2018 FORD ESCAPE — Complaint #2176975
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about ENGINE filed February 15, 2026
NHTSA complaint #2176975 (ODI reference 11718089) concerns a 2018 FORD ESCAPE and was filed on February 15, 2026. The owner reports the failure occurred on February 13, 2026. The report was geocoded to Arizona based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as engine, 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 engine 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
1. Vehicle Information ⢠2018 Ford Escape ECOSYSTEM 1.5 ⢠84,000 ⢠VIN [XXX] . Problem Description : My 2018 Ford Escape has experienced coolant intrusion into the engine cylinders, a known issue affecting this model year. The vehicle began misfiring and consuming coolant without external leaks. This is an engine defect Ford has known about since 2010, yet they continued to put this engine into their cars. It is also the subject of at least one class action lawsuit. Common Issue: Many 2017â2019 1.5L engines suffer from coolant leaks into the cylinders, necessitating a replacement with a redesigned block.The dealership confirmed a Technical Service Bulletin applies to my VIN. This defect can cause engine failure while driving, creating a serious safety risk. Safety Risk: ⢠Loss of power while driving ⢠Risk of engine stall ⢠Overheating risk ⢠Highway safety concern INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 2176975 |
| ODI Number | 11718089 |
| Date Filed | February 15, 2026 |
| Failure Date | February 13, 2026 |
| VIN | 1FMCU0GD8JU |
Similar ENGINE Complaints for 2018 FORD ESCAPE
While driving to work on February 16, 2026 my car started making a knocking noise and had a hard time going. At one point I was in the middle of the road and the car wouldnât move. I had it towed to
While driving 1,100 miles from Topeka, Kansas to Maryland to spend time with our first grandchild, our trip was interrupted by coolant intrusion in the cylinders of our 2018 Ford Escape SE (ecoboost),
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I had three incidents in January of 2026 where the coolant was leaking and then the check engine light would come on. I took it to the Ford dealership to have it checked and they said I need a new eng
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.