NHTSA Complaint #11553303 — 2018 FORD ESCAPE

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving on the highway the vehicle failed to exceed 60 MPH. The vehicle then decelerated to 35 MPH independently and was sluggish. The contact veered to the side of the road, turned off and restarted the vehicle. The contact stated that she continued driving with the hazard lights activated because the vehicle failed to exceed 37 MPH. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring while driving. Additionally, the contact stated that while driving 30 MPH, the vehicle made an abnormal sound and there was white smoke coming out of the exhaust pipe. The contact stated that the vehicle started losing power, and she was able to drive uphill to her residence at 10 MPH. The Hill Assist warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that there was coolant intrusion into the engine, and that the engine and the turbocharger needed to be replaced. The dealer informed the contact that the engine replacement would be covered under Ford Campaign Number: 21N12. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 66,000.