2018 Ford Escape Engine

Engine misfires low coolant

Engine overheat warning and vehicle shut down on highway. Mechanic says most likely compromised head gasket with coolant intrusion into engine. Currently quoted $7200 at Ford dealer for short engine block replacement.

On recent trip to Florida from Ohio, we experienced an incident where the check engine service light was flashing and the car was running very rough(determined later that it was misfiring). Incident lasted about 3-4 minutes. Were able to get to next exit; before we exited the highway the incident stopped, and the engine sounds back to normal. Pulled into a parking lot, shut off the engine, and restarted and stopped a number of time. The check engine light never came back on. Drove another 600+ miles to our destination in Siesta Key FL. Decided to contact local Ford dealer, Sarasota Ford, to have it checked out before having to drive 1100 miles back home. Learned that their diagnostics indicated that we had a coolant leak into the engine. Service advisor initially indicated that he thought their was a "recall repair" for this issue. But later advised that the "recall" had expired on Nov. 30, 2022, and was subject to a limit of 7 years of service or 84000 miles. Estimated repair cost was $8000, about the value of the 2018 Ford Escape with 100,900 miles. Contact Ford customer service to discuss why the "recall" had a time and mileage limit, and why I wasn't notified. CSR was really rather rude; advised that it was NOT a recall but a Technical Service Bulletin (TSB). On subsequent discussion with both Sarasota Ford and Masheter Ford in Columbus OH, where we bought the vehicle, also learned that the one time repair offered by the TSB was only valid IF the vehicle actually experienced a coolant leak. I have a Master's Degree in Mechanical Engineering, and in researching what lead to the TSB being issued, learned that the actual design of the head gasket was changed. This to me indicates that a defect in the design was discovered, prompting a change. Based on that this TSB should have had NO restrictions on time or mileage for the one time repair, and quite frankly should have been offered to customers BEFORE a coolant leak actually occured, not afterwards

Coolant intrusion in the cylinders that requires a replacement engine, a known issue by Ford but not something they are replacing or assisting with the cost of if you are outwith 84,000 miles.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the vehicle stalled with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that coolant had leaked into the cylinders, causing engine failure. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 112,000.

Engine has a defect that causes car to have coolant leak and engine block to crack while driving, putting the vehicle into "limp mode". Accident can occur when vehicle suddenly begins decelerating while driving. There is no current recall for this issue for this vehicle.

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!

Earlier this year the check engine light came on in my Escape. My mechanic informed me that a sensor detected a coolant leak in a cylinder head. They replaced the sensor and addressed other issues with the specific cylinder. Three months later, the check engine light came on for the same issue. This time my mechanic replaced the cylinder gasket head. Ten days later, the light came on again. Now my mechanic is replacing my engine. Although I have a 2 liter engine, Ford had a campaign to replace the engines on the 1.5 liter engine [XXX] ) and have a service bulletin (22-2229) for multiple vehicles with the same issue. I know I'm past the end date of my warranty but ultimately paying out $9k to replace an engine on a decently maintained vehicle at 37k miles seems in appropriate. This issue ultimately causes engine failure. I'm one of many that tried to address the issue immediately, but how many people cannot or do not take their vehicle in on time and experience an engine failure while driving? INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The engine is misfiring and riding rough, with the check engine light on. After a series of service calls to an independent mechanic to replace other components, and the issue not resolving, I took it to a Ford dealership. Ford concluded that coolant is leaking into cylinder #3 of the engine, requiring a complete engine replacement. This is identified as a known design issue, with the root cause specifically being a defect in the engine block. If left untreated, this coolant intrusion (causing engine misfires) will lead to unburned fuel and coolant entering the exhaust system, which will then overheat and/or poison the catalytic converter, eventually destroying it. To discover this root cause, several auto parts were needlessly replaced and discarded: spark plugs, ignition coils, fuel system fluids, and an air intake tube.

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? The component that failed is the engine cooling system, specifically due to a known issue with coolant intrusion into the short block. This failure led to significant engine damage in my son’s 2018 Ford Escape. The vehicle is currently available for inspection upon request. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? The sudden engine failure posed a serious safety risk. If the vehicle had stalled while in motion—particularly on a highway or in heavy traffic—it could have led to a collision or left the driver stranded in a hazardous location. In this case, my son's car failed unexpectedly, which could have resulted in harm had the conditions been different. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Yes, the issue has been confirmed by a certified service technician. It matches a known problem in 2018 Ford Escapes involving coolant leaking into the engine block, which has been documented in Technical Service Bulletins (TSBs) issued by Ford. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives, or others? At this time, the vehicle has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police, or insurance representatives. However, the diagnosis and confirmation of coolant intrusion was made by a mechanic. Were there any warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? No. Only engine coolant container was empty without warning.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated, prompting the contact to discontinue driving the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, and it was determined that there was coolant intrusion into the engine, resulting in damages 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 70,000.

The contact's grandson owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact was informed by his grandson that the engine was misfiring significantly. The contact's relative, who was a mechanic at a Ford dealer arrived at the residence and diagnosed the vehicle with DTC: PO302 and PO316. The mechanic determined that there was coolant intrusion in the engine, and the engine block needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was not 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 80,000.

This vehicle has a known issue with coolant intrusion into the engine, while driving down the highway this caused my car to instantly send an engine overheating message and send the car into limp mode. While driving in the left lane i quickly lost all power and was limited to roughly 10mph to try and merge across 3 lanes of traffic. There was a customer satisfaction program to fix this but i am 6k miles beyond qualifiying.

Ford Customer Satisfaction Program 21n12. Coolant intrusion into one or more cylinders for the 1.5L Ecoboost motor. Ford will not repair this motor under the 21n12 code beyond 7 years or 84,000 miles. CSP 19b37 is required prerequisite prior to performing the 21n12 repair, so the 21n12 repair timeline therefore should start at the date of the 19b37 repair. My vehicle is just 4 months out of the 7 years (in service date) and Ford won’t cover the repair. Vehicle is inoperable and the repair cost will exceed the cars value after repairs are made. The vehicle currently has 79,xxx miles which is unacceptable by today’s vehicle life standards.

My 2018 Ford Escape started having problems with the check engine light coming on following an extended trip. The spark plugs were replaced, and all was checked by an independent mechanic. A few days later, a new error appeared saying that there was an engine fault failure. Additionally, it smelled very hot, so we were very afraid to drive it. We brought the car to a certified Ford dealer, and were told that cylinder 2 of the engine had coolant leaking in it and that the engine would need to be replaced. I am attaching documentation to show this. We had JUST returned from a long road trip with many miles of highway driving, so if this had happened in heavy traffic, we would have been put in grave risk. Also, the service department at the Ford garage told us that she had 2 more vehicles with the same engine, with the same problem, just that DAY! It was going to be almost $10,000 to fix this problem, and my car was only worth $ 6000 in good condition, so our lovely, well cared for car, that I had planned to keep for 2 more years, was sent to the salvage yard. As attached, I had to buy a new car with no down payment due to this situation.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. The contact waited for several minutes for the vehicle to return to normal operation. No warning light was illuminated; however, the "Engine Fault Service" message was displayed on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the spark plugs, air filters, and other unknown parts needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where it was diagnosed; however, the diagnostic result was no provided. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure persisted. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the "High Emergency Services Pull Over Safely" message was displayed on the instrument panel. The vehicle was towed back to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the head gasket was blown, and that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 71,437.

The contact owns a 2018 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 taken to the dealer, who determined that coolant intrusion into various cylinders had resulted in damages to the engine. The contact was informed that the short block and cam phasers 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 120,000.

Coolant leak into engine

An engine coolant leak on the engine caused the engine to overheat. This could have led to a possible fire. If we were on a highway or freeway when this happened and the car cut off, this could have caused an accident. There were NO warning signs or lamps that came on before this issue that would have alerted us to this issue. I had the vehicle towed into the Ford dealership and the diagnostic was engine failure due to a coolant leak. The engine coolant leak has been a known issue on the 2018 Ford Escapes by the manufacturer.

Engine light came on and car shakes a bit when car is first turned on for the day and has been off for a few hours. This started in early January 2025. We took it to a mechanic on January 10th 2025. Mechanic reported white exhaust smoke and stated this could be due to a coolant intrusion into the cylinders. Was told the short block, head gasket or the entire engine would need to be replaced. As of today, January 29th 2025, vehicle has not been inspected by a dealership, but as stated above, it has been checked by a mechanic. Concerned for family safety because vehicle can turn off at any time without any warning. Vehicle is available upon request, for inspection.

Car started running hot feb 2023, took it to local auto shop where it showed leaking collant in cylinder 2&3. Local shop quoted 8000 for full engine repair. Contacted ford dealership to see about a CSP the auto body shop told me about and was told my car isn't covered due to millage (over the 84000). This CSP was never preformed on the ford before I bought it when the CSP came out in 2020. I bought in 2021. Nor was I informed about the 2022 extended CSP. I was not made aware of a collant leak possibility until it happened. No repairs have been completed on this car and I am still making my monthly payment for it. I will never buy another ford.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH, the engine failure, auto park, and restart engine messages were displayed. The contact stated that the vehicle had lost motive power. The contact pulled over and stopped the vehicle. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle; however, after shifting into drive(D) and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle failed to respond as needed. The contact stated that the warning lights were illuminated. The contact had the vehicle towed to a local auto parts store where the techni8cian used a handheld diagnostic scanner and determined that there was no compression in cylinder #1 and cylinder #2 and there was a misfire in the engine. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 22,000.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35-45 MPH, the engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who determined that there was coolant leaking into the cylinder head, and the short block engine needed to be replaced. The local dealer was contacted, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and confirmed that there was no warranty coverage on the vehicle. The contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 101,000.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, the vehicle failed to properly function. The contact stated that a message to “Pull Over Immediately” was displayed. The vehicle was towed to a dealer but was pending a diagnostic test. The dealer had not yet diagnosed the vehicle but believed that the vehicle had experienced engine failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 101,000.

Multiple times when weather is cold (currently 42 degrees, so not even that cold) the engine will not start. It is a brand new engine that was replaced after the heavily reported coolant leak issue - which should be recalled!) The car turns on, with lights, radio, air systems, etc all running, but the engine does not start or even attempt to start. After several hours the car turns on without issue and operates as normal. This car/engine are absolute lemons. I spent $10,000 to replace the engine due to Ford's own manufacturing issue with the coolant leak, and now this. NHSTA needs to do something about these faulty cars on the road.