2017 Ford Escape

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at a moderate speed, the engine started to misfire while depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact stated that there was an abnormal banging sound coming from the vehicle with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact pulled over and checked under the hood but could not determine the cause of the failure. Despite the failure, the contact was able to drive the vehicle to the residence at slow speeds. The contact attempted to replace the spark plugs but the failure persisted. Upon investigation, the contact discovered that the failure was likely caused by coolant intrusion into an engine cylinder. Two dealers were notified of the failure, and the contact was informed that the vehicle was not covered under recall or warranty. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to file a complaint. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.

The vehicle began emitting white smoke from the exhaust upon start up after sitting cold. Smoke would disappear after warming up for a few seconds. The coolant was being slowly depleted from the reservoir. Spark plugs were inspected to find evidence of coolant burning in cylinders. Vehicle began running hot. Contacted service dealer for recalls, none related to issue. Contacted Ford customer service after finding this was a common issue with 1.5L engines. Ford stated my VIN wasn’t one of the vehicles affected. Other people were describing in forums and dealer mentioned that the short block on the engine had to be replaced with a long block along with a new head gasket. Dealer informed this was an $8500 repair. Vehicle at risk of running hot, destroying the engine and its components. This could lead to engine locking up or other catastrophic failure during use, placing myself and my family in imminent danger. Vehicle isn’t even paid off, Ford refuse to offer to assist with any of the cost or decree this a recall.

I bought a used 2017 Ford Escape Titanium 1.5 with 58k miles. The vehicle started consuming coolant a slow level at around 60k miles. The condition would cause me to need to refill the coolant reservoir every 2-3 weeks. At around 65k miles the condition got extremely bad. The vehicle would run completely out of coolant every 2 days. The vehicle would run extremely rough or at times fail to start. Excessive shaking and white smoke also. Ford refused to repair the vehicle. Currently spending $12k out of pocket for a new 1.5 EcoBoost engine. The vehicle has been at Ford for over 2.5 months so far as of October 2024.

These vehicles have a defect that causes coolant to leak into the engine’s cylinders, which can cause corrosion, oil dilution and contamination, and engine failure; and Ford failed to disclose these defects create a safety risk, because the lack of coolant created by the leaks causes overheating and can result in the cylinder head cracking, total engine failure, and/or engine fires. My car has shut off with my [XXX] son in the vehicle with me while I was driving, I also have to put gas in my vehicle while the vehicle is powered on or else my vehicle will not start for 20 minutes and now if I leave it running while getting gas it shuts off completely right when I pull away from the gas pump. I contacted Ford when I had 87,977 miles on my vehicle and they refused to cover the repair or buy it back. My car claimed to be overheating during the middle of a winter blizzard and wouldn't even turn over. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

UPDATE TO TRACKING 11613924 AND 11617597: Due to the Coolant Intrusion on the 2.0L Escape that is a known issue, but has not been recalled yet, I had to replace my long block. Failure was at approximately 97500 and engine replacement was 97774. Engine replacement completed at a Ford dealership. $7,300 as the service manager might have taken pity on me, as he also stated this was a known issue. Original quote was $7,800. I had to max out a credit card to ensure that I have a safe and functional vehicle, instead of a garage ornament.

I believe I should not be charged for the needed repairs of my car. The dealership is charging me $7200 for repairs which I had nothing to do with. There are recalls pertaining to my vehicle. I posted the notes sent to me from the dealership. Note from tech: Verified the concern, engine has a misfire, CEL on some white smoke when started and also low on coolant. Hook up the IDS and found codes P0304, P0316 and P051B. Performed a cylinder balance test and found cylinder 4 misfiring. Performed a relative compression test and relative compression is ok. Reviewed mode 6 data and found cylinder 4 has been misfiring. During my visual inspection I found the coolant reservoir was empty/ low on coolant. Removed the cylinder 4 spark plug and the porcelain was cracked. Looked into the cylinder with my bore scope and the piston was clean aluminum indicating it has been steamed with coolant. Pressure test the cooling system and found cylinder 4 is seeping coolant into the cylinder. The short block will have to be replaced to fix the concern. I have contacted Ford corporate, the dealership, and the service/parts mgr has also contacted Ford pertaining to my situation. I bought my car with 41miles on it. My car only has 56,000 miles! Plus it has never had engine probs! Yet Ford corporate has denied the payment of the repairs due to my car's year (2017). I hope you can help in this situation. Ford corporate customer service said I could possibly be reimbursed by NHTSA if I go ahead and pay (because I need my car) the $7200 for the needed repairs. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

My family has 2 Ford SUVs. A 2017 ford escape and a 2018 Ford Flex. The 2017 Ford Escape started having an issue a couple years ago regarding moisture/water seeping into the tail lights/brake lights panels. Our cars have never had rear damage or hit anything that would cause them to be susceptible to water leaking in. It has to be something that happened over time. When you lift up the trunk gate, if you push the trunk up high enough, you can get most of the water to come out. Well, during the rainy seasons the water builds up quickly and it caused the LED brake light to go out. The panel piece costs about $400 and to get it fixed at the local ford dealership was a little over $700 a year or so ago. Well, the same thing happened to the other side and it went out as well. Over the last 3 years since the problem started, my wife and i have been more aware of condensation/moisture buildup in taillights and have noticed a lot of fords with the same problem. Our flex has a similar less severe problem where the taillights form condensation in them but they later dry up. Water hasnt gotten through, yet. Because we have noticed so many other ford SUVs with this same moisture problem in the taillights, i wanted to take the time for my first time ever, trying to see if a recall petition could be started on these taillights that are not properly blocking water from getting in. If it was just a simple lightbulb replacement that would be one thing, but because ford installed LED panel lights, they are incredibly expensive to replace. If just our city has a lot of cars with similar problems just on Ford SuVs, i have to imagine there are thousands more across the country. Thank you for your time reading this, and hopefully looking into it. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)