2016 Ford Escape

My 2016 Ford Escape is subject to safety recall 25SA9 / NHTSA 25V695 involving the rearview camera. Ford's recall states that the rearview camera may display a blank or distorted image in reverse, or may display a message that camera is unavailable. The rearview camera is now completely nonfunctional. It previously worked intermittently but progressively worsened and is gone now. When I place the vehicle in reverse, the center display either remains blank or continues displaying the navigation/map screen shown while driving. It does not display the rearview camera image. The vehicle and camera are available for inspection upon request. This creates a significant safety risk because I have lost the rearward view provided by the camera when backing up. This is particularly concerning because this is the exact safety defect addressed by the recall: an unavailable rearview camera (for a [XXX]!!) can reduce driver's view behind the vehicle and increase the risk of a crash. I have contacted Ford dealerships regarding this recall both in Texas, where I previously lived, and in Utah, where I now live. I have been told that the replacement remedy part is still unavailable, so the recall repair cannot be performed. Ford's original NHTSA recall filing stated that final remedy owner notifications were planned for June 29–July 3, 2026. It is now August 23, 2026, and remedy remains unavailable. The problem has not been repaired or resolved by a dealer because the recall replacement part is unavailable. I have not had the vehicle inspected by police or an insurance representative. The camera initially worked intermittently and then stopped altogether. The current symptom is that, when in reverse, the display either remains blank or continues showing the navigation/map screen instead of displaying the rearview camera image. I am requesting that NHTSA review Ford's handling of recall 25V695/25SA9, particularly the continued lack of an available remedy. THIS IS UNSAFE! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATI

Rear camera screen will turn black and not work for days at a time, or will sometimes display for a second and then as I’m backing up, it’ll turn black. Then for a day it’ll work just fine, then the next day be back to not working again out of the blue. I have been in no accidents. It once even displayed my view upside down. Yes it’s available for inspection upon request. I would say people are very at risk because I can’t trust it to work and I might hit someone if the screen goes black on me while I’m backing up. I haven’t brought it to a dealership or others because of cost and time. This has been going on for years, I’m not sure when it first started… maybe around the 80,000 mile marker?

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the front driver’s and passenger’s side windshield wipers failed to operate as intended while activated. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the body control module needed to be replaced. The local dealer was contacted by the independent mechanic, and the parts for the repairs were ordered. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 95,000.

The rear backup camera intermittently cuts in and out. The touch screen also intermittently turns black and is unresponsive. After it died, I replaced the infotainment touchscreen computer. The rear backup camera is still intermittent and unreliable. Other owners have complained online about poor seals in the rear wiper assembly, which leads to leaks that corrode the camera's wiring harness and cause an intermittent video signal. I feel this is a known problem that Ford is choosing to ignore and is dangerous when the backup camera cuts out while backing up.

Backup camera fails intermittently and unpredictability. Often just a blank blue screen appears, sometimes an error message over a video image appears, and other times the camera works at first but fails after a few seconds. It can work one minute, and the next time the car is shifted into reverse (such as when parallel parking) it may not work (or vice-versa). OBDII fault codes indicate a possible communications/electrical issue. Online reports reveal that there are scores of other owners of model year 2014-2019 Ford Escapes with the same or similar issues with their back-up cameras (one mentioned having theirs replaced at least _4 times_ while the car was still in its warranty period). No other warning lamps are available. The alert text that (only sometimes) appears on the display screen when the camera fails is non-specific (e.g. “Camera not available.”). This has been occurring for at least the last 3 or 4 years. For all intents and purposes, since this fault is so unpredictable, I can no longer consider this car to possess a back-up camera. Safety: while I have never had a serious, another driver could easily fail to see and possibly collide with property or individuals while reversing (especially when the camera image disappears in the middle of an in-progress reversing operation). I am more than happy to make my vehicle available for inspection upon request. Ford has issued a recall for the seemingly identical issue for 2020 model year vehicles, but not for my 2016 Ford Escape (nor, to my knowledge, many other model years using an identical camera and display design).