NHTSA Complaint #11312160 — 2013 FORD ESCAPE

AFTER DRIVING JUST 1 MILE ON CITY STREETS AT LESS THAN 40 MPH, MY FORD SUDDENLY DISPLAYED THESE ALARMS: "LOW COOLANT LEVEL, ENGINE OVERHEATING, PULL OVER IMMEDIATELY.". I PULLED OVER, TURNED OFF THE ENGINE, AND HAD THE CAR TOWED TO THE NEAREST FORD DEALER. MECHANIC'S DIAGNOSIS: WARPED ENGINE BLOCK, WHICH ENABLED COOLANT TO LEAK INTO ONE OF THE CYLINDERS. IT TOOK 12 WEEKS AND $7,930 TO GET THE ENGINE REPAIRED. I PURCHASED THIS CAR NEW ON OCTOBER 5, 2012. IT HAD APPROXIMATELY 37,000 MILES ON IT WHEN THIS HAPPENED. MY RESEARCH ON YOUR WEBSITE REVEALED THAT THIS CAR HAS BEEN THE SUBJECT OF 15 RECALLS, 3 OF WHICH HAD TO DO WITH ENGINE OVERHEATING AND LOSS OF ENGINE COOLANT. ONE OF THE LATTER RECALLS (FORD RECALL CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 12S39) OCCURRED BEFORE I PICKED UP THE CAR, BUT I CONFIRMED THAT MY ENGINE WAS ONE OF THOSE AFFECTED BY THAT RECALL. THUS, I HAVE NO EVIDENCE THAT THE REPAIR RELATED TO THIS RECALL WAS EVER PERFORMED. I TOOK THE CAR TO A DEALERSHIP TO HAVE THE OTHER RECALLS (FORD RECALLS 12S41 AND 13S12) ATTENDED TO. I ALSO DISCOVERED THAT AS OF 16-JULY-2018, THE OFFICE OF DEFECTS INVESTIGATION (ODI) HAD RECEIVED 40 VEHICLE OWNER QUESTIONNAIRE (VOQ) REPORTS FOR MODEL YEAR 2013 FORD ESCAPE VEHICLES REPORTING THAT THE VEHICLE WILL SUDDENLY STALL WITHOUT WARNING WHILE DRIVING. THE SUBJECT VEHICLES ARE EQUIPPED WITH A 1.6L GTDI (TURBO) ENGINE. COMPLAINANTS ALLEGED STALLING CAUSED BY OVERHEATING OF THE ENGINE RESULTING IN DELAYED OR NO RESTART POSSIBLE. THIS ENGINE IS THE ONE I AM WRITING ABOUT. THE MECHANIC WHO REPAIRED MY VEHICLE ALSO REPORTED THAT THIS WAS THE THIRD OR FOURTH SUCH REPAIR THAT HE HAD PERSONALLY CONDUCTED. MY TWO PHONE CALLS TO FORD MOTOR CO. CUSTOMER SERVICE HAVE BEEN UNFULFILLING. THE CAR IS NO LONGER COVERED BY ITS 5-YEAR WARRANTY DESPITE THAT FACT THAT IT HAS ONLY 37,000 MILES ON IT, AND I HAVE ALWAYS HAD IT SERVICED PROPERLY.