Look at the Ford compact SUV complaint count and the 2013 Edge sits at #3 with about 2,419 owner complaints. Almost none of them are about the engine or transmission. They’re about the screen.
MyFord Touch is what’s wrong with this truck
Ford rolled MyFord Touch onto the Edge in 2011 with Microsoft as the partner. The 2013 is the year owners gave up. Touchscreen lock-ups, climate-control buttons that disappear off the screen, Bluetooth that pairs and immediately unpairs, voice commands that recognize three words out of ten, navigation that reboots while you’re driving, backup camera that goes black, the radio that turns itself on at 2 a.m. and wakes the dog up. I’m not making that last one up. Owners wrote it into NHTSA reports.
Ford ran a recall — 14V-336 — for the rearview camera. Beyond that, MyFord Touch was “fixed” through APIM (Accessory Protocol Interface Module) reflashes that some dealers did and some dealers wouldn’t touch because each flash was a 3-hour bill and the dealer wasn’t getting reimbursed.
The fix today on a 2013 is either replace the APIM (~$700-1,100 with programming) or live with it. Some owners drop in an aftermarket Android head unit and call it done. That’s a fine answer if you don’t care about retaining the steering wheel controls cleanly.
The drivetrain is mostly OK
3.5L V6 with the 6F50/6F55 six-speed auto. The engine’s solid — same Cyclone block that Ford used everywhere. The PTU (power transfer unit) on the AWD trucks is the thing to watch. Ford spec’d a 150,000-mile fluid in a part that needs fluid every 30,000-40,000. The PTUs run hot, fluid cooks, gears wear, you hear it whine, and a replacement is $1,500-2,000 if you don’t catch it. Service the PTU at 30k whether the dealer says to or not. If you’re buying used past 80k miles with no PTU service record, plan on doing it the week you take delivery.
There’s also a 2.0L EcoBoost on the Edge in this generation. Smaller production, similar wet-belt issue to the 2014 Escape’s 2.0 (see the 2014 Escape story). Most 2013 Edges shopping now are V6s.
End of conversation
Buy a 2013 Edge if the price reflects the MyFord Touch headache and the PTU has documented service. Walk on AWD trucks past 100k with no PTU paper and an unflashed APIM. The mechanicals will outlast the software.