Selling a broken Ford Escape, any year

Run your VIN for open recalls first: a few of the Escape's 100 recall campaigns replace the very part that may have failed on yours.

Four generations, four different weak spots

All the counts below are our own tallies of NHTSA's raw data as it stood on October 10, 2026.

Two campaigns cross from one generation into the next, which is why the recall column totals 102. Five complaints filed under model year 2000, before the Escape went on sale, appear only in the year table.

2001-2007: fires near the brake module

The first Escape came from Avon Lake, Ohio, and Claycomo, Missouri. The 2005 Escape Hybrid was the first hybrid SUV built for sale.

Fire runs through these years; the 2002 and the 2014 tie for the most fires reported, 104 each. Recall 07V156 covered 446,460 Escapes from 2001-2004 whose antilock brake module connector could be missing wire seals, so the module could short, overheat and burn with the key on or off.

NHTSA's engineering analysis EA10-002 then found 260 more fires or heat events near that module, including 12 key-off fires in 2001-2002 Escapes parked inside a building; five spread to the building. It closed with recall 12V005: on 244,530 Escapes, the brake fluid cap could leak onto the connector.

The 3.0 V6 had its own run: 04V165 for stalls while slowing below 40 mph, 04V574 for accelerator cables that kept the throttle off idle, and 12V353 for 529,719 V6 Escapes whose engine cover could jam the cruise control cable connector and hold the throttle open.

The front suspension drew a recall too. Under 14V165, the lower control arm can separate and cost the driver steering control on 2001-2004 Escapes sold new in, or still registered in, one of at least 20 listed states, Ohio and Michigan among them; dealers add a reinforcement cross-brace. The 2005 isn't covered, yet 363 of its 1,584 complaints are tagged structure.

2008-2012: steering assist that drops out

For 2009 a 171 hp 2.5 replaced the 2.3, and the V6 went up to 240 hp.

Owners tagged steering more than any other part on every model year from 2008 through 2012, including 1,140 of 2,417 complaints on the 2008. Recall 14V284 explains it. A torque sensor may misread the driver, so the electric assist shuts off on 740,878 Escapes and Mariners.

NHTSA's PE13-003 also examined throttle bodies that suddenly cut power on 2009-2013 Escapes; we found no recall tied to it. On 2010-2012 V6 models, recall 16V777 replaced fuel delivery module flanges that could crack and leak.

2013-2016: the 1.6 EcoBoost and the shifter

Production moved to Louisville, Kentucky, with small turbo engines. No Escape year draws more complaints than the 2013, at 2,755, with 1,074 tagged engine and 18 recall campaigns.

Five of those recalls deal with the 1.6 and fire, and a sixth followed on the 2014:

• 12V336: an engine-bay fuel line could split. It's the only Escape recall NHTSA marks as do-not-drive.
• 12V431, 12V551 and 13V583: a head plug that could dump coolant, fluids reaching the exhaust, and heads that overheat, crack and leak oil.
• 13V584: the fuel line was put back wrong during some 12V336 repairs.
• 17V209 (Ford 17S09): a 1.6 driven low on coolant can crack its head. Dealers add a coolant level sensor. It covers the 2014 Escape.

NHTSA's PE18-007 on 2013 1.6 Escapes that stall without warning logged 173 reports and five fires, and stayed open until December 2024.

The shifter is the other story. A bushing on the shift cable can wear out or drop off, so the lever reads Park when the transmission isn't in it. Recall 18V471 covered 2013-2014 Escapes, and 22V413 later took in 2013-2019 models.

2017-2019: coolant in the cylinders

The 1.5 EcoBoost arrived for 2017, and that year drew 2,694 complaints, 1,454 of them tagged engine. Ford's Customer Satisfaction Program 19B37 names the cause, "coolant intrusion into the cylinder bores," with coolant loss, tailpipe smoke and a misfire light as the signs, and a new short block as the possible end. Its fix, a computer update that runs the coolant pump after shutdown, ended June 30, 2021.

2020-2026: injectors, doors and battery cells

The last Escape offered a 1.5 three-cylinder, a 2.0 turbo, a hybrid and a plug-in hybrid. U.S. production ended in December 2025, and Ford's second-quarter 2026 sales report speaks of a "planned phase-out of the Ford Escape."

The 1.5 three-cylinder's high-pressure fuel injectors can crack and leak fuel near hot parts. The first fix, recall 22V859, added leak-detection software and a drain tube. NHTSA's RQ24-008 questioned whether that was enough, which led to recall 25V467. Its 694,271 count includes Bronco Sports as well as Escapes. The final fix is new injectors and a new fuel rail at no charge; a software update serves as the interim repair until that remedy is ready.

The 2020 has 1,893 complaints, and 723 carry a structure tag. Text searches point mostly at the front doors, and NHTSA's PE23-013 counted 593 reports of front door check arm brackets breaking on 2020-2021 Escapes.

Hybrids carry their own list: 24V954 for high-voltage battery cells that can short inside on 2020-2024 models, 26V091 for the same defect on 2022-2026 plug-ins, and 22V484 for oil and fuel vapor released after a 2.5 hybrid engine fails.

Complaints and recalls, model year by model year

Each row counts the owner complaints NHTSA holds for that Escape year. A Ford campaign naming several years counts in each row, and complaints tagged "unknown or other" are left out of the final column.

Before you pay for an engine

Our sources give no Escape repair costs. Get a written quote and set it against what a running Escape with your year and miles sells for. A few checks can change that math:

1. Recalls still outstanding. NHTSA's VIN search lists them. The injector, battery and shifter recalls above are dealer repairs at no cost to you.
2. A 2020-2022 hybrid with a failed engine. Ask a Ford dealer about program 23N06. If a bad connecting rod bearing is the cause, it pays for a one-time long block replacement within 10 years or 100,000 miles of the warranty start.
3. A 1.5 that keeps losing coolant. The 19B37 program is over; the blown engine guide walks through that choice.
4. Heavy steering on a 2008-2011. Ask a dealer whether 14V284 was ever done before you blame the rack.

Selling the Escape the way it is

1. Ask for an offer online, or call (877) 421-6008, with the VIN, mileage and what's wrong.
2. Say where the truck will find it: a driveway, a street, a shop lot. Note flat tires or a shifter stuck out of Park.
3. Leave every part on it, hybrid battery included, and mention anything already gone; missing parts change the offer.
4. When the truck arrives, give the title and keys to the operator and show your ID. Plates follow state rules, which after you sell lists.

Lost the title? Read selling a junk car without a title first. More Fords: the Bronco Sport, Fusion and Edge, or the full Ford list.