2018 Ford Escape

The cylinder block in the engine has a Crack in it caused by a coolant leak and overheating. Never signaled low coolant. Showed signs of overheating after diagnosis from auto shop. Drove perfectly normal until one day it didn't. All preventative maintenance including oil changes were completed when due and up to date. According to Ford, this is a known problem with the 2018 Ford Escape Eco boost engines. My Escape is not under recall, bur should be.

My daughter was driving down the highway and the brakes all of sudden wouldn’t work. She narrowly avoided a collision and got the vehicle to a stop. We had it towed to My shop for inspection and turns out the vacuum pump went out without warning and causes power brakes to fail. I have fixed it and only 5 days later the the head gasket blew. I have received quotes from multiple dealerships. All say they that due to the year and the problems with the 1.5 liter block they have to replace the engine.

I take pride in keeping my vehicles maintained when needed. Out of nowhere, my vehicle with less than 70,000 miles on it began having a cylinder misfire. Now I’m faced with possibly having to get a new engine because of an apparently known defect for this engine. Ford won’t help and my dealership warranty has run out. But it is well documented that Ford knew about this defect but still sold these vehicles. Now I’m stuck with up to a $6,000 bill because Ford didn’t hold themselves accountable.

The vehicle experienced engine failure due to coolant intrusion into the engine cylinders, requiring complete engine replacement. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. Prior to diagnosis, the vehicle exhibited engine misfires, rough operation, and noticeable “jumping” or jerking when starting the engine and when shifting into reverse. Warning indicator lights were also present. These symptoms indicated unstable engine operation and raised concern for potential sudden loss of power or engine failure while operating the vehicle, which could create a safety risk in traffic. The condition was first diagnosed by an independent repair facility and later confirmed by an authorized Ford dealership. The dealership confirmed coolant intrusion into the engine and determined that complete engine replacement was required. The manufacturer, through its authorized dealership, inspected the vehicle and confirmed the diagnosis. The vehicle is currently not safely operable due to the confirmed engine failure. Based on my understanding, Ford has previously acknowledged coolant intrusion concerns affecting certain 1.5L EcoBoost engines through Customer Satisfaction Programs. Although this specific vehicle was not included in that program, the dealership confirmed the same coolant intrusion failure.

My car engine overheated, the check engine light came on, and the "engine fault, service now" message popped up when I was driving to work. My local Ford dealership confirmed that there was coolant intrusion into the second cylinder bore of the engine of my vehicle. Thankfully, due to the gradual progression of the intrusion, the overheating didn't get to the point where it affected my safety or the safety of others. The problem is well-known in Escapes manufactured from 2015-19 in the Louisville, KY Ford plant, to the point that a customer satisfaction program 21N12 and technical service bulletin 22-2134 were issued. The vehicle was inspected by my local Ford dealership. For a few days before the incident, the (i) information symbol popped up and disappeared inconsistently both on my way to work and on the way home.

Coolant intrusion of the engine. Coolant appearing in the cylinders due to engine block flaw design. The vehicle was inspected at 4 different locations, including Auto Zone, Meineke and 2 Ford dealerships and all came to the same conclusion. It is available for inspection upon request. My safety was put at risk since the engine could've stopped since there was already observations of engine misfiring upon startup. The safety of others were at risk as well since the vehicle could've stalled on the expressway causing a major accident. First, I took the vehicle to Auto Zone to run diagnostics that showed cylinder 2 and 3 were misfiring. Then took the vehicle to Meineke where they ran diagnostics that stated cylinder 2 and 3 were misfiring and then they switched the cylinders to see where the issue was occurring they also added coolant since the level was low. I then was advised to drive the vehicle and come back if the engine light turned on. The engine light appeared and observed shaking of the vehicle so I returned to Meineke. They then ran further testing and came to the conclusion that there was a coolant intrusion issue (loss of coolant) and startup misfiring and I was advised to take it to a dealership where certified people could do more testing. I took the vehicle to a Ford dealership and they came to the same conclusion that the issue was coolant intrusion of the engine and that the whole engine would need replacing with symptoms of startup misfires and coolant loss. I then took it to another Ford dealership for another opinion and they also came to the same conclusion where they observed startup misifires, coolant loss, and white smoke. The warning signs were the check engine light and shaking of the vehicle. After observing that, I didn't drive it until the following morning to get it checked out.

My pregnant wife and 2 year old daughter we driving to daycare the morning of June 22nd 2026 and the car flashed an engine overheating message while they were on the highway. They were luckily able to pull off safely and get the car home. Then on June 23rd I went to take the car into the shop to get it looked at and the car completely broke down in traffic on my way to get the car serviced. The engine is completely seized up due to the coolant leak known issue with these engines.