2014 FORD ESCAPE Complaints

2014 Ford Escape 1.6L engine with ECO boost. Alarm on dash for High Engine temperature, Stop Safely. Pulled vehicle to side of road and fire was under hood. Attempted to extinguish with standard fire extinguisher; called 911 and fire department had to extinguisher. Vehicle was towed to local shop.

I was driving down a 25mph road and my car completely stopped. I shut my car off and it had trouble starting. When it would start it would go a couple hundred feet and stop. Took it to the shop and the transmission line was broken. The entire transmission needed replace because of one thing going bad. 4.5k repair bill

Coolant leaking into cylinder 4. Code P0304. I’ve been having this problem for months. I’ve gotten numerous repairs on the car and nothing is fixing the problem. It is currently at a Ford dealership again in Durham North Carolina. They are saying it’s an engine block problem. The car is constantly emptying coolant.

car has 56K miles. went to dealer for the recall on the bushing and cap. left dealer and next couple days the car slid twice in my driveway a few feet even with parking brake on. went back to dealer and they said cant duplicate problem. Drove home and car continues to have shifting issues and going out of gear.. have to shift to park or neutral and then reengage and to try to get it to work. in the mornings after sitting its now having issues going in gear and then after awhile will work. called dealer and Ford corporate and they said there is nothing they can do or help with. the car is a safety hazard slipping out of gear while driving in traffic or on a hill and then you are stranded in fear of getting totaled out from behind until it decides to go into gear! this is terribly dangerous and it only has 56, 600 miles on it!! Also the engine is NOT throwing a code. so dealer and another repair shop has charged 1600 for service and its still doing it!!!! Me researching seems to prove ford had transmission issues with this year of escape titanium and the edge etc.... why is there not a full recall on the transmission that they have to fix with such little mileage!

The vehicle has suffered four (4) catastrophic engine failures due to "coolant intrusion" into the engine cylinders, a known defect in this model year. Despite the vehicle’s VIN showing that Ford Recall 17S09 (NHTSA 17V209) was previously "repaired" by a previous owner, the engine continues to overheat, crack the cylinder head, and fail. The cooling system and engine block are currently available for inspection. SAFETY RISK: During multiple failures, the vehicle experienced a sudden loss of motive power and stalled in active traffic without sufficient warning. This creates an immediate risk of a high-speed rear-end collision. Additionally, the overheating creates a documented fire risk under the hood, as coolant or oil can leak onto hot engine components. CONFIRMATION: The failure has been reproduced and confirmed by both a major national used car retailer’s service department and an independent certified mechanical service center. The independent shop confirmed that the engine block has failed due to coolant entering the combustion chamber. SYMPTOMS: Prior to the most recent failure, the "Coolant Over Temperature" warning lamp appeared briefly before the engine lost power. These symptoms first appeared within 30 days of vehicle purchase and have recurred through four separate replacement engines, proving the manufacturer's recall "remedy" is ineffective at preventing catastrophic engine failure.

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the engine overheated, causing the engine temperature gauge to rise, and the check engine warning light to illuminate. Additionally, the coolant reservoir became empty after being refilled. The contact examined the vehicle and determined that the cylinder head was cracked. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The local dealer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 110,000.

At less than a thousand miles after purchasing the vehicle the Coolant has begun intruding into the cylinder wall and causing a sweet smelling exhaust from the rear

[XXX] No accidents thank God no accidents have occurred. The vehicle was not starting and the Ford Dealership ultimately diagnostic the issue to be repaired needed an Instrument Cluster Panel. Dealership advised there was no open recall for my 2014 Ford Escape Titanium with the 1.6L was not eligible for the vehicle under the terms of the 15V406- despite the fact the production date noted in the RECALL notification was May 19, 2014 through Feb. 6, 2015. The production timeline for VIN: [XXX] (my Ford Escape) was Feb. 12, 2013 through Sept. 2, 2014. The Instrument Cluster Panel was replaced at a cost of over $3000.00. That service was completed around the first of July 2025. A very expensive repair especially it appeared it should have been cover under RECALL 15V406, although necessary to ensure my college student daughter was driving a safe vehicle. This complaint is to express my concern, however, it is for other 2014 Ford Escape Titanium 1.6L owner's who may be unsafely driving around with a malfunctioning Instrument Cluster Panel that they can not afford to pay out of pocket. When they were unfortunately being denied the repair as required under RECALL 15V406 because the appearance that Ford Motor Company has been negligent in correctly identifying all of the 2014 Ford Escape Titanium 1.6L which increases the risk of a car crash especially the young inexperience drivers. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

[XXX] *PERSISTENT LOW COOLANT - REQUIRING CONSTANT TOPPING OFF THE COOLANT FLUID * ENGINE OVERHEATING * ODOR OF COOLANT LEAK n the affected vehicles, a lack of coolant circulation could cause an engine to overheat, resulting in a crack in the cylinder head. A cracked cylinder head can result in a pressurized oil leak. Oil that comes into contact with a hot engine surface increases the risk of a fire in the engine compartment. Ford Dealership and Ford Customer Service Representatives have stated my 2014 Ford Escape Titanium with the 1.6 L engine was not covered under FORD'S RECALL CAMPAIGN #17S09. With the claim only certain engine series were covered. Requested the eligible engine series covered and the engine series of my 2014 Ford Escape Titanium. Dealership advised they did not have that information and that I needed to contact Ford's Corporate Office. The overheating of the engine required my daughter to pull over to the side of the road. Ultimately the vehicle was towed to our home. The vehicle was towed to a Ford Dealership for servicing advised the coolant was leaking on the ground. Dealership service included a valve assembly part (cooling system component designed to regulate the flow of engine coolant to the heater core), coolant outlet flange, anti-freeze, coolant outlet gasket, coolant temperature sensor, HVAC heater hose. The cost was around $1,230.00. Service was completed 11/14/2025. Even after the non-recall service was provided PERSISTENT LOW COOLANT continued requiring constant topping off of the coolant. While Ford has indicated that the engine series determined which 2014 Ford Escapes where affected by the recall it is my understanding that ALL of the 2014 Ford Escapes TItanium had the very same ENGINE CONFIGURATION for ALL the 1.6L engines. Thank God there have been no fires or accidents. Similar issues noted in FORD RECALL CAMPAIGN 17S09 creates a driving safety concern for my family. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated that her son previously replaced the spark plugs and other unknown parts of the vehicle due to a coolant leak onto the spark plugs; however, the coolant leak recurred. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where the coolant outlet, the engine connector assembly with vacuum filling and bleeding, and the coolant hoses assembly were replaced. Additionally, other unknown repairs were performed; however, the failure persisted. The contact stated that the message “Engine Coolant Low - Service" was displayed, and the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, but no coolant leak was found. The contact stated that while driving 25 MPH, the message "High Temp-Stop Safely" was displayed. The contact pulled into a parking lot until the vehicle cooled down. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed, and determined that coolant was leaking from the thermostat housing. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 237,500.