Ford · Escape · 2016
2016 Ford Escape: problems & reliability
NHTSA has logged 1,180 owner complaints and 4 safety recalls for the 2016 Ford Escape. The most-reported problem area is the transmission & powertrain (27% of complaints), followed by backup camera & sensors and engine. Make sure every open recall has been fixed by a dealer before you buy.
Common 2016 Ford Escape problems
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Transmission & powertrain problems
322 owner complaints to NHTSA (27% of all complaints for this model year) involve the transmission & powertrain, including 5 crashes, 1 fire, 8 injuries. One owner reported: “The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at 25 MPH and coming to a stop at the stop light, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle accelerated unintendedly and crashed into the rear end of another…”
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Backup camera & sensors problems
259 owner complaints to NHTSA (22% of all complaints for this model year) involve the backup camera & sensors, including 8 crashes. One owner reported: “The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part needed to complete the recall repair was not available. The contact stated that while…”
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Engine problems
202 owner complaints to NHTSA (17% of all complaints for this model year) involve the engine, including 3 crashes, 6 fires, 2 injuries. One owner reported: “The contact owned a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 65 MPH, there was smoke coming from the hood to the windshield. The contact pulled over and there were flames entering the vehicle. The fire…”
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Electrical system problems
95 owner complaints to NHTSA (8% of all complaints for this model year) involve the electrical system, including 1 crash, 3 fires, 1 injury. One owner reported: “When purchase 2016 ford escape within a month service engine light came on you can smell coolant sometines smoke smell took vehicle in they told it was nothing to worry about, from 2016 to 2021 I had to purchase coolant over ten times it…”
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Fuel system problems
72 owner complaints to NHTSA (6% of all complaints for this model year) involve the fuel system, including 1 crash, 1 fire. One owner reported: “Vehicle died on road going 25 mph in [XXX]. Drove it 1/2 mile to dealership. Dealer determined faulty fuel pump assembly and replaced. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)”
Owner complaints by area
| Area | Complaints | Share | Chart |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transmission & powertrain | 322 | 27% | |
| Backup camera & sensors | 259 | 22% | |
| Engine | 202 | 17% | |
| Electrical system | 95 | 8% | |
| Fuel system | 72 | 6% | |
| Steering | 71 | 6% | |
| Engine & cooling | 57 | 5% | |
| Speed control & acceleration | 32 | 3% |
1,180 complaints filed with NHTSA in total, reporting 39 crashes, 10 fires, 21 injuries. A complaint can involve more than one area.
2016 Ford Escape recalls
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Equipment › Electrical › Engine block heater
Risk: An electrical short circuit can increase the risk of a fire.
Remedy: Owners are advised not to plug in their block heater until the vehicle is remedied. Dealers will replace the block heater, free of charge. Owners will also have a alternative option to replace engine block heater element with a threaded plug, and remove the block heater electrical cord. Interim letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, were mailed March 6, 2026. Additional letters will be sent once the final remedy is available. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 26S01. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on January 16, 2026.
Full recall summary
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013-2018 Focus, 2013-2019 Escape, and 2015-2016 MKC vehicles equipped with a 2.0L engine. The engine block heater may crack and develop a coolant leak, causing it to short circuit when the block heater is plugged in.
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Back over prevention › Sensing system › Camera
Risk: A rearview camera that fails to properly display an image can reduce the driver’s view behind the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect and replace the rearview camera as necessary, free of charge. This will be a phased campaign, with the remedy becoming available in different phases based on model and model years. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on October 25, 2025. Additional letters will be mailed once the final remedy is available on each phase. Mustang owner notification letters were mailed January 2, 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25SA9. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on October 14, 2025.
Full recall summary
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015-2019 Flex, 2015 Explorer, Lincoln MKT, Lincoln MKZ, 2015-2016 C-Max, Escape, Taurus, 2016 Fusion, 2018-2019 Taurus, 2019 Lincoln MKT, Fiesta, and 2020 Mustang vehicles. The rearview camera may display a distorted, intermittent, or blank image when the vehicle is in reverse.
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Power train › Automatic transmission › Gear position indication (prndl)
Risk: A damaged or missing bushing may prevent the vehicle from shifting into the intended gear, and cause the vehicle to move in an unexpected direction. Additionally, the vehicle may roll after the driver selects the 'Park' position. Either scenario increases the risk of a crash or injury.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the under hood shift bushing and add a protective cap over the shift cable bushing, free of charge. Interim owner notification letters, informing owners of the safety risk, were mailed July 1, 2022. Remedy parts are expected to be available in 4th Quarter 2022. Owner notification letters were mailed October 27, 2022. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 22S43.
Full recall summary
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013-2019 Escape, 2013-2018 C-Max, 2013-2016 Fusion, 2013-2021 Transit Connect, and 2015-2018 Edge vehicles. The bushing that attaches the shifter cable to the transmission may degrade or detach.
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Air bags › Knee bolster
Risk: In the event of a crash, if the driver's knee air bag does not inflate as intended, the driver has an increased risk of injury.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace driver's knee air bag, free of charge. The recall began on August 8, 2017. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 17C11.
Full recall summary
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2016 Ford Escape vehicles. The driver's knee airbag modules installed in these vehicles were produced without the inflator gas generant material, and, as a result, the air bags may not inflate properly in the event of a crash. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. To check whether a specific car’s recalls have been repaired, enter its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
2016 Ford Escape crash-test ratings
NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings for the 2016 Ford Escape SUV AWD. Ratings can differ between body styles and drivetrains (2 versions tested or listed).
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Specifications
- Drivetrains
- AWD, FWD
- Body styles
- SUV
Other Ford Escape years
About this data
Problems, complaint counts, recalls and crash-test ratings come from the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) public databases, last checked 2026-11-03. Complaints are reports from owners and have not all been verified by NHTSA.
How we score reliability: every model year starts at 100. Points come off for the number of owner complaints (on a log scale, up to 40 points), for each safety recall (2 points each, up to 15) and for complaints involving crashes, fires, injuries or deaths (up to 15). Popular vehicles get more complaints simply because more are on the road, so compare scores between similar vehicles. More about our method.
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