2018 FORD ESCAPE Engine Problems

The engine was replaced under the customer satisfaction program due to the known broken head gasket issue causing catastrophic engine failure. Now, the flex plate is cracked, also a known issue related to the engine replacement. Two major catastrophic repair issues within 9 months. There were no check engine lights. The safety issue is clear. Ford needs to acknowledge and address the issues to protect their customers.

My 2018 Ford Escape titanium is leaking coolant into the cylinder's. This is a known issue affecting the Ecoboost engine and is not a sign of wear and tear. Code: p0316, p0302. NHTSA should investigate these issues. The warranty may be expired but in good faith this should be covered by the manufacturer. A Ford mechanic mentioned the cost of $7500 to $10000 for this repair which is a cost I cannot afford. My vin is: [XXX] Thank you! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The 2018 Ford Escape Titanium had to replace the engine because engine coolant was seeping into the engine block. The mechanic stated head gaskets were leaking coolant into the spark plugs. I was losing coolant from the reservoir, engine light was on. The mechanic stated this could become a safety hazard if the engine overheated while driving car would completely die and stall. The mechanic stated this has been a problem Ford has known and has now replaced this engine, and the only remedy for this is to replace it with a new engine. miles 119,600. Ford has not responded to my complaint. I replaced the engine at a cost of 8600.00

2018 ford escape eco boost 2.0L. 72K miles Notified of Code P0303. Engine started missing. Findings coolant intrusion into the cylinders. Was told it was a casting issue of the block manufacturing and engine would need replacing. Notified ford for assistance to repair known issue and was denied. Safety concerns due to a design flaw in the open engine block, which can lead to head gasket failure and other coolant-related issues. Yes confirmed by auto repair shop with scope and provided pictures of moisture in the combustion chamber.

A certified shop diagnosed my car as having coolant intrusion in the engine. The engine is the 1.5L Eco Boost. I am getting the run around from the dealership and Ford Corporation. This is a major safety defect that is known and has been reported. This happened quickly and I am now without a vehicle. This is a major safety defect in the engine that Ford manufactured and Ford is very well aware of.

Head gasket went bad, leaked coolant into the engine, cracked cylinder 1

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, he and one of his friends observed white smoke coming from the tailpipe. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and was diagnosed with a misfire in cylinder #2. The spark plugs, coil pack, and valve cover gasket were replaced; however, the failure reoccurred four days later, and the check engine warning light illuminated with the message "Engine Fault - Service Now" message was displayed. The vehicle was then taken to a dealer, where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion into the engine, and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 96,000.

Our family has been on the middle of the highway when the Escape has just shut off. We here in Charleston, WV are not the only ones with this issue. We have contacted FORD multiple times on this. The engine failure about 6-7 years ago was the start. Coolant leaking into the cylinder, which is a service bulletin not a recall, prompted the engine to be extensively repaired or replace. Then after this nothing was ever the same. Todd Judy Ford which has been through a rebrand because of all the bad business here in Charleston WV has been since renamed to Downtown Ford, was made aware of every issue along the way. FORD stopped helping, dealership doesn't care. This was a major issue that caused our family's Ford Escape to just stop in the middle of driving in traffic. My wife could have been killed. The electrical and the...

06/2025: vehicle overheated approximately 10 times. One time, on 06/24/2025, we were traveling back home. The vehicle overheated and went into limp mode while traveling on a main highway. We were almost hit in the back end, with 3 children in the back, by a semi truck at 10:00 at night. The vehicle would not move faster than 10 miles an hour all of a sudden, with no way to move out of the way fast. It would continue overheating and going in limp mode for months. Then at the end of July 2025, we were traveling in South Carolina. On Kings Highway, or state rt. 17, it just all of a sudden went into limp mode from overheating with absolutely no warning. I had to carefully move to a parking lot of a Home Depot. Luckily they had antifreeze. I slowly filled it back up. Later that week, it...

coolant loss with no visible external leak, a sweet smell from the exhaust, and bubbling or gurgling in the coolant reservoir after startup. There is a KNOWN issue ongoing regarding customer satisfaction program 21N12

Check engine light comes on, and car starts to overheat. Took it to Auto Zone, I was told it’s misfiring and he noticed the coolant has a leak, coolant intrusion into the engine.

On the way home from work my 2018 Ford Escape began to drive roughly. The car engine would rev up to 3 then immediately down to 2, and felt like it would stop. I took it to Mac Haik Ford in DeSoto TX where I purchase my vehicle and got a diagnostic done. It ready, Coolant has leaked into the engine and the short block would need to be replaced at $14,000.00

Check Engine Light appeared, and car seemed to sputter and had an odd chemical smell. Brought to mechanic who scanned PCM and found 3 misfire codes (P0300, O0301, P0316). They removed 1 spark plug and inspected cylinder and found it to be wet. Block test was performed, and fluid was found to be coolant. Engine head gasket requires replacement as well as repair or replacement of cylinder. Mechanic suggested seeking support from dealership to have the issue fixed because this is a known issue. A simple internet search confirmed that this make and model (2018 Ford Escape 4 Cyl Ecoboost) has this issue and it is well known and documented. Ford coolant intrusion is a known problem and design flaw. The service manager at the Flood Ford in Narraganset said that since there are no recalls and the warranty on the car has expired there is nothing that they can...

CEL is on -- hard time getting vehicle to start up after getting gas - once is running has a "shake to it" for a few seconds then stables Would this be a potential cover? March 30, 2018 NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 10137114 COMPONENT: FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE NHTSA ID Number: 10137114 Manufacturer Communication Number: SSM 47203 Components: FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE

coolant leak into cylinders caused misfire in cylinder 1. coolant low with no visible leaks . Ford has issued tsb of this known issue. Ford is now doing diagnostic testing. ford just confirmed my engine has the leaking problem.

Started with an engine light coming on, when checked with scan it said misfire in cylinder 2. Was using coolant usually high and when pressure tested it was said to be leaking coolant into engine.

It started with engine light coming on, engine was starting to run rough when started. I noticed the car was using more coolant than usual also. when scanned and pressure tested it was found to be misfiring in cylinder 2 and coolant was leaking into engine. by this point the vehicle is smoking also. It was decided the car should not be driven at this point.

My 2018 Ford escape has the 1.5 liter ecoboost engine which is well documented to have a coolant intrusion issue into the cylinders resulting in the vehicle needing a new engine. The check engine light came on last week and started to run roughly. I brought the vehicle to my local Ford dealership in Belleview Fl today 11/03/25. I payed for a diagnostic test which found 2 codes po302 and po316 and found coolant in cylinder #2. The result: will need to replace engine. My vehicle has 144k miles and therefore the original manufactured warranty has expired. Ford quoted me approximately $14,000 for a new engine/labor.

They KNOW the headgasket will eventually bust and they don’t tell you, it needs to be recalled because now I don’t have a vehicle when it was built to blow. The headgasket doesn’t have enough space or something and it causes coolant leaks, they have a whole procedure on replacing it because they know they messed up but only if you’re less than 84k miles!

Have had to have many sparks plug replaced, coolant needs replaced frequently, hesitating, hard start, blue smoke from exhaust, chugging, stalling, check engine light on. Two different mechanics have told me that coolant is leaking into cylinders causing engine failure. I purchased this vehicle new, and only owner. Have had to have transmission replaced as well. Costs estimate about 10k to replace motor. This has been happening since 100k miles.

Experience misfire + engine issues that resulted in white smoke coming out from my exhaust. When brining it into the shop it is apparently a common known issue with Ford Escapes from 2017-2019 where coolant leaks into the motor from a while in the short block. The short block requires $9000 to be replaced. When doing my research Ford released a customer survey back in 2022 that I did not receive where they acknowledged the issue and offered to replace. But since I did not receive this letter I did not get the opportunity to and now am out a car that I still owe money on. Why is this not legally required to be a recall?

Engine light came on. It came up as misfire cylinder 3 needing spark plugs/Ignition coil so I made an appointment to get that fixed. On my way to my appointment today, the “engine overheating stop vehicle” warning came on. Turns out this is the known coolant intrusion into the engine block problem that has caused the engine to crack and now needs replaced. Called Ford customer service and just like what they are telling everyone else, there is nothing they can do to help. Yes it’s a known problem by Ford but they will not fix it because my car does not meet mileage criteria. It has 130,000 miles.

My motor had to be replaced due to coolant intrusion. Now my transmission has to be replaced as well. It was definitely faulty. I have letters from the Ford dealership that worked on my car and put the new motor in. It was caused by coolant intrusion.

I bought a 2018 Ford escape with the 1.5 eco boost. The car only has 74280 miles on it, and the engine coolant was low. I filled it up, and had my daughter drive the car to her home, and asked her to check it. It was just a little lower than I filled it, so she was going to monitor the level. On her way to a friends the warning for, "High engine temperature" (not the exact message) came on. She pulled it over to the side of the road, and I had her tow the vehicle to her friends house. Now it appears there is an issue with the water pump, and the engine not holding a vacuum in the cooling system. I researched this issue on line, and found Ford has an issue with this particular year due to the engine cooling system design between the cylinders....

To whom it may concern, I am writing to express my deep frustration regarding a serious issue with my Ford vehicle. My vehicle recently displayed code P0302 – Misfire Cylinder 2, which has been diagnosed as coolant intrusion into the cylinder. The recommended repair is a replacement long block, along with new hardware and seals. This is a known issue with certain Ford engines — one that Ford previously covered under warranty or service campaigns prior to 2023. My vehicle has fewer than 60,000 miles, yet it has suffered a major engine failure clearly tied to a manufacturing defect. Ford and even U.S. government agencies are aware of this widespread issue. Unfortunately, Ford is now refusing to take responsibility for a defect they have long known about. It’s extremely disappointing to see such disregard for loyal customers. This experience has completely eroded my trust in Ford. It’s clear why so...

Our 2018 ford escape was experiencing rough idle with no indicator light. Left work one day and the engine light came on. I took it to a local shop they read the computer and said that we had low coolant levels and that we have coolant intrusion into cylinders and needed a new short block. This is a well known defect in these motors.This poses a great safety risk to the automobile as the engine can seize going down the road making the automobile totally inoperable. The 2018 escape was taken to the ford dealer, the dealership applied for financial assistance with the repair and we were denied by Ford. The escape had 63,500 miles at the time of failure. We paid for repair out of our pockets. It cost us 5,272.01. This is a huge expense for us considering so few miles on the motor. This Escape is out...

My understanding is that ford knew about flaws in there 1.5 and 2.0 economist engines. I am experiencing the problems that have been experienced from the 2018 ford escape.

Coolant intrusion due to faulty manufactured engine. Which they are well aware of and won’t do anything to help fix an issue that many people are dealing with. Getting quoted over $12000 to for a new engine.

The small block of my engine needs to be replaced. Ford has told me that it is a known problem and that is why they extended the powertrain warranty to 85,000 miles because of it. My car has 125,000 miles on it so I was told they can’t do anything. I don’t understand why, if this is a KNOWN problem with this car, why I should have to pay for it because I took good care of it so it didn’t happen until 125,000 miles. This should be a recall. I have an incident claim at ford because of this. I spent $4000 already trying to fix it before finding out it was the small block the whole time and it’s going to cost $78000.

I drive a 2018 Ford Escape with only 73,000 miles. Engine misfiring upon startup and check engine light caused me to immediately take my car to the mechanic. They diagnosed my vehicle with a coolant leak into cylinder 3 in my engine and a crack in the engine head. This is a known issue in my year/make/model which has affected enough consumers that it is pending class action lawsuit. If I continue to drive my car in the state it is in, without spending 7-8k repairing this issue, it is likely to be a hazard to myself and any drivers around should my engine overheat and sustain greater damage while on the road.

The engine is leaking coolant into cylinder 2. Ford dealership on October 1, 2025, confirmed this and has recommended a long block engine replacement due to warping of internal engine parts. No overheating of engine as of yet. Engine warning lamp did illuminated once indicating an engine misfire per code reader. Warning lamp was a few months before dealership diagnosed the problem as a bad engine. Vehicle has 97,048 miles and has been very well taken care of with records showing all routine scheduled maintenance.

Early May 2025 the check engine light came on. Had towed to my mechanic 95 miles away (I live remotely), they changed the spark plugs. Within one week the check engine light came on a, took to a local garage (inside the national park where my residence is) and they chaned the spark plugs again. The nect week I heard my coolant system making noises (it never made this before), checked and refilled fluids, but it continued and tye check engine light came on again. Had it towed to my mechanic again. They advised me the headgasget blew and the coolant system went with it. Had to pay to have it towed to my home.

2018 Ford Escape. Purchased in 2021with 31,000 miles. vehicle has been maintained in compliance with all Ford standards. at 62,000 miles engine light came on, car slowed to less than 8 miles an hour almost immediately. Was told computer went into some type of safety mode. took to a Ford dealership was told that there was a coolant intrusion into cyl 2 . I was told by the technician that this was a somewhat common issue in these vehicles due to poor engine design. Entire engine would need to be replaced for $13K. Obviously, the safety issue is the car automatically going into a safety mode. If I had been on a highway the immediate stall could have caused a major accident. Thankfully i was on a low travelled road. Researching these issue it looks like there are thousands of buyers with the same problems happening within months of purchase...

Coolant intrusion due to bad engine built. I was driving and the car stated it was overheating. Had to hurry and pull over on a highway with my children in the car. Started smelling like something was burning. I had just had a full work up on my car in July. No warning lights on my vehicle. It’s currently at a ford dealership and they will not cover the costs for a new engine which is needed.

Coolant leak into the engine causing engine failure. This is a known problem with the 1.5 turbo engine in this model vehicle. Automobile is now undriveable and entire engine must be replaced.

Ford Recall 21N12 – Coolant Intrusion Issue Affected Vehicles: Ford Escape (2017–2019) built between 9/17/15 – 4/9/19 Ford Fusion (2017) built between 10/1/15 – 10/16/15 Ford Fusion (2017–2019) built between 10/6/15 – 6/10/19 Issue: Coolant intrusion into the engine cylinders, causing engine misfires. I am writing regarding my 2018 Ford Escape, which falls within the production window affected by recall 21N12. My vehicle is in excellent condition with low mileage (87,050 miles). In August, I experienced a noticeable engine shutter and took the vehicle to an authorized Ford dealer. After inspection, the dealer confirmed that the engine was affected by the known coolant intrusion issue and that the solution required a complete engine block replacement — quoted at $11,000. Unfortunately, I was informed that my vehicle falls just outside Ford’s extended warranty coverage (7 years or 84,000 miles) for this issue. I find this extremely disappointing, as this is a...

Check-engine light came on, error code showed misfire on cylinder 2. A couple months later, high engine temperature warning came on. Took it to a mechanic and said the coolant was completely empty, and there were over 1500 hydrocarbons in the cooling system. A full engine replacement is the only true fix due to a defect in the engine itself. Mechanic stated they had seen a few of these in the past, and pointed to Bulletin # 22-2322, which discusses the coolant issue.

The exhaust started emitting white smoke with an off smell upon cranking. We took it to a mechanic, and it is likely it is coolant intrusion into the engine block. The burning coolant is likely causing the white smoke. The check engine light has not come on even after the white smoke started. So, far there doesn't appear to be a safety issue, and coolant level is checked periodically. No person or entity has inspected the vehicle other than the mechanic. The concern is that coolant intrusion is not normal, and the coolant level will always be dropping. I don't believe this issue is conducive to long-term operation of the vehicle.

The car was serviced in 8/2022 after warning light came on leaving wife stranded while on nursing call. Towed to Ford dealership. Changed spark plugs @ 40,000 miles. Same issue repaired at local shop in 5/2025 @ 86,000 miles. Same issue @ 92,000 miles 9/2025. Diagnosed by Ford dealer to be coolant intrusion. Ford refuses to correct. This engine has known defects and has stopped in traffic which is a possible safety hazard.

Check engine light came on and started running rough and shaking at times. Took to dealership who found P0302 code. They performed a number of tests and eventually used a boroscope to inspect Cylinder 2 and found severe coolant intrusion. They advised engine replacement…for over $11,000. I see this is a common problem for Ford Escapes.

Engine failing due to coolant intrusion. I never received a recall notice. I was unaware of the possible issue. Ford refused to complete the repair as I missed the mileage deadline. I was unable to take advantage of the repair.

Coolant leak caused car to overheat and engine failure

I started to lease the car Aug 18 2025 that day before even leaving the maintenance guy was like oh yeah let me go ahead and clear that light off for you check engine light said it was fixed . I never thought too much of it since it is my first time leasing a car . I drove it three times and on the very next time I turned it off ran in side some where and came out and it acted like it didn't want to start I finally got it started I went home over the next couple of days it just started to get worse and worse I took it to O'Reilly's and had them to look it up the first time they said ma'am there's no check engine light on I left aggravated I didnt no what wad going on wnd why it hadn't popped...

I have a blown head gasket. Ford is willing to do nothing, and this is a known issue with this engine.

Earlier this year the check engine light came on in my Escape. My mechanic informed me that a sensor detected a coolant leak in a cylinder head. They replaced the sensor and addressed other issues with the specific cylinder. Three months later, the check engine light came on for the same issue. This time my mechanic replaced the cylinder gasket head. Ten days later, the light came on again. Now my mechanic is replacing my engine. Although I have a 2 liter engine, Ford had a campaign to replace the engines on the 1.5 liter engine [XXX] ) and have a service bulletin (22-2229) for multiple vehicles with the same issue. I know I'm past the end date of my warranty but ultimately paying out $9k to replace an engine on a decently maintained vehicle at 37k miles seems in appropriate. This issue ultimately causes engine failure. I'm one of...

Engine failure due to coolant intrusion design defect that Ford DID NOT pay for it. Even though, since Match 1, 2025, there have been over 320 complaints regarding this issue. NHTSA should communicate to Ford, these vehicles should be recalled!

I have a 2018 Ford Escape 1.5L EcoBoost purchased on 2/2/18. On 9/17/25, after starting the car I noticed that it idled very rough when I put it in gear, but drove fine afterward. This behavior continued to happen over the next week when I also noticed strong smelling white exhaust/smoke coming from the car while I was still in the garage. On 9/23/25 the Service Engine Soon light came on shortly after I started driving. I took the car in for diagnostic testing to my Ford dealer on 9/25/25 and the coolant intrusion issue was identified with codes P0302 and P0316. Because I will not be replacing the engine long block (quoted at $10,570 + tax)--the car is past even the Ford extended warranty of 7yr/84,000mi with 85,721 miles when diagnosed--I was told I need to watch the coolant, that I can drive the car, but that the engine...

There is coolant intrusion that is a known issue with this model. Coolant is leaking into cylinder 1, which has damaged the engine.

I’ve seen others report on the same issues and hopefully this brings something up for a recall. At first it was a misfire in the engine, and oil getting into the spark plugs. Then coolant leaking. Then overheating. I looked into the codes and took it into the shop and it’s going to cost me 8-12,000 to fix due to the same issue that other people all seem to be having.

Check engine light came on and car started to shake. Took to Ford dealership and they said the coolant leaked into the engine. If I was driving, something bad could've happened.