My 2013 Ford Escape SEL makes a metallic, hollow POP noise upon a cold start. It sounds like it comes from underneath the driver’s side - a little towards the back end. The noise is very brief - half a second and then it’s gone. It will do this relatively consistently both when it’s cold and when it’s hot outside, but usually only after the vehicle has been turned off for at least 3 hours or so.
My dealership can’t get it to make the noise and they’ve had it for almost a week now. Most days the car will make this noise with me in the morning, for my lunch break and again when I leave work. My luck they have it 5 days and the noise up and leaves.
In the meantime, I’m driving a 2013 Ford Escape SEL ‘loaner’ and the loaner car made the exact same noise!
Help please! Thanks!
If the loaner vehicle makes the exact same noise then it’s probably something in the design of the vehicle. I wouldn’t worry about it.
Thanks for commenting. Well I understand what you’re getting at, but ‘not worrying’ doesn’t fix anything and definitely doesn’t make the sound go away - it’s a completely redesigned model Escape that has had lots of ‘growing pains’. Just google this thing - I think there have been 3 recalls on it in less than 1-YR. A noise like this can’t possibly be an intended part of the design, right?
The OP has not told us exactly what the circumstances are when he/she hears this noise.
Yes, I understand that it is heard upon a "cold start:, but…is the car stationary when you hear this noise, or is it moving? I ask this question because, if the car is moving slowly when you hear this noise, it is likely to be the sound of the ABS self-test.
How would the vehicle be moving if it’s not yet started? Yes, the noise happens when the vehicle is stationary. That means Park. Noise isn’t coming from the wheel area.
@Morgan129…if the sound is part of the basic design of the 2013 Ford Escape then I’m afraid you will have to live with it. “Fixing” something like this would probably require a redesign of the Escape and I just don’t see that happening.
As @VDCdriver states…it could be the ABS self test. It could also be the sound of the starter bendix releasing or a myriad of other normal sounds when an engine starts. My wife hated the sound of the automatic door locks engaging when she put her car in gear. It never bothered me and she came to accept it after a few weeks.
“How would the vehicle be moving if it’s not yet started?”
Now your explanation is even more confusing than it was previously.
While, “upon a cold start”, could probably be interpreted in two ways (after starting the engine, but prior to moving, OR, after starting the engine and beginning to move), I would never have thought that, “upon a cold start”, indicated that the engine had not yet been started.
Additionally, I want to point out that the noise of the ABS self-test does not emanate from the wheels themselves, and with a unitized body structure, noises can frequently be “telegraphed”, and can appear to be coming from an area other than where they actually originate.
But, in any event, if this vehicle is making this popping noise before you even start the engine, then you have a true enigma on your hands, IMHO. Hopefully the Ford service staff can figure out this mystery for you.
I’m inclined to agree with Missileman that if the loaner made the exact same noise it’s probably a design issue. However, you could always have a friend/spouse/significant other start it some morning while you listen under the hood for the source of the sound. You might get lucky.
We just bought a 2013 ford escape and every morning when we turn on the ignition we hear a quick pop noise under the drivers side near the back (I think). Sometimes it happens if the car is sitting in a parking lot for a long time and then you start it. The same quick brief pop noice. Sounds like a popcorn pop. It happens when the car is cold. I cannot figure out if its something because the vehicle is running fine and its hard to prove to dealership.
Sunnyboy–
While the OP never returned to clarify whether or not the noise was–as some of us theorized–just the normal ABS self-test, I think that this could be what you are hearing–IF the car is moving slowly when you hear the noise.
On the other hand, if the car is stationary when you hear the noise, then I agree with the theory that Tester mentioned in the other thread that you created on this topic. As Tester stated, it is very likely to be a noise from the Evaporative Emissions System’s purge valve.
OP is not alone. We just got a fleet of Escapes at work, and they all do it. It sounds like it’s coming from the exhaust. It’s not a bendix spring or an ABS self test. It sounds almost like a small backfire, or the sound you get when you idle a car for a long time and start blowing exhaust bubbles through the water buildup in the muffler, but it only happens once, and it happens as the engine is turning over, just before it fires up.
I have no idea what the hell it is, and I haven’t looked into it very much. We lease. If the noise is destructive, Ford will eat the cost, not us, and maybe learn to put a little more effort into quality control.
Now that I see others having the same problem, though, I’ll see what I can do about at least getting a more exact location on the noise.
It’s probably related to the ABS/Traction control system self test during startup. My Camry gives a thump noise at 7mph due to the ABS.