As Ford Authority reported nearly two years ago, a number of Ford EcoBoost powerplants are the subject of a class-action lawsuit due to an inherent defect that causes coolant to leak into the cylinders, which in turn leads to corrosion, misfires, engine failure, and fires. This problem reportedly stems from a defect in the design of the engine block and cylinder head, as well as an inadequate seal on the head, which then allows coolant to seep into the combustion chambers. These issues have also been well documented by YouTuber and Ford technician Ford Tech Makuloco, who has gone over them in great detail in regards to a customer’s 2013 Ford F-150 and a 2014 Ford Escape. Now, he’s back once again to go over the Ford 2.0L EcoBoost coolant issue and a fix for those experiencing it.
This time around, our resident technician has a 2017 Escape with the Ford 2.0L EcoBoost engine that’s in for an engine replacement with just 106k miles on the clock. Regardless, it’s consuming coolant at a high rate, thanks to a coolant intrusion issue on cylinder number three. Unfortunately for owners, this is a common problem on a host of four-cylinder EcoBoost powerplants.
This problem boils down to the engine’s open deck cooling design, which causes premature gasket failure and sometimes cracks between the cylinders. These problems don’t affect the earlier versions of these engines due to their closed deck system, which was used prior to the introduction of the 2017 Escape.
Ford has acknowledged this problem, but the fix isn’t a simple one – it requires a long block replacement, which is obviously a labor intensive and expensive job. It’s a major headache for those that own vehicles with these defective engines, though Ford did tweak it a bit in 2020 for the crossover’s redesign. Regardless, this sort of video is a great reminder for those that are in the market for a used vehicle with one of these defective engines, as they’re most likely not worth the headache.
We’ll have more informative videos like this to share soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for more Ford Escape news and continuous Ford news coverage.
Comments
Another reason to ditch my 2.0, gas mileage is awful and now I have to worry about the coolant getting into the cylinders…
“…in for an engine replacement with just 106k miles on the clock.”
“Just 106k miles”? I mean, based on the average of 15,000 miles per year that is almost the equivalent of 7 years of use. Is it highly unusual for a turbo charged engine regularly pushing 17psi to go that many years without some sort of major issue? Ford did offer a 5yr/60K mile powertrain warranty on the 2017 Escape. This particular Escape is 5 years old, but 46k miles beyond the warranty…so it was obviously driven.
It isn’t uncommon for vehicles across all manufacturers to be known to have some sort of inherent design flaw. That’s the nature of manufactured goods, especially goods with thousands of parts. Automakers make improvements and improve designs as products evolve. That’s just the way it goes.
Class action lawsuits take way too long and aren’t really worth the hassle. Expecting automakers to foot the bill to atone for a design flaw going back 8,9,10+ years is pretty audacious. If the engine fails under warranty, the automaker fixes it. If the warranty is up, so is their obligation to you. There is always some sort of assumed financial risk the longer you own and operate a vehicle outside of the warranty period. Many YouTubers have made quite a good living creating content about these types of known vehicle flaws.
It’s good to see someone who has common sense
LOL!!! Nope sorry…just not acceptable to have an engine seize this way with only 100k on it – that’s nothing…
This is poor design and Ford should be forced to apply the long block replacement fix across the board.
Are you an employee of Ford Motor Company or a lawyer representing Ford? Just wondering.
My car is having the issue with just under 40,000 miles
They had a design that was proven and they just had to screw it up. Can’t leave well enough alone. I spent 42 years in a Lincoln dealer service department and saw stuff like this time and time again. Should extend the warranty to 10 years 150,000 miles like the dual clutch automatic transmission in the 2012 and newer Focus. Older Focus powertrain was bullet proof.
“Expecting automakers to foot the bill to atone for a design flaw going back 8,9,10+ years is pretty audacious.”
LOL, no. The only thing audacious here is your simping for Ford.
I leased two Escapes a 2015 1.6 FWD, and a 2018 1.5 AWD. They ran for three years and were never in the shop except for oil changes. Regardless of the amount of miles /kms travelled, I would be interested to know exactly whether the maintenance schedule was followed on this 2.0 example, not to mention whether this vehicle towed anything.
I steered clear of the 2.0 purely on account of the additional cost for this engine. The 1.5 had plenty of power for my driving habits.
These were driven in Southern Ontario Canada where there is freezing cold temperatures 4 months of the year.
The 2015 Escape did not have the issue but the 2018 may have, I heard that the displacement was not a factor since they are all Ecoboost, but not sure about that. Good thing you leased them as you did not have to worry about getting stuck with replacing a defective motor..
Mine is in the shop now for a new motor. Only 50k on my 2017. Dealer said, sorry, you just past your years in the warranty.
Mine was a rental. Did not change the oil but every 10k. I should have payed more attention to the car fax as for the miles in between oil changes.
Mine was a rental. Did not change the oil but every 10k. The I should have payed more attention to the car fax as for the miles in between oil changes.
I had an extended warrantee from my dealer on my 18 escape Titanium. At 70k leaks. Between the ford and the dealer I got a new engine (complete new turbos, water pump, etc) for $100.00
I had an Escape 2018, 2.0 EcoBoost, driven mostly on highways, it has only 57k km (near 30k mi), and it is getting the replacement block. I decided to get extended warranty because I traded in a Fiesta with the Powershift tranny for this Escape which also was a huge headache (during the 5 years I had it, it broke down 9 transmissions, driven on extremely heavy traffic jams, with many hills).
Solution: get an absurdely expensive custom cast iron engine block that matches the specs of that tin-can oem block or sell the thing and do some major maintenance to my old Ford Tempo which has run for 30 years WITH NO ENGINE FAILURE, and have extra money for a couple drinks and a bbq.
These vehicles are basically worthless.
I had a 2018 Edge with the 2.0 Ecoboost engine that developed the coolant intrusion issue at 63,000 miles. It cost me over $3,600 to have the engine replaced. Shortly afterwards the transmission started to slip! I’m quite happy with my Chevy now!
How can Ford get away with this for over a decade? The lawsuit was filed in Delaware. Are they sleeping?
Regarding the ecoboost coolant lawsuit, how does the court know how many cars are involved and how much money was spent by the car owners fixing Ford’s problem?
I hope that the money spent by the car owners isn’t being used as Ford’s defense fund!
Hello
i have a mondeo here in germany with the 2.0 ecoboost. the engine is an R9CB.
is this the engine that is causing the problems? Or is that the newest one? The car is from late 2018.
Many Thanks
greeting
Hi I’m having same issue with my 2017 escape 2.0 eco boost how can I get into this lawsuit too
After purchasing a 2017 Ford Explorer Eco Boost (65K miles) it was only 6 -7 months (yes months) later that I would find myself in a devastating car situation. At exactly 72,000 miles, I discovered my engine would need to be completely replaced. I discovered this after having my vehicle diagnosed at the dealership. Coolant in the #2 and #3 cylinders. The dealership said it would cost $9500 for a new motor. I just bought the car, I don’t have that kind of money sitting around. After searching the internet, I am finding more and more people are having the same problems. But I try to do the right thing, I called Ford to report my problem. They said they would look into it. My hopes were up. I got the call today that, They know it is a default in the motor but it has not been recalled yet! Really! So I’m supposed to wait until there is a recall! I was so upset! She did say that they would pay for $4000, but I only have 30 days to let them know if I will take their offer. I told her I don’t have $5 – $6000 sitting around.
Ford motors is aware of this issue and has refused to offer assistance in the whole cost. It should be a recall!
There has been an update to this policy in June and now you may be eligible for a free short block engine replacement per 21N12.
Unfortunately, the 21N12 only applies to the 1.5, not the 2.0. As far as I know, they haven’t acknowledged the responsibility for the 2.0, thus the class action suit.
How do I find out if i qualify for a short block at no cost to or a monetary check for $4000.00 or more
I have a 2017 Ford Escape Titanium with a 2.0 eco boost motor. At 99,000 miles it started misfiring, drove sluggish and antifreeze being pulled into motor. It is in a Ford Repair currently having a new motor installed Cost at minimum will be 6500.00. If Ford already knew there was a problem why were never recalled or being paid for now.
I have a 2017 Escape with the eco-boost engine. It has only 58,500 miles. I bought it used @ a Ford dealership in July 2020. 1 month ago it began having issues, codes, over-heating & check engine light comes & goes. My mechanic suggested that I take it to the dealer. Dealership tech referenced coolant intrusion & new engine at about $7,000.00! I’m thankful that I have an extended warranty. Ford SUCKS! They recognize that this is a problem but yet they don’t care! They need to take responsibility & issue covered recalls. This will be my last FORD.
Me and my wife bought a 2018 edge with 57;000 miles on it and couldn’t ask for a better suv till after the first year and it threw a po302 code and after researching I know the problem but we ain’t got $3,000 to put another motor in it so I doctored it up with k seal and it fine for now but we are definitely trading it in soon for a Chevrolet. That’s what we wanted in the first place but we sorta got talked into buying it so we’ll be going to a better dealership next time.
We own a Edge SEL 2017 with 57000 miles on it having bought it from a dealer with 56000 thinking it would be great..BUT having done some LATE homework on this 2.0 engine, we’re scared shi—less putting any more miles on it. It’s been garaged mostly to get groceries once a month. We drove Honda CRV’s with putting over 250K miles on them and 4 runners with NO engine problems ever! We got hoodwinked in our late 70’s and will sell this thing never looking back at Ford. I will spread this word tilI I die…shame on this company. I hope they get sued till the cows come home…..and then some!
We have a 2017 Edge Titanium with just over 80K miles on it, and it’s at the dealer currently with a useless motor.. I knew when I took it in it needed the long block replaced because I had done all the research to determine that. I’m sorry, but $40K for 80K miles is NOT ENOUGH! I was not too worried as I knew I had purchased the Premium care plan extended warranty, and we were just within that, so it should have been covered. Turns out that when I purchased the vehicle from Richmond Ford, they sold me an extended plan WITHOUT the powertrain warranty… WTF? When I called Ford to complain they had never even heard of a plan that did not include the powertrain.. Apparently it was plan modified by the dealer to screw over the customer… So am I pissed? I’ll let you use your imagination… Now it’s going to cost me at least $6K to replaced the motor, which I of course do not have… I have to empty my 401K and my wife (it’s her car) will have to cash in her insurance policy to get the money, since Ford refuses to do anything about it even though they know it was a design mistake.. Am I ever going to purchase another Ford? Again, just use your imagination a little… In case anyone is interested, the TSB for this issue is 22-2229. It includes several Ford and Lincoln models, and 3 years span of all of them. With the Edge it’s actually 4 years worth and started in 2015. Also, the JD Power dependability chart shows Ford near the bottom with Lincoln even further down, with Land Rover being last place. It doesn’t really take much imagination to figure out why they are so low… Once I get the replacement motor done, I will immediately trade it in on a brand that deserves my hard earned money, like Toyota, Hyundai, or Kia (yes even Kia is dependable these days). Of course, there is Chevy and Buick also, but NEVER will I ever purchase another Fix Or Repair Daily… Take Care
i have a 2017 Lincoln MKZ with 47000 miles. 2 mo. out of there 6 yr warranty & they want $5K for a new engine. This is a design flaw – how can they get away with raping the American public like this??
i had purchase escape 2019 titamium with 2.0 L ecoboost. i bought it used with 72K miles on it, after almost a year just putting 6k miles on it then problem happen coolant intrusion. Luckily, i bought extended warranty for the engine and tranny which only cost me $200 to pay for long block replacement and repairs..but damn its a major flow they should be recalled this engine design..
Watched the video the images came from a while back, among a few others. What I’d really like to know since Ford block replacements are expensive and have a long wait and my mechanic of choice uses a re-manufactured 2.0L of the same type, is if the 2.0L engines from the 2020 and newer Escapes are “drop-in” compatible or not. I’ve found all of one site that says they are, but provides no verification info on that.
Hello, than you for illustrating the defective design by Ford with their earlier 2.0 Ecoboost engines. Have you heard of any possible re-calls from this design flaw? Hers is my story with my 2015 Ford Edge. Bought as dealer shuttle, only 11k miles on it. Paid for 100k maint service and warranty. At 92K transmission broke down , torque converter etc. Ford repaired due to having 100K warranty. However at this time I believe is when the flex plate was damaged. At 110k, miles March 2022, flex plate cracked. Was not covered due to warranty expired. I left it at the dealer for approximately 6 months ( didn’t need it ) and finally paid 5K ( after 2500 Ford customer satisfaction credit ). Then Oct 2022 it became a recall and I got reimbursed. At 129k, may 2023, transmission broke down again. Dealer failed to inform me it was covered from the warranty of the repair and said it would take at least 2 weeks before anyone could examine it. I decided to take to a high rated transmission shop and paid 5k to rebuild it again. I’ve had a couple other “wear and tear” items replaced, trans axle and purge valve. However now, at only 148k miles, I have the coolant intrusion into cylinder #3. Very minor at this point, only mis-fired upon start up. Here is my questions: the short block they replaced in 2022 , part number F2GE 6009 E, is this the same defective design short block ? if so, why wouldn’t they replace with the Ford approved long block or newer design?. I have sent registered letter to Ford and Jim Farely, as well as the dealer that did the repair asking etc. Any advice moving forward? so far I have spent 8k in repairs on this Edge and don’t have 150k miles yet. thank you!
My car is Ford everest 2017, 2.0L echoboost, just 45K kilometers（27K miles），same issue. It cost me about 5K RMB（700 USD） to replace the long block. The ford should recall this engine.