AutoUtility currently tracks 1075 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2015 Ford Escape. Powertrain & Transmission issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 284 complaints (26.4% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 29 filings cite a crash, 19 cite a fire, 23 report one or more injuries.

Key Problem Findings
  • • Total NHTSA Complaints: 1075 reports
  • • #1 Reported Problem Area: Powertrain & Transmission (284 reports • 26.4% of submitted complaints)
  • • Secondary Problem Areas: Engine & Cooling (247), Driver Assistance & Safety Tech (142)
  • • Crash-Citing Complaints: 29 filings
  • • Fire-Citing Complaints: 19 filings
  • • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 23 injury filings • 0 fatality filings
Reporting Methodology: Statistics describe unverified consumer submissions voluntarily filed with NHTSA. Complaint volume is not normalized for vehicle sales volume or miles driven. Multiple components can be cited within a single owner complaint submission.
Total Complaints
1075
Submitted to NHTSA ODI
Crash-Citing Complaints
29
Filings citing a collision
Fire-Citing Complaints
19
Filings citing smoke or fire
Complaints Reporting Injuries
23
Filings citing one or more injuries
Complaints Reporting Fatalities
0
Consumer filings citing fatalities

Most Reported Problems for 2015 Ford Escape

Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records

#1 Problem Area 26.4% of complaints

Powertrain & Transmission

284 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 2 official safety recall campaigns for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
⚠️ 4 crash reports 🩹 1 injury report entry
#2 Problem Area 23% of complaints

Engine & Cooling

247 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
⚠️ 4 crash reports 🔥 8 fire reports 🩹 5 injury report entries
#3 Problem Area 13.2% of complaints

Driver Assistance & Safety Tech

142 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
⚠️ 3 crash reports
#4 Problem Area 12.5% of complaints

Electrical System

134 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 3 official safety recall campaigns for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
⚠️ 2 crash reports 🔥 10 fire reports 🩹 3 injury report entries
#5 Problem Area 7.4% of complaints

Steering System

80 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ 5 crash reports 🔥 2 fire reports 🩹 2 injury report entries
Domain Share Note: Share percentage represents the proportion of unique complaint filings referencing each vehicle system. Because single complaints may cite multiple systems (such as engine and electrical simultaneously), domain percentages represent individual category incidence and may sum to over 100%.

Symptoms Mentioned in NHTSA Owner Reports for 2015 Ford Escape

Specific mechanical, electrical, and driver-assist defect symptoms identified via deterministic narrative analysis

AutoUtility uses deterministic phrase matching to identify recurring symptom descriptions within consumer-submitted NHTSA complaint narratives.

Engine & Cooling 5.8% of complaints

Engine Coolant Intrusion / Oil Leak

62 complaint narratives describe this symptom
Powertrain & Transmission 3.4% of complaints

Loss of Motive Power While Driving

37 complaint narratives describe this symptom
Engine & Cooling 1.5% of complaints

Engine Overheating / Temperature Warning

16 complaint narratives describe this symptom
Visibility, Wipers & Glass 1.3% of complaints

Rearview Camera / Screen Display Blackout

14 complaint narratives describe this symptom
Steering System 0.6% of complaints

Steering Sticking, Binding or Assist Loss

6 complaint narratives describe this symptom
Symptom Identification Method: A complaint may describe more than one symptom, so percentages may sum to more than 100%. Symptom identification reflects text contained in consumer-submitted complaint records and does not establish a confirmed mechanical diagnosis.

Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2015 Ford Escape

Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation

Driver Assistance & Safety Tech NHTSA ODI ID: #11760136
Filed: 08/27/2026

"The contact owns a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact stated that they had received notification of notification of NHTSA Campaign Number : 25V695000 (BACK OVER PREVENTION) the local dealer was contacted however the vehicle was not remedied as the contact was advised that the parts to perform the recall..."

Incident Date: 10/13/2025 • Raw NHTSA Component: BACK OVER PREVENTION
Driver Assistance & Safety Tech NHTSA ODI ID: #11759460
Filed: 08/25/2026

"The contact owns a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was not available. The contact stated that while reversing, the rear-view camera displayed an inverted, blank, or blue image...."

Incident Date: 08/25/2023 • Raw NHTSA Component: BACK OVER PREVENTION
Driver Assistance & Safety Tech NHTSA ODI ID: #11759401
Filed: 08/25/2026

"The contact owns a 2015 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..."

Incident Date: 10/13/2025 • Raw NHTSA Component: BACK OVER PREVENTION
Other / Miscellaneous NHTSA ODI ID: #11759566
Filed: 08/25/2026

"Backup camera malfunction recall. Parts still not available after almost a year. Repair is taking too long. I need my backup camera."

Incident Date: 08/12/2025 • Raw NHTSA Component: UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Electrical System NHTSA ODI ID: #11759372
Filed: 08/25/2026

"Ford has yet to provide a remedy to this recall nearly a year after being notified. NHTSA: #25V695 Recall: #25SA9 REAR VIEW CAMERA INSPECTION"

Incident Date: 10/14/2025 • Raw NHTSA Component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Consumer Narrative Notice: Excerpts are sanitized text descriptions submitted by vehicle owners to the federal ODI database. They reflect the reporting consumer's observations at the time of filing and have not been independently confirmed by vehicle manufacturers or government investigators.

Complaint History for Ford Escape

Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2026)

Model Year NHTSA Complaints Crash Reports Safety Recalls Detailed Report
2015 Ford Escape Current Page 1075 29 9 Current
2016 Ford Escape 1097 36 4 View 2016 Problems →
2017 Ford Escape 2662 39 4 View 2017 Problems →
2018 Ford Escape 1771 25 4 View 2018 Problems →
2019 Ford Escape 578 24 3 View 2019 Problems →
2020 Ford Escape 1799 21 24 View 2020 Problems →
2021 Ford Escape 355 10 20 View 2021 Problems →
2022 Ford Escape 371 11 21 View 2022 Problems →
2023 Ford Escape 128 4 13 View 2023 Problems →
2024 Ford Escape 85 5 10 View 2024 Problems →
2025 Ford Escape 25 0 10 View 2025 Problems →
2026 Ford Escape 0 0 3 View 2026 Problems →
Comparative Disclaimer: Complaint totals are unadjusted historical counts and are not normalized for vehicles sold, active fleet size, or total road mileage. Newer model years naturally have had less calendar exposure time to accumulate owner filings.

Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2015 Ford Escape

Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 116 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications

Vehicle Component / System Total Complaints Crash Reports Fire Reports Reported Injury Entries Reported Fatality Entries
Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN 217 2 0 0 0
Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE 132 1 4 2 0
Back Over Prevention / Camera NHTSA category: BACK OVER PREVENTION 113 2 0 0 0
Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER 92 1 3 3 0
Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 64 0 1 0 0
Steering NHTSA category: STEERING 59 2 0 0 0
Engine & Cooling NHTSA category: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 29 0 1 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE 27 1 0 0 0
Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE 25 0 0 2 0
Wheels & Hubs NHTSA category: WHEELS 23 0 0 0 0
Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 22 0 0 0 0
Doors, Latches & Locks NHTSA category: LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES 22 0 0 0 0
Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES 13 3 0 2 0
ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 12 0 1 0 0
Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS 11 9 0 12 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 11 0 2 0 0
Seat Belts NHTSA category: SEAT BELTS 10 0 0 0 0
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,ENGINE 9 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 8 0 1 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 7 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 6 0 0 0 0
Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER 6 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 5 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 5 2 2 2 0
Suspension NHTSA category: SUSPENSION 5 0 0 0 0
Tires NHTSA category: TIRES 5 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 4 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 4 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 4 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 4 0 0 0 0
STEERING,POWER TRAIN 4 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,BACK OVER PREVENTION 3 0 0 0 0
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,POWER TRAIN 3 0 0 0 0
Fuel System NHTSA category: FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 3 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 3 0 0 0 0
STRUCTURE,LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES 3 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,BACK OVER PREVENTION 3 0 0 0 0
VISIBILITY,STRUCTURE 3 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES 2 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,BACK OVER PREVENTION 2 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VISIBILITY/WIPER 2 0 0 0 0
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 2 0 0 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 2 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
Seats & Restraints NHTSA category: SEATS 2 1 0 3 0
SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 2 0 0 0 0
STEERING,SUSPENSION 2 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 2 1 0 3 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,VISIBILITY/WIPER 2 0 0 0 0
Vehicle Speed Control NHTSA category: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE 2 1 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
Visibility / Glass NHTSA category: VISIBILITY 2 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES 1 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS,SERVICE BRAKES 1 1 0 1 0
AIR BAGS,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
BACK OVER PREVENTION,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
BACK OVER PREVENTION,EQUIPMENT 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 0 1 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,SEAT BELTS 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SEAT BELTS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SEAT BELTS,WHEELS 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SEATS,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SEATS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 1 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE,ENGINE 1 0 1 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 0 1 1 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 0 0 0 0
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 1 0 0 0 0
ENGINE,ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 1 0 0 0 0
ENGINE,FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 1 0 0 0 0
ENGINE,POWER TRAIN 1 0 0 0 0
Equipment & Accessories NHTSA category: EQUIPMENT 1 0 0 0 0
EQUIPMENT,ENGINE,BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 0 0 0 0
Fuel System NHTSA category: FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,AIR BAGS 1 1 0 1 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),SERVICE BRAKES 1 1 0 0 0
STEERING,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,SUSPENSION,POWER TRAIN 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
STRUCTURE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
STRUCTURE,VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,SEATS 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,SEATS,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,WHEELS 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE,VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,LANE DEPARTURE,BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,POWER TRAIN 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
VISIBILITY,VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
VISIBILITY/WIPER,BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 0 0 0 0
Data Attribution & Reporting Methodology: Complaints are unverified voluntary submissions to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI). Because multiple vehicle components can be cited within a single owner complaint submission, component-level rollups may sum to more than the unique complaint count (1075). Injury and fatality entries in the detailed table reflect raw values entered by reporting consumers across individual submissions; they are not deduplicated casualty statistics and may include duplicate or unverified entries. Complaint volume is not normalized for sales volume or vehicle mileage and does not represent an audited component failure rate.

Official NHTSA Defect Investigations (2)

2 CLOSED

Formal safety defect inquiries and engineering analyses opened by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI)

Official Federal Inquiries: NHTSA opens a defect investigation when safety screening or consumer defect trends indicate a potential unreasonable safety risk. An open investigation is a formal inquiry and does not by itself confirm a defect or result in a mandatory recall.
CLOSED Recall Query (RQ) ODI Action #RQ19005
Opened: 2019-12-19 • Closed: 2022-02-07

Door Latch Failures

Affected Component: LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:DOORS:LATCH

In December 2019, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened this investigation based on 235 Vehicle Owner Questionnaires (VOQs) alleging doors failed to latch when closed, and/or inadvertently opened while driving, on model year (MY) 2012-2014 Ford Fiesta, and 2013-2014 Fusion and Lincoln MKZ. Some VOQs reported the failure occurred after the latch had been remedied under a prior recall which involved fracture of the latch pawl spring tab...

✓ Resulted in Safety Recall Campaign: 20V331000 Official NHTSA File →
CLOSED Preliminary Evaluation (PE) ODI Action #PE16001
Opened: 2016-01-16 • Closed: 2016-10-29

Door Latch Failure

Affected Component: LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:DOORS:LATCH

In January, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened this Preliminary Evaluation based on consumers' allegations of doors failing to latch and/or inadvertently opening on model year (MY) 2012-2013 Ford Focus vehicles (subject vehicles).ODI has received 464 unique reports related to the alleged problem, with over 200 claiming that the door(s) opened inadvertently while the vehicle was in motion.One consumer alleged an injury that occurred...

✓ Resulted in Safety Recall Campaign: 16V643000 Official NHTSA File →

Related Official Reports for 2015 Ford Escape

Cross-reference safety recalls, crash test safety ratings, and EPA fuel economy for this model year

Official US Government Data Provenance

The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database.

Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.