2016 Ford Escape Electrical Problems

The rear view camera does not work at times and when it does the image is distorted and discolored and it is also upside down.

NHTSA ID

11753009

Incident

Dec 12, 2025

Safety recall issued last year for faulty rear camera and still no remedy available.

NHTSA ID

11752792

Incident

Oct 1, 2025

unknown

NHTSA ID

11750815

Incident

Feb 19, 2026

The electrical radio backup camera does not work it's all malfunctioned.

NHTSA ID

11748799

Incident

Oct 1, 2025

There is an active safety recall on the vehicle and FORD wants to charge to diagnose the recall. When I first inquired about the recall they said they didn’t have the part to fix that recall but wanted me to bring it into the shop to diagnose it and that would cost money. They said that even if I did bring it into to diagnose they could not do anything but let me know if they get the part but that the company no longer makes the part so it won’t get fixed anyways.

NHTSA ID

11746936

Incident

Nov 13, 2025

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated Instrument display went out. warnings are being indicated but not able to see the warning as well as mileage due to the instrument panel being blank. The dealer was contact; however the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the issue. The approximate failure mileage was 138,000.

NHTSA ID

11740639

Incident

May 1, 2026

Mileage

138,000 mi

The end of February was driving and I noticed white smoke blowing from my exaust, then my car lost power.

NHTSA ID

11726398

Incident

Feb 24, 2026

Recall issue: The vehicle failed and became disabled due to the shift cable bushing while in a parking lot on private property, with driver in the vehicle. The gear would not shift or go into park and continued to roll forward until either I hit the curb or applied the brake. Ford will not pay for the tow or diagnostic fee to have the problem diagnosed at another body shop (before I knew of the recall) Ford will not replace shift cable, only install protective cap. Recall issue: rearview camera displays distorted images, and does not always show rear view when backing up. It shows blank sometimes, and forward when reversing. Visibility unclear when backing. Ford will not replace as they say they do not have the parts to replace. This leaves the vehicle at high risk for safety issues.

NHTSA ID

11716331

Incident

Feb 6, 2026

I have a 2016 Ford Escape SE with the Ecoboost engine. I have been experiencing the same issue with misfires in port 4 which also shows an open circuit every time as well for over the past year. The dealership has replaced everything underneath including but not limited to my spark plugs, wires, coils, and even my entire wiring harness. The issue is still happening and they do not know what is causing it. I think my vehicle may fall under the complaint failure FORD currently has on their 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5 Ecoboost engines. It has been to the dealership for the same repairs over 8 different times. When is enough actually enough. I have lost power several times in traffic and it's like slamming on my brakes. This is how bad the misfire is. My check engine light has been flashing due to this issue as well as being on solid. Please help or advise.

NHTSA ID

11712595

Incident

Dec 20, 2024

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that while in reverse, the back-over prevention camera failed to display the image behind the vehicle. The failure became more persistent over time and caused additional electrical failures. The contact was unable to connect devices to the vehicle, and the radio failed to operate as needed. The dealer was contacted and confirmed that the part for the recall repair was not available. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was approximately 17,000.

NHTSA ID

11700748

Incident

Nov 21, 2020

Mileage

17,000 mi

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (BACK OVER PREVENTION); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the rearview camera displayed a distorted image while the vehicle was in reverse(R). The contact stated that the failure obstructed the driver's visibility, which prevented the driver from safely operating the vehicle. In addition, there was an abnormal sound coming from the camera. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that on a separate occasion, after the vehicle was purchased, the liftgate failed to function as intended. The liftgate occasionally opened and closed independently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but the vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that on a separate occasion, the message "Transmission Fault - Service Now" was displayed on the instrument panel. The contact had the transmission fluid changed. However, the message was displayed again. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ID

11700093

Incident

Nov 18, 2024

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (BACK OVER PREVENTION). However, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the rearview camera displayed a distorted image while the vehicle was in reverse(R). The contact stated that the failure obstructed the driver's visibility, which prevented the driver from safely operating the vehicle. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that on a separate occasion, the alarm activated independently. The alarm was unintentionally activated during the day or night. Most recently, while the front driver’s side door was opened or closed, the alarm activated until the key was inserted into the ignition. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic; however, no cause for the failure was found. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ID

11699425

Incident

Oct 14, 2025

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that upon opening the liftgate, the liftgate started closing unintendedly and struck the contact on the head. There was no injury sustained. The dealer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.

NHTSA ID

11698956

Incident

Nov 12, 2025

Mileage

80,000 mi

2016 escape rear camera displays upside down. Ford motor just recalled over a million of their vehicles due to safety hazard, Mine is not listed in recall but has exact same safety issue. Contacted FMC and said it's not on the recall list. I ask them to repair just like the others that are being recalled. We bought this new in 2016. They refused although it is an identified safety issue. Thanks [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11690287

Incident

Apr 1, 2022

Rear camera screen will turn black and not work for days at a time, or will sometimes display for a second and then as I’m backing up, it’ll turn black. Then for a day it’ll work just fine, then the next day be back to not working again out of the blue. I have been in no accidents. It once even displayed my view upside down. Yes it’s available for inspection upon request. I would say people are very at risk because I can’t trust it to work and I might hit someone if the screen goes black on me while I’m backing up. I haven’t brought it to a dealership or others because of cost and time. This has been going on for years, I’m not sure when it first started… maybe around the 80,000 mile marker?

NHTSA ID

11689010

Incident

Sep 23, 2023

Back up camera goes blank or displays upside down. Tail lights goes out frequently but the dealer says it's okay.

NHTSA ID

11688029

Incident

Jul 1, 2018

Camera keeps cutting out even in the middle of backing up

NHTSA ID

11687158

Incident

Sep 14, 2025

Rear view camera is not working properly. Will either flicker on & off while reversing, display upside down, or just show a black screen. This has been going on for a while. There seems to be a recall for this malfunction for several Ford models, however not one for my model.

NHTSA ID

11686493

Incident

Jan 7, 2025

Around Aug. 3, I noticed that when I drove, the interior lights would not turn off. When the car was off, they went out as they should. But every time I started the car they came on and would not turn off. It made it very difficult to drive went it was getting dark. The dealership confirmed that it wasn't the knobs inside the car that were causing this problem. Later, I took it in for them to find out what was wrong. I scheduled an appointment and dropped off the car. That was Aug, 7. Today is September 1, and I have no idea when I might get my car back. Apparently, it needed a 'body control module'. They got a new Ford part, put it in and it solved the problem with the interior lights, but nothing else was working. They tried a second new, Ford part with the same results. So, I've been without a car, I have had a rental for a week, but will be turning it in, too expensive for me. I need a car I work mornings. What are my options now? It only has 52,000 miles. And while I am the 2nd owner, it belonged to a friend that I lived with and took care of and was the primary driver. How long before they should say we can't fix it?

NHTSA ID

11684332

Incident

Aug 3, 2025

I was driving the car and I was having issues with it shutting off when I was driving the car it shut off in the middle of me driving and it just wouldn't move after that until a tow truck driver came and gave me a jumpstart that happened a number of times, but in the middle of traffic was the worst and very dangerous when my kids are in the car

NHTSA ID

11682577

Incident

Aug 6, 2025

When I put the car in reverse the back up camera glitches. It freezes, flips upside down, turns black, sometimes all of those things. The beeping sound does not warn when objects are near when this is happening. It happens about 95% of the time. The camera is only functional about 5% of the time. Due to this issue I have been in several near accidents

NHTSA ID

11672935

Incident

Feb 7, 2024

Rear view Camera not displaying when put in reverse frequently or camera displaying but goes blank in the middle of backing up. This has been occurring for at least 3-4 months. It is very frightening as it takes my mind a second or two to comprehend the rearview camera has gone blank in the middle of backin up. The camera does not always have a problem but is too frequent. I have been I’ll so have not driven too much last 2 months but I am better now. Please add my vehicle to the Rearview recall.

NHTSA ID

11671566

Incident

Jul 6, 2025

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the back over prevention camera was turning on and off continuously while driving. The contact stated that the failure was causing a distraction while driving. The contact stated that the back over prevention camera was inoperable while reversing. Additionally, the infotainment system was inoperable. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was not covered under recall, and a case was filed. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 119,000.

NHTSA ID

11669449

Incident

Feb 1, 2025

Mileage

119,000 mi

a couple of years ago my car started having problems when accelerating, it would not accelerate or almost get to stall without warning, a couple times I got the message " engine fault - service now" . I took my car to the dealership and they could not find the root cause because the message would disappear when turning the car off and on again, therefore they could not reproduce the issue but my car had this same episode 3 times over the past 8 years without resolution from the dealership. finally a few days ago the issue came back but this time the message is not going away after turning off the car, I used a code reader and the error code reads: P0236. I am trying to get an appointment at the dealership to have my car looked at and finally have the repair done. but I believe my ford escape should be part of recall No. 14V495000 for Ford Escape MY 2013-2014 along with other Ford escapes model year 2016.

NHTSA ID

11667579

Incident

Jun 14, 2025

Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while attempting to register the vehicle, it was discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy. The vehicle was a private sale. At the time of purchase, the vehicle mileage was 116,000 and at the time of registration, it was discovered that the mileage was 159,759.

NHTSA ID

11665845

Incident

Jun 9, 2025

Mileage

159,759 mi