← New search

2017 Ford Escape

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

More warning signs than most Escape years

Owner complaints for the 2017 Ford Escape are substantially higher than the model-year median of 996.

About this comparison →

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

1,155 reports with mileage · 1,522 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 1,564 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Engine And Engine Cooling. Review the 507 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Power Train. Review the 390 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

39 crash reports15 fire reports38 injury reports

Engine And Engine Cooling complaints

507 reports
Clear category filter
28,795 miles · Jan 31, 2023
Engine And Engine Cooling

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the check engine warning light would illuminate, the vehicle would drive rough and would not properly accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the coolant had intrud…

Read full complaint

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the check engine warning light would illuminate, the vehicle would drive rough and would not properly accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the coolant had intruded into the engine. The contact was informed that the vehicle was not covered under the Manufacturer’s Special Coverage for the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 28,795.

NHTSA ODI #11504711

96,000 miles · Jan 31, 2023
Engine And Engine Cooling

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated upon starting the vehicle, the engine was misfiring, and the vehicle was shuddering. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the cylinders were misfiring. The independent mechanic cleared …

Read full complaint

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated upon starting the vehicle, the engine was misfiring, and the vehicle was shuddering. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the cylinders were misfiring. The independent mechanic cleared the diagnostic tests codes. The contact stated that the check engine warning light illuminated two weeks later. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the diagnostic test codes were cleared for a second time. Additionally, the independent mechanic informed the contact that the coolant level was low, and the coolant reservoir was refilled; however, the failure persisted. The independent mechanic informed the contact that coolant was leaking into the engine. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that it was a known failure and referred the contact to the manufacturer for assistance. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 96,000.

NHTSA ODI #11504689

141,620 miles · Jan 24, 2023
EngineEngine And Engine Cooling

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, the vehicle shuddered and stalled. The contact was able to veer to the side of the road. The contact restarted the vehicle after several attempts. The contact continued driving however, the failure recurred. The check engine warning light was illuminat…

Read full complaint

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, the vehicle shuddered and stalled. The contact was able to veer to the side of the road. The contact restarted the vehicle after several attempts. The contact continued driving however, the failure recurred. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle restarted after several attempts. The contact stated that upon arriving at her son's residence, the vehicle stalled and failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that coolant was leaking into the engine and there was coolant intrusion in the engine oil. The independent mechanic diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced and the failure was related to an unknown Ford Technical Service Bulletin. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 141,620

NHTSA ODI #11503397

57,000 miles · Dec 20, 2022
EngineEngine And Engine Cooling

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the vehicle nearly stalled and was idling rough for approximately 15 minutes; after which, the vehicle operated normally. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact had driven the vehicle to an independent…

Read full complaint

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the vehicle nearly stalled and was idling rough for approximately 15 minutes; after which, the vehicle operated normally. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact had driven the vehicle to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed and determined that coolant had leaked into cylinder #4. The coolant caused cylinder #4 misfire. Additionally, the spark plug was corroded. The mechanic determined that the short block needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The independent mechanic related the failure to manufacturer Customer Satisfaction Program: 21N12 (Short Block Replacement). The failure mileage was approximately 57,000.

NHTSA ODI #11498275

89,600 miles · Dec 15, 2022
Engine And Engine Cooling

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 MPH, the engine started to misfire and started losing motive power. The contact stated that the check engine and Service Engine Now warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was driven to a local dealer. The dealer diagnosed the vehicle and…

Read full complaint

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 MPH, the engine started to misfire and started losing motive power. The contact stated that the check engine and Service Engine Now warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was driven to a local dealer. The dealer diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the engine malfunction was caused by coolant leaking into cylinder #2. The mechanic determined that the engine short block needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 89,600.

NHTSA ODI #11497650

81,005 miles · Dec 12, 2022
Engine And Engine Cooling

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was informed that cylinder #4 was misfiring, and that coolant was leaking into the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle wa…

Read full complaint

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was informed that cylinder #4 was misfiring, and that coolant was leaking into the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 81,005.

NHTSA ODI #11497092

73,000 miles · Nov 29, 2022
EngineEngine And Engine Cooling

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, she attempted to turn on the heat; however, the heat failed to operate. The contact then stated that the temperature gauge started to increase and noticed that the engine had started to overheat. No warning light was illuminated. …

Read full complaint

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, she attempted to turn on the heat; however, the heat failed to operate. The contact then stated that the temperature gauge started to increase and noticed that the engine had started to overheat. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that coolant had leaked into the combustion system and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed to take the vehicle in to be diagnosed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was advised to call the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 73,000.

NHTSA ODI #11495353

89,100 miles · Nov 16, 2022
Engine And Engine CoolingSteering

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 20 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and overheated. Additionally, the steering wheel seized. The message that the engine was overheating and to pull over was displayed. The contact was able to pull over. The vehicle was towed to an independent …

Read full complaint

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 20 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and overheated. Additionally, the steering wheel seized. The message that the engine was overheating and to pull over was displayed. The contact was able to pull over. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic. The contact called the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and notified of the failure. The contact was informed that the repair was not covered and referred her to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 89,100.

NHTSA ODI #11493850

36,000 miles · Nov 3, 2022
Engine And Engine Cooling

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while his father was driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed but the vehicle hesitated to respond. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local Pep Boys where it was diagnosed that cylinder #1 was misfiring. T…

Read full complaint

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while his father was driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed but the vehicle hesitated to respond. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local Pep Boys where it was diagnosed that cylinder #1 was misfiring. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic where cylinder #1 coil pack was replaced; however, the failure recurred while driving. Additionally, the contact stated that his father noticed that the coolant temperature appeared higher than normal. Upon inspecting the coolant reservoir, the contact's father noticed that the coolant level was low. The contact's father refilled the coolant reservoir; however, the coolant level was low upon inspecting the coolant reservoir for the second time. The contact stated that his father then started the vehicle and noticed white smoke coming out of the exhaust pipe. The contact became aware of Ford Customer Satisfaction Campaign Numbers: 21N12 (Short Block Replacement After Coolant Intrusion) and 19B37 - Supplement #4 that he associated with the failure; however, the VIN was not included. An unknown dealer was notified of the failure and an appointment was scheduled for the vehicle to be diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was opened. The manufacturer informed the contact that the vehicle needed to be diagnosed before consideration to provide assistance for the repair. The failure mileage was approximately 36,000.

NHTSA ODI #11492116

50,300 miles · Oct 20, 2022
Engine And Engine Cooling

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle started to lose coolant. The contact checked and added additional coolant to the reservoir. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the…

Read full complaint

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle started to lose coolant. The contact checked and added additional coolant to the reservoir. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The parts were backordered, and the vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who referred the contact to the dealer. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that assistance would be provided for the repair. The approximate failure mileage was 50,300.

NHTSA ODI #11490121

Official recalls

4

26V374000 · Visibility:power Window Devices And Controls

Jun 9, 2026

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2017 Escape vehicles previously repaired incorrectly under recall number 16V617. The power-operated windows may exert excessive force when encountering an object, before they automatically reverse. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 118, "Power-Operated Window Systems."

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: A closing window that does not reverse direction as expected can pinch a driver or passenger before retracting, increasing the risk of injury.

Remedy: Dealers will update the power window operating system software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 22, 2026. Owners may contact customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 26C29. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will become searchable on NHTSA.gov on July 6, 2026.

26V011000 · Equipment:electrical:engine Block Heater

Jan 15, 2026

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013-2018 Focus, 2013-2019 Escape, and 2015-2016 MKC vehicles equipped with a 2.0L engine. The engine block heater may crack and develop a coolant leak, causing it to short circuit when the block heater is plugged in.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: An electrical short circuit can increase the risk of a fire.

Remedy: Owners are advised not to plug in their block heater until the vehicle is remedied. Dealers will replace the block heater, free of charge. Owners will also have a alternative option to replace engine block heater element with a threaded plug, and remove the block heater electrical cord. Interim letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, were mailed March 6, 2026. Additional letters will be sent once the final remedy is available. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 26S01. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on January 16, 2026.

22V413000 · Power Train:automatic Transmission:gear Position Indication (prndl); Power Train:shift Linkage/cable/rod

Jun 10, 2022

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013-2019 Escape, 2013-2018 C-Max, 2013-2016 Fusion, 2013-2021 Transit Connect, and 2015-2018 Edge vehicles. The bushing that attaches the shifter cable to the transmission may degrade or detach.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: A damaged or missing bushing may prevent the vehicle from shifting into the intended gear, and cause the vehicle to move in an unexpected direction. Additionally, the vehicle may roll after the driver selects the 'Park' position. Either scenario increases the risk of a crash or injury.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the under hood shift bushing and add a protective cap over the shift cable bushing, free of charge. Interim owner notification letters, informing owners of the safety risk, were mailed July 1, 2022. Remedy parts are expected to be available in 4th Quarter 2022. Owner notification letters were mailed October 27, 2022. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 22S43.

Additional source detail variants (2)

Power Train:shift Linkage/cable/rod

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013-2019 Escape, 2013-2018 C-Max, 2013-2016 Fusion, 2013-2021 Transit Connect, and 2015-2018 Edge vehicles. The bushing that attaches the shifter cable to the transmission may degrade or detach.

Consequence: A damaged or missing bushing may prevent the vehicle from shifting into the intended gear, and cause the vehicle to move in an unexpected direction. Additionally, the vehicle may roll after the driver selects the 'Park' position. Either scenario increases the risk of a crash or injury.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the under hood shift bushing and add a protective cap over the shift cable bushing, free of charge. Interim owner notification letters, informing owners of the safety risk, were mailed July 1, 2022. Remedy parts are expected to be available in 4th Quarter 2022. Owner notification letters were mailed October 27, 2022. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 22S43.

Power Train:automatic Transmission:gear Position Indication (prndl)

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013-2019 Escape, 2013-2018 C-Max, 2013-2016 Fusion, 2013-2021 Transit Connect, and 2015-2018 Edge vehicles. The bushing that attaches the shifter cable to the transmission may degrade or detach.

Consequence: A damaged or missing bushing may prevent the vehicle from shifting into the intended gear, and cause the vehicle to move in an unexpected direction. Additionally, the vehicle may roll after the driver selects the 'Park' position. Either scenario increases the risk of a crash or injury.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the under hood shift bushing and add a protective cap over the shift cable bushing, free of charge. Interim owner notification letters, informing owners of the safety risk, were mailed July 1, 2022. Remedy parts are expected to be available in 4th Quarter 2022. Owner notification letters were mailed October 27, 2022. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 22S43.

16V617000 · Electrical System:software; Visibility:power Window Devices And Controls

Aug 24, 2016

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2017 Ford Escape Titanium and SE vehicles manufactured October 5, 2015, to May 12, 2016. The settings for the closing-force of the power-operated windows may allow the windows to close on an object such as a body part and injure it before the windows auto-reverse. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 118, "Power-Operated Window Systems."

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: If a window closes on a body part, it can increase the risk of injury.

Remedy: Ford has notified owners, and dealers will update the power window operating system software, free of charge. The recall began on September 6, 2016. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 16C12.

Additional source detail variants (2)

Electrical System:software

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2017 Ford Escape Titanium and SE vehicles manufactured October 5, 2015, to May 12, 2016. The settings for the closing-force of the power-operated windows may allow the windows to close on an object such as a body part and injure it before the windows auto-reverse. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 118, "Power-Operated Window Systems."

Consequence: If a window closes on a body part, it can increase the risk of injury.

Remedy: Ford has notified owners, and dealers will update the power window operating system software, free of charge. The recall began on September 6, 2016. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 16C12.

Visibility:power Window Devices And Controls

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2017 Ford Escape Titanium and SE vehicles manufactured October 5, 2015, to May 12, 2016. The settings for the closing-force of the power-operated windows may allow the windows to close on an object such as a body part and injure it before the windows auto-reverse. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 118, "Power-Operated Window Systems."

Consequence: If a window closes on a body part, it can increase the risk of injury.

Remedy: Ford has notified owners, and dealers will update the power window operating system software, free of charge. The recall began on September 6, 2016. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 16C12.

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

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.

Go deeper into Ford Escape problems