NHTSA Owner Complaint Log
This page lists owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2013 Ford Escape. Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA and do not by themselves prove a defect or defect rate.
Data synced from NHTSA on May 4, 2026
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact received notification NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train). The contact stated that on multiple occasions while driving or with the vehicle on an incline, the vehicle was shifted into an intended gear however, the vehicle failed to engage in a timely manner. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The dealer was contacted and informed the contact that parts to do the recall repair was not available. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 162,000. VIN tool confirms part not available.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle experienced a loss of power steering assist after the ABS warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle with ABS failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000.
power steering suddenly stopped working while driving, I was barely able to get the vehicle to the side of the road. I am disabled and had to have my husband meet me and fight the car to get it home.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated he noticed a burning oil odor and smoke was coming from underneath the hood. The vehicle was not diagnosed. The contact stated that he noticed that the vehicle was experiencing the failure listed in NHTSA Campaign Number: 13V583000 (Engine). The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the VIN was not under recall. The contact was referred to the NHTSA for assistance. The failure mileage was 104,075.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that upon parking the vehicle in a drive through, the gear shifter was shifted into park(P) however, the instrument panel displayed that the transmission was in neutral(N). The contact pushed the vehicle to the side. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where the failure was diagnosed as a fractured shifter linkage. The vehicle was repaired. The contact later received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train). The manufacturer was notified of the failure but declined to provide reimbursement as the repair had not been completed by an authorized Ford dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 150,125.
The contact's daughter owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that her daughter related to her that while driving approximately 30 MPH, the vehicle started independently braking without the brake pedal being depressed. The contact’s daughter stated that an unknown warning light was illuminated. The contact's husband drove the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the rear driver’s side wheel speed sensor and ABS sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 105,000.
As I am driving the car with speed 35mph I heard a very loud pop on the passenger side I was terrified and then the window dropped all the way in. As of right now the window controller is not functioning at a 100 percent and I bought this car less than year ago from a ford dealer ship. I will like to know how I can proceed with this situation and get it fix
My 2013 ford escape has electrical problems, the biggest issue the gears are jumped. I put it on drive and it gets stuck and then it slows down no power to engine.
Vehicle was taken in for diagnosis as it kept alerting that coolant was low and shutting off due to over heating alert. Coolant reservoir ans sensors were changed prior to that date. I was advised that the vehicle needs the engine short block replaced. The repair of the vehicles along with the quote exceeds the vehicle value.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while parked in the driveway and attempting to shift from park(P) to reverse(R), the gear shifter remained stuck in park(P). The contact stated that an unknown warning light was illuminated. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 128,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
Car shaking when I accelerate. Car jerking at times upon accelerating. Major oil leak to the point that a car place refused to change my oil due to liability.
There is a coolant leak in my 2013 Escape engine. There were approximately 90,000 miles on this vehicle when we purchased it used. It started having problems immediately. The dealer where we got our vehicle from stated that they would make us pay the difference in depreciation to return the vehicle even though it had a 30 day warranty. The coolant would leak and then there was low coolant. Whitish blue smoke would pour from the tailpipe. Ford refuses to acknowledge that there is a manufacturing defect even though Ford installed "coolant temperature gauges" to prevent the overheating. This is simply just a bandaid to a larger problem that multiple Escape owners are experiencing. This vehicle has been to 2 different Ford dealers, both of whom told me different things that were wrong. Consequently, this vehicle has been sitting at a Ford dealership in Hanover, PA since February 2020 because they want 8K to replace the engine. I am awaiting a class action lawsuit against Ford to resolve this issue...
Power steering loss power and transmission failed
The transmission shift linkage bushing broke. See safety recall for Ford Escape 2013-2014 18S20. My care was built at the Louisville manufacturing plant on May 3, 2013, 12 days prior to the safety recall for this exact problem.
On 5/27/22 I was stopped at a red light/intersection and when the light turned green I accelerated only to realize that my car was barely rolling into the intersection only because I was at an incline because my transmission was not moving my vehicle. Since I was now in the middle of the intersection there were cars honking at me, swerving around me, not knowing I was stalled. I couldn't get my car to move by pressing the gas pedal all I could do was raise my hands in the air to let others know I didn't know what was happening. My engine was revving when I pushed the gas pedal but there was no forward motive. My gear shifter was still in Drive and there were no warning lights to alert me of any problems or concerns, even while I'm pressing it frequently and my car is not moving like it should. The next time I pushed the gas my forward motive in the transmission had returned. I wasn't quite sure what happened. I drove (approx.) another 15 miles and came to a 3 way stop and when I accelerated, there again, was no forward motive but the engine was revving when I accelerated. Again, no warning, no warning lights signaling a malfunction with the car but no forward movement by pushing the accelerator. I was coasting into a parking lot and as I pushed the accelerator again. This time the transmission engaged but with a loud noise and a thrust forward of my car, at which time, a check engine light finally came on. I had to have the car towed and transmission replaced.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle experienced a loss of power steering assist. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 131,000.
The vehicle stalled in the middle of the road on 5/24/2022. My husband was able to restart the vehicle and get it home and it stalled again in the driveway. There were no warning lights but the gas gauge was moving up and down. The car smelled of gasoline and there was smoke coming from the hood/ engine. We had it towed and the repair center told us that the gas line had split and was leaking gas. I called Ford and they confirmed my vehicle was not apart of the gas line recall but I would like to report it to see if I can get it on the recall list to get it repared.
Service engine soon light came on and began having issues with the low coolant coming on every few weeks. Codes on engine light came up as Engine Coolant Bypass Valve C Control Circuit Open. Vehicle then started having coolant light come on multiple times in the same day after coolant had been added and then would not start. Tried to start and Engine made a clanking noise and alerted to turn off immediately. Codes read again for bypass valve and now Engine Misfire on Cylinder 4 and misfire on startup. Had vehicle towed to a shop and upon inspection they observed coolant leaking into the engine due to block/head porosity in metal. Was told that this was a common problem with this engine style and the only was to fix is to replace the engine. Was told if the engine was not replaced that it would continue to misfire and may experience engine failure or fire while driving.
Hello May 23.2022 My shifter broke off on the highway with my kid in the car I was so scared that we will get hit in the back due to this recall I had to roll the car to side of the left lane off the highway to not cause a accident
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the vehicle emitted abnormal sounds and surged continuously upon depressing the accelerator pedal. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to continue driving. The vehicle was taken to a local Pep Boys who retrieve a code for the check engine warning light. The contact then added additives in the fuel tank and the check engine warning light disappeared. However, the failure reoccurred increasingly. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the cause of the failure was not yet determined. However, the dealer informed the contact that the failure could be associated with the engine or the transmission. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle was overheating while driving. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA. The contact referenced NHTSA Campaign Number: 12V551000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
While driving my vehicle is slowing down losing power it doesn't want to stay started while at a light Will hesitate to stay started and will just cut off. And hesitate to restart this is not the first time that this has happened ethier.
I put my vechile in park, when I went to put into drive the cable to the gear shift broke and left me stranded in a drive thru. My vechile is stuck in neutral.
Date of incident, May 19th 2022. While driving home from work on highway 270, as it was raining, my power steering suddenly and without any warning stopped working & has not worked since. I called the Ford manufacturer directly and I have a case number from them on the issue. Ford is well aware of the manufacturer defect in their ford escape steering computer chips and they do not want to address the issue because it would be bad for them financially as well as hurt their publicity. The repair would cost as quoted by the dealership $2400. This is a huge safety issues for the public on any roadways. If this situation happened to a young inexperienced driver or an elderly driver there would be a high potential for a crash on highways and other roadways. Luckily I was able to control the situation and was able to avoid a terrible outcome. Furthermore, it takes physical strength to operate the car which again young and elderly drivers would not be able to drive or have extreme difficulty driving. This is a potentially deadly issue and Ford does not want the general public to know. I hope for the safety of the public Ford is made to recall the vehicle for this specific issue that they are blatantly aware of and want to ignore. Ford has forever lost my family along with myself as a longtime customer.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while attempting start the vehicle, the vehicle failed to start. The contact stated that the oil warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken for an oil change; however, afterwards the failure persisted. On another occasion, the vehicle failed to accelerate or shift into gear. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic however, the mechanic stated that no failure was found. The contact was referred to the dealer for a computer software update. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was informed that there was no recall for the computer software. The mechanic confirmed that the vehicle was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train). The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to file a complaint. The failure mileage was 100,000.
2013 Ford Escape 1.6 ecoboost engine, at around 103,000 miles, a quarter size spot of coolant on the drive was first notice. Every now and then the low coolant warning came on, but the coolant was barely below the minimum line. In 2020-21, had taken it to my local mechanic and another time to my Ford Dealer. Both told me no leakage was found. Neither informed me of this being a known issue with this engine coolant system, nor about the recalls. In April, the low coolant warning came on, this time coolant loss was significant. I had to add 1/2 gallon of water even it I drove only 5 miles. I noticed the coolant only leaked out while the vehicle was running, never when parked. I took it into Ford Service Department for repair. They determined it is an internal coolant leak. Due to a design defect, coolant leak into one or more engine cylinders. Engine replacement needed. The price will be $9721! (I purchased it in 2020 for $10,000). They said this is common with the Ford Escape's engine. They said, they have seen hundreds of Escapes in recent years, with this issue of the coolant leaking into the engine and ruining the engine.
11507580 – Consumer attempted to use the website to file the complaint. Attempt was not successful. The consumers computer battery was depleted. The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 MPH, the vehicle stalled with several unknown warning lights illuminated. Additionally, there was a "Stop - Service Engine Immediately” message flashing on and off. The contact stated that she was able to add some water from a water bottle to the coolant reservoir and the engine temperature lowered and the vehicle operated normally. The contact stated that the failure had become a recurring failure and occurred at various speeds. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the heater control valves needed to be replaced. The contact was informed that coolant was leaking from the coolant lines and caused the stalling. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The contact researched online and related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 12V551000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.
There is an internal coolant leak, coolant will get so low that vehicle gives warning that it will automatically shut down. While at highway speed it makes it dangerous to try and safely pull over.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle failed to accelerate upon depression of the accelerator pedal. The contact also stated that the transmission fault warning message would intermittently appear on the instrument panel when the failure occurred. The dealer nor the manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the vehicle would not start and the shifter erroneously indicated that the vehicle was in the park(P) however, the transmission was in neutral. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure and the contact was informed that the vehicle was not included in the NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V471000 (Power Train). The contact indicated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in the recall. The failure mileage was 155,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 60 MPH and accelerating to merge onto the highway, the contact stated that the high engine temperature alert warning light illuminated and the vehicle began to shudder and decelerate. The contact safely pulled off of the highway and shut the vehicle off. The contact restarted the vehicle and the check engine light illuminated. The contact drove the vehicle to an independent mechanic. The independent mechanic diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the coolant sensor had malfunctioned and referred the contact to a dealer. The contact stated that the failure was recurring. The vehicle had not been taken to a dealer and was not repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
There is VERY advanced rust on the bottom of the drivers side passenger door, I did some searches online and it looks like this is common on escapes from this year. I think Ford must have had a manufacturing issue because I have never seen rust develop this quickly on vehicle that is not that old and wonder if it's developing other places I can't see. Very disappointed, there is clearly and issue with these fords.
The contact owned a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH, she was switching lanes from the right lane to the left lane, and she heard a loud pop from the front end of the vehicle. The contact lost control of the vehicle and drove across the lanes and crashed into the highway dividing wall. The contact had no memory of any warning lights being illuminated or hitting the wall. The contact said that a witness reported that the driver's side front tire came off of the vehicle. Additionally, the contact stated that she was told that the air bags had not been deployed. The contact stated that she was unconscious and transported to a hospital. She stated she had no cuts, bruises, or other injuries. The vehicle was towed to an impound lot. The police were on the scene and the contact was not aware of an incident report was written. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was approximately 151,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 10 MPH, the steering functionality became difficult. The steering warning light illuminated. The vehicle was diagnosed with a steering functionality fault. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 83,000
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that after refueling the vehicle, the vehicle stalled after coming to a complete stop. The vehicle was taken to the dealer on numerous occasions, and the dealer replaced several unknown sensors; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the engine control module (ECM) needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired and remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 81,000. The VIN was unavailable.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, she smelled smoke and that a "stop driving" warning light illuminated. The contact safely pulled off of the roadway and turned off the vehicle. There was smoke coming from under the hood. The contact raised the hood and observed that steam was coming from the radiator and the radiator hoses. The contact had the vehicle towed to her residence and had it diagnosed by an independent mechanic who related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 12V431000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.
I have 2 issues 1.) my car is leaking coolant not sure from where. The leak is getting worse. I have coolant in my car, it was parked in the garage I made it a block from my house and my car shut down. Said it was overheating, don’t even know how it coul have been that hot. The car was not registering hot inside, also the temperature gauge not registering hot. I waited 1 1/2 hours came back and my car won’t go anywhere because I’m still getting the overheating message. 2.) my rear windshield wiper started making odd noises, then I kept finding my windshield wiper hanging straight down. It no longer wipes, but still makes noise. But it no longer works at all. A friend looked up this vehicle and saw there were common issues in complaints and told me to look to see if there were any recalls before I continued forward. But I don’t see anything pertaining to either issue.
CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME VEHICLE BEGAN TO OVERHEAT AND SHUT DOWN TO SAFETY OPERATION. VEHICLE LOST ALL ACCELERATION AND HAD TO BE STOPPED ALONG HIGHWAY AND TURNED OFF. VEHICLE WAS RESTARTED AND SHOWED NORMAL TEMPERATURE AND ACCELERATION. AFTER SHORT OPERATION VEHICLE REPEATED SAME WARNING OVERHEATING AND NO ACCELERATION. TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALER WHO REPORTED ANTI FREEZE IN MOTOR CAUSING IT TO OVER HEAT . REPLACED HEAT SENSORS $800. PROBLEM CONTINUED NEW ENGINE NEEDED COST $8,000. VEHICLE HAS 79,000 MILES. CURRENTLY SHOPPING FOR USED ENGINE
Unknown
My family and I of 4 was traveling on a family get away trip and on the highway after about 23 miles , The power steering sign comes up and the steering wheel gets stiff on the middle of the highway. Almost causing my family and I a head on collision with on coming vehicles . My vehicle has been checked about 4 months before by ford and also I have checked the ecu and there are no trouble codes . My family and I have almost ended up in the hospital or near death because this issue that just suddenly happens . This is not a safe situation to be in.
My son was driving stopped at a red light vehicle shut off while in drive it will not stay running. This is not the first time it has happened in traffic. If he was not stopped he could of been seriously hurt along with myself and daughter. I see there is a investigation on the 1.6 but not 2.0. This needs to be looked at before someone gets hurt or worse killed.
Sudden loss of power steering with an associated warning message on the dash for a steering assist fault.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the power steering assist fault warning message appeared on the instrument panel. The steering wheel locked up and require excessive force to steer the vehicle off the roadway. Upon restart of the vehicle, the failure remained. Due to the failure, the contact had the vehicle towed to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed however, the mechanic was unable to retrieve a fault code. The contact then called the dealer and was informed that the next available appointment would be in a month. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.
There is something that has been making my coolant go low in my vehicle I took it to the mechanics two times and they fall suggested to take it in to dealership for a recall because they have dealt with this exact same kind of car many times and that's the same problem it given other owners.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the steering wheel became stiff and lost power steering functionality. The power steering assist warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to drive to the residence. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the power steering system needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the VIN was not under recall for the failure. There was no further assistance provided. The failure mileage was 147,000.
The car bucks wildly at a stop and stalls
The day before the steering was just fine and had taken a long drive on the interstate. Could not control steering when car was driven out of the garage the next morning. Car was towed to a car dealership due to very stiff steering since it would have been dangerous to try to drive. Asked tech at dealership to check and advise. A steering fault message was on the dash. Tech wrote, "pulled codes for the rack and pinion. Per pinpoint test the rack has an internal failure. Replaced the rack, programmed the system and performed an alignment. Steering operated normal now." There were no symptoms of the problem prior to the failure.
My radio went out about 3 years ago had to be replaced and now I can not listen to my radio without the car actually being on. My second issue is with my rear axle drive train, I currently have 127k miles on my vehicle took it in to a Ford dealership for diagnostic and repair I was informed that the rear axle needed replacing, they replaced it , however the problem persisted I was then told by the Ford mechanic that the axle assembly needed to be replaced. I spent 1k for the first repair now they want $2683 for the axle assembly, have there been other complaints regarding this parton 2013 Escape??
Lo normal
The contact owns a 2013 Focus Escape. The contact stated that while driving approximately 25 MPH or exceeding 25 MPH, the oil pressure warning light illuminated on the instrument. The vehicle was also consistently overheating. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed of an oil and coolant dispenser failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 120,000.
Bought vehicle with around 65K miles, started having issues with coolant level low and causing the engine warning light to come on. Then the car would go into “limp” mode to get the car to a safe place. There was no visible loss in coolant level. This happened on and off for about 3 months. Called local ford dealer about a coolant recall for 2013/2014, was told my VIN not included in that. Ended up replacing the coolant level sensor in this vehicle and was the part mentioned in the above recall conversation. This part was fixed at an independent service center and was disposed of.