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2013 Ford Escape: engine and transmission complaints

VERY HIGH COMPLAINT SIGNAL
68%
1,816 of 2,752 relevant owner complaints are about the engine, transmission or fuel system

68% of relevant owner complaints filed with NHTSA on the 2013 Ford Escape are about the engine, transmission or fuel system. Well over half of everything owners reported is the drivetrain. That is a severe model-level pattern; every model year we track at this level has a documented failure behind it.

Worse than 90% of the 1,230 model years we track (2010–2023).

NHTSA data checked September 13, 2026
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Drivetrain complaints
1,816
engine, transmission, fuel
Total complaints
2,752
this model year
Fires reported
89
owner-reported
Recall campaigns
18
50 crashes · 55 injuries

Complaints by component

ENGINE1,268 · 46%
POWER TRAIN402 · 15%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM340 · 12%
STEERING302 · 11%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER300 · 11%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM247 · 9%

The years either side

2010
55%
1,149 of 2,127
2011
48%
639 of 1,353
2012
43%
249 of 613
2013
68%
1,816 of 2,752
2014
67%
1,347 of 2,080
2015
51%
538 of 1,085
2016
53%
571 of 1,109
2017
85%
2,223 of 2,669
2018
90%
1,575 of 1,783
2019
84%
470 of 582
2020
26%
458 of 1,809
2021
28%
91 of 339
2022
35%
101 of 297
2023
45%
52 of 118

Manufacturers fix things mid-generation. A bad year next to a clean one is common; the fix usually arrived in between.

Cleaner alternatives

Same car, a better year

Other compact SUVs with no elevated signal

The percentage is each model year's drivetrain complaint share. No elevated signal describes the model year, not any one car; a well-kept example of a flagged model can still be the right buy, and any of these still needs an inspection.

What owners reported

AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS,ENGINE08/07/20232 INJURED
I purchased my vehicle may 6,2020 Accident accord in Winnie,Tx June 22,2020 on the highway me and my kids father were on the highway at the time the highway was getting construction work done as we were driving down the highway street someone hit us broke one of my ribs and my left elbow as well I didn’t have any knowl…
AIR BAGS,ENGINE12/31/2018CRASH2 INJURED
MY FIANC AND I WERE PULLING OUT OF OUR DRIVEWAY WHEN THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY STALLED AND STOPPED COMPLETELY. THE VEHICLE WAS THEN HIT BY ANOTHER VEHICLE THE SIDE AIRBAG DIDN'T DEPLOY AND MY FIANC IS VERY LUCKY TO BE ALIVE! IT WASN'T UNTIL WE PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE THAT WE REALIZED THAT THIS PARTICULAR VEHICLE HAS HAD SO M…
STEERING,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE07/16/2023CRASH1 INJURED
December of 2022 - Took car to shop due to engine overheat light and oil smell inside vehicle as well as other "codes coming up. Vehicle was repaired. May 2023 had to take car back to shop due to cranking and it immediately saying engine overheating, low coolant, and various other codes as well as brakes not proper…

Three of 1,816 drivetrain complaints. The full report shows more, with quotes about the engine in the car you are looking at first.

Recall campaigns on this model year (18)

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:LEVER AND LINKAGE:FLOOR SHIFT
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013-2014 Ford Escape, and 2013-2016 Ford Fusion vehicles, equipped with six-speed automatic transmissions. The bushing th…
STRUCTURE:BODY:DOOR
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Escape vehicles manufactured October 5, 2011, through April 10, 2014. Due to an assembly misalignment…
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2013 Escape vehicles manufactured January 11, 2012, to April 1, 2013, and 2013-2014 Focus ST vehicles manufactur…

This does not say whether a particular car has an open, unrepaired recall. That depends on the VIN.

Before you buy a 2013 Ford Escape

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Experimental model-level information. This is not a vehicle inspection, vehicle-history report, financial advice or purchase recommendation. It describes patterns across a model year, not the condition of any individual vehicle.