The contact owns a 2023 Ford Escape. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the center console display remained off. The contact was able to continue driving the vehicle however, the center console and the display was independently turning on and off. No warning lights were illuminated. The local dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 8,000.
2023 Ford Escape owner complaints
101 complaints filed with NHTSA on this vehicle , including 1 reporting a crash, fire, injury, or fatality. 20 of them are reproduced below in full, most recent first, grouped by category.
electrical 7 complaints shown
My 2023 Ford Escape Plug-In Hybrid has experienced repeated high-voltage battery safety issues and prolonged loss of intended function. In February 2025, Ford notified me under recall 24S79 that I must immediately stop charging the vehicle due to the risk of internal battery cell short, potential battery thermal venting, and fire. That “do not charge” instruction lasted approximately six months, eliminating the core plug-in hybrid functionality of the vehicle. Ford originally stated the remedy would be available in Q2 2025, but the repair was not completed until late August 2025. The recall documentation stated that an internal battery cell short could cause the “Stop Safely Now” warning and sudden loss of motive power, which presents a serious safety risk while driving, especially when t
The contact owns a 2023 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the 12-Volt battery had become inoperable. The contact stated that the vehicle lost motive power while attempting to start the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact had to charge the battery several times to start the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact was informed that the issue was battery-related and was advised to drive the vehicle differently and to obtain a trickle charger for the battery. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 8,000.
The contact owns a 2023 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine and the front driver’s side tire. In addition, the instrument panel was occasionally turned off independently. Additionally, during rainy weather driving the brakes were making abnormal sounds. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were occasionally illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer on several occasions and was diagnosed; however, the failure could not be replicated. The vehicle was taken to another local dealer, Mullinax Ford of Kissimmee (1810 E Irlo Bronson Memorial Hwy, Kissimmee, FL 34744); for a second opinion; however, the failure could not be replicated. The vehicle was also taken to a third local dealer, Tro
Vehicle has a 1.5L dragon 3 cylinder. When passing vehicles, on 3 occasions it throws codes that says that the engine has an engine overheated issue, service asap, and goes into a limp mode which does not give you any time to get to safety before your speed is dropped below 55 mph. It will not go out of limp mode until you completely shut off the vehicle and wait 5 or so minutes and turn it back on. Even after it stays in a limp mode capacity and does not easily get back up to highway speeds. The certified dealership service department has had my brand new vehicle 7 weeks with no resolution. Car was bought with 16 miles on the odometer, on August 25th, 2023, at 650 ish miles on September 6th it happened the 1st time. The 2nd time was on September 14th, 3rd time September 15th, 4th time
my 2023 ford edge caused burns to the back of my legs. i was unaware until my grandma informed me that something was wrong with my legs. i noticed when i got the car 2 months ago level 3 of the seat warmer was way to hot like i felt it burning. so i only used on setting 1 or 2 and did not feel the burning sensation like when used on 3 but somehow my legs are burned
As I was driving home with about 5 minutes to go, in my brand new (2 week old)2023 Ford Escape, I smelled something burning. I pulled over and saw smoke so I turned off the car and got out. As I got out of the car I looked under and saw fire. I got away from the car and as I did, the fire kept growing and growing from under the hood. The fire went high enough to hit the trees on the side of the roasd. The police and fire department came and were able to put out the fire but not before the car was distroyed. There were no warning lights or any other symtoms of a problem prior to smelling burning. The Ford company has not responded to me from the day my wife spoke to a representative on Monday, October 2nd. The car fire was on Saturday, September 30th. It's been 3 days. My insurance company
powertrain 7 complaints shown
The transmission had an internal failure that caused metal fragments to end up in the transmission fluid and caused failure. The vehicle will not drive and required the transmission to be rebuilt
Purchased the vehicle approximately 45 days ago. Has driven fine with no problems. Randomly had a hard down shift and when I went to leave my destination put the vehicle in reverse and it would not go. The vehicle would not move in drive and when put in neutral it was still not even able to be pushed. Had it towed to the nearest ford dealership, they diagnosed that there were metal shavings in the transmission, stated the vehicle was no longer drive able and recommend a transmission replacement or rebuild. Vehicle only has 80,000 miles.
3 times, either merging on the highway or full throttle, vehicle screams overheat warning with wrench light for a couple of seconds and disappears. No limp mode or smoke at all. And coolant level is at MAX. No clue is this some sort of glitch or engine failure? Vehicles drives amazing and power is great. Maybe it’s a software glitch?
The transmission failed while driving around XXX near the Legends in [XXX]. Restarting from a stop the transmission clunked and after parking it would no longer go in reverse. Safety was a concern because the incident happened in a heavy traffic area. There were no other warnings from the car itself. The day before it had a little difficulty starting but it worked fine once driving began. In retrospect, that may have been a sign. Now, the company Kansas Municipal Utilities has had three Escapes from the fleet have failed transmissions for the same reason, loose pins, over just a month, that it seems like a larger issue. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
The contact owns a 2023 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving 45 MPH, the vehicle decelerated unintendedly. Additionally, the transmission was unable to be shifted in reverse(R). An unknown warning light flashed briefly. The contact stated that after the transmission was shifted in reverse to reverse out of the driveway, the vehicle jerked abnormally. The dealer was contacted. The manufacturer was contacted by phone and made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 63,000.
While driving, multiple unrelated warning lights and warning messages appeared on the dashboard. Odometer changed to display dashes instead of mileage. Speedometer got stuck displaying an incorrect value (such as '0' when the vehicle was in motion, or '59' when the vehicle was as a complete stop). Warning messages displayed while vehicle was in motion included "Park brake fault Service now", "Pre-Collision Assist not available", "Service AdvanceTrac", "Cross-Traffic System fault", and several more. Ford mobile app connected to the car reported 26 different errors. Safety was at risk due to speedometer displaying incorrect values and safety features going offline. Symptoms would come and go without driver intervention. After turning off the vehicle, vehicle failed to start entirely and had
About a month ago, my vehicles dash lit up and the car told me to shut it off. I had it towed to the dealership who then completed module updates and said I was all set. 20 minutes after picking it up, all of the lights came back on the dash and I brought it back. They again completed some kind of update with little to no information on what they did or the steps they took. Once again, I picked up my vehicle and immediately had a lit up dash. It was brought back and they had my car for 2 weeks before installing a new module. After picking up my car, I again dealt with lights on my dash, but this time one in particular. I had a notice to “Service Advancetrac” and a notification on my Ford app about Powertrain Failure.
other 2 complaints shown
After reviewing my owner’s manual on my newly purchased vehicle, I was shocked at how quickly and unexpectedly I was propelled from 75mph to 105mph because of a new-to-me feature on this model. I was surprised and moreover shocked that a system like this is mass-produced and sold worldwide. Seems like the manufacturer should provide proper training materials and not just the dealer telling me to Youtube it. I fear for my life every time I get behind the wheel. If someone unassumingly were to drive this vehicle without becoming accustomed to they ways it operates, I fear of what horrible accidents may result. I wish I could give the car back but the dealership won’t do anything for me. So I felt it necessary to make this report. Hopefully the features on this particular model of a major v
engine light came on took it into dealership. they said it was evap system then fixed it. picked car up in a wednesday by the friday, light came on again. took back into dealership, they didn’t detect any leaks.. said they were going to put in a canister purge solenoid. found out about 23S27.. apparently my vehicle vin doesn’t fall under that recall.. but yet my vehicle has all the signs.
engine 1 complaint shown
Shortly after purchasing this, my daughter was driving it and the check engine light came on and it said it was overheating. The dealer was contacted and it was taken in for repairs. We got it back and was told that it was a broken wire in the wiring harness and they ordered a new harness but had fixed the wire so it should be good to go. 2 weeks later it did the same thing and actually went into limp mode. This time they said it was the sensor in the cylinder head and they ordered a replacement. Fast forward 3 1/2 months and it's still at the dealers. They are now telling us the cylinder needs to be replaced and the parts are on backorder. While we have been waiting they gave us a 2023 Bronco Sport with the same 1.5 liter 3 cylinder and that hasn't given any issues. When the loaner hit
brakes 1 complaint shown
During braking the car experienced what seemed to be a glitch and lost all breaking power. Foot went to the floor and had to press and release multiple times for break power assist to come back. This happened three times within 100 mile drive.
lighting 1 complaint shown
After the vehicle sits idle for about two contiguous days and you open the driver's door, there are not lights on inside or outside. Normally when you open the driver's door, the center dash and console light up as well as the ambient lighting in various areas of the interior. There is no mention of the 'battery deep sleep' anywhere in the online user manual for a non electric vehicle (ICE). Entering a dark interior in the middle of the night creates the potential for a slip and fall accident. Not to mention contact with kees and the dash or the door opening and the side of the head when trying to get situated behind the steering wheel.
body 1 complaint shown
The liftgate hinge cover flew off of my car on the highway and hit the car behind me. Other Escape years have been recalled, but the 2023 year was skipped.