[FullThrottle65]

My wife's 2016 Ford Escape 2.0L Titanium has 58k on it now, but the coolant usage started years ago. I thought the coolant loss was a leak I could not find. However, March 2022 the engine started exhibiting extreme power loss and excessive misfiring under acceleration. Changed plugs, and all seemed great...cylinder 3 and 4 had compromised plugs (i.e. coolant was leaking into those cylinders). No codes at this time.

The new plugs operated well until June 2022 when power loss and misfire codes started appearing (i.e. plug fouling again and Powertrain Control Module (PCM) detecting/acknowledging now). PCM started logging codes of Indeterminate Misfires At Start (P0316) plus Cylinder 4 Misfires (P0304).

I did not change the spark plugs, but I started using Bell Performance Mix-I-Go, which I had in my garage to winterize my motorcycles, lawn mower, etc. Mix-I-Go possesses water absorbing properties without using alcohol, lubricates the upper cylinder, is a detergent, and much more. The engine performance was improving. However, I wanted to be absorbing as much water/anti-freeze as possible as fuel is injected into the cylinder, and ensure the engine operates at peak performance so the wife is confident in the vehicle. As what I propose is a "work around" and not a fix as stated, I converted to Bell Performance Ethanol Defense around December 2022, which has a higher amount of the water absorbing properties than the Mix-I-Go.

I have been monitoring the situation since December 2022. I have had a few Indeterminate Misfires At Start, but no P0304 Codes as during the Summer 2022. I increased the treatment to 1.5 oz per 10 gallons, and the Indeterminate Misfires At Start are gone. Due to the improved combustion, Gas mileage has also been restored. I will continue to monitor the situation going forward, and experiment with the treatment ratios.

To clarify, no codes does not equate to absolutely no misfires as the PCM has software criteria on abnormal events/behavior, number of occurrences, and frequency of those events that are compiled and evaluated prior to throwing a code. With that said, my wife and I are very confident in the engine performance now versus how truly scary it was to drive her Escape before. Additionally, we passed emissions last month due to no codes.

The Escape is using approximately 1 pint of coolant per 1200 miles, which I have monitored since December 2022 until March 2023. Additionally, we are running 89 Octane. Prior to the outrageous gas prices, we were running 93 Octane, which generally has more detergents than lower grades depending on the supplier. The higher octane may have helped diminish the cylinder head's coolant leak impact by cleaning the combustion chamber better (i.e. piston top, valves, head, injector, and spark plug), which the Bell Performance Ethanol Defense now handles and then some.

Simply trying to provide some information. I am attempting to avoid spending $4k for a head gasket replacement or $10k engine block replacement due to a design flaw.

 

[MOONRNR]

The higher octane may have helped mask the problem by cleaning the combustion chamber better.

If there is a coolant intrusion in a cylinder, the coolant will steam off during combustion and blast any carbon deposits. One method of determining coolant intrusion in any one cylinder with an endoscope.

And if a failure is confirmed, (2016 - 1st GEN) you MAY be able to get away with a head gasket and cylinder head warpage/leakage check as the cylinder barrels on the 1st GEN are supported (the block deck surface can be checked for warpage while in the car with the head removed).

Use YELLOW COOLANT (MOTORCRAFT) only.

4K for a head gasket repair? I need to roll my box back out.

 

[FullThrottle65]

If there is a coolant intrusion in a cylinder, the coolant will steam off during combustion and blast any carbon deposits. One method of determining coolant intrusion in any one cylinder with an endoscope.

And if a failure is confirmed, (2016 - 1st GEN) you MAY be able to get away with a head gasket and cylinder head warpage/leakage check as the cylinder barrels on the 1st GEN are supported.

Use YELLOW COOLANT (MOTORCRAFT) only.
[/Q

If water were the only compound entering the combustion chamber, I agree with the steaming and cleaning. However, due to other coolant compounds and fuel separation with water, there is contaminants left behind on the spark plugs, which caused a conductive path between electrodes (i.e. resistance path which should not exist).

 

[MOONRNR]

However, due to other coolant compounds and fuel separation with water, there is contaminants left behind on the spark plugs, which caused a conductive path between electrodes (i.e. resistance path which should not exist).

You actually pulled the plugs and read them? If a plug is in an coolant intrusion cylinder, the resultant steam will blow off any contaminant on that plug. One easy clue as to what cyl(s) is leaking.

See If This Helps -

 

[FullThrottle65]

Thanks for the video...really like FordTechMakuloco Videos. Our Escape is not leaking coolant into cylinders as bad as some of the videos I have watched. When I pulled the plugs in March 2022, cylinder spark plugs 3 and 4 had contamination on center electrodes, insulator, and to the negative electrode compared to cylinder 1 and 2 that looked normal. I used a multimeter to measure the resistance between the spark plug electrodes, which should be infinite (i.e. open circuit, so the high voltage creates a spark to jump the gap), but I measured a high resistance, which is not good as it shorts the plug (i.e. intermittent firing or complete failure depending on severity).

After running new plugs from March 2022 and the misfiring appearing in June 2022, I did change the coil on plug 4, which did not improve the observed misfiring issue.

I have not purchased a Borescope to date, but maybe in the future. The coolant leaking into the cylinder(s) are a rather dynamic problem as coolant will leak when the engine is off, and coolant will be under pressure while the engine is running.

Thanks for all the thoughts thus far.

 

[FullThrottle65]

Spark Plugs from my wife's 2016 Ford Escape Titanium 2.0L with approximately 52kmiles. These are the spark plugs I pulled in March 2022. The cylinder numbers appear on the boxes. Spark Plug 3 has a reddish hue of the coolant color.

Just a reminder to all, our engines pull in crankcase vapors, which contain oil that is burned in the combustion chamber plus the engine pulls in gasoline tank vapors via the purge valve plus charcoal canister system to be burned in the combustion chamber.

Simply more information I have used to come to my conclusion, and course of action.

 

[NickSP]

I thought the 2016 2.0 was solid without any coolant leaks? It didn't have the newer 2017 design?

 

[wiz043]

I thought the 2016 2.0 was solid without any coolant leaks? It didn't have the newer 2017 design?

Apparently late 2016 manufactured models had the newer design with the issues.

 

[MOONRNR]

I thought the 2016 2.0 was solid without any coolant leaks? It didn't have the newer 2017 design?

The 2nd GEN 2.0L (open deck) was introduced on the 2015 EDGE. ESCAPE did not receive that engine until the 2017 model run. The 2016 ESCAPE 2.0L is closed deck (CLV), unless the engine was from the VEP PLANT which was a semi-open deck design. The 2nd GEN 2.0L was again redesigned for the 2020 model run (redesigned coolant runners around the cylinders).

You have to check the ENGINE ID DECAL on the RS rocker cover to see what engine was installed.

 

[murcod]

It could be a Model Year (MY) thing vs the actual year it was made. Like I can remember the North American market got the upgrade (facelift with twin scroll EcoBoost) about 12mths before Australia did. We got them with 2016 build dates, but they were called MY2017 models. Mine is the old shape but is also a 2016 build.

 

[MCadiz]

My wife's 2016 Ford Escape 2.0L Titanium has 58k on it now, but the coolant usage started years ago. I thought the coolant loss was a leak I could not find. However, March 2022 the engine started exhibiting extreme power loss and excessive misfiring under acceleration. Changed plugs, and all seemed great...cylinder 3 and 4 had compromised plugs (i.e. coolant was leaking into those cylinders). No codes at this time.

The new plugs operated well until June 2022 when power loss and misfire codes started appearing (i.e. plug fouling again and Powertrain Control Module (PCM) detecting/acknowledging now). PCM started logging codes of Indeterminate Misfires At Start (P0316) plus Cylinder 4 Misfires (P0304).

I did not change the spark plugs, but I started using Bell Performance Mix-I-Go, which I had in my garage to winterize my motorcycles, lawn mower, etc. Mix-I-Go possesses water absorbing properties without using alcohol, lubricates the upper cylinder, is a detergent, and much more. The engine performance was improving, but I wanted to be absorbing as much water/anti-freeze as possible and ensure the engine operates at peak performance so the wife is confident in the vehicle. As what I propose is a "work around" and not a fix as stated, I converted to Bell Performance Ethanol Defense around December 2022, which has a higher amount of the water absorbing properties than the Mix-I-Go. (Ethanol Defense - The Anti Ethanol Additive - Anti Ethanol Treatment | Bell Performance)

I have been monitoring the situation since December 2022. I have had a few Indeterminate Misfires At Start, but no P0304 Codes as during the Summer 2022. I increased the treatment to 1.5 oz per 10 gallons, and the Indeterminate Misfires At Start are gone. Due to the improved combustion, Gas mileage has also been restored. I will continue to monitor the situation going forward, and experiment with the treatment ratios.

To clarify, no codes does not equate to absolutely no misfires as the PCM has software criteria on abnormal events/behavior, number of occurrences, and frequency of those events that are compiled and evaluated prior to throwing a code. With that said, my wife and I are very confident in the engine performance now versus how truly scary it was before. Additionally, we passed emissions last month due to no codes.

The Escape is using approximately 1 pint of coolant per 1200 miles, which I have monitored since December 2022 until March 2023. Additionally, we are running 89 Octane. Prior to the outrageous gas prices, we were running 93 Octane, which generally has more detergents than lower grades depending on the supplier. The higher octane may have helped mask the problem by cleaning the combustion chamber better.

Simply trying to provide some information. If possible, we are trying to avoid a $4k head gasket replacement or $10k engine block replacement.

I tried everything under the sun then I took it to the dealer. It cost me $9K to replace the long block. This problem has been known to Ford for several years but they never issued a recall. Never again.

 

[wiz043]

I tried everything under the sun then I took it to the dealer. It cost me $9K to replace the long block. This problem has been known to Ford for several years but they never issued a recall. Never again.

You have a lot of forum friends here in the same boat sadly. 🙁