Sell your Ford Escape in Tulsa

Ford Escape problems: where the complaints pile up

The counts below are NHTSA's: the federal highway safety agency sorts owner complaints by model year and part, and we read the Escape's file in September 2026. Each is an owner's account, not a proven defect, and a big sales year piles up reports on volume alone.

• 2012: Steering and the fuel system tie for the most complaints. The steering reports describe power assist that quits mid-drive.
• 2013 and 2014: 2,753 and 2,084 complaints, the engine named on 1,268 and 723 of them. Many engine reports mention coolant: a level that keeps dropping, or an engine running hot. The power train comes next, on 402 and 481.
• 2015 and 2016: The power train leads, on 285 and 320 complaints. Rearview camera reports run high too, 148 and 214, many from owners still waiting on a recall part.
• 2017, 2018 and 2019: The engine is named on 1,568 of 2,681 complaints for the 2017, 1,147 of 1,793 for the 2018 and 309 of 587 for the 2019. The reports read alike: coolant that keeps disappearing, shaking and misfires, white smoke from the exhaust, and a shop finding coolant in the cylinders. Owners who give the engine size mostly name the 1.5-liter or 2.0-liter EcoBoost.
• 2020: Structure leads, on 710 of 1,817 complaints. Most describe a front door, often the driver's, that pops or grinds as it opens and closes, with spot welds breaking loose at the hinge or door check.
• 2022 onward: On the 2022, the engine (102) and the fuel system (62) lead, and many of those owners say the part for an open recall wasn't available yet. On the 2023 and 2024, electrical complaints are the largest group.

So on a 2013 to 2019 Escape, check two things first: coolant and shifting.

Source: NHTSA complaints: 2012 Escape; 2013; 2014; 2015; 2016; 2017; 2018; 2019; 2020; 2020 hybrid; 2020 plug-in; 2022; 2022 hybrid; 2022 plug-in; 2023; 2024.

Escape recalls a buyer's VIN check can turn up

The Escape recalls that matter most in a sale, by part:

• Shifter cable bushing, 2013 to 2019: 18V471 covers the 2013 and 2014, 22V254 the 2015 with the 2.0-liter, and 22V413 reaches from 2013 to 2019. A worn bushing can let the lever sit in Park while the transmission "may not be in Park, with no warning message or audible chime." Dealers replace the bushing.
• 1.6-liter engine, 2013 and 2014: Four recalls (12V431, 12V551, 13V583, 17V209) deal with coolant loss or an overheating cylinder head that can leak fluid near hot engine parts.
• 2.0-liter block heater, 2013 to 2019: 26V011, issued in January 2026. The heater can crack and short out, and owners are told not to plug it in until it's repaired.
• 1.5-liter fuel injectors, 2020 to 2022: Recalls since 2022 for an injector that can crack and leak fuel. The newest, 25V467, replaces the earlier ones, and cars already fixed under them "will need to have the new final remedy performed once it is available." An old injector repair doesn't close it.
• Hybrid and plug-in hybrid, 2020 to 2025: 2.5-liter engine failures that can release oil and fuel vapor (22V484, 23V380, 25V345), control software that can drop the car into neutral (24V330, 25V133), and high-voltage battery cells (24V954, 25V789, 26V091). Battery notices say to stop or limit charging until it's fixed.
• 2023 to 2025: 25V372, cylinder heads that can leak oil. Dealers replace the head where needed.

Run your own VIN through NHTSA's recall lookup to see which of these reach your car. Federal law makes that repair free, with an age cutoff: if the first owner bought the car more than 15 calendar years before the recall notice, the maker no longer has to pay for it. For a 2012 or 2013 Escape, that cutoff is getting close.

Source: NHTSA recalls: 2013 Escape; 2014; 2015; 2020; 2020 plug-in; 2022 plug-in; 2023; 49 U.S.C. 30120 (Cornell LII).

Coolant loss and transmission wear: pay for it or sell?

The costliest problem in these complaints is coolant getting into the cylinders, reported most on 2017 to 2019 cars, and none of the recalls listed for those years covers it. In many of those reports, the fix a shop proposed was a replacement engine. A transmission that slips, shudders, shifts hard or flashes a fault message is in the same spot: the bushing recalls fix the shifter linkage, not the transmission itself.

Before paying for either, get the diagnosis and price in writing and compare it with an offer on the Escape as it is. If the quote is most of what the Escape would fetch running, you'd be paying to hand the next owner a better car. For symptoms, see our engine problems and transmission guides; to weigh a quote against an offer, use repair or sell.

Anyone who drives it will notice coolant loss or slipping, so write the fault on the bill of sale up front.

Five things that change an Escape offer

This page names no price, since no one can price an Escape unseen. A buyer looks at:

• Engine and drive: 1.5-liter, 1.6-liter, 2.0-liter, hybrid or plug-in, front- or all-wheel drive. Many recalls here are engine-specific, so say which you have.
• Coolant and shifting: whether it holds coolant between top-offs, and whether it shifts cleanly and stays put in Park.
• Recall status: done, open or waiting on parts, with repair orders as proof.
• Miles and condition: the true odometer reading, dents or cracked glass, any warning light, and whether it moves under its own power.
• The title: one in your name with no lender on it is the easy case. A loan or a lost title adds steps; see car with a loan and lost title.

Your two buyers in Tulsa: us or the partner

Tell us the year, the engine, the mileage and what it's doing, by phone at (539) 271-2021 or through the form. We're buyers too: some Escapes we take ourselves, anywhere in Tulsa, and those are paid by check. A missing title or lost keys doesn't stop us looking; some of those Escapes we can buy and some we can't, and we'll say which.

Peddle, the partner, makes a free, no-obligation offer online, books the tow and covers its cost. Payment comes at pickup, in Peddle's words: "Peddle issues payment immediately by check." Before pickup, find the title and registration and have a driver's license or other valid ID on hand, as its page lists. Peddle pays us a referral fee on a sale that closes through its offer. Our cash for cars page lays both routes out.

Whichever buyer you pick, Oklahoma's rules are the same. Service Oklahoma requires an odometer disclosure whenever a 2011 or newer vehicle changes owners, which takes in every Escape covered here. It's normally part of the title assignment; when it isn't, Form 729 does the job. You'll also sign the title in front of a notary, and the paperwork guide walks through both. This page is ours alone; Ford Motor Company and its dealers have no part in it.

Source: Peddle, the partner's selling page; Service Oklahoma, titles and ownership transfers.

Getting an offer on your Escape

With the VIN and mileage written down and your recall results open, call (539) 271-2021 or send the form. If yours is one we buy, the payment is a check from us. If it isn't, you can still request the partner's offer for free and turn it down if it doesn't suit you.