2023 Ford Escape power train problems

“I was driving to work and the transmission faltered, grinded, tried to shift, and I thought the vehicle was going to crash. There were cars around me, and I was going about 30 to 35 miles per hour. I was able to pull over and turned off the car. I then drove it to an auto shop and the mechanic stated that it is the transmission. My Ford Escape 2023 has 68,000 miles. It has stalled twice on the road at a stop light/stop sign since August 2026 also. I no longer trust that the vehicle is safe.”

“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.”

“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 to be towed to the dealer. Dealer found the "whole FD-CAN network will not communicate" and traced the issue to an intermittent open circuit in the Power Steering Control Module. Additional photo + video evidence available upon request.”

“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.”

“**On August 19, 2026, while driving my 2023 Ford Escape on Interstate 57 (I-57), with approximately 35,575 miles on the vehicle, the vehicle suddenly accelerated unexpectedly. I immediately attempted to apply the brakes, but the vehicle did not respond as expected and I could not stop it immediately. I became very frightened and started sounding the horn and turned on the hazard warning lights. I noticed that the lane immediately to my right was relatively clear, so I moved into that lane and applied the brakes again. The vehicle then responded to the brakes, allowing me to slow down and stop. I moved as far to the right as possible and stopped on the side of the road. I was extremely shaken and felt dizzy after the incident. I stopped to catch my breath and contacted my husband to tell him what had happened. During the incident, the Check Engine Light came on and the vehicle displayed the message “Powertrain Malfunction / Reduced Power.” I took the vehicle to a Ford dealer for inspection. The dealer diagnosed a turbocharger problem and advised that the turbocharger needs to be replaced under warranty. The vehicle was left at the dealership for repair, and I…”