Problems · by component

2016 Ford Escape fuel/propulsion system problems

62 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2016 Ford Escape cite fuel/propulsion system, 5% of all 1,178 complaints for this model year.

Complaints
62
5% of all complaints
Crashes
1
Reported by owners
Fires
1
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
Reported by owners
01 —Owner reports

What owners say about the fuel/propulsion system

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“Vehicle died on road going 25 mph in [XXX]. Drove it 1/2 mile to dealership. Dealer determined faulty fuel pump assembly and replaced.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Oct 3, 2026Fuel/propulsion systemODI 11768766
“I am the 2nd owner of my 2016 Ford Escape 1.6L ecoboost, my aunt and uncle were the original owners. Between us we have every maintenance record of every on time and professionally performed requirement the Escape has needed and it ran beautifully. Then, in February 2026 the idle started to get a bit rough and I was preparing to put in the OEM sparkplugs when 3/28/26 the engine overheated, I was stranded on the side of a 45 mph street waiting for it to cool so I could move to safety. Between that incident and 4/29/26 I went thru 9 gallons of coolant, replaced the sparkplugs, put the front end up and "burp' the system as there was constantly air bubbles being introduced from a source I could not find. I had the hoses and clamps inspected, replaced the coolant reservoir and the reservoir cap, the vehicle started to shutter upon starting even after it was warmed up and every day needed to be burped and topped off before and after driving in town but often had no coolant loss during freeway driving, finally 4/28/26 I noticed smoke from the exhaust when I started the car in the morning and that smoke was accompanied by a foul, burnt, electric smell. While burping…”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled May 1, 2026Power train, Engine, Fuel/propulsion systemODI 11735017
“Transmission went out at 101k miles - transmission needed to be rebuilt which I had done at a large cost. There was no warning, the trans went out while driving. Purge valve for gas (EVAP) also went out without any warning and when I would put gas in the car, the car would not start.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Mar 18, 2026Unknown or other, Fuel/propulsion systemODI 11725309
“There is already a recall on the Ford Fusion for this very same issue, they have identical engines, fuel systems etc, but code is P1450 and at times, randomly the sound of a struggling fuel pump happens, and the solution is to have the Fuel Canister Purge valve replaced, this is a known and recalled issue on the Ford Fusion but apparently not on the 2016 Ford Escape SE that the majority of those vehicles do have both issues and failures with. Ford knows about this since they already have recalled the Ford Fusion for the very same thing happening. I have a "Forever Warranty" through Ford, which they explained 100% of all moving parts having to do with the Drive Train was covered, however they know about this issue, and yet no recall is happening I told them what the code is they still insist on charging $189 to tell me what my OBDII computer already has a few times at this point. Prestige Ford in Mt Dora, FL is the dealership that I will never deal with again for anything other than to maintain the warranty I was railroaded into that they don't seem to even want to honor making me pay out $189 for a known issue with the engines that are the same engines as in…”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Mar 5, 2026Fuel/propulsion systemODI 11722235
“While driving my vehicle my vehicle would suddenly stall while in motion. This stalling happens while driving and has stalled in the middle of intersections causing passing vehicles to slam there breaks to avoid hitting me. In addition my vehicle has stalled and almost causing rear end collisions. There would be no warning signs or no lamps that turn on when it first stalls. After the initial stalling of the vehicle it would rough idle, tug and continue to stall. Until I get to a destination. A check engine lamp may turn on once in awhile but not always. If the mechanic shop is closed and I try to take my car the next day the lamp would be off and it would not stall anymore until I use it further. I have taken my car to a Napa when the engine lamp turned on and pulled a code for fuel pump. Although when I get it to my mechanic the light has turned off and they cant get a code from it. This has been happening for approximately a year now. It also seems to happen when fuel gets to quarter tank or less. This happens multiple times approximately 1-2 times everyb2 weeks.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jul 13, 2025Fuel/propulsion systemODI 11673137
“a couple of years ago my car started having problems when accelerating, it would not accelerate or almost get to stall without warning, a couple times I got the message " engine fault - service now" . I took my car to the dealership and they could not find the root cause because the message would disappear when turning the car off and on again, therefore they could not reproduce the issue but my car had this same episode 3 times over the past 8 years without resolution from the dealership. finally a few days ago the issue came back but this time the message is not going away after turning off the car, I used a code reader and the error code reads: P0236. I am trying to get an appointment at the dealership to have my car looked at and finally have the repair done. but I believe my ford escape should be part of recall No. 14V495000 for Ford Escape MY 2013-2014 along with other Ford escapes model year 2016.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jun 17, 2025Electrical system, Engine, Fuel/propulsion systemODI 11667579

Showing 6 of 62 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 3, 2026NHTSA vehicle page

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