Most common 2013 Ford Escape problems
Share of the 2,751 complaints; one complaint can involve more than one system. "~" is the median mileage when the problem started.
Ford Escape complaints by model year
Best Escape years: 2025, 2012, 2023. Years to avoid: 2017, 2020, 2013, 2018, 2014. Compare all years →
2013 Ford Escape recalls (18)
Equipment › Electrical › Engine block heater
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013-2018 Focus, 2013-2019 Escape, and 2015-2016 MKC vehicles equipped with a 2.0L engine. The engine block heater may crack and develop a coolant leak, causing it to short circuit when the block heater is plugged in.
Remedy: Owners are advised not to plug in their block heater until the vehicle is remedied. Dealers will replace the block heater, free of charge.
Power train › Shift linkage/cable/rod
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013-2019 Escape, 2013-2018 C-Max, 2013-2016 Fusion, 2013-2021 Transit Connect, and 2015-2018 Edge vehicles. The bushing that attaches the shifter cable to the transmission may degrade or detach.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the under hood shift bushing and add a protective cap over the shift cable bushing, free of charge. Interim owner notification letters, informing owners of the safety risk, were mailed July 1, 2022.
Latches/locks/linkages › Doors › Latch
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2011-2014 Fiesta, 2013-2014 Fusion, 2015 Mustang, 2013-2015 Escape and C-Max, 2012-2015 Focus, 2014-2016 Transit Connect, 2013-2014 Lincoln MKZ, and 2015 MKC vehicles.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the latch date codes to confirm if the repair was done correctly, and replace the side door latches if necessary, free of charge.
Power train › Automatic transmission › Lever and linkage › Floor shift
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013-2014 Ford Escape, and 2013-2016 Ford Fusion vehicles, equipped with six-speed automatic transmissions. The bushing that attaches the transmission shifter cable to the transmission may degrade over time and cause the bushing to detach from the transmission.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the shifter cable bushing, free of charge. The recall began September 20, 2018. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332.
Latches/locks/linkages › Doors › Latch
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2012-2015 Ford Focus, 2013-2015 Ford Escape and Ford C-MAX, 2015 Lincoln MKC and Ford Mustang, and 2014-2016 Ford Transit Connect vehicles.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the door latches with an improved part, free of charge. The recall began on January 27, 2017. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332.
Electrical system › Wiring
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2013 Escape vehicles manufactured January 11, 2012, to April 1, 2013, and 2013-2014 Focus ST vehicles manufactured May 03, 2012, to October 14, 2013.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the current crimped splices with new splices, free of charge. The recall began on January 7, 2016. Owners may contact Ford customer service 1-866-436-7332.
Show 12 more recalls
Seat belts
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Ford C-Max vehicles manufactured January 19, 2012, to November 21, 2013; Ford Fusion vehicles manufactured February 3, 2012, to August 24, 2013; Ford Escape vehicles manufactured October 5, 2011, to November 1, 2013; and Lincoln MKZ vehicles manufactured April…
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the RCM, free of charge. Parts are not currently available. The recall began on May 26,2015. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332.
Electrical system › Wiring
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Escape vehicles manufactured October 5, 2011, to April 1, 2013, and equipped with 2.0 liter engines and Focus ST vehicles manufactured February 14, 2012, to October 14, 2013, and equipped with 2.0 liter engines.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the current crimped splices with new splices, free of charge. The recall began in October 2014. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-800-392-3673.
Air bags › Frontal › Sensor/control module-inactive
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 C-MAX, and Escape vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the restraint control module (RCM) may have errors in the programming software which may result in a delayed deployment of the side-curtain rollover air bag.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the RCM, free of charge. The recall began on May 30, 2014. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-800-392-3673. Ford's number for this recall is 14S04.
Structure › Body › Door
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Escape vehicles manufactured October 5, 2011, through April 10, 2014. Due to an assembly misalignment between the exterior door handle and the door outer panel, the affected vehicles have doors that may be difficult to close or may possibly open while driving.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and correct the mounting of the door handles, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on May 30, 2014. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-800-392-3673.
Seats › Front assembly › Recliner
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ vehicles manufactured August 15, 2012, through September 10, 2013, 2013-2014 Ford Escape vehicles manufactured June 5, 2012, through August 12, 2013, and 2013-2014 Ford C-Max vehicles manufactured from July 23, 2012, through May 28,…
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the seatback, free of charge. The recall began on May 30, 2014. Owners may contact Ford at 1-800-392-3673. Ford's number for this recall is 14C03.
Fuel system, gasoline › Delivery › Hoses, lines/piping, and fittings
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2013 Escape vehicles manufactured from October 5, 2011, through July 11, 2012, and equipped with a 1.6L engine subject to prior safety recall NHTSA 12V-336.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners and dealers will inspect the engine compartment fuel line, and if necessary, replace it, free of charge. An interim notice will be mailed to owners during January 2014.
Engine
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2013 Escape vehicles manufactured October 5, 2011, through June 2, 2013 and equipped with 1.6L engines. The affected vehicles may experience localized overheating of the engine cylinder head which may cause cracks that could allow oil to leak.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will modify the engine shielding, cooling and control systems, free of charge. An interim notice will be mailed to owners during January 2014. The recall began on April 9, 2014.
Latches/locks/linkages
Ford is recalling certain model year 2013 Focus and C-Max vehicles built from November 16, 2012, through November 21, 2012; and model year 2013 Escape vehicles manufactured from November 14, 2012, through November 21, 2012. The left rear door child lock was built incorrectly.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the affected rear door latches, and replace them as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on March 27, 2013.
Engine and engine cooling
This is an update to a recently announced recall. Ford is recalling certain model year 2013 Escape vehicles manufactured from October 5, 2011, through November 26, 2012, equipped with 1.6L engines, as well as certain model year 2013 Fusion vehicles manufactured from February 3, 2012, through November 29, 2012, equipped with…
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the engine for coolant system leaks and reprogram the vehicle's powertrain control module and instrument cluster with an updated calibration and overheat strategy…
Engine and engine cooling
Ford is recalling certain model year 2013 Escape vehicles manufactured from October 5, 2011, through August 31, 2012, equipped with 1.6L engines. The cylinder head cup plug (freeze plug) may become dislodged resulting in significant loss of engine coolant.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will seal the existing plug and add a secondary plug cover, free of charge. The safety recall began on September 11, 2012. Owners may contact Ford at 1-866-436-7332.
Fuel system, gasoline › Delivery › Hoses, lines/piping, and fittings
Ford is recalling certain model year 2013 Escape vehicles manufactured from October 5, 2011, through July 11, 2012, and equipped with a 1.6L engine. These vehicles have an engine compartment fuel line which may split, resulting in a leak.
Remedy: Ford will notify and instruct owners to stop driving their vehicles and contact a Ford or Lincoln dealer to arrange pick-up of their vehicle. Customers will be provided with a rental vehicle if needed.
Structure
Ford is recalling certain model year 2013 escape vehicles manufactured from March 8, 2012 through June 7, 2012. Due to mis-positioned carpet padding the center console trim panel May be pushed outboard of the intended position, reducing clearance relative to the pedal package.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will remove the carpet padding and left-side console trim panel replaced with a new panel, free of charge. The recall began on July 20, 2012.
NHTSA defect investigations
Federal safety investigators have looked into 3 possible defects involving the 2013 Ford Escape:
Door Latch Failures
In December 2019, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened this investigation based on 235 Vehicle Owner Questionnaires (VOQs) alleging doors failed to latch when closed, and/or inadvertently opened while driving, on model year (MY) 2012-2014 Ford Fiesta, and 2013-2014 Fusion and Lincoln MKZ.
Loss of Motive Power
On July 16, 2018, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened this Preliminary Evaluation (PE) to investigate alleged instances of sudden stalling without warning on model year (MY) 2013 Ford Escape vehicles equipped with 1.6L GTDI turbocharged engines. Complaints alleged that vehicles stalled due to engine overheating, resulting in a delayed or no restart condition.
Door Latch Failure
In January, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened this Preliminary Evaluation based on consumers' allegations of doors failing to latch and/or inadvertently opening on model year (MY) 2012-2013 Ford Focus vehicles (subject vehicles).ODI has received 464 unique reports related to the alleged problem, with over 200 claiming that the door(s) opened inadvertently while the vehicle was in motion.One consumer…
What 2013 Ford Escape owners say
Engine & cooling all 1,426 →
The contact owned a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while the contact's uncle was driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact's aunt called the contact's cell phone and informed the contact of smoke coming from underneath the contact's vehicle. The contact's aunt was trailing behind the contact's vehicle as they were traveling. The contact's uncle drove the vehicle to the shoulder of the road and turned the vehicle off. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact and all the occupants of the vehicle exited the vehicle. The contact stated that while exiting the vehicle, the contact noticed a lot of smoke coming from underneath the vehicle. The contact then noticed flames coming from underneath the vehicle and underneath the hood. The fire department was called and extinguished the fire. A police report was filed. No injuries were sustained. …
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at 35 MPH, both a check engine light and a warning message instructing her to pull over immediately appeared on the instrument panel. The contact pulled into a parking lot as white smoke began to fill the engine cabin. The contact opened the hood and saw that a flame had ignited inside the engine. The occupants inside the vehicle exited as the police officers who happened to be on scene were able to suppress the fire with fire extinguishers. The fire department later arrived and managed to fully extinguish the fire. No injuries were reported and a police report was filed. The vehicle remained at the scene and had yet to be towed. The dealer nor the manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The contact stated that those same warning lights had flashed two months prior to the failure. …
Transmission & drivetrain all 401 →
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, it inadvertently started rolling while the engine was not running. The contact's wife was in the vehicle while rolling. The contact attempted to stop the vehicle; however, he was stuck between the driver's door of the vehicle. The vehicle crashed into another vehicle and damaged its front bumper because the nearby vehicle was backed in at the parking lot. The driver's door was bent up to the front fender and the passenger door was damaged, in addition, to the possible front driver-side fender. There were no warning lights illuminated. The air bags were not deployed. There were no police on the scene, or report filed. The contact was taken to the emergency by a family member. The contact also damaged his eyewear. …
The contact owned a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact had just parked the vehicle, and as she was exiting was backed over by the vehicle. The contact was knocked over by the open driver's side door and pulled under the vehicle by the tires. The contact suffered a "grade 2" concussion, facial lacerations, and multiple abrasions and bruises over her body. The contact had three broken ribs on the right chest area and two ribs on the left side. Additionally, the contact had severe bruises on her right clavicle and right shoulder. The contact was transported by ambulance to a hospital. The vehicle had rolled into a neighbor's yard and crashed into a fence, which resulted in minor scratches to the back bumper. The contact stated that the fence had sustained no damage. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or independent mechanic to have it diagnosed. …
Electrical system all 339 →
On June 24, 2025 at approx 4:45 pm, my wife and I were driving home. The car was running fine, no lights, gauges were normal, no info on screen, when all of a sudden the engine shut down, info on screen stated steering assisi unavailable, and smoke started coming from vents. We were aproaching a sharp curve in the road, so I had to manhandle the steering to keep from crashing. Then used the emergency brake to stop after insuring we cleared the curve. By that time, we were unable to see anything for all the smoke inside the car. Nothing would work so we could not roll the electric windows down. When stopped, we opened the doors and jumped out. Then I heard the engine compartment crackling due to a fire. Luckily, we escaped with no injuries except for smoke inhalation. I have been driving for over 58 years and doing mechanical repairs for over 60 years. …
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the passenger seated in the front passenger's seat became aware of smoke inside the vehicle. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where the contact was informed that the engine cover had cracked and that there was an oil leak coming from the engine. The independent mechanic cleaned up the oil from underneath the engine and became aware that the wires and additional parts underneath the engine were burned. The contact was informed that there had been a fire underneath the engine. The contact was informed that the vehicle could have caught on fire. The contact referenced an unknown recall, but the VIN was not under recall. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 160,000.
2013 Ford Escape engines & fuel economy
| Engine | Transmission | Drive | MPG city / hwy / combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.6L 4-cyl turbo | 6-speed automatic | FWD | 23 / 32 / 26 |
| 2.5L 4-cyl | 6-speed automatic | FWD | 22 / 30 / 25 |
| 1.6L 4-cyl turbo | 6-speed automatic | AWD | 22 / 29 / 25 |
| 2.0L 4-cyl turbo | 6-speed automatic | FWD | 22 / 29 / 24 |
| 2.0L 4-cyl turbo | 6-speed automatic | AWD | 21 / 28 / 24 |
EPA ratings. Class: Small SUV.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 2013 Ford Escape a good car?
Based on 2,751 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the 2013 Escape rates avoid: 2.8× as many complaints as a typical year of the Escape at the same age. It is one of the Escape years we suggest avoiding. Complaint counts don't account for sales volume or individual maintenance, so have any used car inspected before buying.
What is the most common problem with the 2013 Ford Escape?
The engine & cooling — 1,426 complaints, 52% of all complaints for this model year, most often about cooling system. Next are the transmission & drivetrain (401) and electrical system (339).
How many recalls does the 2013 Ford Escape have?
There are 18 recalls for the 2013 Ford Escape, the most recent from January 15, 2026 (engine block heater). Recall repairs are free at any authorized dealer — check whether yours has been done with the VIN recall check.
What are the best and worst years of the Ford Escape?
The best years by complaints, compared at the same age, are 2025, 2012 and 2023. Years to avoid or approach with caution: 2017, 2020, 2013, 2018 and 2014. See the full Ford Escape years comparison.
At what mileage do 2013 Ford Escape problems happen?
The median mileage reported in complaints is about 75,000 miles; 28% of problems with a recorded mileage started before 50,000 miles.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.