Check engine light stays on and about once a week after running less than 5 mins. the temp goes to hot and the engine loses power. If I add a little coolant it goes back to normal and is good to go for another week. I took it to Ford service but they could not find anything wrong. HELP!!!
What did the Ford dealer say the code was that turned the light on? Losing power and coolant - it isn’t clear if you ARE losing coolant - is a bad sign. If the car regularly overheats, THAT is a bad sign. Even IF the CEL turns off, it should store a code that should have been read by the dealer and recognized as a problem. Are you sure you not seeing a red light indicating overheating and not the yellow check engine light?
Unless you have an extended warranty with Ford, I’d suggest taking the car to an independent shop for diagnosis. Tell the mechanic what is happening and be prepared to pay him for his time diagnosing the problem.
1 Like
I expereinced all of these same issues from last spring until last week — when the car overheated on the highway, and the dealer finally found a cobmination of three codes that basically said the engine block was cracked, causing an internal coolant leak.
Come to find out this has been an ongoing issue with Escapes since 2012; Ford has only recalled a limited list of VINs though. But if you look up public complaints, there are dozens of them.
I am paying to have the Ford dealership replace the engine because it comes with a three-year warranty, and because two local mechanics couldn’t figure out how to diagnose it (they don’t have access to all of Ford’s codes, apparently.) One mechanic found a code indicating a spark plug problem . . . and said they would have to research how to access and remove the spark plugs. So shocked about all this, everybody up here in NH raves about the Escape. Oddly I still like the car.
Research how to remove spark plugs ??? Me thinks there is a communication problem.
1 Like
It still might be covered - or partially covered - by Ford, as a good will gesture. See what your owners manual says on how to contact Ford. I would also ask the manager of the dealership to intervene on my behalf, but not accept as the final word a denial of coverage that came through that channel.
How did you find out about the ongoing issue and list of VINs covered? That’s a good bit of research.
Indeed, miscommunication somewhere 
The first mechanic said, or so I believe, that a spark plug misfired. When the Ford mechanic presented me with the itemization of the work and the receipt the code was described as a CYLINDER misfired, which makes a lot more sense. so either the first mechanic mis-spoke or I misheard him . . . a “misfiring cylinder” would have made me sit up and pay attention real fast.
shanonia - this was great advice! I knew the Ford mechanic was already on my side about the recall, and so I asked him if he thought the dealership manager would intervene with Ford. He said they haven’t been doing that, but he gave me a customer service number for Ford and said the representative I speak to will escalate to Ford. He didn’t comment on the likelihood that they will reimburse me now, but predicted that eventually a recall will lead to 100% reimbursement down the road. I’m going to make the call Monday.
Any way researching recalls, safety complaints, and VINS is easy: https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls. You would search by VIN first, to see if your vehicle is included in any recalls for your specific problem. Then, you can also search for make, model and year to see if there have been public safety complaints or general recalls.
Finally it’s important to lodge your own complaint with NHTSA because they put all complaints into a national, public database and when they spot a pattern they investigate and determine if a new recall is needed, or if an existing one should be expanded or re-opened. I submitted my complaint online but I haven’t followed up to see if it’s there yet. Honestly though when I read other Ford Escape complaints I think that nhtsa representatives who took complaints over the phone do a better job than i did writing my own.