NHTSA Complaint #11547039 — 2017 FORD ESCAPE

I started to experience a check engine light in my 2017 Ford escape with the 2.0 ecoboost engine with approximately 63000 miles on it in late August. The code for the light was P0303 for a misfire in cylinder 3. I also noticed low coolant that I would have to fill sometimes. The misfire progressively got worse quickly and the spark plug could not be removed. As outlined in Ford service bulletin 22-2229 this is issue is know to Ford with the fix being a replacement engine due to coolant leaking into the cylinder bores. The vehicle was brought to a Ford dealership where they confirmed that there was a coolant intrusion issue and the fix was to replace the engine for approximately $9,000. The mileage of the vehicle was about 63975 when brought into the dealership in mid September. The 1.5 and 1.6 ecoboost engines have similar issues. Ford has Customer Satisfaction Program 21N12 which replaces the 1.5l ecoboost engine free of cost for the customer if the car is less than 7 years old and has less than 84,000 miles on it. All three engines have similar designs and issues with the coolant intrusion. I was fortunate enough to keep the coolant filled so the engine did not overheat for me but it could have been unsafe if the engine overheated or otherwise failed on the highway.