2017 FORD ESCAPE — Complaint #1775217
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:TORQUE CONVERTER filed October 25, 2021
NHTSA complaint #1775217 (ODI reference 11438032) concerns a 2017 FORD ESCAPE and was filed on October 25, 2021. The owner reports the failure occurred on October 11, 2021. The report was geocoded to Maryland based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as power train:automatic transmission:torque converter, one of NHTSA's standardized taxonomy codes used to group defect patterns across make, model, and year.
The filer flagged the following severity indicators: crash: no, fire: no, injuries: 0, fatalities: 0. No crash, fire, or fatality was associated with this report, which places it in the early-warning stream rather than the priority-review stream. Because a VIN was supplied, this complaint is tied to a specific vehicle and not just a model-year cohort.
Individual complaints are consumer-submitted and unverified by NHTSA engineers — the agency's role at this stage is to collect, index, and make them searchable. What matters for federal action is the pattern: when many owners of the same FORD ESCAPE cohort independently describe similar power train:automatic transmission:torque converter failures, defect investigators have grounds to open a PE and request manufacturer data. Related filings for the same vehicle and component appear below, and the detail page for the full 2017 FORD ESCAPE shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
For several weeks experienced shudder/judder and hesitation. Most noticeable at around 40 mph. Vehicle serviced and inspected by both dealership and independent auto repair shop. Hesitation unsafe. Issue Not uncommon as found on FMC Escape forum. Dealer recommended transmission replacement after finding transmission fluid burned and contaminated with metallic debris. Verified Torque converter clutch shudder. Independent auto repair shop confirmed hesitation, engagement in higher gears is abnormal. No warning lights or other symptoms aside from shudder/judder/hesitation. Vehicle currently available for inspection. Vehicle had less than 76,000 miles when issue first started.
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 1775217 |
| ODI Number | 11438032 |
| Date Filed | October 25, 2021 |
| Failure Date | October 11, 2021 |
| VIN | 1FMCU0F73HU |
Similar POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:TORQUE CONVERTER Complaints for 2017 FORD ESCAPE
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal sound coming from the front of the vehicle. The contact stated that the check
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the vehicle shuddered abnormally. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer on t
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 MPH, the vehicle shuddered. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local independent mech
Torque converter failed at about 70,000. Ford denies a known issue and will only pay for 2/3 of the repair bill. Uploading two phots with the first photo of the torque converter with a blue high hea
Source: NHTSA Vehicle Complaints Database. Component taxonomy and severity codes are standardized by NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.