NHTSA Complaint #11670853 — 2018 FORD ESCAPE

The engine is misfiring and riding rough, with the check engine light on. After a series of service calls to an independent mechanic to replace other components, and the issue not resolving, I took it to a Ford dealership. Ford concluded that coolant is leaking into cylinder #3 of the engine, requiring a complete engine replacement. This is identified as a known design issue, with the root cause specifically being a defect in the engine block. If left untreated, this coolant intrusion (causing engine misfires) will lead to unburned fuel and coolant entering the exhaust system, which will then overheat and/or poison the catalytic converter, eventually destroying it. To discover this root cause, several auto parts were needlessly replaced and discarded: spark plugs, ignition coils, fuel system fluids, and an air intake tube.