Complaint volume
304 consumer-submitted complaints are matched to this model year. Treat the count as a research signal, then read the actual summaries for repeated symptoms.
Complaint records
2021 Ford Escape Complaints
304 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2021 Ford Escape, grouped by component category.
304 Total complaints
9 Crash reports
8 Fire reports
5 Injury reports
Complaint data reflects consumer-submitted reports. A complaint is not proof
of a defect, recall, or manufacturer fault. Enriched severity fields come
from official bulk records when the complaint can be matched by ODI number.
Buyer interpretation
How to use these complaints before buying
Complaint records are most useful when they turn into inspection points, seller questions, and comparison checks against nearby model years.
Pattern to inspect
The most common categories are structure, unknown or other, fuel system, gasoline. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Severity flags
Enriched records include 9 crash reports, 8 fire reports, 5 injury reports, and 0 fatality reports. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 69 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 38,675 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to structure, unknown or other, fuel system, gasoline?
- Can I see recent maintenance and repair records?
- Has the vehicle ever been towed, involved in a crash, or repaired for the same issue twice?
- Can we also check the recall record for this 2021 Ford Escape?
Used-car checklist
Use these complaints before the test drive.
Build a buyer checklist to turn these issues into questions and inspection points.
2021 Ford Escape
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2021 Ford Escape complaints?
9 Crash
8 Fire
5 Injury
0 Fatality
12 Towed
2 Medical attention
What are the most common 2021 Ford Escape complaint categories?
STRUCTURE 73
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 34
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 25
SERVICE BRAKES 23
POWER TRAIN 17
ENGINE 13
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 9
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 9
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC 7
ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 6
304 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 2024 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The Door Hinge Welds came un done on the front drivers door owned car for less than 2 years bought brand new | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2024 | STRUCTURE | The door has spot wells I believe 6 total. 2 of them so far have come undone. It is the welds for the bracket that keeps the door from flying open. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2024 | STRUCTURE | The contact owns a 2021 Ford Escape. The contact stated while attempting to close the front driver’s side door, but the door check arm was no longer attached to the door, preventing the door from closing securely. No warning light was illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer, but the vehicle was not repaired due to the cost. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 37,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 37,000 |
| Jan 2024 | STRUCTURE | Driver door hinge is not welded properly and when driving door opens | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2024 | STRUCTURE | The contact owns a 2021 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the front driver’s side door was very difficult to open and close. Additionally, the window would not properly roll up or down. The contact stated that the failure progressed, and the door could not be opened from inside the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer and the contact was informed that the door needed to be replaced. The door was replaced; however, the failure reoccurred a year after the repair. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 30,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 30,000 |
| Jan 2024 | POWER TRAIN | The contact owns a 2021 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving from a complete stop, the vehicle started shuddering. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure occurred while driving at various speeds. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that there was an internal transmission failure caused by the torque converter shudder. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 90,000 |
| Jan 2024 | STRUCTURE | This is 1 of 3 2020 - 2021 Ford Escapes that my company owns and is affected by this known issue with NHTSA and Ford Motor Company as it relates to Ford Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) SSM 50150. The spot welds at the check arm attachment points on the driver door have failed. This has lead to a horrible noise and feeling when opening and closing our door. Sometimes the door does not shut all the way making this a safety issue. The door is now hard to open and close. The window is also inoperable as it either won't roll down at all or, if it does roll down, it will now roll back up. This issue has been inspected by 2 dealerships and they are not allowing our PremiumCARE extended Warranty to cover this. We have had 10's of Escapes with 100,000+ miles and this has never been an issue. This has occurred in this 2021 Escape and 2 of our other 2020 Ford Escapes (I will file complaints separately for them so NHTSA understands this is a massive issue Ford needs to fix ASAP and reimburse any customers who have paid out of pocket to get this fixed). NHTSA needs to issue a recall immediately. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2024 | STRUCTURE | Passenger door hitch weld came off. I can’t open the door all the way and the window can’t be open.. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2023 | STRUCTURE | The contact owns a 2021 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the front driver's and passenger's side doors failed to close properly. The contact had to forcefully close the doors. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the front driver's and passenger's door welds had fractured. The independent mechanic replaced the front driver's and passenger's side door check arms. The contact stated that the front driver's side door check arm was previously replaced; however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The manufacturer advised the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 97,700. | Crash: No Fire: No | 97,700 |
| Dec 2023 | STRUCTURE | Door is cracking only at 38k miles and the thing pops when I open and shut it on drivers side sounds like it’s going to fall right off | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2023 | STRUCTURE | The contact's brother owns a 2021 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the front driver's side door made an abnormally loud sound while opening. Additionally, the contact stated that the spot welds on the check arm bracket were fractured. The contact stated that the front driver's side door could only be closed from the inside while raising the check arm. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Action Number: PE23013 (Structure). The dealer was notified of the failure and charged and diagnostic fee. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was opened. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 42,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 42,000 |
| Dec 2023 | STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | driver side door check bracket, makes cracking , crunching noise feels /sounds like it is ready to fall off. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2023 | STRUCTURE | My door all of a sudden started making loud cracking sounds when I tried to open it. This progressively got worse and now the door will only partially open and the window will not go down. I believe I have a broken spot weld in the left front door at the check arm attachment. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2023 | STRUCTURE | Drivers side “Door Check/Hinge”. Originally, the door made several loud “popping” noises and was hard to open/shut. Eventually, it wouldn’t shut properly. Vehicle repaired and then traded later. Drivers side door had the risk of coming off or not shutting completely. Yes. Yes. No. First appeared in April ‘22 | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2023 | STRUCTURE | Went to get in my 2021 Ford Escape opened the door a heard a metal sound clunking noise. Happened all of a sudden. Thought maybe someone hit my door but no sign of it being hit. Then Googled Ford Escape and that noise and found this has been a problem. Why has there not been a recall for this problem. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2023 | STRUCTURE | The contact owns a 2021 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the front driver's side door made an abnormally loud popping sound while opening and closing. The dealer was made aware of the failure; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 22,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 22,000 |
| Nov 2023 | STRUCTURE | The front door hinge spot weld and rivets have broekn loose. I called Stivers Ford in Montgomery Alabama and the Service Representative told me that my Escape was out of warranty and it was my problem to repair. I do not think this is fair as this is a structural problem in the door. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2023 | POWER TRAIN,SERVICE BRAKES | My check engine light has come on four (4) seperate times, after being serviced three (3) times. All of which have been by a ford certified dealership. My rear brakes were making noise the week the new car was purchased. I notified to associate who sold me the car from a ford certified dealer and he made up an invalid excuse. I’ve had my car serviced 3 times for the service alert and within 2 weeks of it being serviced and the issues being fixed, it starts again resulting in my service light coming on. I’ve notified ford via mail and email and haven’t heard back. The issue is showing as a power train issue and says “AWD Fault” | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2023 | STRUCTURE | Drivers door is making a creaking/popping sound and sometimes won’t close. The window will not always go up. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2023 | STRUCTURE | The contact owns a 2021 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the contact became aware that the front driver’s side door weld had fractured. The contact stated that the door sounded like metal grinding each time the door was opened or closed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in a recall. The failure mileage was 16,949. | Crash: No Fire: No | 16,949 |
| Nov 2023 | STRUCTURE | The contact owns a 2021 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while closing the door, the door made an abnormal sound and failed to close as intended. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and diagnosed with a fractured door weld. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to report the failure to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 41,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 41,000 |
| Nov 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,STRUCTURE | My 2021 ford escape door started to make popping sounds and my window wouldn’t roll down had it a dealer and they said the welds on my door broke off ! | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The spot welds on the front drivers door of my 2021 Ford Escape SEL gave way. The internal three welds holding the drivers door check arm failed. The door is now making a creaking and grinding noise when the door is opened and closed. The drivers door check arm is rapidly nearing total failure. Two Ford dealerships have verified the above. Repair cost to replace the entire drivers door is approximately $2,300. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2023 | SERVICE BRAKES | The contact owns a 2021 Ford Escape. The contact stated while reversing, the vehicle vibrated and made an abnormal sound. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where an updated brake kit was installed on the vehicle. Additionally, the dealer scuffed up the brake pads; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 8,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 8,000 |
| Oct 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | My drivers door hinge weld has broke. FORD IS TELLING ME I HAVE TO FIX IT BUT THERE HAS BEEN MANY REPORTS OF THIS. I believe it should be fixed by ford. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |