First, let me say that I'm sorry for your vehicle loss. I don't know whether your insurer's subrogation claim will cover the amounts that you are out-of-pocket. You should consider reporting the matter to the NHTSA (even if your insurer already has done so). You should also file a claim with Ford. Even before filing a claim with Ford, you should consider contacting a reputable medium-to-large law firm that handles lemon law and class action claims. You should establish up front with the firm that they would handle such a matter on a contingency fee basis (at no cost to you). I think that Ford should make you completely whole and they (and obviously you) are very lucky that no one was injured. Best of luck.

 

Wow. Glad no one was injured. Yes, Make sure it is reported NHTSA since if there is an underlying problem with fuel or emisions system Ford needs to be made aware of this. Sometime it is just plain bad luck that a vehicle burns down like yours but more often than not it is due to an underlying problem with the fuel delivery system or an oil leak especially on a vehicle as new as yours especially if there has been no service to the fuel system or valve cover gaskets being replaced. As cars age (greater than 10 years) gasoline lines and gaskets may become brittle and failure can be more common or an oil leak could occur with oil geting on the hot exhaust manifold.

 

Scary. Glad you are OK. Good thing you cancelled your purchase for the replacement.
Good luck with Ford

 

So sorry to hear about your experience. I have not heard about any engine fires with the 2014 Escape. What engine did your Escape have. Can you let us know if they figure out what caused the fire?

 

Which engine was in the 2014 Escape that burned? I heard that the 1.6 liter engines had some recalls due to potential engine fires. If so was the recall work repaired by the dealer before they sold the vehicle to you? If not the dealer could be held liable for failing to preform the necessary recall work on the vehicle before putting it out for sale.

 

Thanks for the replies and sorry for my slow response. I was away from home for the week and was disconnected most of the time.

elbee -- Thank you for the input. We have already reported to the NHTSA per the suggestion of our insurance, but I appreciate the suggestion because we would have had no clue we should if they hadn't asked us to. We reached out to Ford a few days after the recall announcement, which was a couple of weeks after the fire. After they found out that no people were injured or other property damaged (other cars, buildings, etc) they basically just apologized and said work through insurance going forward. I'm not sure what I think they should have done, but I wasn't impressed... We may consider reaching out to a law firm as you suggested in case we can possibly get back any of the money we have spent in this process.

Seldom Home -- Thank you.

itsmejs -- It was a 2014 Escape with 1.6 engine. The recall I was mentioning is addressed more in another thread on this site. I'm not sure if I'm adding the link correctly (it isn't letting me post with the link in the text of the message) so if there is no link with my post you can look under "TSBs and recalls" under the thread named "New 1.6EB recall." We have not heard yet if our fire had the same cause as the recall issue, but insurance has started the subrogation process to try to get Ford to pay them back.

GustoGuy -- Thanks for the suggestion to report to the NHTSA. We did report the fire to NHTSA a few days after the fire because insurance suggested we do so. The Escape that burned was a 2014 1.6L. We bought the vehicle new in 2014. The recall for the potential of engine fire was unfortunately not until two weeks AFTER our fire So there is no issue of recall work not being performed prior to selling to us.

Thanks again to all of you!

 

This is happening around the world. Ford South Africa dragged their feet until the problem started going global on Facebook. Some poor guy even died in his Kuga after it caught fire. They've since issued a recall.

A couple have over heated and at least two caught fire in Australia. Ford Australia basically kept quiet and did nothing for a month or two. I even heard how badly they were treating the people with the affected vehicles. Then they released an official recall 2-3 weeks ago.

Definitely get legal advice. Ford are probably planning on your insurer doing the hard work (ie. working out the cause) and then they'll most likely send the bill to Ford given all the recalls.

 

I know this is an old post, but my 2014 caught fire on December 21st. I've been searching the internet on this and came across this.

We filed a claim with Ford and we're awaiting for their decision on whether they are going to fix it. It wasn't nearly as bad as yours, I was at a stand still when my cab started to fill with smoke. I got my son out, and away from the car. Then turned off the car. My mechanic said I was very lucky I turned it off when I did. Our insurance covers only what burned.

I had no idea that it was on Fire, and wasn't aware of this recall. Our mechanic was the one to tell us. The only recall notice I ever received was the door locks. Ironically yesterday I got a notice that the parts are now available for this recall.

I am wondering if Ford ever came through, and what to expect from them. Considering this falls under their recall error, it should be something they need to own up to and fix. I never had an prior issues what-so-ever and our coolant level wasn't low.

 

If you did not get a recall notice then most likely your FE is not part of that recall, you can check for recalls based on your VIN from the myford website or your dealer can run a report.

 

Hi,

This is my first post here. I'm curious if anyone else's Escape had an engine fire? Our 2014 Escape caught fire on the highway almost a month ago and was a total loss. See attached picture. About two weeks after the fire we saw that Ford had released a recall that included our vehicle for risk of engine fire. Although we have not definitively heard the cause of our fire, we have heard from insurance that they are starting the subrogation process to seek reimbursement from Ford for what they paid us for the loss.

If anyone did have a car fire, I'm curious if there was any additional action/compensation by Ford or if you only received what insurance provided. We fairly quickly and painlessly received an amount that seems normal for the actual cash value/fair market value for our vehicle from insurance. But, unfortunately, with that value we were having a difficult time finding anything equivalent in the price range. Also, personal belongings in the car are not covered by car insurance. We'd have to open a home owners claim to have them covered which would be a $500 deductible and would impact our annual home owners insurance rate. Therefore we decided not to open a claim for the personal belongings in the car, but replacing those items is even more money and inconvenience this situation is costing us

To make the situation worse, we traveled a couple of hours to a Ford dealership that had two certified preowned Escapes we were interested in as replacements. The prices were over what we received back but reasonably priced based on LOTS of research. They were both great shape, ran well on a long test drive, and priced well for the year/mileage. We made our decision on which to buy and made the purchase (a 2015 with 2.0L engine). As we were pulling out of the dealership parking lot the Escape we just purchased stalled twice. My husband turned the vehicle around to get it back into the lot and it stalled again and started having some light smoking... We cancelled the sale and were back to square one. Despite my husband loving his original Escape we have decided we should take that as a sign that we should look into another type of vehicle

We were not planning on replacing his Escape anytime soon - we usually keep our cars a long time (I just replaced my 1999 with well over 200k miles last year). We were going to have the Escape paid for in a few months. But now, after finally making a replacement purchase, we are spending thousands of dollars over what insurance covered and have to pay to replace personal belongings out of pocket. It may not be the case, but it seems like Ford should take a little more responsibility to cover financial burden if this was due to their defect.

Thanks for any input/thoughts any of you may have and sorry for the whining! The most important thing is that no one was hurt in the fire. And I'm thankful that at least we have the coverage that we do. But it has been a frustrating and expensive process to say the least.

We have a 2014 Ford Escape that recently caught on fire while driving down the highway. A stranger notified the driver that the car was on fire while she was driving it. We have been unable to find any help with this problem. It is going to be an expensive fix. Looking for any suggestions.

 

Welcome melody.

There have been various recalls around the world for the 1.6l EcoBoost engines failing- I assume that's the engine you're talking about? The basics are there is a fault in the cooling system, coolant may be lost which results in the engine overheating- with the possibility of severe engine damage leading to oil leaks, which then cause the fires.

I assume you're located in North America? Try searching for recall notices, it's possible your vehicle should have been recalled for modifications to the cooling system and a software update for the engine control unit.

 

Welcome melody.

There have been various recalls around the world for the 1.6l EcoBoost engines failing- I assume that's the engine you're talking about? The basics are there is a fault in the cooling system, coolant may be lost which results in the engine overheating- with the possibility of severe engine damage leading to oil leaks, which then cause the fires.

I assume you're located in North America? Try searching for recall notices, it's possible your vehicle should have been recalled for modifications to the cooling system and a software update for the engine control unit.

Thanks for the reply. The mechanic said it was a high pressure fuel leak. It’s not covered under the recall.

 

Engine Fire on 9/21/19 while car was parked on side street
2013 Ford SEL Escape purchased on 4/30/13 AWD
Engine: 2.0L I4 GTDI ECOBOOST ENG
Miles: around 49400

All Ford recommended work done at dealer including all recalls listed on NHTSA for my VIN number.

I thought I had received a letter from Ford (around 6 years ago) about possible engine fires related to my Escape (2.0l) but I cannot find the letter at this time and 2.0l are not listed on the NHTSA.

Engine fire resulted in vehicle being totaled.

Engine started on fire while parked on side street it appears near 2 hours after the car was driven for about 15 minutes start stop back streets average speed estimated 25 miles/hour.

No known issues before fire. No other damage to other cars and no injuries.

Worked with insurance received what turned out to be same as Kelly Blue Book + Taxes and Title Transfer.

Filed a report with NHTSA (on 11/18/19) when they contact me I will try to see if any other fire issues with 2.0l.

I Plan on sending a letter to Ford (they do not take emails) and email my Ford Dealer to see if a compensation fund has been setup at this time. Below is a link to a BBC web page (2018) which contains information on Ford in England refunding customers for engine fires (1.0l and 1.6l)
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-45628325

I will update on response received from Ford including if no response is received, I expect this will take time.

 

Engine Fire on 9/21/19 while car was parked on side street
2013 Ford SEL Escape purchased on 4/30/13 AWD
Engine: 2.0L I4 GTDI ECOBOOST ENG
Miles: around 49400

It's unusual to hear of the 2.0l EcoBoost catching fire? Do you have links for the recalls that relate to the 2.0l?

Engine started on fire while parked on side street it appears near 2 hours after the car was driven for about 15 minutes start stop back streets average speed estimated 25 miles/hour.

That also doesn't fit in with what has been published as the cause of the fires with the 1.6l EcoBoost engine. The fires with them seem to result from overheating/ coolant loss, the block cracking and engine oil leaking and igniting. I do recall reading the findings from one South African 1.6l fire and it was suggested it could have been from something electrical around the BCM area.

 

The 15 recalls are listed at NHSTA below

Vehicle Detail Search - 2013 FORD ESCAPE SUV 4x4 | NHTSA

www.nhtsa.gov

I thought I had received a letter from Ford (around 6 years ago) about possible engine fires related to my Escape (2.0l) but I cannot find the letter at this time and 2.0l are not listed on the NHTSA so I updated my original post. I am not sure 2.0l were ever recalled for engine fires. If I find out any new information about this when working with NHSTA I will post an update. I did bring my car in for at least 2 recalls I found the paper work on them.

I have never read about an Escape catching fire while parked I guess if oil or fuel leaked out and something related to the battery caused a fire it is possible. I did get a new battery on 12/5/18 I have no idea if that type of battery may have issues. Recalls for the 1.6l did mention oil leaks and fuel leaks.

My insurance company did not have anything they could share with me on cause etc.

I never had really any issues with my cars for near 40 years this is a new process for me and it has been time consuming.

 

You need to find something with the 2.0l Ecoboost mentioned for fire related problems/ recalls.

That BBC link doesn't mention the Kuga (the UK's version of the Escape) with a 2.0l EcoBoost being affected. (It won't as they don't even get that engine option in the UK Kuga ). There isn't any mention of any 2.0l EcoBoost engines being affected - unless I missed something? It's all about the 1.0l and 1.6l EcoBoost engines. The UK do get the 2.0l EcoBoost in the Focus ST, but that's not mentioned at all.

 

The link below is a recall #12V438000 for 2.0l Ecoboost engine related to fires for a Ford Edge 2012. Not my model or year but a 2.0l Ecoboost engine recalled related to fire.

https://autowise.com/more-bad-news-on-the-ecoboost-5499-ford-edge-models-recalled/
https://www.nhtsa.gov/vehicle/2012/FORD/EDGE/SUV/AWD#recalls

Above recall references a recall to 2012 and 2103 Edge 2.0l Ecoboost. Not my model but possible the same 2.0l Ecoboost engine used in my Escape recalled related to fire. I will share this with NHTSA they may have exact details.

https://www.kbb.com/ford/edge/2013/recall/
https://www.nhtsa.gov/vehicle/2013/FORD/EDGE/SUV/AWD#recalls

Maybe the letter I remember receiving about fires after I purchased my Escape was somehow related to the above recall given it appears I have the same engine in my Escape as the Edge.

 

I posted that link to help the others on this message board who have 1.6l I am just trying to help others out. I what Ford to do well and see if I can help prevent other people going through this issue. As I wrote when working with NHTSA I may find out about other 2.0l engine fires. I will wait until I work with NHTSA before I send any letter to Ford or the dealer. Thank you for your great help!

 

I agree that makes sense to split the thread but I would like to keep mention of the BBC link in the 1.6l EcoBoost engine thread given compensation is being given out for 1.6l EcoBoost engines in England. I can come back and just post a FYI with link. Two quick takeaways from the article are 1) a large number of cars affected and 2) people organized they have a Facebook page. I am not sure any action will happen in the US unless the affected people get together.

I want Ford to do well in the future. If they go back and help the people affected that could really help out the individuals. I am not even sure the Ford balance sheet would look that much different. It would help build customer confidence that Ford stands by what it sells and will do what is fair for the customer. In the end may that may result in increased future car sales.

With respect to the exact cause of my fire I will work with NHSTA on that. I am extremely busy and do not have time or access to that kind of data. My goal is to help prevent this from happening to other owners of 2.0l EcoBoost engines if possible.

 

@LPE I'll split the thread into a new one when some bugs with the forum are sorted.

Perhaps keep the discussion distanced from the 1.6l issues at this stage. Ford has done recalls world wide and there have been court cases in South Africa (Google them) regarding the death and cause of the fires. The cooling system design is apparently what was the root of the cause with that engine- from what Ford has officially said and the mods they did under the many recalls.

At this stage you don't know what the cause was and from my understanding the 2.0l EcoBoost cooling system is not the same design. It wasn't subject to the same recall.

Can you post further details on your vehicle? Have you owned it from new, what's the service history (eg. all done by Ford or other workshops), how many miles are on it (Edit: 49400 miles) and were there any engine or electrical mods.

Did your insurance company or Ford have a qualified person investigate the wreck to try and find the ignition point of the fire?

 

My first post lists car details to clarify

I did purchase the car new.

Nothing added on to the car including no electrical items or work done.

I discussed the maintenance with insurance company nothing out of the ordinary or would relate to an engine fire and all done at the Ford Dealer.

The insurance company did work with Ford but would not share any details of cause or who did what. I did request a report none was sent to me. They informed me they were not going to try to recovery money from Ford given the age of the car, no open recalls, government investigations or technical service bulletins related to my car.

As I have wrote in the past at this time I plan on only working with the NHSTA on the cause of fire and items they request from me I will post.

 

Was looking for information as my 2014 Ford Escape had an engine fire this morning. Coolant Level Sensor was recalled and installed 11/9/2018. Warning light came on "High engine temperature. Stop Safely" after driving less than four miles.The temperature was NOT high. Immediately pulled over and car was smoking and had flames pouring from the engine within minutes.

 

Welcome to the forum. Have you made contact with Ford regarding the fire- perhaps through the dealer that did the coolant system recall?

 

Yes...I called the dealer and was told “good luck”. I called the Ford Customer Relationship line after that and it was escalated to someone at a higher level but all they told me was that someone from their general counsel would be in touch by mail within 15 days.

 

How badly did the car burn? If it was extinguished quickly it may be easy to work out what went wrong.

Assuming you've got insurance, perhaps make a claim and highlight to them the issues with that engine. Then they can fight Ford over who pays what. Otherwise I can see it dragging out and costing you money for legal help.

 

 

It was extinguished within minutes but I’m going to guess it’s a total loss. I do have insurance, my agent is having the car taken to their facility to inspect it and have someone from Ford come out as well to see if they can tell if it had anything to do with the recall.

 

Hope it goes well for you. I can't imagine it being repairable.

 

Looking at the pictures of the red one, I'm thinking maybe an isolated, battery, or windshield wiper motor, that shorted out. A few bad batteries, or motors, could have slipped through the system.

 

Hi,

This is my first post here. I'm curious if anyone else's Escape had an engine fire? Our 2014 Escape caught fire on the highway almost a month ago and was a total loss. See attached picture. About two weeks after the fire we saw that Ford had released a recall that included our vehicle for risk of engine fire. Although we have not definitively heard the cause of our fire, we have heard from insurance that they are starting the subrogation process to seek reimbursement from Ford for what they paid us for the loss.

If anyone did have a car fire, I'm curious if there was any additional action/compensation by Ford or if you only received what insurance provided. We fairly quickly and painlessly received an amount that seems normal for the actual cash value/fair market value for our vehicle from insurance. But, unfortunately, with that value we were having a difficult time finding anything equivalent in the price range. Also, personal belongings in the car are not covered by car insurance. We'd have to open a home owners claim to have them covered which would be a $500 deductible and would impact our annual home owners insurance rate. Therefore we decided not to open a claim for the personal belongings in the car, but replacing those items is even more money and inconvenience this situation is costing us

To make the situation worse, we traveled a couple of hours to a Ford dealership that had two certified preowned Escapes we were interested in as replacements. The prices were over what we received back but reasonably priced based on LOTS of research. They were both great shape, ran well on a long test drive, and priced well for the year/mileage. We made our decision on which to buy and made the purchase (a 2015 with 2.0L engine). As we were pulling out of the dealership parking lot the Escape we just purchased stalled twice. My husband turned the vehicle around to get it back into the lot and it stalled again and started having some light smoking... We cancelled the sale and were back to square one. Despite my husband loving his original Escape we have decided we should take that as a sign that we should look into another type of vehicle

We were not planning on replacing his Escape anytime soon - we usually keep our cars a long time (I just replaced my 1999 with well over 200k miles last year). We were going to have the Escape paid for in a few months. But now, after finally making a replacement purchase, we are spending thousands of dollars over what insurance covered and have to pay to replace personal belongings out of pocket. It may not be the case, but it seems like Ford should take a little more responsibility to cover financial burden if this was due to their defect.

Thanks for any input/thoughts any of you may have and sorry for the whining! The most important thing is that no one was hurt in the fire. And I'm thankful that at least we have the coverage that we do. But it has been a frustrating and expensive process to say the least.

Hi,

This is my first post here. I'm curious if anyone else's Escape had an engine fire? Our 2014 Escape caught fire on the highway almost a month ago and was a total loss. See attached picture. About two weeks after the fire we saw that Ford had released a recall that included our vehicle for risk of engine fire. Although we have not definitively heard the cause of our fire, we have heard from insurance that they are starting the subrogation process to seek reimbursement from Ford for what they paid us for the loss.

If anyone did have a car fire, I'm curious if there was any additional action/compensation by Ford or if you only received what insurance provided. We fairly quickly and painlessly received an amount that seems normal for the actual cash value/fair market value for our vehicle from insurance. But, unfortunately, with that value we were having a difficult time finding anything equivalent in the price range. Also, personal belongings in the car are not covered by car insurance. We'd have to open a home owners claim to have them covered which would be a $500 deductible and would impact our annual home owners insurance rate. Therefore we decided not to open a claim for the personal belongings in the car, but replacing those items is even more money and inconvenience this situation is costing us

To make the situation worse, we traveled a couple of hours to a Ford dealership that had two certified preowned Escapes we were interested in as replacements. The prices were over what we received back but reasonably priced based on LOTS of research. They were both great shape, ran well on a long test drive, and priced well for the year/mileage. We made our decision on which to buy and made the purchase (a 2015 with 2.0L engine). As we were pulling out of the dealership parking lot the Escape we just purchased stalled twice. My husband turned the vehicle around to get it back into the lot and it stalled again and started having some light smoking... We cancelled the sale and were back to square one. Despite my husband loving his original Escape we have decided we should take that as a sign that we should look into another type of vehicle

We were not planning on replacing his Escape anytime soon - we usually keep our cars a long time (I just replaced my 1999 with well over 200k miles last year). We were going to have the Escape paid for in a few months. But now, after finally making a replacement purchase, we are spending thousands of dollars over what insurance covered and have to pay to replace personal belongings out of pocket. It may not be the case, but it seems like Ford should take a little more responsibility to cover financial burden if this was due to their defect.

Thanks for any input/thoughts any of you may have and sorry for the whining! The most important thing is that no one was hurt in the fire. And I'm thankful that at least we have the coverage that we do. But it has been a frustrating and expensive process to say the least.

Yess... I had bought a left over 2014 escape in 2015 and in 2017 I started having some what I thought were sencer issues when I put it in drive it wouldn't move like a anti theft mode kinda thing but if I waited a couple minutes it would come out of it and drive. Eventually it stop doing that but then one day on my 3 minute drive to work the dash lit up all the lights and smoke started rolling out from under the hood but no fire, we let the car cool down and got it to my work parking lot where it did it again, I work in a nursing home so we didn't want to leave it there so my husband waited for it to cool off again and rushed it home and when he pulled in the driveway it did it again but that time there was flames, he got the fire out and later I called the dealership and I ended up with no answers or help I was over my mileage they said... I ended up claiming a consumer personal and sending it back when the company came to get it the guy tried to start it and it cought fire again he look confused and tow it away... so yeah I'll never buy a Ford again or anything from them... im still paying off my debt.

 

Uhh, no insurance? That to me would be where you screwed up. As far as the dealer goes, if it's over mileage (kilometerage?), it's over mileage. No car company's dealer is going to bend on that. A lot of things could have happened since you got it that could have caused your problems. Especially with cars nowadays being so dependent on the condition of the battery.