2012 Ford Escape — Problems & Complaints
NHTSA has 603 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.
Ford Escape — Complaints by Model Year
Years flagged AVOID have at least twice this model's average complaint count — the strongest public-data signal of a bad year.
2,129 complaints
1,317 complaints
603 complaints
2,754 complaints
2,089 complaints
1,115 complaints
1,152 complaints
2,693 complaints
1,812 complaints
595 complaints
What Owners Complain About Most
Recent Owner Reports
I WAS DRIVING THE CAR, CAME TO A STOP SIGN, STOPPED AND PROCEEDED TO PRESS GAS AND TURN INTO LANE. THE CAR JUMPED FORWARD AND ALMOST STALLED. IT DID NOT STOP RUNNING HOWEVER IT WOULD ONLY MOVE APPROX 1 MPH. JUST ENOUGH TO PULL OF ROAD AND PARK. WHEN I RESTARTED, THE ENGINE WAS SHAKING. WHEN IN LOW GEAR, THE CAR WOULD JUMP FORWARD AND STOP, JUMP FORWARD AND STOP. IN DRIVE, IT …
GOING TO WORK EARLY (6:35AM) MONDAY MORNING, DRIVING AROUND 35-40MPH, WHEN ALL OF A SUDDENLY I HEAR A BIG BOOM AND THE SOUND OF SOMETHING BEING SPLATTER AND HITTING THE BACK OF MY HEAD. THE NEXT THING I KNOW I FEEL A BIG GUST OF COLD AIR IN THE CAR AND WHEN I LOOK THROUGH MY REAR VIEW MIRROR, I SEE THAT MY REAR LIFT GATE WINDOW HAD JUST EXPLODED. ALL THIS HAPPEN WHEN I WAS DRI…
ON OCTOBER 26, 2018, I WAS STOPPED AT A RED LIGHT WAITING TO MAKE A RIGHT HAND TURN. WHEN THE LIGHT TURNED GREEN AND I PROCEEDED TO MAKE MY TURN, MY WHEEL WAS TIGHT AND LOCKED INTO ONE POSITION. IT WAS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO STRAIGHTEN IT OUT. I DROVE ABOUT ONE MILE BEFORE I COULD SAFELY TURN IT INTO A PARKING LOT. I HAD TO USE ALL MY STRENGTH TO TURN IT AND STRAIGHTEN IT OUT.…
AFTER SLOWING DOWN IN HEAVY TRAFFIC I FELT A JOLT OR THRUST FORWARD. WHEN I LOOKED AT THE DASHBOARD I NOTICED THE WRENCH LIGHT WAS LIT. I TRIED TO GIVE THE CAR GAS AND IT WENT NO WHERE. I WAS FORTUNATE TO BE ABLE TO PULL OVER TO THE SHOULDER AND LOOK UP THE LIGHT IN THE OWNER'S MANUAL. IT SAID IT WAS A POWER TRAIN/THROTTLE BODY FAULT. AFTER WAITING 15 MINUTES FOR A TOW TRUCK I…
INTERMITTENT VEHICLE STALLS, WHICH IS TYPICALLY MORE COMMON AS WELL AS SURGES WHEN ENTERING TRAFFIC FROM A STOPPED POSITION OR WHILE DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. ALSO, WHILE DRIVING AT A CONSTANT SPEED (BETWEEN 15 AND 25 MPH) THE CAR WILL SLOW DOWN EVEN THOUGH I HAVE NOT LIFTED MY FOOT UP FROM THE GAS PEDAL. THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON EVER SINCE I BOUGHT THE CAR IN JANUARY OF 2012,…
Recalls & Crash Tests
Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2012 Ford Escape, or check your exact car by VIN with the free VIN lookup.
Problems Checker
Any year, make and model: open the Car Problems Checker. Data: NHTSA (US DOT, public domain), cached up to 7 days.