Problems · NHTSA complaints

2007 Ford Escape problems

Owners filed 393 complaints about the 2007 Ford Escape with NHTSA between Dec 2006 and Feb 2025. The most-cited component is service brakes (63).

Complaints
393
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
16
Reported by owners
Fires
3
Reported by owners
Injuries
9
People reported injured
Deaths
2
Reported to NHTSA
01 —By component

Complaints by component

One complaint can cite several components
  1. Service brakes63
  2. Power train59
  3. Engine54
  4. Electrical system50
  5. Vehicle speed control44
  6. Service brakes, hydraulic32
  7. Steering28
  8. Suspension21
  9. Structure20
  10. Fuel/propulsion system18
  11. Engine and engine cooling16
  12. Air bags12
  13. Tires9
  14. Visibility9

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API · synced Nov 9, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
02 —Trend

When complaints were filed

Does it get worse with age? Complaints per calendar year filed
View as table
Model yearComplaints filed per calendar year
20061
200716
20089
200919
201045
201119
201234
201336
201449
201535
201627
201725
201823
201917
202014
20217
20227
20235
20244
20251

Mileage at failure isn’t a structured field in NHTSA complaint data, so we don’t chart it. Some owners mention it in their reports below.

03 —Owner reports

Top problems in owners’ words

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first

Service brakes

63 reports4 crashes
“ABS service system warning came up on my dash along with the brake light and the abs light, immediately after the lights came on the ability to stop and stay stopped vanished.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jun 27, 2022Service brakesCrash reportedODI 11471084

Power train

59 reports2 crashes1 fire1 related recall
“My 2007 Ford Escape Hybrid (mileage currently 180,000 but the issue started around 150,000 miles) will occasionally (varies from once a week to once every 3 months) not respond properly when I'm accelerating from a stop. When this happens, I can push the accelerator all the way to the floor, but the car will accelerate very slowly for the first 5 seconds or so, and then start accelerating normally again. When this issue first began, it nearly resulted in multiple crashes when I was pulling out into traffic, but now I leave lots of extra space when pulling into traffic in case this happens. I've taken the car to an independent mechanic to try to diagnose the issue and they were unable to observe it since it doesn't happen frequently or predictably enough. There were not any warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms of the problem prior to the issue starting.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Feb 28, 2025Power train, Unknown or other, Fuel/propulsion systemODI 11645558

Engine

54 reports
“When accelerating on the vehicle it would run fine till about a couple minutes driving then it would jerk and the rpm gauge would go to 0 and then back up the the right rpm”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Sep 8, 2023Power train, Electrical system, EngineODI 11543504

Electrical system

50 reports2 crashes2 fires
“ABS service light comes on intermittently, when light is on a "service brake system" warning comes across the guage cluster. While this service light is on the escape has little to no braking and requires upwards of 300ft to stop when going 45mph. Once the vehicle is brought to a stop you can hear the brake system attempting to pressurize but only making a repeated grinding noise directly in front of the driver in the engine bay. Once vehicle is parked and shut off the brakes continue to make the same grinding noise. After allowing the vehicle to sit over night you may get lucky and have fully functioning brakes or you may unlock the door and hear the grinding noise letting you know the abs warning will be illuminated once the car is started. I have currently rear-ended another vehicle while stopped at a red light because no matter how hard I pressed on the brakes my vehicle continued to roll forward into another vehicle. My vehicle passed inspection with zero obdII codes the day I bought the escape Friday, May 27, 2022. Exactly a week later on June 2, 2022 I experienced severe brake failure and rear ended a 2021 Toyota 4runner. No major damage was caused to…”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jun 5, 2022Electrical system, Service brakesCrash reportedODI 11467587

Vehicle speed control

44 reports
“The contact's mother owns a 2007 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while his brother was driving at 60 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently downshifted and decelerated to 40-45 MPH. The check engine warning light illuminated. The contact's brother depressed the accelerator pedal however, the pedal felt soft and remained on the floorboard. The contact's brother veered to the side of the road. The contact stated that upon turning off and restarting the vehicle, he was able to continue to drive; however, the failure reoccurred while exiting the highway. The contact stated that the vehicle would fail to go into gear while attempting to shift into drive and depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact stated that the vehicle would start but would not move. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 195,000.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Feb 28, 2022Power train, Vehicle speed controlODI 11454522

Service brakes, hydraulic

32 reports
“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID. WHILE DRIVING AT 20 MPH AND APPROACHING A STOP SIGN, THE BRAKES FAILED TO RESPOND. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER, WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE HYDRAULIC UNIT FAILED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 102,000. UPDATED 7/9/15*CN”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Apr 29, 2015Service brakes, hydraulicODI 10713585
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 9, 2026

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.