2014 Ford Escape Transmission Problems

See attached document for complaint.

NHTSA ID

11662374

Incident

Apr 9, 2025

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving on the highway at approximately 45 MPH the vehicle began to make a loud winding and roaring coming from the rear-end of the vehicle. The contact put a new set of tires and replenished the rear end grease, however the vehicle continued to make this abnormal sound. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed. The contact was informed that they would need to replace the rear drive unit. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.

NHTSA ID

11620366

Incident

Oct 17, 2022

Mileage

100,000 mi

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the vehicle briefly jerked and hesitated before returning to normal functionality. The contact stated that the failure became a regular occurrence. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the torque converter. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 128,000.

NHTSA ID

11597506

Incident

Jun 14, 2024

Mileage

128,000 mi

The transmission is slipping. When you try to get it up to forty forty-five it jerks and boggs down almost stops in it place. Have to slowly press the exceradtir to get it moving again almost causing be rear ended there is a noise and ive carried it to a couple ford dealers me they honestly weren't sure whats going . Also the washer motor went out for no reason . But mostly my concern. Is the transmission issues. There is a light that comes one it's like the two tires on the back lights up

NHTSA ID

11583107

Incident

Feb 21, 2024

Transmission failed without warning while driving on March 18, 2024. There were no previous issues, warning lights, symptoms, etc. The acceleration suddenly stopped, and the car struggled to move. This put me and other drivers at great risk of physical harm. The problem has been confirmed to be a serious transmission issue by our master mechanic and now needs to be replaced.

NHTSA ID

11578595

Incident

Mar 18, 2024

My entire automatic transmission system failed at 122,000 miles without warning as I was driving down the highway. I heard a whirring noise and as I accelerated and started jumping and making clunking noises as it shifted gears. Eventually I was unable to move at all and turned and rolled to the side of the road. This could easily cause an accident as there was never any warning signs my transmission would go out. The car never pulled up a code or flashed a warning system before I was left stranded. The car was checked out by a mechanic and the transmission is completely finished. After researching the problem cars of my same make and model have been experiencing this issues around 80,000-120,000 miles for years and ford has made no attempt to rectify the situation or solve the issue.

NHTSA ID

11556319

Incident

Nov 18, 2023

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while shifted to drive(D), the vehicle independently shifted into reverse(R). The vehicle failed to shift into the intended gear and the vehicle failed to start. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer and the contact was referred to the manufacturer for assistance. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and opened a case. The contact was then referred to the NHTSA Hotline. The contact stated that the failure was like NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train). The failure mileage was approximately 84,500.

NHTSA ID

11531747

Incident

Jun 13, 2023

Mileage

84,500 mi

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, the vehicle started jerking and failed to accelerate as needed. There were several unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact was able to pull over on the side of the road and had the vehicle towed. The vehicle was diagnosed by an independent mechanic and the contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline to check for recalls on the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ID

11526833

Incident

May 6, 2023

Mileage

210,959 mi

2014 FORD ESCAPE. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO TRANSMISSION ISSUES.

NHTSA ID

11516653

Incident

Apr 12, 2023

Mileage

122,076 mi

2014 FORD ESCAPE. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO NHTSA SAFETY RECALL 22V-413. THE CONSUMER IS REQUESTING REIMBURSEMENT FOR THE REPAIRS OF THIS VEHICLE.

NHTSA ID

11511167

Incident

Mar 10, 2023

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the vehicle was jerking occasionally while shifting gears. The failure occurred while driving at various speeds. The failure occurred approximately 10 times within 6 years. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact had the vehicle towed to the dealer and was informed that the transmission failed due to a fractured and detached torque converter. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 60,000.

NHTSA ID

11508577

Incident

Feb 22, 2020

Mileage

60,000 mi

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while the vehicle was being repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train), the mechanic at the dealer found additional failures to the transmission and stated that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted or notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 86,000.

NHTSA ID

11495155

Incident

Nov 28, 2022

Mileage

86,000 mi

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 10 MPH, the vehicle started jerking and the transmission was slamming into gear. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The contact was informed that the gear ratio between the 5th and 6th gear was incorrect and needed to be corrected. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering) and advised the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was 110,000.

NHTSA ID

11486038

Incident

Jul 23, 2022

Mileage

110,000 mi

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated while pulling out of a parking spot and approaching a stop sign, she heard an abnormal popping sound. The contact shifted into park(P); however, the vehicle began to roll backwards. The contact engaged the electronic parking brake. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the front axle had detached from the transmission. The dealer replaced the driveshaft seal and bushings, and the transmission fluid; however, while driving a month later, a bystander informed the contact that the vehicle was leaking fluid. The contact veered to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to a second dealer Sunset Ford (11700 Gravois Rd, St. Louis, MO 63127) where it was diagnosed that the front axle had created two holes in the transmission, which caused the transmission fluid to leak. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 165, 842.

NHTSA ID

11482443

Incident

Jul 30, 2022

Mileage

165,842 mi

2014 FORD ESCAPE. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO PARTS BEING UNAVAILABLE TO PERFORM SAFETY RECALL.

NHTSA ID

11478182

Incident

Aug 8, 2022

2014 FORD ESCAPE. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO TRANSMISSION FAILURE. THE CONSUMER STATED WHILE DRIVING THE TRANSMISSION FAILED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE CONSUMER REQUESTED TO BE REIMBURSED DUE TO A RECALL NOTICE FOR THE TRANSMISSION. *JS

NHTSA ID

11478178

Incident

Aug 8, 2022

2014 FORD ESCAPE. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO SAFETY RECALL 22V-413. THE CONSUMER STATED WHILE DRIVING THE TEANSMISSION BEGAN SLIPPING AND STOPPED WORKING COMPLETELY. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE CONSUMER STATED THIS WAS A PREMATURE FAILURE AND COULD POSSIBLY BE COVERED UNDER RECALL.

NHTSA ID

11478139

Incident

Aug 8, 2022

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at approximately 65 MPH, the gear shifter inadvertently shifted out of drive while depressing the brake pedal. The contact stated that there was an abnormal shaking coming from the transmission and the vehicle lunged. The contact stated that he was able to pull the vehicle over on the shoulder and placed the gear shifter into park; however, the vehicle started to roll in reverse. The brake pedal was depressed as the contact was able to get the shifter into drive and pulled over at a service station. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact referenced NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train). The vehicle was towed to the residence. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer nor manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 93,000.

NHTSA ID

11478124

Incident

Aug 7, 2022

Mileage

93,000 mi

I was driving in Manhattan and stopped on East 5th Street in the East Village on my way home at around 7 pm. I stopped the car on a bit of a diagonal in the middle of the street in order to get out and quickly hand something off to someone there. I put the car in park and stepped out for maybe 30 seconds without even closing my door. Then when I got back in and tried to drive the car I had no ability to shift into any gear. The gear shifting didn’t click in in any way. The car didn’t register as in park. No lights highlighted the gear on the dashboard. The 4 tires were locked but the steering wheel moved freely and everything else in the car seemed to be perfectly fine. No warning lights came on. We turned the car off and back on many times hoping the computer system would resolve the issue - but that never changed the situation. I could not drive this car. I could not move the car. I was blocking other cars. I called AAA which took an hour and a half to get to me. I had AAA put the car on a flat bed truck and bring it to my Darien CT driveway ( at great expense) and then the next morning spoke with my Ford dealership and had AAA move the car to the dealership While now having to take a subway and a train to get back to Darien I looked up what could be wrong and discovered there had been a recall of many 2014 Escapes in 2018 to replace a faulty bushing which could detach from the transmission cable and make it impossible to control the gears. MY ESCAPE WAS NOT RECALLED - BUT IT CERTAINLY SHOULD HAVE BEEN because that is exactly what happened. This was very dangerous and expensive. I’m extremely disturbed that had my Escape been fixed in this recall this then would not have happened to me. And my life would not have been in jeopardy. What if this happened minutes later when I was again driving in NYCity or on the highway ? The Ford dealership in Stamford CT discovered that “the shifter cable bushing on transmission is broken and not connected to transmission…”

NHTSA ID

11458266

Incident

Mar 22, 2022

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated while attempting to park the vehicle the gear shifter cable fractured making it difficult to safely park the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.

NHTSA ID

11453610

Incident

Feb 22, 2022

Mileage

100,000 mi

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while reversing and then attempting to shift into drive, the gear shifter would not function as needed. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact had the vehicle towed to the local dealer, where it has not yet been diagnosed. The contact was informed by the tow truck driver that the shifter cable had detached and that there was a recall from the manufacturer regarding the shifter cable. The vehicle was not repaired but was pending repairs. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 75,000.

NHTSA ID

11451949

Incident

Feb 10, 2022

Mileage

75,000 mi

Transmission quit working and the vehicle stopped forward progress abruptly. There were no warnings on the dash. Vehicle will not shift and transmission disengages with no warning. Repair shop quoted a complete replacement at $7000.

NHTSA ID

11437995

Incident

Oct 7, 2021

I have a 2014 Ford Escape VIN:[XXX] (mfg date 11/2013) that almost killed somebody. I put the car in Park and got out of the car, It then proceeded to roll backwards towards a crowd of people. I was able to jump back in the car and put on the emergency brake to stop the car. Turns out their is a recall : FORD Safety Recall 18S20 – Shift Cable Bushing Replacement affecting 2013-2014 Ford Escape, & 2013-2016 Ford Fusion. Unfortunately, I never got a recall notice because the recall only covers Escapes up to 9/2013. How can I get my car added to the Recall? Thank You in advance. [XXX]. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

NHTSA ID

11435058

Incident

Sep 26, 2021

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the vehicle would not shift out of PARK. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V471000 (Power Train) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and confirmed that the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 107,000.

NHTSA ID

11433775

Incident

Sep 19, 2021

Mileage

107,000 mi

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated that on several occasions while driving at various speeds, the vehicle stalled with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the contact was informed that there was a defect with the TCM module connector. The vehicle was then taken to several other independent mechanics however, the mechanics were unable to repair the vehicle. Upon investigation, the contact discovered NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V495000 (Electrical System) which he linked to the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and confirmed that the VIN was not included in the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ID

11427438

Incident

Aug 1, 2020