2012 Ford Escape Engine Problems
- Complaints
- 73about this part
- Share
- 12%of 604 total for the year
- Median mileage
- 40,500miles
- Trend
- FallingComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are at least 25% lower than in the 3 years before.
NHTSA recorded 73 complaints about the engine of the 2012 Ford Escape, 12% of the 604 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 40,500 miles. 3 of these say a crash was involved, according to the filers.
Example complaints
Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
“When my heater motor kicks on while I am driving it causes my car to want to stall or die. My car shutters so I must turn off my heat so my far will go as it should. Other times my car has had a hesitation while I am driving. I push the accelerator and it shutters . It has been an issue since I bought it like that. The happy car store glenbrook hyundai in fort wayne indiana sold it to me like this.”
NHTSA complaint #11162388, filed 2018-12, 110,350 miles“My 2012 Ford Escape suddenly loses power when driving. It happened on the highway and I was almost rear ended. I googled the symptoms and found that it is probably the etb electronic throttle body. This is dangerous and NHTSA did not issue a recall or protect the public by requiring Ford to provide towing. Instead NHTSA only required that Ford extend the warranty an additional 10 years leaving Ford owners at risk of injury or worse.”
NHTSA complaint #11278709, filed 2019-11, 47,900 miles“So far.. 3 times now, I have been driving and my car has strongly surged forward and stalled! I was almost hit today while trying to put my car in neutral to re-start my car. Once the car was re-started it continued to surge forward quite violently. This is an epic safety hazard and needs to be resolved/addressed asap!!!”
NHTSA complaint #10693207, filed 2015-03, 26,000 miles“When driving the car would completely shut off, the check engine light would come on, and I lost control of steering and acceleration. I had to try to get over to the side of the road. The car would usually turn back on. I had to take it back into the Ford dealership 4 times for them to figure out what was wrong with it, as they thought they had fixed it each time.”
NHTSA complaint #10542293, filed 2013-09, 41,000 miles“On two separate occasions, my 2012 Ford Escape has completely shut off on me while driving at about 40 MPH. I had to coast to the side of the road, one time on a side road and the other on a highway while trying to accelerate, and then turn the car off and back on again. Both times that seemed to correct the problem. This is an extremely dangerous defect that seems to have been reported by many other 2012 Escape owners on forums/blogs.”
NHTSA complaint #11045858, filed 2017-11, 68,000 milesRelated service bulletins
- 10095154Jan 10, 2017To help differentiate engine oil leaks from other possible sources, a new white-colored fluorescent engine oil dye is available. Workshop manual (wsm), section 303-00 has been…
- 10109070Sep 21, 2016The Powertrain Control/Emissions Diagnosis (PC/ED) manual has been revised for diagnosing electronic throttle bodies (ETBs). The ETC_ACT and ETC_DSD PIDs should not used to…
- 10055019Jan 1, 2014Ford: within 20 seconds after remote starting vehicle, there is a start stall issue and diagnostic trouble code (dtc) p1594 is set in body control module (bcm). Model 2012-2014…
- 10053656Nov 13, 2013Ford: due to an intermittent loss of rpm or lack of acceleration, in some vehicles, with illuminated wrench light, diagnostic trouble codes (dtcs) p2111, p2112 may or may not be…
- 10052191Apr 1, 2013Ford/lincoln/mercury: some vehicles may experience an illuminated mil or safety stop now message, or a no start condition or possible misfire or roughness at idling through…
- 10044230Mar 1, 2012Ford/mercury/lincoln: some vehicles exhibit a cold weather phenomenon where fluid has expelled out of vent on rear drive units (rdu) and fluid, on occasion, would burp out.
Engine: other model years
| Year | Complaints | Share of year |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 5 | 19% |
| 2024 | 13 | 17% |
| 2023 | 28 | 28% |
| 2022 | 33 | 14% |
| 2021 | 44 | 13% |
| 2020 | 122 | 8% |
| 2019 | 317 | 53% |
| 2018 | 1,169 | 64% |
| 2017 | 1,583 | 59% |
| 2016 | 200 | 17% |
| 2015 | 239 | 21% |
| 2014 | 727 | 35% |
| 2013 | 1,266 | 46% |
| 2012 | 73 | 12% |
| 2011 | 248 | 19% |
| 2010 | 493 | 24% |
| 2009 | 254 | 15% |
| 2008 | 83 | 4% |
| 2007 | 25 | 10% |
| 2006 | 47 | 10% |
| 2005 | 130 | 9% |
| 2004 | 31 | 6% |
| 2003 | 24 | 4% |
| 2002 | 36 | 4% |
| 2001 | 27 | 3% |
Other parts of the 2012 Ford Escape
160 complaintsSteering
140 complaintsVehicle speed control
70 complaintsBody and structure
68 complaintsTransmission and drivetrain
66 complaintsOther or unknown
46 complaintsElectrical system
42 complaintsAir bags
25 complaintsBrakes
21 complaintsVisibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
20 complaintsSeat belts
19 complaintsSuspension
12 complaints
← All problems reported for the 2012 Ford Escape
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 27, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.
To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology