My vehicle has been giving me warning messages at complete stop at red light, stop sign or even park. Engine turns off and the message pop ups as auto startstop manual restart required put on p shift position restart engine manually. Im scared this will happen while driving. Vehicle completes shuts off in the middle.of intersection.
Ford Escape start-stop problems
67 of the 27,594 owner complaints about the Ford Escape describe start-stop system problems, most of them for the 2017 model year.
- owner complaints
- 67
- worst model year
- 2017
- typical mileage
- 33,589
Is there a fix? There are 13 recalls for this area of the car. See below
By model year
Often reported together
Stalling 11Loss of power 6Check engine light 3Transmission failure 2Sudden acceleration 2Won't shift 2Shudder 2Misfire 2
Trouble codes mentioned
P0304 1P0302 1P0301 1P0300 1P0014 1P0012 1
What owners say
Vehicles auto start stop malfunctions and turns car off at red light. Message states to shift to park and then to press ignition.
Dash board has been flashing images and turning black and white like something is malfunctioning the automatic stop start has been inconsistently working I have issues with the lights getting dimmer while I’m driving at night and sometimes I have to manually hold the brights forward for the lights to work there seems to be something distracting me in the control paneling of the vehicle making me nervous and tired sometimes distracting my eyes.
2019 Ford Escape with a documented history of powertrain failures. White smoke on cold start and engine stalling began around 48,000 miles; the dealer noted this engine is known for coolant intrusion. At about 62,000 miles the engine short block was replaced under Ford Field Service Action 21N12 / TSB 22-2322. Smoke, shaking, and stalling continued, and the engine intermittently cuts out when shifting into reverse and must be restarted. At about 87,000 miles the transmission failed and the full transmission assembly was replaced (work order Jan 2026, vehicle returned end of March 2026). The owner repeatedly told the Ford dealer the vehicle felt unsafe. On [XXX] the owner reported renewed exhaust smoke, an illuminated engine light, and a clicking sound at startup and asked to bring it in; instead of inspecting it, the dealer advised taking the vehicle straight to CarMax. About 9 days later, on [XXX], while driving in Los Angeles about 60 miles from home with young children aboard, the transmission would not stay in gear and the engine warning lights began blinking. The owner called the Ford dealership for guidance but no one could advise and the service desk would not answer. After consulting a mechanic, the family agreed it was unsafe to keep driving given the noises and pulled over in Anaheim, about 30 miles from home, at a mechanic shop to read the codes. A paid tow (~$600) was required. Loss of gear engagement and stalling in traffic with children aboard is a serious crash and stranding hazard. The scan returned codes P0012 and P0014 (camshaft timing, stored as permanent), P0300 (random/multiple misfire), and P0301, P0302, P0304 (cylinder misfires); the dash showed "Auto Start/Stop not ready - Stall Alert - Restart Engine." The defect has been reproduced and confirmed repeatedly by the Ford dealer, which performed the engine and transmission replacements. A repurchase request was denied. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. While driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle suddenly stopped on several occasions and lost automotive power. The Automatic START/STOP message was displayed. The contact manually turned off the feature, but the Automatic START/STOP feature was activated independently. The dealer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 193,000.
The failure appears to involve the vehicle’s auto start/stop system and related electrical control systems, including the battery management system and/or body control module. The vehicle shuts off unexpectedly while driving and fails to automatically restart, displaying “Auto Start/Stop – Manual Restart Required” and “Shift to Park.” The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. The vehicle has shut off unexpectedly in active traffic, causing a sudden loss of power. This creates a dangerous situation where I am unable to accelerate or move with traffic flow, increasing the risk of being rear-ended or involved in a collision. This has occurred on public roads with other vehicles present, putting both myself and others at risk. The issue is intermittent and has not consistently been reproduced on demand. However, it has occurred multiple times during normal driving conditions. I am in the process of having the vehicle inspected and documented by a dealership. The issue has been reported to the manufacturer, and a case has been opened with Ford Motor Company. At this time, the vehicle has not yet been inspected by police or insurance representatives. There were no consistent warning lamps prior to the failure. At the time of the incident, the vehicle displayed messages including “Auto Start/Stop – Manual Restart Required” and “Shift to Park.” These messages appeared simultaneously with the loss of power. The issue has occurred intermittently without advance warning.
One day just had a ton of issues. Sometimes when vehicles is started it will not go into drive or reverse. Rpm’s respond to gas pedal like the vehicle is in park or neutral with little resistance. CEL 4WD hill start and maybe another light alert come on when the vehicle starts. When this first began to happen there was a rev condition between 1st and 2nd gear, car hesitated to shift. When auto start stop would engage it would not move forward. Eventually the car may catch gear and begin to move under its own power again. Brought it into a car repair shop and was told I needed a whole new transmission. Said it could have been from the transmission fluid leaking in the car from a previous recall on my car. Car is only at 66,000 miles.
When using automatic start stop I get a message to put in park and restart.
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while reversing, the rearview camera image was black, almost causing the vehicle to strike a pedestrian. The contact stated that the failure was a recurring failure. Additionally, the contact stated that the speedometer and fuel gauge readings were inaccurate, and the hatch had failed to open intermittently. The contact stated that the vehicle was previously taken to the dealer, where unknown repairs were performed; however, the failures persisted. The contact also stated that the Auto START/STOP system was inoperable. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 78,000.
After the vehicle has been running and stopped at a traffic light or an intersection, whether the auto-start is on or off, as you pull out into traffic the engine shuts off. No error code to the computer that Ford could find, it just stops. This is a life and death situation as oncoming traffic are approaching. In order to get it started again, you have to put the vehicle in park and push the stop/start button.
Related recalls
Electrical system: instrument cluster/panel
- What is wrong
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2025 Bronco Sport, Escape, and Lincoln Corsair vehicles. The Instrument Panel Cluster (IPC) may not illuminate at startup or while driving. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard numbers 101, "Control and Displays" and 102, "Transmission shift lever sequence, starter interlock, and transmission braking effect" as well as FMVSS numbers 126, 108, 135, 138, 208, and 305.
- Risk
- An instrument panel display that fails to show critical safety information, such as the speedometer or warning lights, increases the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the instrument panel cluster, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed February 17, 2025. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25C02.
Recall number 25V049000 · Recall details
Electrical system: propulsion system: traction battery: management system/energy control module (bms/becm)
- What is wrong
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2024 Ford Escape, and 2021-2024 Lincoln Corsair vehicles. A manufacturing defect in one or more of the high voltage battery cells may result in an internal short circuit and battery failure.
- Risk
- Battery failure can cause a loss of drive power, increasing the risk of a crash. Battery failure can also increase the risk of a fire.
- Remedy
- Owners are advised not to charge battery till the remedy has been completed. Dealers will perform a battery energy control module (BECM) software update, and replace the high voltage battery pack, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on May 30, 2025. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall is 24S79.
Recall number 24V954000 · Recall details
Electrical system: instrument cluster/panel
- What is wrong
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2024-2025 Escape vehicles. The passenger side instrument panel cover may have been manufactured incorrectly, which can cause the air bag not to deploy as intended. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."
- Risk
- During air bag deployment, the air bag cover may break and project fragments into the vehicle, or the air bag may deploy improperly, increasing the risk of occupant injury.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the passenger side instrument panel cover, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on February 18, 2025. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall is 24C38.
Recall number 24V850000 · Recall details
Electrical system: instrument cluster/panel
- What is wrong
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2023 Escape, Super Duty F-250, Super Duty F-350, Super Duty F-450, and Super Duty F-550 vehicles equipped with a digital instrument panel cluster. The module may have been improperly soldered, preventing the instrument panel from illuminating. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 101, "Control and Displays."
- Risk
- An inoperable instrument panel cannot show critical safety information, such as the speedometer or warning lights, which may increase the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the module or instrument panel as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on November 4, 2023. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall is 23C25.
Recall number 23V506000 · Recall details
Electrical system: propulsion system: traction battery
- What is wrong
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020 Escape and 2021 Lincoln Corsair vehicles equipped with 2.5L hybrid powertrains. Insufficient welds inside the high voltage battery may fail, resulting in a loss of drive power.
- Risk
- A loss of drive power increases the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the high voltage battery, free of charge. Interim owner notification letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on July 12, 2022. Owner notification letters were mailed August 8, 2022. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall is 22S33.
Recall number 22V331000 · Recall details
Electrical system: propulsion system: traction battery
- What is wrong
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2022 Corsair and 2021-2022 Escape vehicles equipped with a 2.5L Hybrid powertrain. The high voltage battery may fail, resulting in a sudden loss of drive power.
- Risk
- A sudden loss of drive power increases the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the high voltage battery, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 28, 2022. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall is 21S48.
Recall number 22V149000 · Recall details
Electrical system: propulsion system: traction battery
- What is wrong
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling one 2021 Escape vehicle equipped with a 2.5L hybrid powertrain. The high voltage battery may fail, resulting in a sudden loss of drive power.
- Risk
- A sudden loss of drive power increases the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- A dealer will replace the high voltage battery, free of charge. The owner notification letters were mailed December 1, 2021. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall is 21S48.
Recall number 21V869000 · Recall details
Electrical system: body control module/bcm
- What is wrong
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020 Escape vehicles equipped with a key-start ignition system. The Body Control Module (BCM) intermittently may not pick up the signal from the rear Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) sensors or the Remote Key Fob. In the event of a low tire pressure condition, the TPMS system may not provide an adequate warning.
- Risk
- Low tire pressure may lead to poor vehicle handling and a possible loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of crash.
- Remedy
- Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the BCM, free of charge. Owners are advised that two key fobs are required for the repair to be completed. The recall began December 1, 2020. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall is 20S59.
Recall number 20V635000 · Recall details
Electrical system: software
- What is wrong
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2017 Ford Escape Titanium and SE vehicles manufactured October 5, 2015, to May 12, 2016. The settings for the closing-force of the power-operated windows may allow the windows to close on an object such as a body part and injure it before the windows auto-reverse. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 118, "Power-Operated Window Systems."
- Risk
- If a window closes on a body part, it can increase the risk of injury.
- Remedy
- Ford has notified owners, and dealers will update the power window operating system software, free of charge. The recall began on September 6, 2016. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall is 16C12.
Recall number 16V617000 · Recall details
Electrical system: wiring
- What is wrong
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2013 Escape vehicles manufactured January 11, 2012, to April 1, 2013, and 2013-2014 Focus ST vehicles manufactured May 03, 2012, to October 14, 2013. Insufficient compression in the engine wiring harness splices to the Manifold Absolute Pressure (MAP) sensor may provide incorrect signals to the powertrain control module (PCM).
- Risk
- The incorrect signals could cause the vehicle to hesitate or the engine to stall, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the current crimped splices with new splices, free of charge. The recall began on January 7, 2016. Owners may contact Ford customer service 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall is 14S17-S1.
Recall number 15V813000 · Recall details
Questions about the Ford Escape start-stop
Which Ford Escape years have start-stop system problems problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2017 (52 complaints), 2018 (5 complaints) and 2019 (5 complaints).
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