143 complaints reported

2016 Ford Escape Engine

Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.

Reports
143
Crashes
0
Fires
2
Injuries
0

Complaint Timeline

Chronological view of owner reports

Feb 2025

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power with several unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact’s wife was able to coast to the side of the road. The contact was called and went to the site of the failure. The contact opened the hood and checked the fluids. The contact stated that the coolant reservoir was empty. The contact refilled the coolant reservoir. A dealer was not contacted, and the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 106,647. The VIN was not available.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 FORD ESCAPE, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Feb 2025
Feb 2025

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The contact was able to pull over to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle failed to restart. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who determined that there was coolant intrusion in cylinder #3, resulting in damage to the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to Customer Satisfaction Program: 21N12. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 54,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 FORD ESCAPE, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jan 2025
Feb 2025

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the temperature gauge indicated that the engine was overheating, prompting the contact to discontinue driving the vehicle. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined that there was coolant intrusion into several cylinders, resulting in damage to the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to Customer Satisfaction Program: 21N12. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 88,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 FORD ESCAPE, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Feb 2025
Jan 2025

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving approximately 40 MPH the check engine light began flashing, and the vehicle began misfiring. When the contact reached their destination the check engine light turned from flashing to solid. The vehicle was taken to the dealer diagnosed that there was coolant intrusion due to coolant leaking in cylinders 1,2,3 and 4. The dealer stated the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 79,780.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 FORD ESCAPE, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Dec 2024
Jan 2025

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, the vehicle stalled while depressing the brake pedal. No warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that on a separate occasion, while the vehicle was stopped, the vehicle was idling rough, with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed. The contact stated that the vehicle received undisclosed repairs; however, the failure persisted. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 118,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 FORD ESCAPE, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Aug 2022
Jan 2025

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine overheated and several unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was driven to the shoulder of the road to allow the engine to cool down. The contact opened the hood and checked the fluids. The contact stated that the coolant reservoir was low. The contact refilled the coolant reservoir. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and was diagnosed with catastrophic coolant intrusion in cylinder #4. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The contact was advised to contact the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 97,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 FORD ESCAPE, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Apr 2024
Dec 2024

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the heater failed to operate with the check engine warning light was intermittently flashing on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was discovered that coolant was leaking into cylinder #3. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to file a complaint. The vehicle was not repaired and remained with the dealer. The failure mileage was unknown.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 FORD ESCAPE, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Oct 2024
Dec 2024

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated while at a stop light, "The engine was overheating" warning message illuminated. The vehicle was taking an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 84,100.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 FORD ESCAPE, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Dec 2024
Dec 2024

Coolant leaks into engine. Not repairable and requires full engine replacement.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 FORD ESCAPE, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Dec 2024
Dec 2024

Coolant leaked into the heads and ruined engine.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 FORD ESCAPE, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Dec 2023
Dec 2024

Catastrophic engine failure. "Engine skipped timing; timing codes coolant intrusion in cylinder#1 inside cylinder head". Car towed to Portland Oregon Ford dealership and remains there. When warning lights appeared saying "engine failure pull over safely", the driver pulled over; it was not a safe area to be parked indefinately. The Escape vehicle has needed towing twice for related engine /coolant problems including driver being on a road out of town alone and needing to take a bus back home from the rural area. Engine/vehicle is available at dealership for inspection. Problem has been recreated and the Ford mechanic has given the above description.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 FORD ESCAPE, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: May 2024
Nov 2024

Has internal coolant leak

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 FORD ESCAPE, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: May 2024
Nov 2024

The car is releasing large amounts of white smoke when starting the car in the morning, and shows declining levels of coolant (way below MIN when I checked). I suspect this is due to a leaking gasket.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 FORD ESCAPE, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Nov 2024
Nov 2024

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle intermittently hesitated while accelerating. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined that the engine block was cracked, and that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 FORD ESCAPE, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jan 2024
Nov 2024

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, there was thick white smoke coming out of the exhaust pipes, and the engine was running rough while driving. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion into the cylinders. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 63,500.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 FORD ESCAPE, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Apr 2024
Nov 2024

Transmission faulty

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 FORD ESCAPE, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Apr 2023
Nov 2024

Ford is aware of a design flaw with the 2.0 Ecoboost engines. It impacts Escapes, Fusions, Edges, and some Lincoln vehicles. They issued TSB # 22-2229 about this. According to Ford, the only fix is to replace the engine. The engine block has a design flaw that causes the head gasket to blow and cause severe coolant leakage into either cylinder 2 or 3. Ford says to replace the Long block. My vehicle had less than 70k miles on it and started having issues just a month or so after the warranty expired. An engine should last much longer than this. Now our vehicle may be worth $500 instead of about $9,000. Ford knows this is an issue and there is significant information on the Internet about this. Ford should have been forced to recall these engines. From a safety standpoint, our engine fails to start at times. The cylinder is so full of coolant at times, the engine won't turn over for a while. We have to keep bumping the starter to get it to finally turn over. We purchased this vehicle new from a Ford dealership. The vehicle is otherwise in excellent condition and has had the oil changed every 4,000 miles, much less miles than required by Ford.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 FORD ESCAPE, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: May 2024
Nov 2024

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle failed to properly accelerate with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that there was a coolant intrusion in cylinder #1. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The local dealer and manufacturer were not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 135,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 FORD ESCAPE, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Sep 2024
Nov 2024

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at approximately 25 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that there was an internal coolant leak into the engine and that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and confirmed that there was no recall on the VIN for the failure. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 44,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 FORD ESCAPE, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Sep 2024
Oct 2024

Throttle body and motor was replaced twice due to engine keep stalling issues on the roads intermittently. Had faced life threatening occasions multiple times because the car engine stalled while car was driving on the roads. I brought the car to the local Ford service center several times and got the DTC P2112 code each visit. Ford service center approved the throttle body replacement on 2/10/2020 (car mileage 26688) but the same issue came back a few months later. P2112 was detected again on 4/30/2023 (mileage 40215) It was not very frequent but it happened once per month or every other month. I brought this car once again to the same local Focal service center and they diagnosed the throttle body and motor to be defect again (mileage 46476) and replaced it on 10/15/2024.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 FORD ESCAPE, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Oct 2020
Oct 2024

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while cold starting the vehicle, there was an abnormal knocking sound coming from the vehicle. In addition, the contact stated that the check engine warning light intermittently illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was initially taken to an independent mechanic where a diagnostic test was performed on the vehicle. The mechanic discovered a misfire in cylinder #2 due to coolant intrusion into the engine. The dealer and an independent mechanic informed the contact that the engine needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 85,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 FORD ESCAPE, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jan 2024
Oct 2024

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while his nephew who is a mechanic was replacing the front passenger’s side ball joint, he observed that the radiator was hanging down and the support brackets were rusted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 160,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 FORD ESCAPE, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Apr 2024
Oct 2024

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle went into LIMP Mode, with the "Engine coolant over Temperature" message on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where a diagnostic test revealed that there was coolant intrusion into an engine cylinder and the contact was provided an estimate for the repair. 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 124,500.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 FORD ESCAPE, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Aug 2024
Oct 2024

I was driving my 2016 Ford Escape and stopped at a red light. When the light turned green I steeped on the gas and the car would not move. No check engine light came on and there was no indication that anything was wrong. The car had to be towed to two different repair shops. The first repair shop diagnosed that it was the transmission and they wanted to much to repair. I then had it towed to a transmission repair shop where they rebuilt my transmission. I picked up my car today and the shop told me that there was a recall on 2016 Ford Escapes. I called ford and they agreed there was a recall on 2016 Ford Escape transmissions but it did not include my car. This makes no sense as my car only has 63208 miles on it and the transmission went out with no warning. I don't understand my Ford says my car is not included when obviously there is a problem. Thank you for your time

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 FORD ESCAPE, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jul 2024
Sep 2024

Power reduced to lower engine temperature message appeared on the dashboard. Stopped and saw coolant seemed empty. I filled it up to the max line. The next day it was empty again. It’s been 2 days and I filled it again today.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 FORD ESCAPE, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Sep 2024

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Quick Summary

The 2016 Ford Escape has 143 Engine complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.