2013 Ford Escape SEL AWD 2.0 Ecoboost
Mileage 110,000
Hello!
Long story short I took my vehicle to a ford dealership over a check engine light and very low power and was told that the turbo was the culprit and needs replacing. I am debating on whether to go with another oem turbo or get an aftermarket higher performance turbo.
The car is my daily driver and I’m not necessarily looking for an extreme boost in power, more reliability and longer lasting than an oem one. Thanks 
The first one made it 6 years and 110,000 miles, No reason the OEM replacement won’t.
I wouldn’t install an OEM turbo. Yours only lasted 7 years.
Most remanufactured turbos will have components installed that are an improvement over the OEM turbo to make it last longer, when applicable.
Tester
But get one that meets OEM specs. Unless you know how to re tune your engine for a higher output turbo. I wouldn’t do that.
Whatever turbo replacement method you decide, be sure going forward to error on “more frequent” side for replacing the engine oil and filter, and to always use oil with the specifications Ford recommends for your Escape. Turbo failure is often a symptom of using an incorrect oil, or deferred maintenance.
Any recommended turbo replacements? I’m not familiar who with good companies for turbos.
The big question for me is how often do you change the motor oil as to time and miles AND how often do you raise the hood to check the oil level.
The leading cause of turbocharger failure is insufficient oil changes and/or low oil level.
^
That bears repeating!
While it is not unheard-of for a turbocharger to fail after 100k miles, the probability of failure is MUCH higher if the vehicle was subjected to “extended” oil change intervals, and/or the level of the oil in the crankcase was allowed to sink to a low level, and/or if oil of the wrong specification was used.
Before you replace the turbo, make sure the dump valve (blowoff valve, whatever Ford calls it) isn’t stuck open.
If it is indeed the turbo, I agree that I’d put a different turbo on there, but not one that put out any more boost than stock.
Once upon a time a customer wanted a new Subaru in a color and style no one in the area had. The regional office had one and offered to send an employee to ferry it from San Antonion, TX to OK City, OK. The guy didn’t want to hang around for a free lunch and went straight to the airport to fly back. Several hours later the detail guys said the car was barely running.
I found the hood somewhat burnt and the turbocharger was fried beyond belief. The guy made the 425 mile trip in under 6 hours and that’s with time spent through 5 metro areas. It was easy to see why he wanted to bug out so quickly. I think the turbo seized up solid right after he shut the engine down.
A brand new car with less than 500 miles had to have a new turbocharger kit and a repaint of the hood due to turbo heat.
He must have had that thing in full boost the entire trip. Even the engine motor oil was black from heat.