2018 Ford Escape

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was temporarily illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated while the vehicle was idling at a red traffic light, an unknown message, and the message "Emergency Stop" were displayed, an alarm sounded, and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle failed to restart and was pushed into a parking lot with assistance. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with cooling system failure and coolant intrusion into the engine. The mechanic determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The mechanic related the failure to an unknown TSB number. The vehicle was not repaired. The used car dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.

I HAD A PROBLEM WITH MY ENGINE OVERHEATING AND TOOK IT TO FORD DEALER FOR SERVICE AND WAS ADVISED THAT WATER HAD GOTTEN INTO THE CYLINDER #2 I BELIEVE AND RUINED THE ENGINE. THE DEALER SAID THE WATER WAS GETTING INTO THE ENGINE BLOCK AND I NEEDED A NEW ENGINE. ANOTHER SERVICE DIRECTOR FROM ANOTHER DEALER SAID THEIR WAS A ISSUE WITH FORD AND THERE WAS A PROGRAM ON THIS. A NEW ENGINE IS AROUND $7500 AND THIS WAS QUITE A SHOCK SINCE I AM ON SOCIAL SECURITY. I CONTACTED FORD AND THEY SAID IT WAS NOT THEIR PROBLEM AND REFERRED ME TO YOU FOR HELP ON THIS ISSUE. PLEASE ADVISE ASAP SINCE THEY WANT TO INSTALL THE NEW ENGINE NEXT MONDAY OR TUES AT PITTSVILLE FORD IN PITTSVILLE, MD. [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Low COOLANT reservoir condition and COOLANT into the engine with regular driving and maintenance. After 58,000 miles the owner had intermittent check engine lights stating to check or change the ignition coil and/or plug on 2 of 4 cylinders. Owner did this at their own expense, and check engine light continued to go on and off intermittently and refilled COOLANT reservoir. At 60,000 miles the owner experienced some white smoke coming from engine and additional check engine lights with the same codes and one additional code relating to misfire. Owner took the vehicle to an independent mechanic which tested it and found coolant into affected cylinders. Shop advised owner to rebuild or replace the engine, but after further research into this issue identified it as catastrophic ENGINE failure and new engine replacement from Ford would be required. Owner spoke to Ford who instructed him to take it to the nearest Ford Service Center for further diagnosis and repair. After 2 days service department contacted owner back and told them the repair cost for new engine is $6450 and Ford may provide some assistance based on the age and mileage of the vehicle. Vehicle was repaired at owner expense and now awaiting further assistance due to recall needed on this issue due to safety concerns and lack of drivability once service light is encountered. Vehicle did not catch on fire, but fire or mechanical breakdown while driving was another concern from the owner at the time and why the vehicle was towed to Ford Service Center.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 MH, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle failed to restart and was towed to the residence where a handheld diagnostic machine failed to retrieve any fault codes. Additionally, while the vehicle was parked on several occasions, the vehicle failed to start. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 95,000.

Purchased vehicle used and had my mechanic inspect it. They reported that there was a possible coolant leak and so I took it back to the dealer, Antwerpen Toyota. They couldn’t find anything. After a couple oil changes where my mechanic continued to state there was a coolant leak somewhere, went back to Antwerpen where they said it could be that the radiator isn’t sealed properly. Took it to a proper Ford dealer who has now said there is coolant intrusion in an engine cylinder and the engine needs replaced, which from looking online, seems to be a frequently occurring issue with these engines that has not been recalled

On Friday, August 9, the check engine light was blinking and the car ran roughly. On Saturday, August 10, I had my car towed to AAA Repair. Current codes: P0316 - Misfire Detected on startup; P0302 - Cylinder 2 misfire; swap CYL2 coil to CYL4 & retest..misfire remains on CYL2. TSB:22-2322 indicates cylinder failure allowing coolant into the engine causing misfire and rough running. AAA recommended vehicle service be done at the dealership—complete engine rebuild/replacement. The dealership recommends a complete engine rebuild/replacement with an estimate of $11,400. The balance on paying off the car is $8,400.

The engine was throwing multiple codes from misfires to crank sensors. Low coolant light was not working. Engine ended up having a blown head gasket and overheated because of low coolant. Upon researching the problem, I have found that this is a huge issue with the 1.5l eco boost and many people are having their motors blown while ford does nothing about the problem.