10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
21,722 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2019 Ford Escape:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

Get free help with your lemon!
close ad

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #24

Aug 012021

Escape

  • miles
Engine began to idle badly on startup and misfire. White smoke came from exhaust on startup. Coolant levels started to decrease. Engine is burning coolant that has leaked into the cylinders due to a defect in the casting of the engine block. Dealership is now saying car needs an entire new engine block. Obviously the previous recall that was addressed did not solve the issue.

- Gowanda , NY, USA

problem #23

Feb 272021

Escape

  • miles
Purchased vehicle in October of 2019, in February 2020 had engine light come on and the code P0496 which is a purge valve error and took to service and they stated that Ford had to have this happen twice, so on March 17, 2020, it happened again and was taken to service again and it was replaced. Almost 1 year later, on February 27,2021 the check engine light came on and was taken back to service on March 2 and was replaced again. No recalls on this vehicle, but there should be. This should have happened on a new vehicle nor should it continue to happen! it is now on its 3 rd purge valve!!!

- Mckeesport, PA, USA

problem #22

Apr 282020

Escape

  • 28,300 miles
Bought used Escape in April. Didn't drive much since I live in town. Took a hour drive from home.engine started misfiring and car was jerking. Took to dealership. They had for two weeks. Said was solenoid in transmission and replaced it. Picked up, took home. Drove 3 days later, started doing same thing. Drove next day and car quite running 1 block from house. Tried to start but started missing and quit. Had car towed to dealership. They had for 2 weeks. Said cam shaft and crank shaft sensor were bad and replaced them. They test drove over 400 miles with no problems. Picked up and drove less then 5 mile and started misfiring again. Took back to dealership. They said it was alternator.they replaced and it took three weeks to get back. A couple of day later I drove 2 miles to gas station, filled up and got on interstate. By first exit(2-3 miles) it started missing again. Drove to second exit to get off interstate since I didn't trust. Top speed on interstate was 45 mph. Oil light started flashing as if car was stalling. Took back to dealership. They said they didn't know what was wrong. They have had for going on 4 weeks with no word on what they found. Car had 27,939 miles when we bought know has 30,030 miles. Had since April of 2020 and was been in shop 11 week.

- Marietta, OH, USA

problem #21

Jan 202021

Escape

  • 3,400 miles
I purchased my 2019 Ford Escape brand new in early spring of 2019. Shortly after purchasing my Escape I did notice some slippage of the transmission. I planned on going back to the dealer so they could check it out, but unfortunately I became ill, and therefore it slipped my mind. I was in and out of the hospital for the next several months, but as soon as I felt well enough I could not wait to drive my new car again. My first trip was actually to my oncologist office, but I was excited just to be driving. On my way there, however, my car jerked me to the left causing me to run off the road. I was right in front of my doctor's office, so I parked and went about my business. When I my appointment was over, and I came back out I noticed I had a flat tire. It really surprised me, because even though I did have the weird incident I mentioned previously, I didn't think it would cause my tire to blow out. So, I had the tire replaced, and life went on. Shortly after that, I started having problems starting my car. I had it towed to the dealer for the first time 11/19/19, my car was towed to the dealer 1/20/21 with the same problem. I admit, I do not drive my car much these days, but I do make an effort to start it almost everyday, and let run for 20 minutes. When I purchased the Escape, I was expecting to have to drive to the medical once or twice a month. I am sure everyone is driving less because of the corona virus. I really feel nervous going out because of my vehicle and corona. I have call roadside assistance more since I bought the 2019 Escape, than my own mother. One last thing. I did mention the transmission slipping the first time I had it towed back to the dealer, and they said when they test drove it after replacing the battery, it drove fine, but I recorded the mileage when I went to pick it up, and the mileage was the same as it was when I dropped it off.

- Spring, TX, USA

problem #20

Dec 292020

Escape

  • 33,200 miles
2019 Ford Escape titanium steering wheel shakes/vibrates heavy & makes a loud noise from car (almost sounds like a bad loud muffler sound) at speeds of 35 mph & 45mph when the gas peddle is leveled at speed and also does the same when going up an incline at the same speeds. Also transmission slips between 1 & 2 gears intermittently. Very bumpy ride in the back when going 70 mph on the highway. These issues happen when on local roads & highway ramps. Dealer repair has checked several times. First few times they could not replicate the issue. December 29, 2020 finally got the issue to replicate and put a ticket directly into Ford. I checked back on 1/7/2021 since I bare the heard from the dealer service rep. At that time she still didn't have an answer to a resolution to fix the fault. I called today 1/13/2021 and the dealer repair service rep said it was a characteristic of the model because they informed Ford on the ticket they tested another 2019 Escape with the same engine & transmission and it had the same fault. Car was manufactured 3/2019. Please note I have purchased brand new Ford Escapes in 2002, 2005, 2009, 2017 & 2019. I know how the engine & transmission of a Ford Escape should preform. I still have my 2009 Escape and it preforms better then this 2019...comparable engines & trim package. The faults this 2019 is having are not characteristics of a car they are clearly issues where parts need to be replaced or repaired to operate properly. Ford needs to do the right thing and find what is causing the issue and repair it correctly.

- Hobart, IN, USA

problem #19

Nov 272020

Escape

  • 28,000 miles
Bought this car as certified pre owned from a Ford dealer with 28K miles. Approx. 4 weeks after purchase the engine starts running rough and check engine light came on with an error code P0303 misfire. Took it to dealer and they diagnosed coolant in cylinder 3 with the fix being a new short block engine replacement. It was still under warranty but very frustrating this happened to a car with low miles. After doing research this is a very common problem with the Ford 1.5 liter engine.

- Boise, ID, USA

problem #18

Jul 192020

Escape

  • 28,200 miles
Was starting vehicle, it shuddered and stopped when put in reverse, restarted vehicle and then put in drive, tried to press gas pedal and car would not go above 25 mph before check engine light came on, towed to delaership was informed it had coolant leaking and needed engine replaced 28,200 miles

- Austin, TX, USA

problem #17

Aug 212020

Escape

  • 7,000 miles
At 7000 miles the car started missfirening and wouldn't run the dealer said it was a spark plug now we are at 29000 miles less then a year later and it's missfirening again this time it happened while entering a busy street and almost caused us to get rear-ended due to the car not accelerating as expected. Also the pass front seat belt does not keep proper tension if you lean forward them sit back the seat belt will have slack in it until you mess with it to get it to go back in.

- Mora, MN, USA

problem #16

May 202020

Escape

  • 26,000 miles
Starting approximately of April of this year, noticed that the car was surging and "missing" on start. Thought it may have been a spark plug or such going bad and it wasn't happening with every start. Then middle of may, it was daily on every start and was surging harder and sputtering. The tachometer would even rise and fall in quick succession. On May 20th, the engine light came on and took it to my dealership. Before even looking at my vehicle, after describing to them what was happening, they already knew what was wrong and what the remedy would be. They still put my car on the computer and looked it over, but came out with the conclusion that the engine would need rebuilt. Fast forward 2 months later, finally got all the parts in to rebuild the engine, however my dealership is small and do not have a loaner vehicle for me at this time. I am understanding of that. But the car is now doing this on every start regardless if I just stopped at the post office for 5 minutes. This morning, it sputtered hard and then shut off for the first time. It is also affecting how it shifts from P to D and can tell a difference when taking off from a stop. Called Ford to see if they acknowledged this issue, they kept circling back to the dealership and the impending repair. I finally stated that I just wanted to know if Ford was acknowledging this issue and was referred to a regional customer service manager named jessica. She calls and was less than friendly and kept throwing the word "recall" around, but there is no active recall. She kept saying that my vehicle was getting repaired for a recall, and I told her no, it is getting repaired because I reported issues with my vehicle. I'm over it. I do not feel safe in my vehicle and have read other complaints that others have had to have multiple rebuilds of their engine and the problem never solved.

- Le Roy, WV, USA

problem #15

Jun 212020

Escape 4-cyl

  • 4,100 miles
Driving on the highway, all of a sudden warning comes on stating, "car is overheating stop engine now." Car started to shake and steering wheel started to shake. Pulled to the side of the highway. Check engine light is red. Police officer pulled aside to assist. Opens hood of the car. Officer visibly sees coolant is below the minimum line. The officer goes to his car to retrieve coolant. When the officer unscrewed the cover of the coolant fluid holder, the fluid raised by itself to maximum line. Officer did not add more coolant. Started the car and engine light goes from red to yellow. I was able to coast the car home but very slowly.

- Roosevelt, NY, USA

problem #14

May 062020

Escape 4-cyl

  • 19,000 miles
My 2019 Ford Escape has less than 20,000 miles and is already having coolant leak issues into the engine. Cylinder 3 issue and the dealership is telling me that the engine will likely need to be replaced. As I read more about this I am seeing thousands of vehicles affected, back order on engines, and a likely long wait period for this to be resolved. After spend almost $30,000 on my vehicle this is absolutely unacceptable business practice! I am also reading that a law firm in Tennessee is collecting clients for a lawsuit.

- Aurora, CO, USA

problem #13

Mar 232020

Escape

  • 14,100 miles
Driving 70+mph on freeway and the acc went out with an alert. Continued driving and the lanekeep assist had an error and ceased working, followed by an error for collision avoidance. Shortly after the speedometer and odometer went to 0 and several other errors for ABS, ESC, and others went off. This felt like the scene from apollo 13 where everything was going wrong at once. I noticed the power steering was not working and it was much more difficult to turn the wheel as I pulled into the Ford dealer. There was steam/smoke coming from my front grill.

- Farmington Hills, MI, USA

problem #12

Dec 152019

Escape 4-cyl

  • 500 miles
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at low speeds, the vehicle suddenly surged forward to the right and crashed into a utility pole. No injuries were reported. A police report was taken at the scene. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer friendly Ford (2800 N. telegraph rd, monroe mi.) the cause of the failure was not determined. Also, while driving at various speeds an abnormal noise was present coming from the rear of the vehicle. The noise was most noticeable while driving down an incline. The vehicle was also taken to the dealer for this issue however, they were unable to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failures. The failure mileage was 500.

- Monroe, MI, USA

problem #11

Feb 202020

Escape

  • 11,000 miles
Since buying my Escape brand new with 1 mile on it, it has been plagued with issues, engine shuts off while driving can be going 30 mph or 70 mph, while driving on the interstate at 70 bad smell from catalytic converter seeps in through vents. Passenger side tire wall blew while turning out of a parking lot. License plate light out and unable to remove to change. Dealership has had car several times claiming nothing is wrong with it. Radio keeps saying "update" dealership claims it's my phone (my phone has no updates due) brakes make terrible noise when reverse breaking. A little over 11,000 miles and transmission keeps slipping but dealership claims nothing is wrong, also car does not want to start half the time. Usb for phone cord in front does not want to stay connected, and back port for car charger overheated and caused my daughter burns on her hand. My daughter was driving it and it stranded her on side of road and wouldn't start, had to shut off, take out key and let sit to restart but dealership claims nothing is wrong. Overall the disappointment with the 2019 Escape is high. Something needs to be done further to investigate these claims of engine shutting off and other issues.

- Carterville, IL, USA

problem #10

Feb 112020

Escape

  • 13,000 miles
Low coolant level previous oil change/coolant added. Rough idle cold start, P0302 2/11/2020 with again low coolant. Topped off coolant 2/11/2020 dropped off at dealership 2/23/2020 again coolant level low. Apparently this is very common and engine replacement is only remedy. Very damaging to vehicle value.

- Walla Walla, WA, USA

problem #9

Feb 052020

Escape

  • 20,000 miles
Purchased vehicle April 2019. Almost immediately heard coolant gurgling sound coming from engine when engine auto turned off at stop light. I was told that this sound was normal. January received notice from Ford that my vehicle need PCM reprogramming. Day after reprogramming I began to receive check engine warnings. Soon after the heater would not work when car was not in gear. Took vehicle to dealer and was told that the engine needs to be replaced due to coolant leak in to valves. Dealer also mentioned that I had lost almost all of my coolant. Note: I never received any warning messages about low coolant level. I have since discovered that there are thousands of these engines that have had to be replaced due to this issue.

- Manchester, NH, USA

problem #8

Jan 262020

Escape

  • 1,500 miles
We were driving on a 3 lane highway at night, stopped at a red light. Suddenly, the car went completely dead - no lights or power. Cars driving at between 40-50 mph were coming up behind us, but could not see us because we could not even get hazard lights on. We were locked in - the doors would not open!! after several near misses, we were lucky enough to have a stranger stop and he was able to alert oncoming cars so we would not get hit. Ends up that the negative terminal of the battery was very loose as well as the surrounding fasteners of the battery. We purchased the car 5 weeks earlier, brand new with 11 miles on it. After getting towed to the dealership, it was an easy fix, but my safety concern was the fact that the doors would not open!!! if there was a fire, we would have been trapped, and we could not get out in case we were hit by the vehicles coming up behind us, which came close a few times!

- Montclair, VA, USA

problem #7

Jul 102019

Escape

  • 5,000 miles
The vehicle started running rough and missing at 75 mph with about 5000 miles on it. Check engine light came on, cruise control shut off. I took it to the dealership and they said I had 3 trouble codes but I don't know what the were. They reprogrammed something a gave me the car back a week later. Two weeks after that I started getting another check engine light with the code P0420. The local dealer says they can't fix it or honor my warranty because it's a us spec vehicle and I'm in europe. I have a brand new vehicle that I have to clear the code every other day. To make matters worst the small door that covers the odb port won't close correctly. I'm sure it wasn't designed to be opened every other day.

- Apo, AE, USA

problem #6

Nov 112019

Escape

  • miles
I bought my 2019 Ford Escape brand new in March of this year, it had little under 25 miles. As of November 11th I auto started my car- when I went to get in it was running funny and check engine light was blinking. Took it to dealership, on November 13th they call and tell me my engine is bad. This is unacceptable, my car has 11,647 miles on it & needs a new engine. Ford needs to do a recall on these Ford Escapes - I know 3 people now who have had the same issue. Very unacceptable for buying a brand new car

- Cisco, IL, USA

problem #5

Oct 312019

Escape

  • 6,980 miles
I was driving at about 30 miles an hour and the engine just shut down for no reason. An alert came up that said auto stopstart shift to P restart engine.

- Lanham, MD, USA

Read the next 4 complaints »