ford escape was totaled in the accident. I was driving…
4 car pile up, my car in the middle, air bags came out driver was burned from the air bag and holes burned in air bag. Also passenger air bag was off due to child and it went off anyway
Engine And Engine Cooling 185 Read
The contact owned a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 15-20 MPH and coming to a stop with his wife in the front passenger seat and daughter in the rear seat, the coolant temperature warning light illuminated; however, the temperature gauge indicated that the vehicle temperature was normal. The contact…
The contact owns a 2015 ford escape. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle white smoke was present coming from the exhaust pipes. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer bob moore ford (8948 s. I-35 service rd. Oklahoma city) who indicated that no coolant was present in the coolant container and the…
The contact owned a 2014 Ford Escape. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for a service appointment which included a system scan and replacement of the coolant valves. The contact stated that after the repair was completed and the mechanic was test-driving the vehicle, the engine caught on fire. A nearby…
Escape years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Air Bags | 3 | — | |
| 2023 | Air Bags,engine,forward Collision Avoidance | 2 | 3 | |
| 2022 | Air Bags,engine | 6 | 4 | |
| 2021 | Back Over Prevention | 9 | 9 | |
| 2020 | Air Bags | 18 | 4 | |
| 2019 | Air Bags | 24 | 2 | |
| 2018 | Air Bags | 25 | 5 | |
| 2017 | Air Bags | 35 | 15 | |
| 2016 | Air Bags | 32 | 9 | |
| 2015 | Air Bags | 28 | 19 | |
| 2014 | Air Bags | 43 | 101 | |
| 2013 | Air Bags | 46 | 87 | |
| 2012 | Air Bags | 32 | 3 | |
| 2011 | Air Bags | 35 | 7 | |
| 2010 | Air Bags | 28 | 3 | |
| 2009 | Air Bags | 30 | 2 | |
| 2008 | Air Bags | 63 | 7 | |
| 2007 | Air Bags | 14 | 2 | |
| 2006 | Air Bags | 18 | 9 | |
| 2005 | Air Bags | 30 | 19 | |
| 2004 | Air Bags | 23 | 10 | |
| 2003 | Air Bags | 40 | 25 | |
| 2002 | Air Bags | 52 | 94 | |
| 2001 | Air Bags | 61 | 48 |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 2,901 |
| Average complaints per series | 8.7 |
| Worst single series | 79 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 6.1 years |
A model average of 8.7 hides a worst series at 79. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Escape?
By complaint volume, 2013, 2017, 2008 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Escape years are the cleanest?
2024, 2023, 2022 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Ford Escape have?
25,371 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2001–2024. Of those, 697 describe a crash and 487 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.