Car Issues Tracker
Vehicle complaints, recalls & safety data — sourced from NHTSA

2015 Ford Escape: Complaints, Recalls, and Known Problems

Owners have filed 1,028 safety complaints about the 2015 Ford Escape with U.S. regulators. Here's what the federal data shows, system by system.

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · Retrieved July 14, 2026 · Counts change as new reports are filed

1,028
Complaints
9
Recalls
2
Investigations
4★
Overall crash rating

Complaints for this vehicle report 29 crashes, 19 fires, 32 injuries. No deaths have been reported.

Key findings
  1. Power train / transmission leads the complaint list, cited in 283 of 1,028 complaints, followed by Engine & cooling.
  2. Stalling is a recurring theme. 92 of the 1,028 reports describe the engine stalling — many while driving.
  3. Complaints peaked 10 years after the model year (142 filed in 2025) — a pattern consistent with wear-out failures rather than assembly defects.
  4. 2 NHTSA defect investigations are associated with this vehicle.

What owners report

Complaints filed with NHTSA name the vehicle system involved. For the 2015 Ford Escape, here is how reports break down by system.

Complaints by vehicle system
System mentions in 1,028 complaints · a complaint can cite more than one system
Power train / transmission
283
Engine & cooling
268
Other / unspecified
134
Electrical
128
Driver assistance
98
Steering
79
Body & structure
68
Fuel & propulsion
56

"Dash board panel comes on when you turn on the car, but once you put it in drive it automatically shuts off accept the rpm gauge, car goes into limp mode when driving and causes it to not allow any acceleration or movement of vehicle."

Owner complaint filed July 2026 · Power Train,Electrical System,Vehicle Speed Control · NHTSA ODI 11749686

"Transmission rides rough at speeds between 40 to 45 mph when driving in automatic. When in sport/manual shift you must stay in 4th gear. When going those speeds in automatic, it shifts into 5th and makes it a rough ride. I just thought it was cause of winter but not the case."

Owner complaint filed May 2026 · Power Train · NHTSA ODI 11737374

Complaints didn't fade — they kept coming

For most vehicles, complaint volume spikes early and tapers off. The 2015 Ford Escape inverts that curve — filings peaked in 2025, 10 years after the model year.

Complaints filed per year — 2015 Ford Escape
Year the complaint was filed, not the incident year
1
28
32
43
69
83
111
67
136
110
99
142
107
14151617181920212223242526
2026 is a partial year (through July 14, 2026). A late peak is the signature of wear-out failures: parts that don't fail until the vehicle has years and miles on it.

How the 2015 compares with other model years

Across the Ford Escape model years we track, the 2013 has the most complaints on file (2,743); the 2015 ranks 9 of 9.

Total complaints by model year — Ford Escape
All complaints on file per model year, as of July 14, 2026
2,126
1,312
2,743
2,067
2015
1,028
1,031
2,624
1,725
1,476
Older model years have had more time on the road to accumulate complaints — compare adjacent years, not endpoints.

Recall history: 9 recalls

9 recalls apply to some or all 2015 Ford Escape vehicles. Recall repairs are free at any dealer, with no time limit.

Jun 201515V-406
Electrical System: Instrument Cluster/Panel

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2014-2015 Ford Escape vehicles manufactured May 19, 2014, to February 6, 2015, and Transit Connect vehicles manufactured May 11, 2014, to July 2, 2015. Due to a software incompatibility issue, the instrument panel cluster be inoperative inclu…

Jul 201515V-436
Electrical System:Ignition

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2015 Ford Escape vehicles manufactured April 1, 2014, to June 12, 2015, Ford Focus vehicles manufactured June 17, 2014, to June 12, 2015, and Ford C-Max vehicles manufactured April 22, 2014, to June 12, 2015. In the affected vehicles, the eng…

Sep 201616V-643
Latches/Locks/Linkages:Doors:Latch

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2012-2015 Ford Focus, 2013-2015 Ford Escape and Ford C-MAX, 2015 Lincoln MKC and Ford Mustang, and 2014-2016 Ford Transit Connect vehicles. A component within the door latches may break, preventing the doors from latching and/or leading the d…

Jul 201717V-472
Seat Belts

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2014 Ford F-150 and E-350, 2014-2015 Ford Escape, and 2015 Lincoln MKC vehicles. Improperly manufactured bolts may have been used to install certain seats, seatbacks, seatbelt buckles, or seatbelt anchors on these vehicles.

Jun 202020V-331
Latches/Locks/Linkages:Doors:Latch

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2011-2014 Fiesta, 2013-2014 Fusion, 2015 Mustang, 2013-2015 Escape and C-Max, 2012-2015 Focus, 2014-2016 Transit Connect, 2013-2014 Lincoln MKZ, and 2015 MKC vehicles. These vehicles were previously recalled and repaired under recalls 15V-246, 16V-643 o…

Apr 202222V-254
Power Train:Automatic Transmission:Gear Position Indication (Prndl)

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015 Escape vehicles equipped with 2.0L engines. The bushing that attaches the shifter cable to the transmission may degrade or detach.

Jun 202222V-413
Power Train:Automatic Transmission:Gear Position Indication (Prndl)

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013-2019 Escape, 2013-2018 C-Max, 2013-2016 Fusion, 2013-2021 Transit Connect, and 2015-2018 Edge vehicles. The bushing that attaches the shifter cable to the transmission may degrade or detach.

Oct 202525V-695
Back Over Prevention: Sensing System: Camera

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015-2019 Flex, 2015 Explorer, Lincoln MKT, Lincoln MKZ, 2015-2016 C-Max, Escape, Taurus, 2016 Fusion, 2018-2019 Taurus, 2019 Lincoln MKT, Fiesta, and 2020 Mustang vehicles. The rearview camera may display a distorted, intermittent, or blank image when …

Jan 202626V-011
Equipment:Electrical:Engine Block Heater

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013-2018 Focus, 2013-2019 Escape, and 2015-2016 MKC vehicles equipped with a 2.0L engine. The engine block heater may crack and develop a coolant leak, causing it to short circuit when the block heater is plugged in.

Does your car have an open recall?

Recall repairs are free at any dealer, with no time limit. Look up your 17-character VIN on the official NHTSA site to see open recalls for your specific vehicle. Check your VIN at NHTSA.gov →

Crash-test ratings

NHTSA crash ratings measure how the car protects occupants in a crash — a separate question from the reliability complaints above. A vehicle can be both crashworthy and trouble-prone.

★★★★☆
Overall
★★★★☆
Frontal crash
★★★★★
Side crash
★★★★☆
Rollover

Frequently asked questions

How many complaints does the 2015 Ford Escape have?

As of July 14, 2026, owners have filed 1,028 complaints about the 2015 Ford Escape with NHTSA. The most-reported system is power train / transmission.

How many recalls does the 2015 Ford Escape have?

The 2015 Ford Escape has 9 NHTSA recalls on file. Recall repairs are free at any dealer.

Is the 2015 Ford Escape safe in a crash?

NHTSA gives the 2015 Ford Escape an overall crash rating of 4 out of 5 stars. Crash ratings measure occupant protection in a collision; they do not measure reliability, which is what the complaint data above reflects.

Methodology & source

All figures come from the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) public APIs: the Office of Defects Investigation complaint database, the recalls database, and NCAP safety ratings, retrieved July 14, 2026.

Complaints are self-reported by consumers and are not verified by NHTSA or by this site. A single complaint may cite multiple vehicle systems, so system mentions can sum to more than the complaint total. Complaint volume is influenced by fleet size, media attention, and recall notices, and is not by itself a measure of defect rates.

This site is not affiliated with NHTSA or any manufacturer. Nothing here is repair, purchase, or legal advice. For your specific vehicle, use the official NHTSA VIN lookup and consult a qualified technician.