NHTSA Complaint #11565576 — 2017 FORD ESCAPE

At approximately 55k miles (mid-December 2023), the engine started to misfire on startup. It did not happen every time, but happened enough that the check engine light appeared several days later. The diagnostic codes were P0301-00 (Cylinder 1 misfire detected) and P0316-00 (Misfire detected on startup - first 1000 revolutions). All 4 spark plugs and cylinder 1 ignition coil pack were replaced, engine continued to randomly misfire. Battery was replaced, engine still misfired. After replacing the battery, I noticed the coolant tank was empty. I added coolant, and the level continued to drop. I took the vehicle to Ken Garff Ford Dealership in Fort Collins, CO where they confirmed on [XXX] that coolant was leaking into the cylinder and the engine would need to be replaced. There are several Technical Service Bulletins for this issue, the most recent being [XXX] dated [XXX]. Issue is as follows: Some 2015-2018 Edge and 2017-2019 Fusion/MKZ/Escape/MKC vehicles equipped with a 2.0L EcoBoost engine may exhibit a low coolant level, white exhaust smoke and/or a runs rough condition with or without an illuminated malfunction indicator lamp (MIL). Diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs) may include P0300, P0301-P0304, P0316, P0217, P1285 and/or P1299 stored in powertrain control module (PCM). This may be due to coolant intrusion into the cylinder. To correct the condition, follow the Service Procedure to replace the long block engine assembly. This is a known design flaw with the engine, and makes the vehicle completely unreliable. The engine was confirmed by the Ford dealer to be malfunctioning beyond repair due to a defect with the engine cylinders. Many other instances of this issue are documented online, and confirmed by dealer to be a known issue. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)