2019 Ford Escape Engine
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
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*Error "High Engine Temperature Stop Safely" Known issue - available for inspection *Engine may blow up *not yet *not yet *Yes - see above
The engine failed at 51,000 miles due to coolant intrusion. The check engine light came on and a code scan revealed a cylinder 3 misfire. The dealership ran diagnostics and the pressure test, which determined the engine failed.
My Escape has about 73,000 miles on it and the check engine light went off last week when I started the car. The car itself was shaking in a very strange way. I brought it to a repair shop and they said there was coolant leaking into one of the cylinders. This was going to require a full engine replacement at the cost of about $9,000. They reached out to Ford and there was a pre-existing set of instructions on how to deal with this issue, so it was clear this is known to Ford on this model of car. If it was my vehicle only, I'd say I'd cut my losses and just get a new car, but I've read dozens of stories online about this issue and saw a temporary recall from back in 2022 for this exact problem. There are also many class action lawsuits active that name my make and model and the same coolant issues. I am attempting to escalate this with Ford as the technician said I maybe have two weeks before the engine fails altogether, which is obviously a huge danger to me and my family. Hoping Ford can be forced to do the right thing and issue a recall. I am in a tough spot where my family has a single car and either need to pay the large repair bill or pay-off an equivalent sized loan in order to trade in this car (with these known issues) for a new vehicle in the next few days.
COOLANT WATER INTRUSION INTO THE CYLINDER BLOCK. COOLANT INTRUSION DUE TO MANUFACTURE DEFAULT. LONG BLOCK NECESSARY TO COMPLETE REPAIR. REPAIR IS NOT UNDER WARRANTY. CHECK ENGINE LIGHT APPEARED. OBD WARNING CODE P303 SUGGESTED CYLINDER 3 MISFIRE. COOLANT LEVEL WAS NOTED TO BE LOW. VEHICLE WAS THEN TAKEN TO THE FORD DEALERSHIP PROMPLY. AFTER DEALER INSPECTION COOLANT WATER INTRUSION WAS FOUND. IF THIS PROBLEM WAS NOT DIAGNOSED EARLY IT COULD'VE CAUSED ENGINE FAILURE WHILE DRIVING.
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Escape. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the engine was idling abnormally rough, prompting the contact to discontinue driving the vehicle. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined that coolant intrusion into various cylinders had resulted in damage to the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to the Customer Satisfaction Program: 21N12. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 57,000.
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 3 MPH, the vehicle started to sputter. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the contact was made aware of an undisclosed recall. The mechanic determined that the short block needed to be replaced and there was coolant intrusion into the engine. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that there was a misfire and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 102,000.
Coolant is leaking into #4 cylinder causing misfire. This will lead to a blown engine. It is a known issue with Ford but there isn’t a recall as of today. TSB 22-2229 has been released. I spent a lot of money with the plan this car would be safe and reliable for 10+ yrs and well over 100k miles. I am afraid to drive it but have no choice as I work to support my three children and myself. I have owned five Ford vehicles in 40 yrs and have felt loyal to the co. The co needs to be loyal to its customers and fix the issue in my Escape and all others that this disaster is effecting. Thank you. Feel free to contact me.
My 2019 Ford Escape 2.0 Titanium has a KNOWN coolant intrusion issue where it is leaking into the engine. This began as my car shook on startup, then the check engine light would come on. Drove it a little ways, check engine turned off. Took my car into the repair shop and they looked up the stored code and it was P0301 cylinder #1 misfire detected and P0316 misfire detected on start up first 1,000 revolutions. Car seemed ok, so took it back. Happened again, 2x, check engine light on, off, then on again when I brought it back in. Same codes again. Mechanic said coolant low, removed cylinder #1 spark plug and sent camera into cylinder, found coolant leaking into cylinder. They said I need an entirely new engine, as this has been occurring a LOT with these EcoBoost vehicles. Ford had an open recall but only acknowledged a small amount of vehicles, mine not one of them, and there is currently a lawsuit against Ford because this has been happening to so many people. We are getting nowhere with Ford, they won't acknowledge the issue on the EcoBoost and now we have to come up with nearly $10k to replace an entire engine when the car isn't even worth $8k. PLEASE LOOK INTO THIS! Some people are having this issue at 50K Miles!!! This is not ok!!
The Ford dealer just advised that I need an entire new engine at a cost of $10,000 for a crack in the block, causing coolant to leak into cylinder three, potentially causing critical failure and danger while driving the vehicle. This is a known defect in this motor, which the manufacturer/Ford refuses to address.
at 96800 upon start up there was a cloud of white smoke and a check engine light. It was taken to the local ford dealer for diagnosis. Code was P303 and P316 indicating a misfire. the car was found to have coolant intrusion in cylinder 3 and would need a long block replacement. reference used was TSB 22-2229. This type of engine failure is know to ford due to design of coolant channels between cylinders. This could have cause sudden engine failure while drive resulting in an accident and injury or engine fire due to insufficient cooling causing loss of property and/or injury.
The vehicle is suffering from an engine failure. It has a check engine light DTC PO303 with a heavy misfire. This causes to engine to lose power at times preventing proper acceleration which could lead to an accident. Ford has a technical service bulletin [TSB 22-2229 ] that describes the failure and the required repair. The problem is a design issue, but Ford is not covering any out of warranty repairs.
Leaked coolant into second cylinder caused engine failure. This is a known issue with this model. No prior warnings, check engine light came on as the engine lost power. Risk of total engine failure.
Coolant in cylinder causing overheating, misfiring of cylinder 3 and cracked engine block
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle shuddered abnormally. The contact believed that a fuel cleaner needed to be added to the fuel tank. The contact stated that the engine revved abnormally. While at a stoplight, the vehicle failed to drive forward and stalled. The contact stated that the axle and turbocharger had been repaired prior to the failure. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact called the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 104,000.
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at unknown speeds, the vehicle started sputtering. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the failure was related to Customer Satisfaction Program: 21N12. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who determined that there was coolant leaking into the cylinders and there was a blown head gasket. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and informed the contact that there was no warranty coverage on the vehicle. The failure mileage was approximately 52,000.
White smoke coming out of exhaust smelled of antifreeze. Took to Ford dealer in Eagle River, Wisconsin: Dealer found coolant in #1 cylinder and wrote on receipt - headgasket block failure, recommend replacing engine. Service writer said this is due to a defect in engine block being a slit machined in block between cylinders by Ford. Dealer quote for engine replacement was $9500.
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the vehicle experienced an abnormal rattling sound on cold starts and while idling. The vehicle was taken to Midas Service Center, where it was diagnosed that the engine turbo had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The local dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 101,000.
2019 Ford escape titanium with 62000 miles.check engine light came on once and went off- took to dealer and was told the coolant was going into engine. Had an extended warranty to 75000 miles because of issue I had when car was brand new-brake release switch. Now I am told that warranty expired last year even though there is not 75000 on it yet. They are telling me I need a 8700 dollar new engine. I am [XXX] and this car is like new. Please help! I bought this brand new and only put about 10000 a year on it INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
The vehicle's engine shutdown while driving on the highway, forcing me to pull to shoulder in traffic. We had it towed to Ford and were advised that the engine was blown due to coolant intrusion into the cylinders. We're told the engine is totaled and they quoted us almost $15,000 USD for the repairs. There is a know recall notice for this exact issue, however we were told it only covers up 85,000 miles and our vehicle has 94,000 miles. We had brought it to a Ford dealership for an oil change 6 months prior and they didn't say anything about it. The dealership/manufacturer refuses any accountability, and offered us $1,500 loyalty discount if we purchased a new Ford vehicle from them. The SUV was in like new condition prior the engine failure (ie. no damage).
the night prior to my car breaking down I Did notice the car began to lose horsepower to move just a little bit not to much to worry about than the check engine light did appear on dash that night. Code popped up for misfire in cylinder 1. SO changed the spark plugs and light went off , next day light was on and smoke began coming out of the tailpipe.
Coolant intrusion issue caused by a defect from Ford. They are refusing to fix the issue.
My Ford Escape was driving as usual, but as I was traveling on a down ramp in a left turning lane, the engine overheated abruptly and serious audible and visual alerts appeared on the screen. I was in heavy traffic and was forced to pull over quickly into the right turning lane. This could have easily caused an accident because all of a sudden, the Escape started stalling and would hardly move. It was terrifying, and I was barely able to maneuver it into a nearby parking lot. That night, it was towed to a Ford dealership that inspected it and now says that I need a new engine because the engine block is cracked.
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 15 MPH, the vehicle started to overheat and lost motive power. A message stating that the vehicle was overheating was displayed. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The temperature gauge increased to hot(H). The contact was able to pull to the side of the road and turned on the hazard lights. The local dealer was notified of the failure, and an appointment was scheduled for diagnostic testing. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 74,636.
My engine had a coolant leak a few years ago (2021) and needed a complete engine replacement since the car would no longer run. Since it was under warranty then it was replaced. However, the engine once again has had a major issue with the engine bearing and needs another full replacement and will no longer run. Many people are struggling with needing to get full engine replacements on Ford Escapes. There are Ford retailers keeping stocks of Ford Escape engines in preparation for these engine replacements, but Ford has refused to offer any assistance for this known issue. Requiring a 2nd full engine replacement at the value of the car itself is absurd. I received a warning message on my car, but when I took it in to have the issue assessed - it was notified as a minor gas cap issue.
The car had a rough idle (only for the first few minutes) for one day before the engine light came on. The car was taken to the dealership on the third day (less than 20mi of driving between the light coming on and the car being inspected). According to their scans, my 2.0L engine is experiencing water (coolant) intrusion into the clyinders (after only 5 years of service). The Ford technician said it is TSB 22-2229 (a known issue since 2019 TSB 19-2172). There are currently no NHTSA Customer Satisfaction Programs or recalls for this TSB, which is astonishing, as there is one for the 1.5L engine made in the same plant AND Ford completely redesigned the engine because they know it is so bad. The fix is to completely replace the engine ($10,000-$15,000). The danger is that the manufacturer knew there was risk of water intrusion, which can crack the block…this could leave the vehicle in a dangerous situation if driving at highway speeds or in heavy traffic.
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Quick Summary
The 2019 Ford Escape has 235 Engine complaints on file. 1 crashes have been reported. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.