Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (engine, cooling system, oil leaks, timing chain, exhaust).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2013 Ford Escape owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
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. …
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at approximately 55 mph, there was smoke coming from underneath the hood and from behind the vehicle without warning. The contact stated that the failure progressively got worst and the smoke was gray. The contact said a third-party driver had stopped and advised that he saw flames. The contact opened the hood and saw the smoke. The fire department was not called and the contact did not have to put out any flames. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the engine head was cracked on the back side of the motor. The independent mechanic advised that there was a recall associated with the failure NHTSA Campaign Number: 13V583000 (Engine). The contact did not take the vehicle to a local dealer, however, the dealer was contacted and advised that there were no open recalls. …
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle failed to start with black smoke coming from the exhaust. The vehicle was towed and diagnosed with needing a new engine. The vehicle has not been repaired. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 12V551000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the Vin was not included. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and confirmed that the Vin was not included. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, the low coolant level message was displayed. The contact veered to the side of the road and noticed that the antifreeze was leaking from the radiator onto the ground. The contact looked underneath the vehicle and saw smoke. The contact then opened the hood and noticed that there was no antifreeze in the coolant reservoir. The contact contacted an independent mechanic who advised her to refill the coolant reservoir with water and to then take the vehicle to his location since she was 5 minutes away. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the heater hose assembly, the coolant return, and the vent tube assembly needed to be replaced. The parts were replaced. …
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that after the dealer had completed an unknown recall on the vehicle, a message indicating that the engine was overheating was displayed. The vehicle was towed back to the dealer, where an unknown repair was completed; however, the failure reoccurred. Additionally, the message "Low Coolant" was displayed. The contact stated that she had been adding coolant to the vehicle every month. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer several times, and unknown repairs were completed; however, the failure reoccurred. The dealer diagnosed that the water pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic, where the water pump, several coolant system hoses and clamps were replaced; however, the failure persisted. …
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the vehicle was parked outside the residence, and she noticed that coolant was leaking onto the ground. The contact stated that she added coolant to the vehicle, but the coolant continuously leaked onto ground. The contact started driving the vehicle however, the vehicle started overheating and a message advising to pull over was displayed. The contact reversed to the front of the residence and parked the vehicle. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55-60 MPH, the vehicle overheated and shut off. The contact was able to veer to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The contact stated that the failure recurred several times while driving. …
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while pulling out of a parking lot and driving into traffic, the vehicle started overheating and failed to exceed 3 MPH. The contact activated the hazard lights and drove back into the parking lot. The contact parked the vehicle; however, the vehicle failed to cool down after 30 minutes. The vehicle was towed to the dealer it was purchased from, and the coolant temperature sensor and other unknown sensors were replaced; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was towed back to the dealer, where unknown hoses were replaced and other unknown repairs were performed; however, the failure recurred upon starting the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where the coolant temperature sensor was replaced; however, the failure persisted in a parking lot. …
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 while driving 60 MPH, a low coolant warning message appeared on the instrument panel. The contact pulled over and checked the coolant reservoir which indicated that the coolant was low. The contact attempted to resume normal driving; however, the temperature gauge indicated that the vehicle was hot as the vehicle began to stall. An engine warning message appeared on the instrument panel as the contact pulled over. The contact walked to the nearest store to purchase coolant and replenished the reservoir; however, the stalling continued as the check engine warning light appeared on the instrument panel. The contact was able to reach his destination despite the many engine stalls and vehicle restarts. The contact continued driving the vehicle; however, he noticed that coolant had started to leak from the engine. …
Related recalls
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.
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.
NHTSA investigations
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.
Engine complaints in other Escape years
Frequently asked questions
How common are engine problems on the 2013 Ford Escape?
NHTSA has 1,426 complaints about the engine & cooling of the 2013 Ford Escape, 52% of the model year's 2,751 complaints. The component named most often is cooling system (5 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2013 Ford Escape engine problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 13V-583 (engine, Nov 25, 2013); NHTSA recall 12V-551 (engine and engine cooling, Dec 3, 2012); NHTSA recall 12V-431 (engine and engine cooling, Sep 4, 2012). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2013 Ford Escape engine problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 79,000 miles, and 15% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 8 crashes, 70 fires and 14 injuries to engine & cooling problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
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.