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2016 Ford Escape Problems, complaints & recalls

Owners have filed 1,192 complaints about the 2016 Ford Escape with NHTSA, most often about the transmission & drivetrain (323) and the driver assistance (277). Those complaints describe 39 crashes, 10 fires and 21 injuries. It is covered by 4 recalls, the latest in January 2026 for the engine block heater. For comparison, the 2015 has 1,149 and the 2017 has 2,708.

NHTSA data checked

DMore problems than a typical Escape year, for its age

#6 most complained-about 2016 vehicle

Complaints
1,192
Recalls
4
Crashes
39
Fires
10
Injuries
21
Deaths
0

Most common 2016 Ford Escape problems

Share of all 1,192 complaints. One complaint can name more than one area. Tap an area for its complaints and recalls.

2016 Ford Escape recalls 4

Recall repairs are free. Your dealer fixes them whether or not you bought the car there - check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see if yours is done. What to do

Equipment: engine block heater

26V011000116,672 vehicles affected

The problem
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.
The risk
An electrical short circuit can increase the risk of a fire.
The fix
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.

Back over prevention: camera

25V6950001,448,655 vehicles affected

The problem
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.
The 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.
The fix
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.

Power train: gear position indication (prndl)

22V4130002,925,968 vehicles affected

The problem
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.
The 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.
The fix
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.

Air bags: knee bolster

17V3980003 vehicles affected

The problem
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."
The 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.
The fix
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.

What owners say

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1,192 complaints about the 2016 Ford Escape

Newest first, as filed with NHTSA by owners. Page 1 of 48.

Driver assistance

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to complete the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while in reverse(R), the rear-view camera failed to display an image. The message, "Rear-view Camera Unavailable" was displayed. Several local dealers were contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.

Filed Incident Back over preventionNHTSA 11776700
Other & unknown

My back-up camera is not working properly. Sometimes it works. But then flips and the image is upside down. Sometimes it's black. It has become a safety concern. This recall was announced over 1 year ago and I have been waiting for it to be repaired.

Filed Incident Unknown or otherNHTSA 11776680
Other & unknown

Ever since before the date of issuance of recall 25v695 for my rear view camera, I have had numerous incidents of the camera failing or being completely distorted. It has been over a year and is becoming a significant safety issue because there have been times where it has been working while reversing, and then will suddenly not work midway through backing up. This can easily cause a crash by working and then suddenly not working while reversing. I don't understand why other vehicles under this recall have had a remedy, yet I have not heard anything about a potential fix in over a year.

Filed Incident Unknown or otherNHTSA 11776458
Driver assistance

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while attempting to reverse, the rear-view camera displayed a blank image, nearly causing the vehicle to crash with another vehicle. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The approximate failure mileage was 171,237.

Filed Incident Back over preventionNHTSA 11776307
Driver assistance

I received a notice in [redacted] that the rear camera was subject to a safety recall 255A9, and that parts were not available yet to fix it. Over 1 year later, I am experiencing more frequent intermittent issues with the rear camera not operating. I called the local Ford dealer today and was told that they still do not have the parts. This is unacceptable. Why can't the government lean on Ford and make them take care of this safety hazard? [[redacted]] [[redacted]] [[redacted]] [[redacted]] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Incident Unknown or other · Back over preventionNHTSA 11776004
Driver assistance

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to complete the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while in reverse, the rear-view camera screen displayed a blank or distorted image. The dealer was contacted and informed the contact that parts to perform the recall repair were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer failed to repair the vehicle in a reasonable amount of time. The failure mileage was 90,000.

Filed Incident Back over preventionNHTSA 11775954
Driver assistance

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. While reversing, the rearview camera displayed a distorted image. The manufacturer was notified of the failure by phone and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The failure mileage was 25,000.

Filed Incident Back over preventionNHTSA 11775944
Transmission & drivetrain

The vehicle was diagnosed as being stuck in 3rd gear, with 2 transmission related codes. The vehicle seems to struggle to get up to speed between 15-30mph, and sometimes when accelerating from a stop such as at a stop light. It revs high, catches up and rpms drop to normal. I have reached out to Ford dealerships and was told they couldn't help me.

Filed Incident Power trainNHTSA 11775574
Driver assistance

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while the vehicle was in reverse(R), the rear-view camera displayed a blank screen. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair.

Filed Incident Back over preventionNHTSA 11775174
Driver assistance

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while reversing, the rear-view camera failed to function as intended. The dealer was contacted and made aware of the failure. The contact was offered the option to pay out of pocket for the repair and be reimbursed by the manufacturer when the parts became available. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was not available. The manufacturer was contacted and made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.

Filed Incident Back over preventionNHTSA 11775140
Driver assistance

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while in reverse(R), the rear-view camera failed to display a clear image. The local dealer was contacted on several occasions. The failure mileage was approximately 108,806.

Filed Incident Back over preventionNHTSA 11775111
Driver assistance

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while reversing, the rear-view camera flashed off and on. The failure was a persistent failure. The dealer was contacted and made aware of the failure. The contact was informed that parts were scheduled to be available by October 2026. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The failure mileage was approximately 68,000.

Filed Incident Back over preventionNHTSA 11775087
Transmission & drivetrainEngine & coolingFuel system

We've been having check engine light on "Cylinder 2 misfire". We had the spark plugs replaced and the ignition coil replaced, which fixed it for about a month, but it returned. We had further diagnostics done with video into cylinder 2 and found that we have engine coolant leaking into the cylinder. Apparently, this is a known, unrecalled issue from Ford on this engine with the coolant intrusion. Only fix is to replace the motor. Car has about 120,000 miles on it, but well taken care of. Works great otherwise, but with this issue, the engine could lock up or catch on fire on the road.

Filed Incident Power train · Engine · Fuel / propulsion systemNHTSA 11774939
Other & unknown

The back up camera failed three years ago and no longer works. This is a safety hazard when backing up, or parallels parking. A recall was issued more than a year ago. And the remedy is still unavailable.

Filed Incident Unknown or otherNHTSA 11774560
Driver assistance

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V69500 (Back Over Prevention). The manufacturer was contacted and the contact was informed that a letter would be sent when parts were available for the recall repair. The dealer was contacted but provided no additional assistance.

Filed Incident Back over preventionNHTSA 11774362
Engine & cooling

Was sold a 2016 ford escape that apparently has a known coolant leak issue that is caused by a bad engine block. When I bought the car in 2021 I had to wait two weeks to get the car so they could fix a cylinder misfire issue. Had several issues with it overheating and was told that it just needed coolant added. In 2026 was told that the head gaskets was blown and to repair would cost $9000 at the same ford dealership where I bought it. I had another Authorized NAPA Garage replace the head gaskets for $5000 and...

Read the full complaint

with in a week had misfire on cylinder #4 again while on the freeway doing 55 MPH which caused the car to stall on the freeway in traffic! Started investigating the issues to find out that it is a well documented issue with 2016 fords having a bad engine and the only fix is replacement of the engine!

Filed Incident EngineNHTSA 11774294
Driver assistance

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (BACK OVER PREVENTION); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted, and it was confirmed that the part was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. While reversing, there was a delay in the back over prevention camera displaying an image, almost causing the contact to reverse into a pole. The failure mileage was 119,000.

Filed Incident Back over preventionNHTSA 11774236
Driver assistance

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. While reversing, the rear-view camera intermittently failed to display an image. The dealer was made aware of the failure but confirmed that parts were not yet available. The failure mileage was 80,000.

Filed Incident Back over preventionNHTSA 11774192
Driver assistance

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair.

Filed Incident Back over preventionNHTSA 11773970
Driver assistance

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while attempting to reverse, the back over prevention camera was blank and failed to operate as needed. The message that the camera was unavailable was displayed. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was 109,540.

Filed Incident Back over preventionNHTSA 11773766
Driver assistance

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (BACK OVER PREVENTION); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted, and it was confirmed that the part was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact stated that while reversing, the rearview camera displayed a black screen. The failure mileage was 100,000.

Filed Incident Back over preventionNHTSA 11773748
Driver assistance

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while reversing, the rear-view camera was intermittently inoperable. The contact stated that the failure posed a significant safety hazard due to a pre-existing neck injury. The dealer was contacted several times and confirmed that parts were unavailable and referred the contact to the manufacturer for assistance. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000.

Filed Incident Back over preventionNHTSA 11773696
Driver assistance

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while reversing, the rear-view camera flickered. In addition, the contact stated that occasionally the rear-view camera displayed an upside-down image. The dealer was contacted and made aware of the failure. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with the rear-view camera failure. The contact was informed that the rear-view camera needed to be replaced. The contact was informed that parts were not available. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.

Filed Incident Back over preventionNHTSA 11773191
Driver assistance

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (BACK OVER PREVENTION); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue.

Filed Incident Back over preventionNHTSA 11773176
Driver assistance

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while reversing, the rearview camera displayed a distorted image or a blank screen with the message "Camera Not Available" displayed. Two dealers were contacted about the recall and informed the contact that parts were only available for Mustang model vehicles. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.

Filed Incident Back over preventionNHTSA 11773041

Ford Escape: every year compared

YearComplaintsRecallsCrashesFiresTop problemGrade
20201,55223204Body, doors & structureF
20196053243Engine & coolingC
20181,8304266Engine & coolingF
20172,70843915Engine & coolingF
20161,19243910Transmission & drivetrainD
20151,14993120Transmission & drivetrainD
20142,0911647104Engine & coolingF
20132,757185091Engine & coolingF
20126042383Fuel systemC
All Escape years

2016 Ford Escape vs rivals

More sales usually means more complaints, so compare similar vehicles of the same year. The grade compares each vehicle with its own model's other years.

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Questions about the 2016 Ford Escape

Does the 2016 Ford Escape have any recalls?

Yes - NHTSA lists 4 recalls for the 2016 Ford Escape: engine block heater (January 2026); camera (October 2025); gear position indication (prndl) (June 2022); knee bolster (June 2017). Recall repairs are free at any authorized dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see whether yours has been fixed.

What are the most common problems with the 2016 Ford Escape?

By the complaints owners filed with NHTSA, the most common problem areas are the transmission & drivetrain (323), driver assistance (277), engine & cooling (249).

How many complaints has the 2016 Ford Escape had?

1,192 complaints have been filed with NHTSA, the first on October 1, 2015 and the latest on November 9, 2026. Of these, 39 describe a crash and 10 a fire, and together they report 21 injuries and 0 deaths.

Is the 2016 Ford Escape a reliable vehicle?

Its Safety Index is 36 out of 100 (grade D: more problems than a typical Ford Escape year, for its age). The index weighs complaints, crashes, fires, injuries, deaths and recalls against how long the vehicle has been on the road, compared with the same model's other years. It is not a measure of every repair - read the complaints and owner experiences, and have any used vehicle inspected before you buy.

Which Ford Escape years have the most complaints?

2013 (2,757), 2017 (2,708), 2008 (2,417). See every Ford Escape year compared.

What should I do if my 2016 Ford Escape has a problem?

If it is a safety problem, stop driving it if it is unsafe and contact your dealer. Report it to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/report-a-safety-problem - enough reports start investigations and recalls - and share your experience here so other owners know what to look for.

Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) complaints and recalls, checked . Complaints are owners' own reports and are not verified. How we use the data

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