2015 Ford Escape: harsh or hard shifting

Filed Oct 5, 2025 · Transmission · KS

Been having shifting problems since I got the vehicle at a dealership, the car will hang onto the rpm’s for a couple seconds then slam into gear, mostly while shifting up. Had the recall taken care of for the bushing a shifter cable problem, the hanging and slamming shifting issue still persists. Took the car to a Ford dealership and was told that my clutch is disintegrating and that an entire new transmission was needing, quoting me at LEAST $5000. Now I don’t know about yall, but I don’t have that type of money to just throw away into a car. If the car was designed and released to the public with a crappy transmission and known to be a problem, then Ford Motor Company needs to no longer exist.

Filed Jul 9, 2025 · Brakes · 70,000 miles · PA

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 55 MPH, the ABS and the traction control warning lights illuminated. The messages "4-Wheel Drive Temporarily Disabled" and "Hill Start Assist Not Available" were displayed. Additionally, the contact stated that while driving after starting the vehicle, the vehicle hesitated while responding, and there was an abnormal clunking sound coming from the rear of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to Westlake Auto, where it was diagnosed and determined that the ABS module had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was contacted and informed the contact that the VIN was not under recall. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the federal safety agency Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000.

Filed Dec 22, 2023 · Transmission · AZ

Driving along just fine went pass another car on the road. While acelarating the made a sudden hard shift and then started to hessitate. The car did this down town phx 75 to 25 causing to cars behind me to crash into each other so yeah I have to say that would be a saftey issue. As it was doing this the car said transmission failure. So I had the car towed and when I got it home I hooked it up to my autel code reader bi directional scanner. There was a proplem with 1st gear not having the correct ratio and 6th gear invalid ratio. That is all it said.

Filed Oct 11, 2022 · Steering, Suspension · PA

Ford Escape had a history of transmission issues prior to the 2015 vehicle I purchased used in Feb 2018. I was told the rough shifting and vehicle skipping (which started gradually the winter of 2021/2022) can be a hardware, software, shutter or torque problem. Even though there are class actions suits to resolve the software and hardware problems, Ford has not provided any assistance, instead expecting me to replace the transmission at my expense quoting the highest repair price despite not having an actual diagnostic which they also expect me to pay $169.00 for.

Filed Nov 13, 2020 · Transmission · 50,000 miles · IN

Transmission failure causes frequent hard shifting. This issue started at about 50,000 miles. When driving at low speeds, the transmission would hesitate, the engine revs spike, and then the car jumps into gear with a very hard thud. By 61,000 miles, this problem went from a once-daily occurrence to a frequent occurrence. It's typically at lower speeds (20~40mph) and driving at constant speed - not accelerating. Update from nov 9, 2020: at 65,000 miles, I took this into my ford dealer for investigation. They reported the transmission fluid level was good (remove the overflow plug and oil slowly drips out) and that the fluid was dirty. They reported that the transmission had failed and needed replaced.

Filed Oct 21, 2020 · Transmission · 73,000 miles · IN

Hard shift from first to second. Ford tsb claims this happens when cold. But for me it happens all the time.

Filed Apr 29, 2019 · Brakes, Suspension · 47,000 miles · PA

Tl* the contact owns a 2015 ford escape. While driving various speeds, a clunking noise was present coming from the rear of the vehicle and the brakes squeaked. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the shock aborbers were faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. Chapman ford (9371 roosevelt blvd, philadelphia, pa) and the manufacturer were notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 47,000. *bf

Filed Jul 27, 2018 · Transmission · 95,000 miles · CO

I was driving my 2015 ford escape se with 95,000 miles down the highway going 55mph when I heard a faint whistling noise. I didn't think anything of it at first because it was so faint, but then I realized I was pushing the gas and the rpms would shoot up very high but the car did not accelerate. I immediately started pulling off the road rapidly slowing down. I got off and I kept pushing the gas trying to get myself off until I was almost completely stopped. At one last attempt to get myself to a safe spot to be stopped I pressed the gas the car lunched forward and made a very loud clunking noise. At this point I didn't think the car would go again so I called a tow truck. After everything cooled down it drove fine for the tow truck driver but I didn't feel safe driving the vehicle. It was towed to the service center of the dealership where I bought the car. The man there explained to me the reason it stopped accelerating is because of a 'saftey' feature called limp mode where your car shifts into a lower gear to avoid further damage. After a few days they told me I needed two new sensors that detect when the transmission is over heating. I paid $350 for that and went on my way. Not even 20 blocks away from the service center the car started making the exact same noise and broke down in the middle of a busy street. We had it towed back the service center. They had it brought to ford and ford said that it needed a new transmission. I don't think a car with not even 100,000 miles on it should need a new transmission. I really hope ford can do something for me. I am a young female and I don't feel safe driving this car that has now left me stranded more than once.

Filed Jul 24, 2018 · Suspension · 46,000 miles · FL

Tl* the contact owns a 2015 ford escape. The contact stated that the rear driver side of the vehicle moved and shifted inadvertently. Also, the rear of the vehicle made an abnormal clunking sound. Due to the failure, the rear passenger tire was deteriorating. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The dealer (mullinax ford of palm beach, 1210 northlake blvd, lake park, fl 33403, (561) 275-2052) was made aware of the failures, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failures and offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 46,000.

Filed Nov 13, 2017 · Engine, Transmission · 41,500 miles · MA

I will be driving along and come to a stop for a traffic light stop sign or stop traffic and the engine will shut down. Also it will make a hesitate noise and a clunk noise. Right before it stops. I have taken into the ford dealer and they could not find anything wrong with all the test they did. So today 11/13/2017, I am dropping my car off again at the dealer. The car was in motion.this has happened may times since oct. 2017