2001 Ford Escape: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 1387 complaints
1387
Total Complaints
81,000mi
Median Mileage
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE
Top Issue
109
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

41,870 25th Percentile
81,000 Median Mileage
127,069 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE
158
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
78
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
66
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
62
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
57
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
47
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
41
AIR BAGS
31
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
31
SERVICE BRAKES
30

Severity Assessment

109
Crashes
93
Fires
109
Injuries
5
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"CONSUMER WAS TRAVELING ON HIGHWAY AND IT WAS RAINING, AND WINDSHIELD WIPERS DIDN'T WORK AT ALL. DEALERSHIP WAS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM. PARTS HAD TO BE ORDERDERED. *AK"
"WINDSHIELD WIPERS NOT OPERATING. DEALER NOTIFIED AND WAITED FOR PARTS. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO PROVIDE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION. *AK"
"WHILE PULLING AWAY FROM A STOP LIGHT THIS VEHICLE EQUIPPED WITH FIRESTONE, WILDERNESS/AT TIRES, P23575R16, SIDEWALL BLEWOUT UNEXPECTEDLY. FORD HAS BEEN CONTACTED.*AK"

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28