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2016 Ford Escape

The Verdict

5 Total Klunk

The 2016 Ford Escape has 1,140 owner complaints filed with NHTSA. The most reported issues are body (459 complaints) and transmission (286 complaints). With a Klunk Score of 5/100, it earns a "Total Klunk" rating. If you're shopping for a Ford Escape, consider the 2024 model year which has 93% fewer complaints.

Safe Bet

The 2024 has 93% fewer complaints

View the 2024 Ford Escape dashboard →

5

Klunk Score: Total Klunk

Among the most complained-about vehicle years on record. Strongly consider alternatives.

How is this calculated?

The Klunk Score ranks this vehicle year against all others in our database based on total owner complaints filed with NHTSA. 100 = fewest complaints (top tier), 0 = most complained-about. Scores above 60 are better than average; below 40 means more problems than most.

Recalls 1

Active safety recalls from NHTSA for this vehicle year.

17V398000 AIR BAGS:KNEE BOLSTER

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2016 Ford Escape vehicles. The driver's knee airbag modules installed in these vehicles were produced without the inflator gas generant material, and...

Risk

In the event of a crash, if the driver's knee air bag does not inflate as intended, the driver has an increased risk of injury.

Remedy

Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace driver's knee air bag, free of charge. The recall began on August 8, 2017. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's nu...

Reported Apr 10, 2026

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Under the Hood

Each number is a complaint. Darker = bigger problem.

YearBodyBrakesElectricalEngineTransmission
2001286132147358115
200229316915136497
200330257918959
200432727636120
200593813211330695
20062511626116481
200711996409444
20081373283154294313
20099019994427171
201077848111900292
20115632179489166
2012267204822147
2013672471941568270
201453128155967397
201544120122305239
20164591697282286
2017290331182016237
201814016481458148
20196583340188
202091432111273201
2021145432410432
202260321810417
2023183283319
202425230172

By Category

Body
459
Transmission
286
Engine
282
Electrical
97
Brakes
16

By Severity

1
530
2
558
3
3
4
49

Worst Problems

Compare Against

See how the 2016 Ford Escape stacks up against rivals.

Complaints

Body 1

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while reversing, the rear-view camera displayed a distorted image. The dealer was contacted and made aware of the failure. The contact was informed that the part was unavailable to repair the vehicle. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part was unavailable for the recall repair. The failure mileage was approximately 65,000.

5d ago
Body 1

The rearview camera repeatedly malfunctions when reverse is selected. It turns off, displays an inverted or distorted image with lines, and most often displays a camera-unavailable message. On approximately October 16, 2026, while backing out of a residential property, the camera displayed that it was unavailable and I nearly backed to the edge of a steep drop-off. I have also had near misses involving objects and people while reversing with this malfunction. More than six months ago, I visited a Ford dealership in Modesto, California seeking recall repair and was told parts were unavailable. I do not recall the exact visit date. Recall 25SA9 / 25V695 remains open, and the NHTSA VIN lookup on October 21, 2026 says the remedy is not yet available. I am reporting the ongoing safety risk and prolonged lack of a recall remedy.

5d ago
Body 2

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to complete the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while reversing, the rearview camera screen display was black. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where the failure was confirmed. The vehicle was then taken to Pacifico Ford(6701 Essington Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19153) for a second opinion. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The failure mileage was approximately 95,000.

6d ago
Body 2

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while attempting to reverse, the rear-view camera became inoperable. The contact’s wife stated that the rear-view camera displayed a blank screen with the message “Camera Not Available” inverted. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, parts were not yet available. The dealer was contacted, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer confirmed that parts were not yet available and stated that parts were only available for Mustang vehicles. The dealer had been contacted on several occasions and confirmed that parts were not available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 120,000.

6d ago
Body 1

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while reversing, the rearview camera displayed a distorted image. The contact stated that the failure was persistent. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to complete the recall repair was not yet available. The dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 28,000.

6d ago
Body 4

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part needed to complete the recall repair was not available. The contact stated that while reversing, the rearview camera became inoperable and displayed a blank screen, resulting in a collision with the stairwell of the contact's residence. The vehicle was taken to an independent body shop for body repairs. The contact stated the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.

7d ago
Electrical 4

My husband was in a 3 vehicle accident on 10/13/26 at 6:48am. Someone hit him from behind and pushed him into the truck in front of him. The car behind him hit him again, but harder than the first time, and made him hit the truck in front of him again. The second hit caused major damage to the front end of the vehicle and minor damage to the back. It did blow out both back tires and crack the back rims. The driver side door was really hard to open and he had trouble getting out. No airbags deployed upon impact. With how hard he hit the truck in front of him, the airbags not deploying could be why he’s still having severe pain, 5 days after the accident. He’s still having chest pain that goes into his shoulder and down his arm, he’s still short of breath when he lies down and tries to stand up, and his neck and back are also still hurting him. The vehicle has not been inspected yet. We are waiting on the crash report to be done. There were no other symptoms of the problem before the accident.

8d ago
Transmission 1

Complete transmission failure while driving. Gears blew completely apart. Resulting in inability to safely maneuver vehicle out of roadway. Dealership replaced transmission at my expense. No warning or indication of imminent failure.

8d ago
Body 1

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received a notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while geared in Reverse(R), the rearview camera would fail to display a clear view image as intended. A message "Rear Camera Unavailable" was displayed. The local dealer was contacted and the failure was confirmed. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The failure mileage was approximately 78,000.

10d ago
Body 2

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to complete the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that while in reverse(R), the rearview camera was intermittently inoperable. The message "Camera Unavailable" was displayed. The dealer was contacted, and it was confirmed that the recall remedy was not available. The failure mileage was 99,000.

12d ago
Body 2

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while reversing, the rearview camera was intermittently inoperable and displayed an inverted, cloudy, or flickering image. The contact received notification for NHTSA Campaign Number 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the parts needed to complete the recall repair were not yet available. The dealer was contacted and informed the contact that parts were currently available for Mustang models. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time to provide a recall remedy. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 161,000.

12d ago
Body 1

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received a recall notification for NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the parts to complete the repair were unavailable. The contact stated that while reversing, the rearview camera displayed a brief and intermittent image. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was confirmed that the failure was associated with the recall, but the parts were unavailable. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

13d ago
Body 1

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification for NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to complete the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while in Reverse(R), the rearview camera intermittently failed to display a clear image. The dealer was contacted on several occasions. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure by the dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 92,000.

13d ago
Body 2

It has been 10 months and Ford still does not have the fix for recall 25SA9 to replace the backup camera. This is dangerous and an excessive amount of time to take replacing an electrical component.

13d ago
Body 2

There has been a recall on my vehicle for over an entire year for the rear back up camera. There still is no resolution to complete the recall. I have called Ford numerous times with no resolution.

14d ago
Body 2

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while attempting to reverse, the rear-view camera displayed a blank screen, and then the message “Camera not Available” was displayed. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (BACK OVER PREVENTION); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue.

18d ago
Body 1

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while reversing, the rear-view camera flashed on and off. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The failure mileage was approximately 59,000.

18d ago
Body 2

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while reversing, the rear-view camera displayed an upside image, and an unknown message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with rear-view camera display failure. The contact was informed that the rear-view camera needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The dealer was contacted by phone. The contact was informed that parts were unavailable to repair the vehicle and the failure reoccurred. The contact later received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

18d ago
Body 2

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to so the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that while in reverse, the back over prevention camera went blank and failed to display the image of the rear of the vehicle. The failure became persistent over time. The dealer was contacted and confirmed that the part was only available for the Mustang model vehicles. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that the part was not available for the vehicle. The failure mileage was approximately 115,000.

19d ago
Body 1

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that while reversing, the rearview camera displayed a distorted image that remained on the display screen for approximately one minute while driving ahead. The dealer was made aware of the failure but confirmed that parts were not yet available. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.

19d ago

1140 total

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