"How reliable is the 2016 Ford Escape?"

"Based on 1178 NHTSA complaints, the 2016 Ford Escape has a median complaint mileage of 71400 miles. The most common issue is POWER TRAIN."

"What are common problems with the 2016 Ford Escape?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2016 Ford Escape is POWER TRAIN, accounting for a significant portion of the 1178 total complaints filed."

2016 Ford Escape: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 1178 complaints

1178

Total Complaints

71,400mi

Median Mileage

POWER TRAIN

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

40,500 25th Percentile

71,400 Median Mileage

100,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

POWER TRAIN

299

ENGINE

181

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

129

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

BACK OVER PREVENTION

STEERING

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

WHEELS

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"VEHICLE WILL CHATTER AND VIBRATE WHEN GOING FROM REVERSE TO DRIVE MODE TO GO FORWARD, EVEN WHEN TOTALLY STOPPED TO GO FORWARD. BANGS IN WHEN APPLYING GAS LIGHT OR HARD TRYING TO GET OUT OF WAY OF ON APPROACHING TRAFFIC IN STREET AND PARKING SPOTS. BOUGHT IT BRAND NEW IN JULY 2015 STARTED FROM DAY ..."

"TRANSMISSION SLIPS WHEN BACKING UP. PROBLEM IS PERIODIC BUT IS BAD ENOUGH THAT THE CAR WOULD BE SLOW TO REACT TO EMERGENCIES SUCH AS BACKING FROM INTERSECTION WHEN IT OCCURS. PROBLEM OCCURS WHEN CAR IS WARMED UP AND MOST OFTEN WHEN GOING FROM FORWARD TO STOP TO BACKING. WHILE PARKING THIS P..."

"I WAS DRIVING ON INTERSTATE 75 NEAR BRADENTON IN FL. 1:00 P.M. PERFECTLY CLEAR & DRY DAY. I WAS HIT FROM BEHIND, SENT MY FORD INTO THE GRASSY MEDIAN, CAR CAME TO A STOP AT A WIRE GUARD RAIL. I DIDN'T HIT ANOTHER VEHICLE. I WAS KNOCKED UNCONSCIOUS, SO I HAVE NO RECALL. THIS HAPPENED NEAR A CONSTR..."

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