Ford Escape Used Buying Guide: Known Issues

• When you buy a used Ford from us at Karl Flammer, you’ll get a lifetime powertrain warranty.
• Most of the larger issues haven’t been as prevalent in recent years.
• The biggest issue was with the power steering, ultimately being boiled down to a communication issue.

Over the years, the Escape has seen its fair share of issues. While there have been a few, that doesn’t mean that it’s a bad vehicle. There’s a number of reasons as to why these issues happened, but here at Karl Flammer, we’re making sure that you won't have to worry.

Some of the issues that came up for other drivers over the years are problems with the transmission, ignition misfires, engine stumbling, and power steering loss.

Taking a closer look at these issues will reveal their severity. The first one being the transmission. While older models were more prone to the issue, some newer models have seen it return. Drivers who experienced this issue reported feeling stuttering, slipping, and other types of hesitation when it came to changing gears.

The ignition misfires, while not as immediately concerning as the transmission issues, will still be problematic if left unchecked. This issue has the ability to mess with other components causing an even larger issue, and if not remedied will lead to costly, and more frequent repairs.

The next issue is engine stumbling. Much like other powertrain issues, these are very problematic, especially when on the road. This issue makes the engine lose power, and makes it impossible to accelerate. Even if the car turns back on, this problem is still one that should be taken seriously.

The last issue is power steering loss. While reported more than a decade ago at a widespread level. This is one that has happened before at a large enough rate to warrant having it here. When travelling at lower speeds, some drivers noted that they had to use more force to turn their wheel. Others reported that at higher speeds, they lost power steering completely. The NHTSA investigated the Escape for years, and ultimately found the problem. The problem was with the “torque sensor's communication with the power steering control module could cut steering assistance for drivers.”

But you may wonder what Karl Flammer does about these issues. Here at Karl Flammer we offer a few ways of making sure that these problems are taken care of. If your vehicle does need service at any point in its life, we have you covered. We employ the best service techs that are Ford-Certified. We have both the equipment, and expertise to get you on the road quickly. We offer oil changes, tire rotations, wheel alignments, and so much more. If you can’t make it to us, we even offer mobile service.

When you buy used from us, you’ll receive a lifetime powertrain warranty, as well as a year of complimentary maintenance. This is how confident we are in our vehicles being both safe, and reliable. If you’re ever in a fender bender, or even something that does a bit more damage to the body, we can tackle that too with our collision center.