2018 FORD ESCAPE — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 1,768 complaints · 0 recalls
Most-reported system: ENGINE (1,240 complaints · 70.1%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 25
  • Fires 5
  • Injuries 30
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 2017 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution ENGINE appears in 1,240 of 1,768 owner complaints (70.1%) in this vehicle snapshot. ENGINE: 1,240 complaints, 70.1% of reports ENGINE 1,240 · 70.1% · 3 crash reports 3 fire reports POWER TRAIN: 213 complaints, 12.1% of reports POWER TRAIN 213 · 12.1% · 4 crash reports FUEL SYSTEM: 33 complaints, 1.9% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 33 · 1.9% ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 28 complaints, 1.6% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 28 · 1.6% STEERING: 26 complaints, 1.5% of reports STEERING 26 · 1.5% · 2 crash reports WHEELS: 20 complaints, 1.1% of reports WHEELS 20 · 1.1% · 1 crash reports SERVICE BRAKES: 18 complaints, 1.0% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 18 · 1.0% · 3 crash reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 17 complaints, 1.0% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 17 · 1.0% STRUCTURE: 16 complaints, 0.9% of reports STRUCTURE 16 · 0.9% · 2 crash reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 171 complaints, 9.7% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 171 · 9.7% · 9 crash reports 2 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
ENGINE 1,240 70.1% 3 crashes · 3 fires
POWER TRAIN 213 12.1% 4 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 33 1.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 28 1.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 26 1.5% 2 crashes · 0 fires
WHEELS 20 1.1% 1 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 18 1.0% 3 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 17 1.0% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STRUCTURE 16 0.9% 2 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 171 9.7% 9 crashes · 2 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Jan 2018. 2018-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2018-Q3: 10 owner reports 10 2018-Q4: 8 owner reports 8 2019-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2019-Q2: 12 owner reports 12 2019-Q3: 11 owner reports 11 2019-Q4: 14 owner reports 14 2020-Q1: 9 owner reports 9 2020-Q2: 9 owner reports 9 2020-Q3: 16 owner reports 16 2020-Q4: 9 owner reports 9 2021-Q1: 18 owner reports 18 2021-Q2: 13 owner reports 13 2021-Q3: 13 owner reports 13 2021-Q4: 11 owner reports 11 2022-Q1: 13 owner reports 13 2022-Q2: 33 owner reports 33 2022-Q3: 67 owner reports 67 2022-Q4: 37 owner reports 37 2023-Q1: 44 owner reports 44 2023-Q2: 52 owner reports 52 2023-Q3: 83 owner reports 83 2023-Q4: 77 owner reports 77 2024-Q1: 73 owner reports 73 2024-Q2: 133 owner reports 133 2024-Q3: 137 owner reports 137 2024-Q4: 121 owner reports 121 2025-Q1: 106 owner reports 106 2025-Q2: 173 owner reports 173 2025-Q3: 129 owner reports 129 2025-Q4: 82 owner reports 82 2026-Q1: 68 owner reports 68 2026-Q2: 119 owner reports 119 2026-Q3: 56 owner reports 56 Owner reports Jan 2018 Jul 2026
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2018-Q1 Owner reports 1
2018-Q2 Owner reports 6
2018-Q3 Owner reports 10
2018-Q4 Owner reports 8
2019-Q1 Owner reports 5
2019-Q2 Owner reports 12
2019-Q3 Owner reports 11
2019-Q4 Owner reports 14
2020-Q1 Owner reports 9
2020-Q2 Owner reports 9
2020-Q3 Owner reports 16
2020-Q4 Owner reports 9
2021-Q1 Owner reports 18
2021-Q2 Owner reports 13
2021-Q3 Owner reports 13
2021-Q4 Owner reports 11
2022-Q1 Owner reports 13
2022-Q2 Owner reports 33
2022-Q3 Owner reports 67
2022-Q4 Owner reports 37
2023-Q1 Owner reports 44
2023-Q2 Owner reports 52
2023-Q3 Owner reports 83
2023-Q4 Owner reports 77
2024-Q1 Owner reports 73
2024-Q2 Owner reports 133
2024-Q3 Owner reports 137
2024-Q4 Owner reports 121
2025-Q1 Owner reports 106
2025-Q2 Owner reports 173
2025-Q3 Owner reports 129
2025-Q4 Owner reports 82
2026-Q1 Owner reports 68
2026-Q2 Owner reports 119
2026-Q3 Owner reports 56
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (0)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

Zero safety recalls recorded for this model year in official NHTSA records.

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot Aug 21, 2026
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 1,768 complaints · page 1 of 71

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot Aug 21, 2026
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources