Complaint 2226866

Complaint Summary

ENGINE

Owner Narrative

Vehicle: 2013 Ford Escape SEL (1.6L EcoBoost) Approximate current Mileage: 134,646 miles System: Engine / Engine Cooling / Powertrain Incident Description: I am filing this complaint to report a severe and systemic safety defect regarding the 1.6L EcoBoost engine in my 2013 Ford Escape. The vehicle is experiencing catastrophic internal coolant intrusion, a known defect where coolant leaks past the head gasket and directly into the engine's combustion cylinders. Professional mechanical diagnostics have explicitly confirmed that engine coolant is pooling on top of piston #2. I have also experienced unexplained coolant loss with no external leaks and sudden engine overheating warnings. As of today, the vehicle's drivability has severely deteriorated, escalating this from a mechanical failure to a serious safety hazard. I cannot drive the vehicle for more than 5 miles before experiencing a severe loss of acceleration and engine power. While the engine does not completely stall or shut off, the vehicle heavily hesitates and refuses to accelerate as needed. Because we reside in [XXX], a region with steep hills and constant inclines, this inability to maintain safe driving speeds under load creates a life-threatening collision risk in traffic. Furthermore, the coolant in the combustion chamber puts the engine at immediate risk of hydro-locking or catching fire due to severe overheating. This manufacturer defect has effectively rendered the vehicle inoperable and unsafe to drive. It is placing a severe financial and logistical burden on my family, as we are now forced to rely entirely on our secondary vehicle for our daily livelihood, work commutes, and family transport. Ford's failure to recall and address this engine block defect has created an unacceptable danger on the road. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Owner-submitted narrative on file with NHTSA. Complaint narratives are self-reported and have not been verified.