2025 Ford Escape problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Engine And Engine Cooling (3) · Steering (2) · Power Train (2)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Ford Escape model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (9)
Engine And Engine Cooling:exhaust System:emission Control:gas Recirculation Valve (Egr Valve) 2026-03-03 · campaign 26V122000 · 47,804 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2025 Ranger, Lincoln Nautilus, Mustang, Maverick, Explorer, Escape, Lincoln Corsair, Bronco Sport, and Bronco vehicles. The exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) valve may fail, resulting in an unexpected loss of drive power.
Risk: An unexpected loss of drive power increases the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the EGR valves, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 31, 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 26S10. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on March 4, 2026.
Seat Belts:rear/Other:retractor 2025-12-12 · campaign 25V862000 · 780 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2025-2026 Corsair and Escape vehicles. The seat belt retractors for the left and right rear passenger seats may not be securely fastened.
Risk: An improperly secured seat belt retractor may not restrain an occupant as intended, increasing the risk of injury during a crash.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and secure, or replace the seat belt retractor bolts, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed December 26, 2025. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25C68. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on December 15, 2025.
Structure:body:hatchback/Liftgate:hinge And Attachments 2025-12-01 · campaign 25V829000 · 108,762 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Escape and 2025 Escape vehicles. The liftgate hinge covers may not be properly secured and detach from the vehicle.
Risk: A detached liftgate hinge cover can create a distraction or a road hazard, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and reinstall, or replace any missing liftgate hinge covers as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 3, 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25SD6. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on December 3, 2025.
Electronic Stability Control (Esc) 2025-11-14 · campaign 25V787000 · 2 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2025 Maverick and Escape vehicles. The cover for the electric brake booster's ECU may cause the printed circuit board to overheat and result in a loss of vehicle stability control systems (anti-lock braking, electronic stability control, and traction control) or a loss of brake power assist.
Risk: Loss of vehicle stability control or brake power assist can increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the electric brake booster, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on November 28, 2025. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25SC6. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on November 17, 2025.
Engine 2025-06-03 · campaign 25V372000 · 404 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2023-2025 Escape, and 2025 Bronco Sport vehicles. The cylinder head may have been improperly manufactured, which can cause the ball plugs to fail, resulting in an oil leak.
Risk: An oil leak can result in loss of drive power, increasing the risk of a crash. In addition, an oil leak in the presence of an ignition source such as hot engine or exhaust components, can increase the risk of a fire.
Fix: Dealers will replace the cylinder head assembly as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 8, 2025. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25S61.
Equipment:electrical:engine Block Heater 2025-05-23 · campaign 25V343000 · 6,781 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2024-2025 Lincoln Nautilus, 2023-2025 Escape, 2023 Lincoln Corsair, 2025 Lincoln Corsair, Maverick, and Bronco Sport vehicles equipped with a 1.5L or 2.0L MPC engine and an engine block heater. The engine block heater may overheat when the vehicle is parked with the block heater plugged in.
Risk: An overheated engine block heater can increase the risk of a fire.
Fix: Dealers will replace the block heater element and inspect the electrical cord, replacing it if necessary, free of charge. Owners will also have a alternative option to replace engine block heater element with a threaded blanking plug coupled, and remove the block heater electrical cord. Owner notification letters were mailed June 9, 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25S52.
Back Over Prevention: Sensing System: Camera 2025-03-14 · campaign 25V161000 · 4,721 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2025 Escape vehicles. The rearview camera may incorrectly display an inverted image when the vehicle is in reverse. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
Risk: An inverted rearview camera image will not accurately display what is behind the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash or injury.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and replace the rearview camera as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 28, 2025. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25C08.
Electrical System: Instrument Cluster/Panel 2025-01-31 · campaign 25V049000 · 298 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2025 Bronco Sport, Escape, and Lincoln Corsair vehicles. The Instrument Panel Cluster (IPC) may not illuminate at startup or while driving. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard numbers 101, "Control and Displays" and 102, "Transmission shift lever sequence, starter interlock, and transmission braking effect" as well as FMVSS numbers 126, 108, 135, 138, 208, and 305.
Risk: An instrument panel display that fails to show critical safety information, such as the speedometer or warning lights, increases the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the instrument panel cluster, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed February 17, 2025. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25C02.
Electrical System: Instrument Cluster/Panel 2024-11-08 · campaign 24V850000 · 15 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2024-2025 Escape vehicles. The passenger side instrument panel cover may have been manufactured incorrectly, which can cause the air bag not to deploy as intended. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."
Risk: During air bag deployment, the air bag cover may break and project fragments into the vehicle, or the air bag may deploy improperly, increasing the risk of occupant injury.
Fix: Dealers will replace the passenger side instrument panel cover, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on February 18, 2025. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 24C38.
Service bulletins (86)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Unknown Or Other 2026-10-22 · TSB 26-2449 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin supersedes 26-2428. reason for update: to update the service procedure to remove the fuel tank isolation valve replacement and include fuel vapor vent valve replacement and update the causal part number. some of the vehicles listed in the model statement above may exhibit an illuminate
Unknown Or Other 2026-10-14 · TSB 26-2442 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin supersedes 26-2297. reason for update: add 2022-2025 transit vehicles. some of the vehicles listed in the model statement above equipped with sync4 may experience a blank center display screen or black center display screen after welcome animation. the rear-view camera will still funct
Unknown Or Other 2026-10-06 · SSM 55221 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
for 2022 2026 vehicles equipped with a 8f35 transmission, a revision to the road testing vehicle procedure has been made in the wsm, section 307-01 > diagnosis and testing. this updated procedure improves the diagnosis of customer reported transmission concerns and aids in locating the proper root c
Unknown Or Other 2026-10-02 · SSM 55211 · Over The Air
2023-2026 escape and 2025-2026 bronco sport vehicles equipped with a 1.5l ecoboost engine may require removal of the turbocharger wastegate control actuator linkage for various reasons. the workshop manual (wsm), section 303-04 fuel charging and controls - turbocharger - 1.5l ecoboost > removal and
Unknown Or Other 2026-09-29 · TSB 26-2428 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin supersedes 25-2326. reason for update: update the service procedure to include the fuel tank isolation valve replacement, update the causal part number, and increase the labor time allowance to include the fuel tank isolation valve replacement. some of the vehicles listed in the model
Unknown Or Other 2026-09-29 · TSB 26-2428 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin supersedes 25-2326. reason for update: update the service procedure to include the fuel tank isolation valve replacement, update the causal part number, and increase the labor time allowance to include the fuel tank isolation valve replacement. some of the vehicles listed in the model
Showing the 6 most recent of 86 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-10-10 · Steering“i am requesting a serious investigation into potentially life-threatening steering, braking, and stability-control interventions in modern vehicles. i have experienced unexpected steering forces, directional changes, shaking, and behavior consistent with unintended wheel-specific braking across multiple vehicles, including my 2019 toyota prius and…”
2026-10-07 · Lane Departure: Assist“i am writing to file a formal safety complaint regarding a systemic, life-threatening defect in the tuning of advanced driver assistance systems (adas) and electronic stability control (esc) software in modern vehicles, specifically experienced in the 2024 ford escape. i am a professional driver who operates vehicles for approximately 14 hours a da…”
2026-09-23 · Exterior Lighting“the audible sound to let the driver know the blinker is on is too low of a volume to hear. this has created situations where the blinkers are activated, but the driver doesn't know. this could lead to accidents in lane changing, intersections and confusion for pedestrians.…”
2026-09-13 · Structure:body“several spots on the body are misaligned which could indicate underlying assembly issues down to the frame which could impact crumple zones and safety.…”
2026-09-02 · Forward Collision Avoidance: Warnings“multiple computer related problems, including sensing objects that do not exist while using automated cruise control. automatic braking engagement when car senses objects that do not exist both in the front and rear while driving. rear sensor occupancy alert randomly triggered when it has been turned off, and when there is nobody in the back sea…”
2026-07-23 · Engine And Engine Cooling · 4,000 mi“the contact owns a 2025 ford escape. the contact stated that while driving 65 mph, the message that the engine was overheating was displayed, and the vehicle drove under reduced power. the contact exited the highway, pulled into a gas station, and waited for the engine to cool down. the contact resumed driving, and the check engine warning light il…”
2026-07-02 · Unknown Or Other“my ford pass notified me that it detected an issue with the egr valve. the dealership said i have to pay for this because it was not part of the recall. it is a 2025 ford escape which to my understanding most were included under a recall but my car is not part of this but clearly is an issue with my car. the day i got the warning i made appt to hav…”
2026-06-11 · Visibility/Wiper“while driving, the hood of my vehicle flew up and broke my windshield and caused damage to body by the hood hinge on both sides. there were no warning lamps or signals that warned me that the hood was loose. i had limited visual to pull over and close the hood. fortunately i was going slow and there were not other vehicles that were impacted. becau…”
2026-05-24 · Engine“i bought this vehicle in mid april 2026 with 9,500 miles. it has the 1.5l ecoboost engine. i drove the car for 3,000 miles and noticed the coolant was at ‘minimum’ and wondered why a car with so few miles is using coolant. i took the car to my dealer and they confirmed coolant intrusion into the engine due to a bad head gasket. the vehicle is now a…”
2026-05-14 · Vehicle Speed Control · 25,198 mi“the contact is currently renting a 2025 ford escape . the contact stated while attempting to park the vehicle, he took his foot off the accelerator pedal and the vehicle unintendedly accelerated independently. no warnings light illuminated. an independent mechanic or dealer was not contacted. the vehicle was taken to the dealer or an independent m…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.