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

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279K views 378 replies 111 participants last post by  bojinfam  
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
#2 ·
1.5L cooling loss?

Looks like Ford didn't learn its lesson on the open deck block design?
Ford 1.5L EcoBoost GTDI I-4 Engine specs, problems, reliability, oil, Fusion, Focus, Escape
"Like the 1.6 EcoBoost, the 1.5l engine has an aluminum cylinder block with cast iron sleeves. It also has an open deck design for an efficient cooling. "

and later in that article, the reviewer says, " The engine doesn’t have any problem with the cooling system and it is not prone to overheating like the 1.6 EcoBoost. The turbocharger and catalytic converter will last longer due to a cooler exhaust compared to the 1.6 version. "
 
#180 ·
1.5L cooling loss?



Looks like Ford didn't learn its lesson on the open deck block design?
Ford 1.5L EcoBoost GTDI I-4 Engine specs, problems, reliability, oil, Fusion, Focus, Escape
"Like the 1.6 EcoBoost, the 1.5l engine has an aluminum cylinder block with cast iron sleeves. It also has an open deck design for an efficient cooling. "

and later in that article, the reviewer says, " The engine doesn’t have any problem with the cooling system and it is not prone to overheating like the 1.6 EcoBoost. The turbocharger and catalytic converter will last longer due to a cooler exhaust compared to the 1.6 version. "
I've have 3 escapes pryor to this 2018 which had the short block replaced. Took the dealer a month to get it right. Had to be towed 3 times after they said it was good to go. Lease is up at the end of the year. They lost me as a customer.
 
#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.
 
#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?
 
#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.

 
#73 ·
I've been posting in the thread relating to the 19B37 Field Service Action but I now believe that this thread is a more appropriate place to post.
To summarize my experience to date: In December 2019 my local Ford dealership installed a new short block in my 2018 Escape because of coolant leaking into the cylinders. I got it back January 10th. A month later I had to take it back because it was leaking oil from the front seal. I picked it up a few days later after the seal was replaced. The next day (yesterday February 13th 2020) I took it back again because it's now leaking worse than before. A few hours later I spoke to the Service Advisor over the phone and was informed that the replacement block has a bad crankshaft and that's what was messing up the seal. They loaned me a 2020 EcoSport to drive while waiting for Ford to decide on a course of action. It's still under warranty so I figure it's on them to fix it...whatever it takes.
 
#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.
 
#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.
 
#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.
 
#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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#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.
 
#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.
 
#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!
 
#29 ·
2017 1.5 Help me out with this one, I still haven't hit my powertrain warranty. Is this actually implying if I don't get this done asap, and my engine suffers from catastrophic damage Ford will not be replacing my engine, even though it's still under warranty....Also my exhaust smoke has gotten way worse the course of a month or so, what if there is already damage, (blown head gasket) is ford just going to slap the new bandaid on and call it good and good luck?
76193
76194
 
#30 · (Edited)
You need to take your car to the dealer right now for warranty work. A blown head gasket is exactly what is potentially happening to you. The 1.5L engine gets too hot (due to the turbocharger and poor cooling system) and then coolant leaks into the head gasket as the components (etc) fail. It's exactly what happened to my engine. They and to replace the entire engine. If you're loosing coolant in any way whatsoever...Take. It. In! Once they replace it, they will warranty all parts and labor for two years.


Help me out with this one, I still haven't hit my powertrain warranty. Is this actually implying if I don't get this done asap, and my engine suffers from catastrophic damage Ford will not be replacing my engine, even though it's still under warranty....Also my exhaust smoke has gotten way worse the course of a month or so, what if there is already damage, (blown head gasket) is ford just going to slap the new bandaid on and call it good and good luck? View attachment 76193 View attachment 76194
 
#32 ·
Yep. I got an oil change and three weeks later my coolant was 1 inch lower. No visible leak which means the leak is internal. It burns your coolant and it kills your engine.

When you take it in just tell them you've noticed exhaust smoke and a loss of coolant without any visible leak. They will most likely know what's wrong. Four hours after I brought mine in they called me to tell me that they had a loaner F150 for me and it would be a couple weeks. That was on Jan 13th and I'm getting my car back on Monday.
 
#41 ·
Another question for you sir, when you took vehicle to dealer did you have check engine light on at the or even prior, or even at all of your escapes life? I'm worried that I wont have "stored" codes. Then they'll put bandaid on.
Yep. I got an oil change and three weeks later my coolant was 1 inch lower. No visible leak which means the leak is internal. It burns your coolant and it kills your engine.

When you take it in just tell them you've noticed exhaust smoke and a loss of coolant without any visible leak. They will most likely know what's wrong. Four hours after I brought mine in they called me to tell me that they had a loaner F150 for me and it would be a couple weeks. That was on Jan 13th and I'm getting my car back on Monday.
 
#39 ·
My 2017 Escape with 42K miles on it had the engine light come on a few weeks ago. I took it to Auto Zone to have a read out. The code came up with 3 different 300 codes. All pertained to mis-firing. I took the car to a dealer that is about 6 miles away and he set me up to bring it in on following Monday. Over the weekend the engine light went off. But I did go back on Monday and talked to the service rep. He told me..."Well you have 60k warranty on the engine. Just drive it and when the light comes back on bring it in again. And that it had reset its self. Since I had just moved to this area about a year ago I thought Id use a local dealer. That was a mistake. So I drove over to the town where I had bought the car (about 10miles) showed the service rep the copy of code read out. He stated there was a problem with water getting into engine and causing mis fire. Made arrangements to take the car back to that dealer, actually where I had bought it and many others. The service rep had the engine tech walk out to the car to look at it. He told me they had replaced several of the engines because of the water problem. I took the car in and they replaced the engine, gave me a loaner (2019 Fusion) had the car a week and all I had to pay for was the gas I used during that week.
 
#48 ·
Consider adding your vehicle information to your signature. It is difficult finding previous posts to try and determine the year, model, engine, and other pertinent informaiton that you are posting on. As near as I can tell you have the 1.5 EB. Does the engine have a TOTAL of 4000 miles on it or did you buy it used?
 
#49 · (Edited)
My 2019 Escape with a 1.5L ecoboost engine had a coolant leak in to the engine and had to be replaced at 9,000 miles. I noticed my oil level on the dipstick was going up, which is never a good indication. The dealership did take care of it and provided me with a new car to use while they fixed mine. I know there has been numerous people reporting this issue on line. I can’t say the root cause is the same but the symptom is.

With that said, has anyone run in to the issue after an engine replacement? I really did not get an explanation on how the engine replacement addresses the root problem.
At the same time my engine was being replaced I received a notification about an internal recall that was for reprogramming the P.C.M.(I think this is the correct acronym). Anyway I found out from the service representative that reprogramming the P.C.M. was to keep the engine cooler to avoid warping head gasket issues, which by the way no one made it clear to me how the coolant was leaking in my case, but I think that is what happened to me. I’m sorry I don’t remember the number for the internal recall. Again I am concerned the issue was not addressed.
 
#50 ·
Many threads on this board dealing with coolant loss. Suggest you read them. Regarding root cause, my opinion is that only Ford knows and is not telling. My best guess is that the “open block” design of the engine is not as robust as a “closed block” design. This combined with poor fabrication problems during manufacturing leads to the intrusion of coolant into the cylinders via one or more mechanisms. When that occurs, it destroys the engine. This also could be aggravated by aggressive driving which might cause cylinder pressures to rise. The fix by Ford is designed to keep the engine cooler which hopefully will compensate for the less robust engine design.
Just my own opinion.
 
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#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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