NHTSA Complaint #11647559 — 2017 FORD ESCAPE

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at various speeds and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle was misfiring and hesitating to respond. Additionally, there was white smoke coming out of the exhaust pipe. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to AutoZone, where it was diagnosed that cylinders #2 and #3 were misfiring due to coolant intrusion. The vehicle was then taken to an unknown dealer, where it was not diagnosed; however, the dealer performed a visual inspection of the vehicle and informed the contact that the short block had a factory defect and needed to be replaced. 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 159,000.