MODELYEARINDEX

Ford Escape

9,694 complaints across 12 scored model years and 79 recall campaigns.

Which years to avoid

Ownership label · Ford Escape Full report
F
Grade 2010–2021
2010 vs model median 5.0×
Model median3× median
Speed Control 511
Engine 450
Drivetrain 425
Avoid

2010 · 2020

Best

2012 · 2019

Year by year

Severity-weighted complaints filed in each model year’s first 60 months on the road, so every year is measured over an identical window.

Year Complaint volume vs median Reports Grade
2010
4.97× 2,085 F
2011
2.43× 1,027 F
2012
0.80× 303 B
2013
2.32× 970 F
2014
1.49× 654 D
2015
0.63× 292 C
2016
0.74× 348 B
2017
1.20× 558 C
2018
0.66× 325 B
2019
0.44× 195 B
2020
2.60× 1,622 F
2021
0.79× 433 C
2022 P
0.96× 504 C
2023 P
0.40× 193 B
2024 P
0.29× 147 B
2025 P
0.07× 38 B

P — provisional. These years have not completed 60 months on the road, so their totals are incomplete and they are excluded from the verdict.

What it costs to run

EPA figures for the most recent model year on record.

Combined MPG28
City / Highway26 / 32
Engine1.5L, 3 cyl
DriveAll-Wheel Drive
Annual fuel cost$2,200

Recalls

79 campaigns on record, 1 carrying a Park It or Park Outside warning.

Campaign Component Model years Units affected
22V413000 POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:GEAR POSITION INDICATION (PRNDL) 2013–2019 2,925,968
20V331000 LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:DOORS:LATCH 2013–2015 2,147,323
16V643000 LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:DOORS:LATCH 2013–2015 2,046,297
25V695000 BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA 2015, 2016 1,448,655
25V315000 BACK OVER PREVENTION:SOFTWARE 2023, 2024 1,076,138
26V123000 BACK OVER PREVENTION:SOFTWARE 2020–2022 889,950
14V597000 AIR BAGS 2013, 2014 746,842
14V284000 STEERING:ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM 2010, 2011 740,878

+ 71 further campaigns

Others in Compact SUVs

Same body and size class. Each grade describes that model against its own history — these are not ranked against each other.

Model Years to avoid Grade
Acura RDX
20192020
C
Audi Q5
20182021
C
Audi SQ5
none flagged
C
BMW X3
20132019
C
Buick Envision
2017
C
Cadillac SRX
2013
C
Cadillac XT5
2017
C
Chevrolet Blazer
none flagged
C

How this was calculated

Every model year is scored over an identical window: complaints filed with NHTSA during the first 60 months after that model year went on sale. Without this, older cars look worse purely because they have had longer to accumulate reports.

Limitations. Complaints are unverified reports submitted voluntarily by owners; they are allegations, not findings, and reporting rates vary between models. Model years with fewer than 60 months on the road are marked provisional and excluded from verdicts. Cross-model comparison is withheld pending production-volume data.

Full methodology · Sources · Data vintage August 9, 2026

Working 2010 Escape
Complaints in window
2,085
Severity-weighted
3,597
Model median (weighted)
724
vs model median
4.97×
Recall campaigns (weighted)
5
Open investigations
0
Score 12.5 F