Ford Escape: which model years to avoid
Complaint and recall totals for every Ford Escape model year we track, ranked by severity.
| Model year | Complaints | Recalls | Crashes | Fires | Severity | Most-reported system |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 598 | 2 | 37 | 3 | 62.5 Medium | STEERING |
| 2013 | 2,744 | 18 | 50 | 88 | 42.6 Medium | ENGINE |
| 2014 | 2,069 | 16 | 47 | 103 | 62.5 Medium | ENGINE |
| 2015 | 1,037 | 9 | 29 | 19 | 46.9 Medium | POWER TRAIN |
| 2016 | 1,046 | 4 | 32 | 10 | 32.5 Low | POWER TRAIN |
| 2017 | 2,635 | 4 | 39 | 15 | 26.3 Low | ENGINE |
| 2018 | 1,739 | 4 | 25 | 5 | 21.3 Low | ENGINE |
| 2019 | 564 | 3 | 24 | 3 | 59.9 Medium | ENGINE |
| 2020 | 1,484 | 23 | 20 | 4 | 22.1 Low | STRUCTURE |
| 2021 | 326 | 19 | 9 | 9 | 39.9 Medium | STRUCTURE |
| 2022 | 223 | 19 | 6 | 4 | 46.6 Medium | FUEL SYSTEM |
| 2023 | 94 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 36.2 Medium | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM |
| 2024 | 75 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 64.0 Medium | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM |
Across 13 model years, the 2024 Ford Escape carries the highest severity index (64.0, driven by electrical system), while the 2018 is the cleanest at 21.3.
Source. NHTSA public complaint and recall APIs. Complaint counts are not normalised by units sold; a high-volume seller will attract more filings than a rare trim.