2018 FORD ESCAPE — Complaint #2095785
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about STRUCTURE:INTERIOR PANELS:DASHBOARD filed May 29, 2025
NHTSA complaint #2095785 (ODI reference 11663621) concerns a 2018 FORD ESCAPE and was filed on May 29, 2025. The owner reports the failure occurred on May 15, 2025. The vehicle had 103,000 miles on the odometer at the time of the incident. The report was geocoded to Virginia based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as structure:interior panels:dashboard, 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 structure:interior panels:dashboard 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 2018 FORD ESCAPE shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that while driving or reversing from a complete stop, the vehicle was shuddering and there was an abnormal waterflow sound coming from the dashboard. The vehicle was taken to Advance Auto, where it was diagnosed and determined that the spark plugs needed to be replaced. The contact stated that upon taking the vehicle to the dealer for an oil change and spark plug replacement, the contact was informed that the spark plugs were frozen, and the failure could cause the vehicle to stall while driving. The dealer determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not under recall. The failure mileage was approximately 103,000.
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 2095785 |
| ODI Number | 11663621 |
| Date Filed | May 29, 2025 |
| Failure Date | May 15, 2025 |
| VIN | 1FMCU9GD4JU |
Similar STRUCTURE:INTERIOR PANELS:DASHBOARD Complaints for 2018 FORD ESCAPE
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.