2018 Ford Escape

My 2018 Ford escape has the 1.5 liter ecoboost engine which is well documented to have a coolant intrusion issue into the cylinders resulting in the vehicle needing a new engine. The check engine light came on last week and started to run roughly. I brought the vehicle to my local Ford dealership in Belleview Fl today 11/03/25. I payed for a diagnostic test which found 2 codes po302 and po316 and found coolant in cylinder #2. The result: will need to replace engine. My vehicle has 144k miles and therefore the original manufactured warranty has expired. Ford quoted me approximately $14,000 for a new engine/labor.

They KNOW the headgasket will eventually bust and they don’t tell you, it needs to be recalled because now I don’t have a vehicle when it was built to blow. The headgasket doesn’t have enough space or something and it causes coolant leaks, they have a whole procedure on replacing it because they know they messed up but only if you’re less than 84k miles!

Have had to have many sparks plug replaced, coolant needs replaced frequently, hesitating, hard start, blue smoke from exhaust, chugging, stalling, check engine light on. Two different mechanics have told me that coolant is leaking into cylinders causing engine failure. I purchased this vehicle new, and only owner. Have had to have transmission replaced as well. Costs estimate about 10k to replace motor. This has been happening since 100k miles.

Engine light came on. It came up as misfire cylinder 3 needing spark plugs/Ignition coil so I made an appointment to get that fixed. On my way to my appointment today, the “engine overheating stop vehicle” warning came on. Turns out this is the known coolant intrusion into the engine block problem that has caused the engine to crack and now needs replaced. Called Ford customer service and just like what they are telling everyone else, there is nothing they can do to help. Yes it’s a known problem by Ford but they will not fix it because my car does not meet mileage criteria. It has 130,000 miles.

Experience misfire + engine issues that resulted in white smoke coming out from my exhaust. When brining it into the shop it is apparently a common known issue with Ford Escapes from 2017-2019 where coolant leaks into the motor from a while in the short block. The short block requires $9000 to be replaced. When doing my research Ford released a customer survey back in 2022 that I did not receive where they acknowledged the issue and offered to replace. But since I did not receive this letter I did not get the opportunity to and now am out a car that I still owe money on. Why is this not legally required to be a recall?

I bought a 2018 Ford escape with the 1.5 eco boost. The car only has 74280 miles on it, and the engine coolant was low. I filled it up, and had my daughter drive the car to her home, and asked her to check it. It was just a little lower than I filled it, so she was going to monitor the level. On her way to a friends the warning for, "High engine temperature" (not the exact message) came on. She pulled it over to the side of the road, and I had her tow the vehicle to her friends house. Now it appears there is an issue with the water pump, and the engine not holding a vacuum in the cooling system. I researched this issue on line, and found Ford has an issue with this particular year due to the engine cooling system design between the cylinders. She is NOT able to afford a new engine. This is with out a doubt a FORD recall issue. What can I do to get this covered by FORD? Thanks for your help. [XXX] [XXX] I do not have the towing receipt, but can get it from my daughter. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

To whom it may concern, I am writing to express my deep frustration regarding a serious issue with my Ford vehicle. My vehicle recently displayed code P0302 – Misfire Cylinder 2, which has been diagnosed as coolant intrusion into the cylinder. The recommended repair is a replacement long block, along with new hardware and seals. This is a known issue with certain Ford engines — one that Ford previously covered under warranty or service campaigns prior to 2023. My vehicle has fewer than 60,000 miles, yet it has suffered a major engine failure clearly tied to a manufacturing defect. Ford and even U.S. government agencies are aware of this widespread issue. Unfortunately, Ford is now refusing to take responsibility for a defect they have long known about. It’s extremely disappointing to see such disregard for loyal customers. This experience has completely eroded my trust in Ford. It’s clear why so many Americans are turning to foreign manufacturers — companies that take accountability and fix known problems instead of ignoring them. I will never purchase a Ford again, and I will be sharing my experience so that others are aware of how these issues are being handled.

Our 2018 ford escape was experiencing rough idle with no indicator light. Left work one day and the engine light came on. I took it to a local shop they read the computer and said that we had low coolant levels and that we have coolant intrusion into cylinders and needed a new short block. This is a well known defect in these motors.This poses a great safety risk to the automobile as the engine can seize going down the road making the automobile totally inoperable. The 2018 escape was taken to the ford dealer, the dealership applied for financial assistance with the repair and we were denied by Ford. The escape had 63,500 miles at the time of failure. We paid for repair out of our pockets. It cost us 5,272.01. This is a huge expense for us considering so few miles on the motor. This Escape is out of warranty, but this is a defect and should be recalled.