NHTSA lists 617 complaints for the 2012 Ford Escape, 40 of them mention a crash and 3 mention a fire. 19 complaints mention an injury, with 28 injuries and 0 deaths reported.
Data build 2026-10-09.
NHTSA lists this vehicle as FORD ESCAPE.
At a glance
Complaints
617
With crash
40
With fire
3
With injury (complaints)
19
Injuries
28
Deaths
0
Recalls
1
Do not drive recalls
0
Park outside recalls
0
Recall potential units (maximum)
329,265
Investigations
3
Open investigations
0
Manufacturer communications
44
Complaints per 100k sold unavailable. The available sales group does not match this vehicle variant.
Where the complaints are
Top systems
System
Complaints
Share of this vehicle's complaints
STEERING
141
22.9%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
139
22.5%
ENGINE
75
12.2%
STRUCTURE
70
11.3%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
70
11.3%
POWER TRAIN
67
10.9%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
45
7.3%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
43
7.0%
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
26
4.2%
AIR BAGS
25
4.1%
Top subsystems
System
Subsystem
Complaints
STRUCTURE
BODY
60
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES
DOORS
4
VISIBILITY
GLASS, SIDE/REAR
4
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
DELIVERY
3
POWER TRAIN
AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
3
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES
HOOD
2
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
PEDALS AND LINKAGES
2
STRUCTURE
FRAME AND MEMBERS
2
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
12V/24V/48V BATTERY
1
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/PANEL
1
One complaint can name several systems, so shares can add to more than 100 percent.
Confidence is the model's own probability for the label it chose (0 to 1), not accuracy.
Model-generated labels on tagged complaints only. Model years 2013 and newer are tagged in full; 2012 in part (see tagged_share); earlier model years have no tags. NHTSA's own flags remain separate in the complaints block.
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2010-2012 Ford Escape vehicles manufactured February 26, 2009, to April 29, 2012, and 2010-2011 Mercury Mariner vehicles manufactured February 25, 2009, to December 12, 2010. On vehicles with a 3.0L engine, the Fuel Delivery Module (FDM) may crack, causing a fuel leak. (excerpt)
Consequence: A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source increases the risk of a fire. (excerpt)
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the FDM flange with one that has a redesigned fuel supply port, free of charge. Remedy parts are currently unavailable. Interim notices were mailed to owners on December 13, 2016. Owners will receive a second notice when remedy parts become available. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is (excerpt)
Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.
Investigations
3 investigations; 0 open.
DP22005
Opened: 2023-01-27. Closed: 2023-08-07.
Pedestrian alert sounds
NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and ele
On February 21, 2013, the Office of Defects Investigations (ODI) opened Preliminary Evaluation PE13-003 to investigate allegations of electronic throttle body (ETB) failures resulting in sudden reduction of engine power in model year (MY) 2009-2013 Ford Escape, Fusion, Mariner and Milan vehicles. During this investigation, Ford identified a condition in subject vehicles equipped with 2.5L and 3.0L
Systems: ENGINE.
Linked campaign numbers: None listed.
DP12006
Opened: 2012-10-02. Closed: 2013-02-21.
Electronic Throttle Body Malfunction
In a letter dated August 30, 2012, The North Carolina Consumers Council (NCCC) petitioned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to initiate a defect investigation of alleged electronic throttle body failures resulting in engine stall or surge while driving in model year (MY) 2005 through 2012 Ford Escape vehicles. On October 2, 2012 the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) op
Systems: ENGINE.
Linked campaign numbers: None listed.
Manufacturer communications
44 manufacturer communications.
Communications by system
System
Count
EQUIPMENT
11
POWER TRAIN
8
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
7
ENGINE
6
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
4
STEERING
3
EQUIPMENT ADAPTIVE/MOBILITY
2
SERVICE BRAKES
2
11029052
Date: 2026-02-24. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, STRUCTURE, UNKNOWN OR OTHER.
Ford and Lincoln vehicles equipped with wired keyless entry keypad systems and accessory wireless keyless entry keypad systems may or may not come with a wallet card containing the master code. Unlike the integrated wired keypad, the accessory wireless keypad master code cannot be retrieved from the
11008948
Date: 2024-10-10. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.
While performing a transmission repair on some 2012-2024 Ford and Lincoln vehicles, a transmission seal kit may be on backorder due to supply chain interruptions.
10254138
Date: 2024-04-24. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: EQUIPMENT.
All accessory stick-on keyless entry keypads come with a wallet card containing the master code. If the accessory keypad was factory installed, this card will be placed in the glove box and should be handed to the vehicle s owner during initial delivery. Unlike the integrated (wired) factory keypad,
10235153
Date: 2023-04-04. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: STRUCTURE.
For 2000-2024 Ford and Lincoln vehicles, swapping a module from a vehicle for diagnosis purposes is likely to cause errors and is not recommended. It is also not recommended to order a replacement module using a vehicle identification number (VIN) from a different vehicle. Most modules on these affe
10177598
Date: 2020-06-03. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING.
These SKUs are Exhaust Manifolds with Catalytic Converters. The customer communication requested return of unsold inventory due to a loss of CARB certification. These SKUs can no longer be sold as they do not meet CARB standards, but parts on vehicles are not effected.
10177599
Date: 2020-06-03. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING.
These SKUs are Exhaust Manifolds with Catalytic Converters. The customer communication requested return of unsold inventory due to a loss of CARB certification. These SKUs can no longer be sold as they do not meet CARB standards, but parts on vehicles are not effected.
10137113
Date: 2018-03-30. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: EQUIPMENT.
Replacing the original equipment SYNC/Navigation system with either an aftermarket SYNC/Navigation kit or modifying original SYNC/Navigation parts to provide additional features is not recommended nor supported on any Ford, Mercury or Lincoln vehicle. Only approved Genuine Ford accessories or origin
10136597
Date: 2018-02-14. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: EQUIPMENT.
2010-2018 various vehicles equipped with SYNC or SYNC 3 may not function when attempting to find or use the Spotify app via AppLink. As of an update released on 1/15/2018 Spotify will no longer be supporting their AppLink integration. No repair attempts should be attempted to correct this concern.
10138524
Date: 2018-01-10. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: EQUIPMENT.
The Accessory (Wireless) Keyless Entry Keypad can only be used with vehicles that are factory built with Remote Keyless Entry (RKE). The master code for the Accessory (Wireless) Keyless Entry Keypad can be retrieved from FMCDealer - Parts and Service - Parts Product Line Information - Keys/Entry Dev
10140323
Date: 2018-01-10. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: EQUIPMENT.
The Accessory (Wireless) Keyless Entry Keypad can only be used with vehicles that are factory built with Remote Keyless Entry (RKE). The master code for the Accessory (Wireless) Keyless Entry Keypad can be retrieved from FMCDealer - Parts and Service - Parts Product Line Information - Keys/Entry Dev
Notes on this record
Complaints from the API and bulk file are merged and deduplicated by ODI number; the API alone misses records.
System and subsystem counts are numbers of distinct complaints, recalls or communications that name them. One record can name several systems, so shares across systems can add to more than 100 percent; a single share never exceeds 100 percent.
Recalls are counted once per campaign, investigations once per action and manufacturer communications once per NHTSA id, even when NHTSA lists several model names for the same record.
A sales denominator is a calendar-year proxy, not the population of vehicles still in use. Rates are copied from verified pipeline output.