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2018 Ford Ecosport

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2018 Ford Ecosport do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 395.

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When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

267 reports with mileage · 459 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 355 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Engine And Engine Cooling. Review the 311 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Power Train. Review the 67 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

18 crash reports2 fire reports7 injury reports

Engine complaints

355 reports
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62,000 miles · Mar 31, 2023
Engine

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Ecosport. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 MPH, there was a squeaking and knocking sound coming from the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle started to shake, vibrate, and then lost motive power. The vehicle was later towed to the local dealer who diagnosed that the oil pump…

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The contact owns a 2018 Ford Ecosport. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 MPH, there was a squeaking and knocking sound coming from the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle started to shake, vibrate, and then lost motive power. The vehicle was later towed to the local dealer who diagnosed that the oil pump had failed, and that the timing chain had disintegrated causing the engine to seize. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 8,000. The contact stated that at the time of failure, the oil pressure light came on. The contact chose not to operate the vehicle due to fear of doing damage to the engine but the power and engine came on when the car was started. But when taken to the dealership, they claimed the vehicle would not stay running.

NHTSA ODI #11514821

Mileage unknown · Mar 31, 2023
Engine

Oil pressure low warning came on and lost power. I was informed by a Ford dealer that the oil pump is driven by a belt and the belt tensioner broke. The Engine needs to be replaced. I am waiting to see if they will replace it under warranty. The car loss of power effects the handling and braking of the vehicle

NHTSA ODI #11514730

100,319 miles · Mar 28, 2023
Engine

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Ecosport. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the oil warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and the dealer stated that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, and a case was filed, and the contact was advised …

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The contact owns a 2018 Ford Ecosport. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the oil warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and the dealer stated that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, and a case was filed, and the contact was advised to contact the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 100,319.

NHTSA ODI #11514293

62,000 miles · Mar 24, 2023
EnginePower TrainCrash

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Ecosport. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH with her husband in the front passenger’s seat and her infant in a car seat in the rear seat, the vehicle began to lose motive power and was making abnormal loud cranking sounds. The message "Power Train Malfunction -Reduced Power" was displayed, and …

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The contact owns a 2018 Ford Ecosport. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH with her husband in the front passenger’s seat and her infant in a car seat in the rear seat, the vehicle began to lose motive power and was making abnormal loud cranking sounds. The message "Power Train Malfunction -Reduced Power" was displayed, and the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated upon attempting to exit the highway and avoid incoming traffic, the front passenger side of the bumper struck a guard rail. There was no injury sustained. The contact was able to continue driving at 35 MPH and pulled into a fire station. The contact turned off the vehicle; however, the vehicle failed to restart. The contact was able to jumpstart the vehicle with assistance. The contact then drove to her residence. The vehicle was taken to the dealer the following day. The dealer informed the contact that an oil change needed to be performed in order to diagnose the vehicle. Upon completing the oil change, the dealer diagnosed that oil was leaking into the engine and that the engine might need to be replaced. The alternator, the oil pump belt, and the twin-turbo were replaced; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that they could not assist as the power train Extended Warranty had expired. The failure mileage was approximately 62,000.

NHTSA ODI #11513619

Mileage unknown · Mar 15, 2023
EnginePower Train

Car started making a loud knocking noise and the check engine light came on. We had it towed to a mechanic and was told the oil pump belt was bad and caused the engine to go bad. We had to pay for a new engine and new oil pump belt. We were told that if this would have went out when he was on the freeway the car would have just …

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Car started making a loud knocking noise and the check engine light came on. We had it towed to a mechanic and was told the oil pump belt was bad and caused the engine to go bad. We had to pay for a new engine and new oil pump belt. We were told that if this would have went out when he was on the freeway the car would have just stopped.

NHTSA ODI #11511957

Mileage unknown · Feb 24, 2023
EngineFuel/propulsion SystemPower Train

Oil pump has broken tension rod went on it as i was driving down the road it began making load noise and pressure light came on this is on my 2018 Ford Ecosport it was made in 12/17

NHTSA ODI #11508876

65,916 miles · Feb 7, 2023
Engine

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Ecosport. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle made an abnormal sound with the low oil warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The manufacturer ad…

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The contact owns a 2018 Ford Ecosport. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle made an abnormal sound with the low oil warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The manufacturer advised the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was 65,916.

NHTSA ODI #11505987

Mileage unknown · Jan 27, 2023
Engine

The motor blew after only driv9ng the car a little over 30k miles. Routine oil changes at the dealership has been made. Ford has offered to pay 2k of the cost of the new engine. They are accepting responsibility partially but due to research this engine has failed. The current milage is 60,013. 13 miles over the warranty and For…

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The motor blew after only driv9ng the car a little over 30k miles. Routine oil changes at the dealership has been made. Ford has offered to pay 2k of the cost of the new engine. They are accepting responsibility partially but due to research this engine has failed. The current milage is 60,013. 13 miles over the warranty and Ford will not cover a vehicle the produced that won't make it 60k miles with out a engine failure.

NHTSA ODI #11503958

68,000 miles · Jan 17, 2023
Engine

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Ecosport. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with an engine failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to file a compl…

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The contact owns a 2018 Ford Ecosport. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with an engine failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA hotline. The failure mileage was 68,000.

NHTSA ODI #11502186

61,050 miles · Jan 11, 2023
EnginePower Train

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Ecosport. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the vehicle made abnormally loud sound sounds and stalled. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was able to veer to the side of the road. The vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to the dealer to be diagnosed; it was determ…

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The contact owns a 2018 Ford Ecosport. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the vehicle made abnormally loud sound sounds and stalled. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was able to veer to the side of the road. The vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to the dealer to be diagnosed; it was determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The engine was replaced; however, the failure reoccurred while driving. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where the engine was replaced a second time. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, the transmission was shifting hard, and the vehicle was shuddering. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 61,050.

NHTSA ODI #11501296

Official recalls

2

23V905000 · Engine And Engine Cooling:engine:oil/lubrication:pump

Dec 22, 2023

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2016-2018 Ford Focus and 2018-2022 Ford EcoSport vehicles. The oil pump drive belt or drive belt tensioner may fail, resulting in a loss of engine oil pressure.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: A loss of oil pressure can result in an engine stall and a loss of power braking assist, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the oil pump tensioner assembly and oil pump drive belt, free of charge. If engine failure occurs due to a damaged oil pump belt and/or oil pump belt tensioner, Ford has authorized dealers to replace the engine assembly as an interim repair before the availability of remedy parts for the final repair. This repair will be free of charge (parts and labor). Owner notification letters were mailed August 11, 2025. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 23S64.

18V312000 · Equipment:other:labels; Service Brakes

May 14, 2018

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018 Ford Ecosport vehicles sold in the United States Federal Territiories. These vehicles were shipped with the European brake reservoir pictogram cap label and the European English language owner's manual kits. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 135, "Light Vehicle Brake Systems."

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: Owners could be confused by the incorrect label on the brake fluid cap, potentially causing them to replace the brake fluid with an incorrect fluid which could affect brake performance, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the brake fluid cap and owner's manual kit, free of charge. The recall began on June 21, 2018. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 18C04.

Additional source detail variants (2)

Service Brakes

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018 Ford Ecosport vehicles sold in the United States Federal Territiories. These vehicles were shipped with the European brake reservoir pictogram cap label and the European English language owner's manual kits. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 135, "Light Vehicle Brake Systems."

Consequence: Owners could be confused by the incorrect label on the brake fluid cap, potentially causing them to replace the brake fluid with an incorrect fluid which could affect brake performance, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the brake fluid cap and owner's manual kit, free of charge. The recall began on June 21, 2018. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 18C04.

Equipment:other:labels

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018 Ford Ecosport vehicles sold in the United States Federal Territiories. These vehicles were shipped with the European brake reservoir pictogram cap label and the European English language owner's manual kits. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 135, "Light Vehicle Brake Systems."

Consequence: Owners could be confused by the incorrect label on the brake fluid cap, potentially causing them to replace the brake fluid with an incorrect fluid which could affect brake performance, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the brake fluid cap and owner's manual kit, free of charge. The recall began on June 21, 2018. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 18C04.

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

1

PE23015 · Oil Pump Failure

Opened Sep 20, 2023 · Closed Feb 14, 2024

Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Engine And Engine Cooling:engine:oil/lubrication:pump

On September 20, 2023, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE23-015 to investigate instances of engine failure due to loss of oil pressure in model year (MY) 2018-2021 Ford EcoSport vehicles. Some consumers reported a low engine oil pressure warning lamp immediately preceding a complete loss or reduction of motive power while the vehicle was in motion. The investigation revealed that the engine oil pump drive belt tensioner arm may fracture, separate from the tensioner backing plate, and/or the oil pump drive belt may degrade and lose teeth, resulting in a loss of engine oil pressure. A loss of engine oil pressure can result in engine seizure, which can result in a loss of motive power and a loss of mechanical vacuum pump required to provide power braking assist, increase the risk of a crash. On December 22, 2023, Ford filed recall 23V-905 for certain MY 2016-2018 Ford Focus and 2018-2022 Ford EcoSport vehicles. The recall remedy provides the replacement of the oil pump drive belt tensioner assembly and oil pump drive belt with redesigned parts to improve robustness. In view of the recall action being taken by Ford, ODI is closing this Preliminary Evaluation. The agency reserves the right to take additional action if warranted by future circumstances. To review the reports cited in the Closing Resume ODI Report Identification Number document, go to NHTSA.gov.