Free. Instant. No signup. Pulls recalls and complaints for your exact vehicle.
Couldn't find that VIN. Check the digits and try again.
308 owner complaints and 1 active recall campaign on file. Here's the breakdown — what's serious, what's noise, what a working mechanic would actually do about it.
Solid reliability overall. Common issues are concentrated in a few systems.
Repair exposure runs above average — only with money set aside and eyes open.
Our read of the federal NHTSA complaint and recall record for this exact year and model — not a substitute for a pre-purchase inspection. How we score.
The contact owns a 2021 Ford Escape. The contact stated while reversing, there was a loud screeching sound coming from the rear of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who performed an unstated service on the vehicle, but the failure persisted. No further…
The contact leased a 2021 Ford Escape. The contact stated while reversing and depressing the brake pedal, the brakes emitted an abnormal squealing sound. The contact stated that the failure mainly occurred while reversing. Additionally, a message indicating that the Forward…
The contact owns a 2021 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to respond while in reverse(R). In addition, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with transmission failure. The contact was…
The contact owns a 2021 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the front driver's and passenger's side doors failed to close properly. The contact had to forcefully close the doors. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the front driver's and…
Drag to your current mileage. Numbers are derived from this vehicle's complaint history.
A sudden loss of drive power increases the risk of a crash.
NHTSA has an open defect investigation covering this vehicle — the step that can precede a recall, not a finding of fault. AQ22002 on NHTSA →
How NHTSA investigations work, and what's open now →
Mostly yes. With a reliability score of 7.0 out of 10 based on 308 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the 2021 Ford Escape is generally a sound vehicle. The areas to watch are listed in the top problem section above — most are budget items, not deal-breakers.
The 2021 Ford Escape is a higher-risk ownership prospect. Repair exposure runs above average — only with money set aside and eyes open. The record behind that call: Brakes: 36 complaints, classified severe, failures cluster 2,000–18,000 mi; Fuel system: 36 complaints, classified severe, failures cluster 39,000–79,845 mi; Reliability score 7.0/10 — around the segment average; 1 recall campaign on file. This is our read of the federal complaint and recall data — not a substitute for a pre-purchase inspection.
Based on NHTSA records, the most-reported issue is body, with 79 complaints filed. Typical failure occurs around 44,045 miles. Average repair cost runs about $1,500 at an independent shop.
The body is one of the costlier repair items. Average repair cost runs about $1,500 at an independent shop. Typical failure occurs around 44,045 miles. Catching early warning signs can sometimes extend life by 20–30,000 miles.
Paste your VIN into the decoder at the top of this page. We pull live from NHTSA, so you'll see exactly which campaigns apply to your vehicle and whether the dealer has logged the fix. Recall repairs are always free regardless of mileage or warranty status.
Math is straightforward: a quality service contract runs $1,800–3,500 over 3 years. With 308 complaints on file and the costliest repair averaging $1,500, one major failure more than pays for it. The catch is reading the contract — many providers exclude wear items and require pre-authorization, so cheaper plans are not always better value.