2023 FORD ESCAPE Complaints

Reporting Long term safety defect and manufacturer behavior. There was no single incident. This is an ongoing safety defect related to multiple battery recalls that now limit my vehicle to 80% charging (in the past, no plug in charging), now going on nearly three years. My Ford Escape PHEV has been subject to limited charging due to these multiple recalls, and I am concerned Ford may close the recall with a software-only fix that cannot truly validate battery safety, especially if modeled on limited and not real world charging. I have complied with all of Ford's requests which came at my expense and caused increased fuel usage and a diminished efficiency of my car. Now I need assurance that when a "fix" is determined that it will indeed be a permanent fix that is safe at 100% charge. This is a potentially crucial safety issue and thermal consequences with my grand daughters sitting above the battery is of the greatest concern.

Vehicles coolant emptied out causing vehicle to overheat and smoke from under engine.

My vehicle has stalled several times in the last couple of months. I go to accelerate and the vehicle suddenly stops out of no where. This has almost caused me to get into an accident. I see there have been several recalls on ford escapes and this issue should be looked into for my 2023 escape.

My 2023 Ford Escape acts like it is about to stall out once I hit the gas from a stop. It has happened multiple times. After idling for 10 minutes when I go to take off it will shift so hard that it pushes you forward in your seat. It has not been taken to a dealership yet since no light comes on and it doesn’t happen all the time. It has put my safety at risk since I was turning on the highway and it took 10-15 seconds to get up to speed.

Symptoms appeared in January 2026. Check engine light is on-HAD P0301 & P0316. Ran misfire monitor & Relative compression and cylinder 1 is the issue with 70 PSI. Performed cylinder head leak down test- exhaust valve leaking replace cylinder head assembly. Problem confirmed and diagnosed by Ford dealership. The safety issue associated with the car are: sudden jerking or hesitation, loss of acceleration when merging or crossing traffic, unpredictable throttle response, sudden loss of power. Symptoms appeared in September 2025. In October 2025, the car required a turbo repair, which cost a total of $1,600. The safety issue associated with the car are: air-fuel balance, engine misfires, complete stall, loss of power. This was diagnosed by certified repair show. Similar recalls have been made to other Ford Escape cars and I believe my VIN number should be included.

I have had many issues with this vehicle. Most concerning is that the other night while driving down the road at night, my car blacked out and I had no lights inside or headlights outside while driving in the dark. My back hatch button only works when it wants to. My screen freezes every once in awhile and also makes horrible noises very frequently. I’ve had one case of my screen freezing on a longer drive with my seat warmer on and the seats getting too hot and burning me. My safety features shut off all the time. My cruise control wouldn’t work at all on a 4 hour drive last month. When I get my oil changed they tell me under my hood is way louder than it should be for a vehicle this old. The dealership did a factory reset hoping it would help but I’ve already had issues with the hatch door not working appropriately, the sound coming from my screen, and notifications that my safety features have been shut off.

My ford escape has an ongoing safety issue where the instrument cluster shuts off while driving and the dealership has not been able to fix it.

I drive a 2023 Ford escape active, 8F35 transmission, with 111,114 miles on it. I purchased my car in July 2025 from truauto of Ladson SC with 93,000 miles on it. Had a transmission complete failure in December 2025 (5 months after buying). Ford dealership in Valdosta Georgia (where I lived) was no help in trying to get it fixed and it sat on there lot for a months or so, because it was undriveable. I got it towed back to SC to get it fixed by a local transmission shop and it is being halted due to a current planetary lawsuit with these cars for parts. I have now been without a car for 2-3 months and have forked over $6,000+ to get this car fixed. I was not told about any known transmission issues when I bought this car (verbally or written) from Truauto, nor was I contacted about any recall from Ford and I was denied a Remanufactured transmission at the dealership that I went to to get the car fixed. I am out of warranty but that still doesn’t explain a transmission failure in a close to brand new car regardless of miles. I have already paid the $5400 or so for the repair at the local shop and it has yet to be fixed due to lack of availability of parts.

The contact owns a 2023 Ford Escape. The contact stated that on several occasions, while stopped, while the accelerator was depressed, the vehicle hesitated while accelerating. The contact was almost rear-ended several times when the failure occurred. The contact stated that whenever the vehicle idled for longer than five minutes, the vehicle also hesitated while accelerating. The vehicle was taken to a dealer; however, the failure could not be duplicated. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 3,000.

The transmission failed at 70,000 miles. The research the transmission shop did indicated the main bearing fails in these because they are made of cheap metal. The transmission just stopped pulling with little warning. It started with a jerking and then quit pulling. Within a few feet. There was not any slipping of the transmission before hand.