Recalls
Safety issues the manufacturer must repair for free. A recall means confirm the fix was done, not walk away.
No recalls on record for this model
No safety recalls were found in this dataset. It is still worth entering the exact VIN on NHTSA before purchase, since recalls can be added at any time.
Owner complaints by system
Unverified reports owners filed with NHTSA, grouped by the part of the car. Useful for spotting patterns. Open a group to read recent examples.
Engine & powertrain
9
Most reports here involve fluid leaks. Of these, 1 mention a crash, 1 mention an injury.
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Our 2021 Ford Escape has "Intelligent" adaptive cruise control. It has the capacity to adjust our car speed based on the highway speed limit signs it encounters. It reads all speed correctly but it also reads "black and white, square, numeric, County Road signs as Speed Signs. This is dangerous as many County Road signs have numerics that drastically exceed the posted speed limit and cause the car to rapidly excellerate around a curve or in neighborhood settings. So for example, in a 35 mph speed zone, the car sees the County Road 85 sign and rapidly attempts to excelerate by 50 mph to 85 mph. This surprises you and forces you to seek the brake pedal in an attempt to avoid a casualty. We have reported this to Ford and brought our vehicle in twice now regarding the issue. On 10/5/22 Ford replaced the car's image module to help clarify highway signs for adaptive cruise. This did not remedy the problem. After nearly running over an animal because of this issue, we brought the car back to Ford on 5/8/24 to correct this issue under our nearly expired warranty. They had our vehicle for 3 weeks. We furnished them with photos of the County Road signs the car's speed was erroneously triggered by, such as Co Rd 85 or 106! After much research with Ford International, the dealer determined that this is a software bug. On a recent "on-line" Ford document, on page 289, it states "Note: The system may not detect all speed signs and may incorrectly read signs." This can occur when the county road signs are similar in shape and color to a speed limit sign. This is a limitation of the system and currently cannot be avoided or corrected." Please understand this information is not listed in our 2021 Escape Owners Manual. Furthermore, on the 2024 Escape loaner vehicle we had for 3 weeks while ours was in the shop, Ford changed out their adaptive cruise control system from "Intelligent to Predictive" which now uses GPS to compensate. Meanwhile our car remains a hazard to drive. Help!
Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #11592683 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov
Electrical & infotainment
10
Most reports here involve sudden stalling.
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Power train lost during driving, suddenly the car lost the power and a light in the dashboard start blinking, it recovers after a few times turning it on and off, seems to be triggered by brake pedal press, car has been having issues since Oct 2025 after unplugged it
Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #11759090 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov
Brakes
1
Most reports here involve premature wear.
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Brakes are squealing very badly when in reverse, (going down a hill or when have not been used in a few days or after a rain storm). Windshield sub-stained a splintered crack after only 2 months, quality of windshield seems weak.
Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #11487308 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov
Other systems
2
Most reports here involve other issues.
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NOV 20, 2025 Manufacturer Recall Number25SC4 NHTSA Recall Number25V789 Recall StatusRecall Incomplete, remedy not yet available Summary this has been 9 months and still no remedy. this doesnt seem timely.
Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #11756939 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov