AutoUtility currently tracks 578 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2019 Ford Escape. Engine & Cooling issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 363 complaints (62.8% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 24 filings cite a crash, 3 cite a fire, 20 report one or more injuries.

Key Problem Findings
  • • Total NHTSA Complaints: 578 reports
  • • #1 Reported Problem Area: Engine & Cooling (363 reports • 62.8% of submitted complaints)
  • • Secondary Problem Areas: Powertrain & Transmission (122), Electrical System (37)
  • • Crash-Citing Complaints: 24 filings
  • • Fire-Citing Complaints: 3 filings
  • • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 20 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
578
Submitted to NHTSA ODI
Crash-Citing Complaints
24
Filings citing a collision
Fire-Citing Complaints
3
Filings citing smoke or fire
Complaints Reporting Injuries
20
Filings citing one or more injuries
Complaints Reporting Fatalities
0
Consumer filings citing fatalities

Most Reported Problems for 2019 Ford Escape

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

#1 Problem Area 62.8% of complaints

Engine & Cooling

363 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 🩹 2 injury report entries
#2 Problem Area 21.1% of complaints

Powertrain & Transmission

122 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.
⚠️ 6 crash reports 🩹 4 injury report entries
#3 Problem Area 6.4% of complaints

Electrical System

37 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 🩹 3 injury report entries
#4 Problem Area 4.2% of complaints

Fuel & Propulsion System

24 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ 1 crash report 🔥 1 fire report 🩹 2 injury report entries
#5 Problem Area 3.5% of complaints

Wheels & Tires

20 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.
⚠️ 1 crash report 🩹 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 2019 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 29.4% of complaints

Engine Coolant Intrusion / Oil Leak

170 complaint narratives describe this symptom
Powertrain & Transmission 5% of complaints

Loss of Motive Power While Driving

29 complaint narratives describe this symptom
Engine & Cooling 3.5% of complaints

Engine Overheating / Temperature Warning

20 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 2019 Ford Escape

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

Engine & Cooling NHTSA ODI ID: #11760039
Filed: 08/27/2026

"I recently bought a 2019 Ford Escape from Superior Mazda in Bentonville, Arkansas for my daughter going off to college. Soon after purchasing the vehicle a giant puff of smoke started coming out the exhaust when starting. We took it to a Ford dealership and they said the coolant is leaking into the..."

Incident Date: 08/25/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: ENGINE
Engine & Cooling NHTSA ODI ID: #11759309
Filed: 08/25/2026

"The transmission had to be replaced in 2024 and now the engine needs to be replaced in 2026. Ford customer service will not help with any of the repairs."

Incident Date: 08/20/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE
Engine & Cooling NHTSA ODI ID: #11759221
Filed: 08/24/2026

"The contact owns a 2019 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact connected a portable diagnostic tester to the vehicle and retrieved DTC: P0301 displayed. In addition, the check engine warning light flashed..."

Incident Date: 11/10/2025 • Raw NHTSA Component: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Powertrain & Transmission NHTSA ODI ID: #11758731
Filed: 08/22/2026

"My Ford Escape powertrain went out when I was driving in town, it went from driving fine to not getting out of 1st gear. No warning prior got it towed to my mechanic and he did a diagnostic and it is indeed the transmission. This was extremely dangerous since I was close to being rearended because..."

Incident Date: 08/14/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: POWER TRAIN
Engine & Cooling NHTSA ODI ID: #11758288
Filed: 08/20/2026

"Vehicle was losing coolant, running rough and check engine light was on. We took it to a Ford dealer who told us: Stored Codes P1299 and P0302 for the cylinder 2 misfire due to the coolant intrusion in the cylinder. The fix is to replace the entire engine at a cost of $15,735.95!! This is a 2019..."

Incident Date: 08/14/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: ENGINE
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 1075 29 9 View 2015 Problems →
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 Current Page 578 24 3 Current
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 2019 Ford Escape

Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 77 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications

Vehicle Component / System Total Complaints Crash Reports Fire Reports Reported Injury Entries Reported Fatality Entries
Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE 215 1 0 0 0
Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN 77 5 0 2 0
Engine & Cooling NHTSA category: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 67 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE 24 0 0 0 0
Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER 19 2 1 4 0
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,ENGINE 11 0 0 0 0
Tires NHTSA category: TIRES 11 0 0 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 9 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 8 0 0 0 0
Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS 7 7 0 11 0
ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 7 0 0 0 0
Steering NHTSA category: STEERING 7 0 0 0 0
Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 6 0 0 0 0
ENGINE,ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 6 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 5 0 0 0 0
Fuel System NHTSA category: FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 5 0 1 1 0
Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE 5 0 0 0 0
Wheels & Hubs NHTSA category: WHEELS 5 0 0 0 0
Seat Belts NHTSA category: SEAT BELTS 4 0 0 0 0
Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES 4 1 0 1 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE 3 1 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,ENGINE 2 1 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 2 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,POWER TRAIN 2 0 0 0 0
Forward Collision Avoidance NHTSA category: FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 2 0 0 0 0
Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 2 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC 2 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 2 0 1 0 0
Suspension NHTSA category: SUSPENSION 2 0 0 0 0
Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER 2 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 1 0 1 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS 1 1 0 1 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,STRUCTURE 1 1 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,WHEELS,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,EQUIPMENT 1 0 0 0 0
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,POWER TRAIN,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,POWER TRAIN,FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL 1 0 0 0 0
ENGINE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
ENGINE,FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 1 0 0 0 0
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE,POWER TRAIN 1 0 0 0 0
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES,STRUCTURE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 1 1 0 2 0
SEAT BELTS,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
Seats & Restraints NHTSA category: SEATS 1 0 0 1 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,LANE DEPARTURE 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,POWER TRAIN,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
STRUCTURE,SEATS 1 1 0 2 0
STRUCTURE,WHEELS,SERVICE BRAKES 1 1 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,WHEELS 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 0 0 0 0
Visibility / Glass NHTSA category: VISIBILITY 1 0 0 0 0
WHEELS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 1 0 0 2 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 (578). 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.

Related Official Reports for 2019 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.