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2015 Ford Escape: engine and transmission complaints

HIGH COMPLAINT SIGNAL
51%
538 of 1,085 relevant owner complaints are about the engine, transmission or fuel system

51% of relevant owner complaints filed with NHTSA on the 2015 Ford Escape are about the engine, transmission or fuel system. That is a model-level pattern, not bad luck.

Worse than 67% of the 1,230 model years we track (2010–2023).

NHTSA data checked September 13, 2026
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Drivetrain complaints
538
engine, transmission, fuel
Total complaints
1,085
this model year
Fires reported
19
owner-reported
Recall campaigns
9
29 crashes · 32 injuries

Complaints by component

POWER TRAIN284 · 26%
ENGINE238 · 22%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER140 · 13%
BACK OVER PREVENTION136 · 13%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM135 · 12%
STEERING81 · 7%

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 in 2015

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

UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE09/25/2023CRASH3 INJURED
While my family and I were returning from lunch and pulling into a parking space at my moms apartment complex, my 2015 Ford escape SE eco-boost, had a sudden unintentional acceleration where it basically accelerated forward and we hit a building. During this, the brakes were unresponsive, and there was building and veh…
POWER TRAIN,AIR BAGS09/03/2024CRASH1 INJURED
The contact owned a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at highway speeds, the vehicle died without warning. Due to the failure, the contact was left stranded in the middle of the highway. While the contact was on the phone with 911, another vehicle crashed into the contact's vehicle from behind. Th…
ENGINE11/19/20221 INJURED
While driving the vehicle, I received a notice on the dash screen stating that the engine was overheated and to pull over as soon as possible. I followed the instructions (within 30 seconds) and shut the engine off but before I could exit the vehicle, there was a large amount smoke/steam coming from the engine area and…

Three of 538 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 (9)

SEAT BELTS
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2014 Ford F-150 and E-350, 2014-2015 Ford Escape, and 2015 Lincoln MKC vehicles. Improperly manufactured bolts may have be…
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:DOORS:LATCH
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2012-2015 Ford Focus, 2013-2015 Ford Escape and Ford C-MAX, 2015 Lincoln MKC and Ford Mustang, and 2014-2016 For…
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/PANEL
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2014-2015 Ford Escape vehicles manufactured May 19, 2014, to February 6, 2015, and Transit Connect vehicles manu…

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

Before you buy a 2015 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.