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.
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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