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2017> 2019 1.5l 4 cylinder EcoBoost engine Escape coolant loss/ engine rebuilds

279K views 378 replies 111 participants last post by  bojinfam  
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
#25 ·
I think you're exactly right chrisgb. I'll be asking for an invoice and warranty information in writing when I pick up the vehicle. I'll post it here afterward.

Just so everyone is aware...I also submitted this issue to Ford's Corporate Customer Relationship team and requested a vehicle buy back. I don't think it will qualify for the buy back, but my argument was that I owe quite a bit on this vehicle and now the value is rapidly decreasing due to all of these issues (perceived value). A buyer is often times not willing to pay as much if they have seen a ton of issues with your vehicle on carfax or if a ton of recalls come out for that vehicle over the next few years (quality of build = value to future buyer). I don't want $5K - $8K in negative equity based on a mechanical issue that Ford's incorrect engineering caused. Let's see how far we can go down that path and I'll keep you informed.
 
#8 ·
Took my 2019 espace 1.5 10,000 miles in for routine maintenance 11/23/2019, I told service advisor had to top off coolant 2 weeks ago and check coolant system for a leak also ..... that's when they come back with you need a new motor ,and this is a know issue .. leaking coolant internally in the motor. Told me Ford has made changes to the short block assembly... we will soon see!!
 
#9 ·
Please keep us updated. Also, it would be helpful if you could get additional information on "Ford has made a few changes to the short block assembly". What does this mean in more detail? Some of us that have been following this issue for some time would like to get any additional informaiton as to what Ford thinks is the root cause of this on this pqarticular engine. Thus far, ford had played things pretty close to the vest but it does sound like they are honoring their warranty.
 
#205 ·
My Ford was in the repair shop at the dealership for 62 days getting a new engine and they refused to give me a loaner car. I finally received it back and 30 hours later the engine light came on again!!!! It's so frustrating. The code for the engine light is P0299 (Turbo/Super Charger Underboost). They haven't contacted me back about whether it needs to go back in the repair shop for that.

I've been in contact with a lemon law attorney so I'm waiting to hear back from them on how to proceed. I'm hoping to get this car bought back or at least get a settlement for all the trouble it's caused me.
 
#206 ·
My Ford was in the repair shop at the dealership for 62 days getting a new engine and they refused to give me a loaner car. I finally received it back and 30 hours later the engine light came on again!!!! It's so frustrating. The code for the engine light is P0299 (Turbo/Super Charger Underboost). They haven't contacted me back about whether it needs to go back in the repair shop for that.

I've been in contact with a lemon law attorney so I'm waiting to hear back from them on how to proceed. I'm hoping to get this car bought back or at least get a settlement for all the trouble it's caused me.
What year and how many miles? State?
 
#330 ·
It's my understanding that the replacement engine is a revised design, that was first used in 2020 vehicles, that eliminated the source of cracking and coolant leaks into the cylinders. The original design had cooling water passages that were long slots between each pair of cylinders with thin walls on either side that were prone to cracking. There is at least one online article on the class action lawsuit that includes a picture of these slots. The revised design eliminated the slot and uses two holes instead, located where the ends of the slots were, so the web between the cylinders is no longer thin and prone to cracking. The ID tag on the replacement engine, that was used in my vehicle, shows it was built March of this year (2022) at the Velencia plant, so it was not left over stock from the original design. As I previously stated, this was a selling point for me. After becoming aware of the problem, I wouldn't have bought anything prior to 2020 unless I knew it had the engine replaced on someone else's dime.
 
#3 ·
When shopping for my Escape, I excluded the 1.5 Ecoboost engine as an option. The coolant loss and engine design of the 1.6 Ecoboost was a major factor along with the 1.6T and the 1.5T having timing belts. Now that Ford has limited the engine choices across the Escape line, it makes it harder for me to buy another Escape.
 
#7 ·
It is my opinion that everybody on this forum that has had a coolant leak issue (especially if your engine was replaced) post thier diagnosis and outcome on this forum thread. Its obvious that Ford is not recognizing the fact that there is an issue, albiet a small pertentage, with thier engines. If we take the issue to this forum maybe we will get a redress of grievances. Ford management may view this forum with a higher degree of scrutiny which might help the cause.

 
#13 ·
I don't own a Ford Escape. I've been doing research because I want to buy a used one. I want to suggest perhaps you would get more attention if you registered your complaints on the NTSB website. All you have to do is write out your experience just as you have here, and NTSB will investigate. They can get Ford to address it. It sounds to me like this definitely deserves a recall. Good luck.
 
#14 ·
We just bought our 2019 Escape SE with the 1.5l several months ago. I noticed it was a little low on coolant when I bought it and added some distilled water to bring it up into the normal range. After beating the snot out of it for 5k miles it's still right there to where I topped it off. So I have no idea why it's putting up with my abuse. Perhaps this is a "if it's good it's good" type thing. If it's not, it's not!!
 
#37 ·
Bought a 2017 Escape with 24,000 miles on it. It's up to 40,000 now with no issues. So maybe you're right. Mine seems to be good. I am going to take my car to the dealership Tuesday, in response to the letter I received from Ford, regarding reprogramming my PCM. Better safe than sorry.
 
#119 ·
It's been reported to the NHSTA already. I'll let you know when I learn more about the warranty issues. I'll be discussing that with them when they finish the service.
So we just dropped off our 2018 Ford Escape 1.5L SE with 30k to our local dealership with white smoke, cylinder 3 misfire, water in oil and antifreeze/gas smell. I called the dealership this morning to find out how soon they may have a chance to look at it and he said "hope it ain't like all the others!". I'll post as soon as I get a call telling me what the problem is, but I'm pretty sure I already know.
 
#212 ·
This is a known issue for sure. Went through a full engine replacement at 4240 miles on my 2017 1.5L S/E. I have posted several times before on this subject but my local dealer replaced more than 120 engines or partial engines in 2017 and 2018, not sure what the current count is. I may still be loosing some coolant on the replacement engine, now at 7500 miles TBD. This is very much a second car hence the very low mileage.
Two basic problems; the head gasket for one but more seriously a crack in the cylinder walls in the open block design. The technician showed me the crack location although I don't have a photograph.
Regards,
Ray
 
#256 · (Edited)
This is a known issue for sure. Went through a full engine replacement at 4240 miles on my 2017 1.5L S/E. I have posted several times before on this subject but my local dealer replaced more than 120 engines or partial engines in 2017 and 2018, not sure what the current count is. I may still be loosing some coolant on the replacement engine, now at 7500 miles TBD. This is very much a second car hence the very low mileage.
Two basic problems; the head gasket for one but more seriously a crack in the cylinder walls in the open block design. The technician showed me the crack location although I don't have a photograph.
Regards,
Ray
Here's the latest: At ~8030 that's ~ 3800 miles on the new engine the engine service light flashed on and off and the car vibrated like two flat spotted tires. After about a mile the engine warning sign went away as I had eased up. Two days later with only another 20 miles or so on the car the same thing happened again while I was driving it to the dealership. The coolant level had dropped about a half inch in the reservoir from Max to Min. The dealer pressure tested the coolant system and found nothing plus there are no codes recorded. I have a loaner and they are doing further investigation. Will report back with the eventual outcome.

The service engine light was caused by a cracked spark plug on #4 cylinder according to Ford. After exhaustive testing, pressure test, bore scope in all cylinders with fluorescent dye in the coolant, removal of the intake manifold looking for leaks, Ford could not find any coolant leaks. I did lose some coolant prior to this testing and Ford cannot explain it. I'm back on the road and driving again to see what happens. The dealer did loan me an almost new $70,000 Ford Expedition for 10 days while this work was being performed. After two weeks and a 150 miles or so all is currently good.
 
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#46 ·
2017 Ford Escape 1.5L with 42k miles. Started having misfiring about 8 months ago. Went to my local Ford dealership with this complaint and they put in a service ticket all to tell me the CPM needed to be reprogrammed. Fast forward 2 months, check engine light comes on, and high temp light. I pull over, get ready to turn the car off and both lights go off. Get out and check the coolant level and everything is fine. The next day my coolant was bone dry. Take it back to my local Ford dealership for its routine oil change and they tell me that there are no leaks and nothing was wrong with it after hooking it up to the computer. Not even 4 hours after I leave the dealership, my check engine light comes back on. At this point, I’m fed up with the local dealership so we call the dealership in the next town to make an appointment. Long story short, coolant was leaking in cylinder #2 and the small block needs replaced. Go to pick it up yesterday and as I put the car in drive it starts to go backwards. Weird, maybe I forgot how to drive this thing after 2 months in the shop. Switch it back into P, then down to R, then into D and it pops into gear. (I should of just stopped there) As I’m driving off the lot into traffic, I’m running about 5500RPMs at 35mph. Once the car shifts gears, the whole car starts to jerk with a hard knock and cannot exceed 40mph. I flip around and go back. I guess we will see what the new issue is.
What was it?
 
#11 ·
2017 Ford Escape 1.5L with 42k miles. Started having misfiring about 8 months ago. Went to my local Ford dealership with this complaint and they put in a service ticket all to tell me the CPM needed to be reprogrammed. Fast forward 2 months, check engine light comes on, and high temp light. I pull over, get ready to turn the car off and both lights go off. Get out and check the coolant level and everything is fine. The next day my coolant was bone dry. Take it back to my local Ford dealership for its routine oil change and they tell me that there are no leaks and nothing was wrong with it after hooking it up to the computer. Not even 4 hours after I leave the dealership, my check engine light comes back on. At this point, I’m fed up with the local dealership so we call the dealership in the next town to make an appointment. Long story short, coolant was leaking in cylinder #2 and the small block needs replaced. Go to pick it up yesterday and as I put the car in drive it starts to go backwards. Weird, maybe I forgot how to drive this thing after 2 months in the shop. Switch it back into P, then down to R, then into D and it pops into gear. (I should of just stopped there) As I’m driving off the lot into traffic, I’m running about 5500RPMs at 35mph. Once the car shifts gears, the whole car starts to jerk with a hard knock and cannot exceed 40mph. I flip around and go back. I guess we will see what the new issue is.
 
#15 ·
Just took my 2018 Ford Fusion SE into the dealer today (31,000 miles) and by the end of the day they already knew what the problem was. It has been losing coolant internally and burning it. They've been seeing this, the coolant leaking, all the time recently with the 2018 and 2019 Ford Fusions and Ford Escapes (1.5L). They are covering the service, replacement parts, rental car, and even placing a 2 year warranty on parts and service...essentially I need a new short block. Seems to be something they are familiar with and are fixing quickly.
 
#17 ·
Welcome to the forum.
even placing a 2 year warranty on parts and service
Does that mean you'll effectively be getting "short changed" on your drive train warranty- isn't it 5 yrs in the US?
 
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#26 · (Edited)
I received a letter about the PCM software upgrade on Jan 18th 2020 to help fix the coolant leaking into some cylinders. My 2017 Escape is on it's second engine due to this leakage after ~4200 miles. The mileage is now just under 5000 miles. It's our third car and only does ~2000 miles per year. I called the dealer and he told me to bring it in on my next oil change for the software upgrade, if it even needs it, because the new engine was installed Dec 16 2019. Hopefully I got the latest software with the new engine. Anybody know if the PCM upgrade changes the power curve or the torque curve? Are we still getting the HP and Torque we were promised in the specifications when we purchased the cars? I had coolant leaking into cylinders 2 and 4. Apparently this is a known fault with the engine cylinder liners cracking between cylinders and allowing coolant to weep into the cylinders. My local dealer has replace around 100 of these engines. The liners had a design fault which allowed cracks to develop due to expansion and contraction of the steel liner relative to the aluminum block. The new engine has a revised liner design that is supposed to prevent cracks occurring. I have seen, in person, the two designs of liner and hopefully the new design is better. The new design is stronger but may be less compliant to the demands of expansion and contraction of the liner relative to the block. Time will tell.
2017 Ford Escape 1.5l

Update at approaching 7000 miles, ~2800 miles on the new engine. So far so good, no coolant loss after the initial few miles which was possibly trapped air in the system. Oil consumption appeared to be a quart in first 1200 miles but may have been initial underfilling at the dealership or breaking in the new engine. Oil consumption now is much less, probably normal acceptable amount, not needed to add any oil yet in the last 1400 miles. I have a rough idle that I don't like and the dealer can't/wont fix, says it's normal for this 4 cylinder engine.
 
#27 ·
I received a letter about the PCM software upgrade on Jan 18th 2020 to help fix the coolant leaking into some cylinders. My 2017 Escape is on it's second engine due to this leakage after ~4200 miles. The mileage is now just under 5000 miles. It's our third car and only does ~2000 miles per year. I called the dealer and he told me to bring it in on my next oil change for the software upgrade, if it even needs it, because the new engine was installed Dec 16 2019. Hopefully I got the latest software with the new engine. Anybody know if the PCM upgrade changes the power curve or the torque curve? Are we still getting the HP and Torque we were promised in the specifications when we purchased the cars? I had coolant leaking into cylinders 2 and 4. Apparently this is a known fault with the engine cylinder liners cracking between cylinders and allowing coolant to weep into the cylinders. My local dealer has replace around 100 of these engines. The liners had a design fault which allowed cracks to develop due to expansion and contraction of the steel liner relative to the aluminum block. The new engine has a revised liner design that is supposed to prevent cracks occurring. I have seen, in person, the two designs of liner and hopefully the new design is better. The new design is stronger but may be less compliant to the demands of expansion and contraction of the liner relative to the block. Time will tell.
2017 Ford Escape 1.5l
Thank you for posting!
 
#52 ·
To the OP.....I feel your angst....we had a 2018 1.5l.....had the engine replaced in May for the same issue. The dealer could not get the CEL to stay off after replacement. After many tries we ended up trading it to them for a 2019 1.5l.....Hearing your story gives little hope to our thought of "it can't happen to us twice". We have 4800 miles on ours and have done the 19B37 recall re-program.....Ford has a real problem here
 
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#141 ·
So over 5PSI pressure loss in 5hrs seems to be the coolant system test pass/ fail parameter.
 
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