NHTSA Complaint #11591883 — 2018 FORD ESCAPE

The engine began to report misfires in cylinder 3. Spark plugs and ignition coils were replaced, white smoke was noticed out of the exhaust, and the engine was still misfiring. A compression test was run, noting that the engine could not build pressure. The repair shop reported that this is a common issue with these engines and that a new engine would be required. This could have failed while driving at interstate speeds, causing an accident, or the lack of coolant could have led to a fire. The vehicle has not been inspected by the manufacturer, just an independent repair shop. The first dash light that came on was the check engine light, with a code of "misfire in cylinder three" subsequently leading to the belief of a bad spark plug or ignition coil for that cylinder. Three days later, the "service engine now" light came on and the vehicle was taken to a repair shop. No other lights were present.