The engine started sputtering. Took it to a mechanic, and they said that the engine block had a crack.
2017 Ford Escape engine complaints
Page 9 of 68: complaints 221 to 250 of 2,003, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Coolant leaking into cylinder car has under 60,000 miles.
On 1/13/26, vehicle was taken to Don Hinds Ford, Fishers, IN 46038-2892 for loss of coolant and sporadic shaking during start. Service performed diagnostic "Diagnostic: PERFORMED COOLANT PRESSURE TEST AND USED BOROSCOPE TO INSPECT EACH CYLINDER. FOUND CYL# 3 & 4 TO HAVE COOANT INTRUSION. RECOMEND REPLACEMENT OF ENGINE LONG BLOCK." Service recommendation "Engine Rebuild/Replace: REPLCEMENT OF ENGINE LONG BLOCK VIA TSB 22-2229" totaling $9,229.68 to be paid by customer. TSB 22-2229 is expired and vehicle has 82K miles. Known issue with this engine design, but not covered by Ford. I contacted Ford Customer Service requesting goodwill assistance or out-of-warranty coverage. Both were denied over the phone.
Coolant intrusion due to engineering defect in engine. Ford is more than aware of this, but will not help us at all. Car is effectively dead and unusable. Ford TSB admits to this defect and requires a "long block" replacement (full engine replacement), but is doing nothing to help customers. This is fleecing.
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? Engine, Yes. There is a known coolant intrusion engine fault with ford escapes. ford has issued TSBs over this How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? Engine abruptly died. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Yes Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? Yes Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? No
Coolant intrusion due to head gasket wear from Ecoboost, a known defect on the Ford Escape from 2013-2019. Yes, safety was put at risk, as the entire vehicle started shaking violently without warning on the expressway due to misfire caused from coolant intrusion. Vehicle is currently at Roy O'Brien Ford, SCS MI, where it was diagnosed having coolant intrusion. No warning lights appeared until the incident on [XXX], with a flashing check engine light while driving, with the vehicle shaking violently. Prior to, I could feel and see the RPM's bouncing. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Coolant Intrusion: A design flaw in the open-deck engine block allows coolant to leak into the combustion chambers, leading to misfires, white smoke, and severe engine damage. Affected Vehicles: Primarily 2017-2019 Escapes and 2014-2019 Fusions with the 1.5L EcoBoost engine, built before specific dates. Symptoms: Low coolant, white exhaust smoke, rough idling, check engine light, and DTCs like P0300, P0301-P0304.
I am the single owner of this 2017 Ford Escape with an Eco-boost 2.0L engine. This vehicle has only been serviced by Ford dealerships. at approximately 60K miles I noticed a lag in acceleration between 1200-2200 RPM. At 88K this lag became more violent, and I took the car to a Ford dealership for diagnosis. No warning lights had illuminated. The ford dealership advised me that there was coolant intrusion in the cylinders, and an entire new long block engine was required. After researching I learned that the 2017 had a design flaw that allows coolant to leak into the combustion chambers. in 2020 Ford redesigned the engine from an open deck to a closed deck. Due to Fords design flaw, I required a completely new long block engine and was able to confirm it was the new closed deck design at a cost of $14K. This problem boils down to the engine's open deck cooling design, which causes premature gasket failure and sometimes cracks between the cylinders. These problems don't affect the earlier versions of these engines due to their closed deck system, which was used prior to the introduction of the 2017 Escape. Ford has acknowledged this problem, but the fix isn't a simple one - it requires a long block replacement, which is obviously a labor intensive and expensive job. How to we get Ford to be responsible for the costs associated with changing the engine out from their flawed design? This could have been an on highway incident since there were no warning lights or other visible issues.
I bought my 2017 Ford Escape from Cocoa Ford in Cocoa, FL on 8/23/2025. Less than a month after purchase, I noticed the coolant was low, and that the engine was making a weird noise. I also had the check engine light come on two different times and after using an OBD reader, I got code P0303. After the first instance, around Mid-November, 2025, I cleared the code myself, but then immediately scheduled an appointment with my mechanic. Seaside Auto Repair in Satellite Beach, FL on November 24, 2025. They came back stating that the problem is a known issue with Ford Escape cars, citing [XXX] & [XXX] . No repairs were made at this time, as I was assessing my options. Shortly after taking the car to the mechanic was when the check engine light came on again. Around December 5, 2025. Due to the holidays, and the car seemingly getting me to point A to Point B without too much trouble when I wasn't driving far, and constantly monitoring the coolant levels, which continued to drop, even after topping off, I have been waiting until after the new years to seek further mechanical fixes, however on Jan 1, 2026, while driving on the highway, my car began to shake, and I had a flashing check engine light on. I immediately returned home, about an additional 25 minutes of driving, and have not driven the car since. Since this is a known issue, Ford should be responsible for the fixes and/or replacement of my car. It is asinine that this issue does not yet have a recall. I will be reaching out to Ford directly to see if they will assist with this matter, but for now, I wanted to voice my concern about this issue. I'm lucky I was close to home when the issue became more serious. I have attached the invoice from my mechanic, which also includes a descriptions of their findings. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
This is related to the class action lawsuit 2:20-cv-01796-DAD-CKD Miller v. Ford Motor Co. Concerning alleged engine defects in Ford vehicles, specifically focusing on issues like excessive oil consumption and premature failure in certain EcoBoost engines. My engine has developed symptoms regarding the known coolant leak into the engine. The engine looses power when accellerating, and produces white exhaust after starting cold. Replacing spark plugs and coils did not resolve the issue. I checked the coolant level and it was below the minimum, and I had to add more coolant. The ECU has logged misfires at cylinder 2 and 4. The MIL turns on intermittently.
Engine failure due to multiple coolant failures, due to poor design of the long engine block. Ford removed and replaced the long block in full, but it was out of warranty. There are multiple class action lawsuits against Ford for the defecting engine block design. There was only 49,187 miles on the car, well under mileage warranty, but above the 7 year old car age warranty. I paid $8379.39 for the new long block engine.
Vehicle is slowly losing collant, and when I park I get a strong smell of collant. I took vehicle to have collant flushed and was took system was ok. From what I have researched is that there is a history of coolant entering engine cylinder because of defective engine and causeing engines to event ually seize.
Two different things are happening with my car. 1) the paint is chipping and has caused corrosion on the body. Apparently this is a known issue but the peeling/chipping has gotten worse and will keep doing so until it is fixed. 2) car keep running hot and losing coolant but no leak to be found even after several rounds of tests.
Coolant intrusion on the 2.0 ecoboost engine diagnosed by a ford dealer service center and a well documented issue. The coolant intrusion causes the engine to misfire rendering the car unusable and a potential road hazard.
Ford Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) number is 21-2269. The engine block is leaking coolant into the cylinders which causes the engine to report over heating.
Known coolant leak into the cylinders that ford won’t cover
Coolant in cylinder 2 due to crack in cylinder wall at head gasket due to thin sealing surface
While driving at a constant speed on the highway, the transmission shifted down a gear and revved into very high RPMs. I was dramatically slowing down despite pressing on the gas pedal. The car didn't provide any power and just revved while I had cars next to me going at highway speeds. Managed to get off the highway, a transmission fault indicator popped up on the dash. The car no longer was able to move. I had the car towed to the Ford Dealership. This car has a bad transmission at ~97,000 miles. Prior to this, I felt like the car's transmission maybe wasn't shifting on time but didn't make much of it. This could have easily resulted in a crash. Turns out this is a very well known problem with the Ford Escape. My friend has a 2016 Ford Escape who recently paid 8000$ for a new transmission. This is clearly unsafe and the failure is definitely premature.
Coolant intrusion on 2.0L Ecoboost Engine Car started running rough, oil light came on. Palmetto Ford Charleston SC indicated engine needed replacement due to coolant intrusion. This same dealer replaced the Turbo Wastegate 10/17/2025. 12/17/2025 the car ran rough.Service Bulletin 19-2346 seems to be the problem. Called Ford Customer Service who offered no assistance. Car has 75,000 miles, 1 owner, well maintained.
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving 10 MPH and attempting a right turn, the “High Temperature - Fire Risk” message was displayed, and the vehicle independently shut off while depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact started to merge the vehicle into a shopping center. An independent mechanic was contacted. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed, and determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The thermostat was replaced, and the remaining coolant was drained and refilled, and the coolant temperature sensor was replaced, and the vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that the failure had occurred twice. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that there was no recall or warranty on the vehicle for the repair. The contact was informed that if the vehicle was repaired out of pocket and then there became a recall for the failure, there was a possibility of being reimbursed. The approximate failure mileage was 88,344.
Stalled at Traffic lights when stopped and finally told engine coolant leak at 89K miles.
Coolant leaking into engine. Known problem they say they won’t fix
Coolant leaking into the engine and blowing white smoke
05/03/2025 - My Escape has the 1.5L 4-cylinder engine failed at 118763 miles. Local Ford Dealership installed new Short Block. 09/11/2025 - Engine failed at 122742. Local Ford Dealership installed new Short Block.
The vehicle has experienced consistent overheating issues and coolant leak this Fall. My mechanic searched and realized that there were hundreds of thousands of vehicles that experienced engine performance issues traced to coolant intrusion—a known problem in certain Ford 2.0L EcoBoost engines (model years around 2015–2019). Coolant leaked into the cylinders, causing misfires and eventual engine failure. While this issue is widely documented and addressed under Ford’s Customer Satisfaction Program (CSP 21N12), it is not part of an official safety recall. As a result, coverage is limited to specific warranty or mileage criteria, leaving some vehicles, including this one, ineligible for repair under the program despite the severity of the failure. I have no recourse for this, and it seems as though a very costly repair is likely even though there is a known issue that Ford has acknowledged and fixed for many other owners.
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at 65 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated, and there was a misfire coming from the engine. In addition, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. In addition, the contact stated that the failure had occurred while the contact was driving on the highway. The vehicle was driven to the shoulder of the road. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with a misfire in cylinders #2 and #3. The vehicle was diagnosed with coolant intrusion and engine failure. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was in the process of being repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 95,000.
In 2023, at around 77,000 miles the engine block in my moms 2017 Ford Escape Titanium (2.0L EcoBoost) cracked due to coolant intrusion and we had to have it replaced. Although the engine was replaced, the replacement engine was the same model, just from 2016 instead of 2017. The engine is still running fine, but due to the poor manufacturing of the engine block, I am worried it will happen again soon since the car itself has 108,000 miles, and the engine has around 85,000.
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving or starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light would unexpectedly illuminate. The contact also stated that the vehicle was experiencing excessive coolant consumption, which required the coolant reservoir to be refilled several times after noticing that the coolant level was consistently low. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle failed to start. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that coolant had leaked into the second cylinder, causing the short block to fail. The contact was informed that the short block needed to be replaced, or the entire engine might need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 157,236.
I have a major engine failure on the 1.5L ecoboost engine. The engine failed away from home (at Costco) and had to arrange a ride home. Towed to the dealer where they diagnosed a coolant intrusion into #3 cylinder which locked the engine. Researched this and found out that this is a known defect. Ford will do nothing to repair this because I fall outside the window of their multiple Technical Service Bulletins. This vehicle has 68111 miles on it and resides at our home in Arizona. We only use it when we Winter there. I received no notices from Ford about this issue. The safety component of this is that we had just returned from a long day trip in the desert and could have been stranded there. This needs to elevated to recall status because there are so many people in my situation. I have a $14,400 quote to fix an otherwise perfect car that is only worth $7800. This is fraud. Ford needs to be held accountable for poor design/manufacturing as well as hiding this problem as long as it could. Fixing this only when there is a failure and you must fall into a certain window is unacceptable.
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle shuddered abnormally while the accelerator pedal was depressed. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion into the engine. The contact was informed that the failure could cause engine failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 122,000.
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