Recall Register

2016 Ford Escape: recalls and complaints

NHTSA lists 4 recall campaigns for the 2016 Ford Escape. The newest campaign is 26V011000. NHTSA received the report on 15 Jan 2026. The NHTSA record gives the component Equipment / Electrical / Engine Block Heater. NHTSA has no complaint on file for this model year.

The NHTSA recall file shows no do-not-drive advisory and no park-outside advisory on these campaigns.

This page cannot show if a recall applies to one vehicle. The NHTSA VIN lookup shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle.

Remedy of the newest campaign, 26V011000, in the NHTSA record

Owners are advised not to plug in their block heater until the vehicle is remedied. Dealers will replace the block heater, free of charge. Owners will also have a alternative option to replace engine block heater element with a threaded plug, and remove the block heater electrical cord. Interim letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, were mailed March 6, 2026. Additional letters will be sent once the final remedy is available. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 26S01. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on January 16, 2026.
NHTSA VIN lookup

Complaint information entered into NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation vehicle owner's complaint database is used with other data sources to identify safety issues that warrant investigation and to determine if a safety-related defect trend exists.

NHTSA publishes these words. Source: NHTSA Datasets and APIs, section Complaints, read on . Complaint file through . Recall file through .

Since the last update

No tracked figure of this page changed in a data update. What the log tracks

All updates to the register

Recall campaigns

4 campaigns, newest first. 4,491,298 units in total.

  • 26V011000Equipment / Electrical / Engine Block Heater
  • 25V695000Back Over Prevention / Sensing System / Camera
  • 22V413000Power Train / Shift Linkage/Cable/Rod
  • 17V398000Air Bags / Knee Bolster

  1. 26V011000Received . 116,672 units.

    Equipment / Electrical / Engine Block Heater

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    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.
    Consequence, in the NHTSA record
    An electrical short circuit can increase the risk of a fire.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    Owners are advised not to plug in their block heater until the vehicle is remedied. Dealers will replace the block heater, free of charge. Owners will also have a alternative option to replace engine block heater element with a threaded plug, and remove the block heater electrical cord. Interim letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, were mailed March 6, 2026. Additional letters will be sent once the final remedy is available. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 26S01. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on January 16, 2026.

    Report filed by Ford Motor Company. Manufacturer campaign number 26S01.

  2. 25V695000Received . 1,448,655 units.

    Back Over Prevention / Sensing System / Camera

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    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 the vehicle is in reverse.
    Consequence, in the NHTSA record
    A rearview camera that fails to properly display an image can reduce the driver’s view behind the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    Dealers will inspect and replace the rearview camera as necessary, free of charge. This will be a phased campaign, with the remedy becoming available in different phases based on model and model years. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on October 25, 2025. Additional letters will be mailed once the final remedy is available on each phase. Mustang owner notification letters were mailed January 2, 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25SA9. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on October 14, 2025.

    Report filed by Ford Motor Company. Manufacturer campaign number 25SA9. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .

  3. 22V413000Received . 2,925,968 units.

    Power Train / Shift Linkage/Cable/Rod

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    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.
    Consequence, in the NHTSA record
    A damaged or missing bushing may prevent the vehicle from shifting into the intended gear, and cause the vehicle to move in an unexpected direction. Additionally, the vehicle may roll after the driver selects the 'Park' position. Either scenario increases the risk of a crash or injury.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    Dealers will replace the under hood shift bushing and add a protective cap over the shift cable bushing, free of charge. Interim owner notification letters, informing owners of the safety risk, were mailed July 1, 2022. Remedy parts are expected to be available in 4th Quarter 2022. Owner notification letters were mailed October 27, 2022. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 22S43.

    Report filed by Ford Motor Company. Manufacturer campaign number 22S43. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .

  4. 17V398000Received . 3 units.

    Air Bags / Knee Bolster

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    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, as a result, the air bags may not inflate properly in the event of a crash. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."
    Consequence, in the NHTSA record
    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, in the NHTSA record
    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 number for this recall is 17C11.

    Report filed by Ford Motor Company. Manufacturer campaign number 17C11. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .

The campaign number opens the NHTSA record. Each quotation is the text of the NHTSA recall file.

Recall campaign: One recall in the NHTSA recall file, with one campaign number. A campaign can name many makes, models and model years.

Units: The number of vehicles or products that a recall can include. The manufacturer or the firm reports the number to the agency.

Complaints by component

The NHTSA complaint file has no complaint for this model year.

Investigations

The NHTSA investigation file has no investigation that names this model year.

Investigation: A study of a possible safety defect by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. An investigation with no closing date in the NHTSA file is open.

Other model years

The number under each year is the number of recall campaigns.

  1. 20000
  2. 200113
  3. 20028
  4. 20037
  5. 20046
  6. 20054
  7. 20063
  8. 20072
  9. 20083
  10. 20091
  11. 20103
  12. 20112
  13. 20121
  14. 201318
  15. 201416
  16. 20159
  17. 20164
  18. 20174
  19. 20184
  20. 20193
  21. 202023
  22. 202119
  23. 202219
  24. 202311
  25. 20248
  26. 20259
  27. 20262

A year without a link has fewer than 2 campaigns and fewer than 25 complaints. It has no page.

Official channels

Cite this page

Recall Register. 2016 Ford Escape: recalls and complaints. https://recallregister.com/vehicle/ford/escape/2016/. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, recall, complaint and investigation files. Data through .

Sources

Source
NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Licence
US government work, public domain
Recall file through
29 Sep 2026
Complaint file through
29 Mar 2018
First complaint in the file
1 Jan 1995
Manufacturer in the recall file
Ford Motor Company

The NHTSA record is the authority. A complaint count is the number of different complaint numbers for the make, the model and the model year. How the register is made. Report an error.

Questions

How many units are in the recall campaigns for the 2016 Ford Escape?
4,491,298 units in 4 campaigns. A campaign can name other models and model years, and its units include them.
How many recall campaigns does the Ford Escape have for all model years?
NHTSA lists 95 recall campaigns for the Ford Escape, model years 2000 to 2026. 4 of them name the 2016 model year.
Is an NHTSA investigation of the 2016 Ford Escape open?
The NHTSA investigation file has no investigation that names this model year.