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My 2024 Ford Escape Only Has 12,000 Miles and My Temperature Warning Light Stays On, Now Ford Says There Are Metal Shavings In the Engine

Does Ford have a problem with the 2024 Escape? Here is a warning from an owner who says his temperature light stays on constantly, and he's afraid the engine may overheat. A tech working on the new Escape says there are metal shavings in the engine. 

The Ford Escape is facing potentially severe engine issues that require immediate attention.

A Ford Escape owner says, "The temperature light in my 2024 Ford Escape stays on all the time. I'm afraid my engine will overheat and leave me stranded. My Escape only has 12,000 miles. Is there a problem with it?" 

That's what a new Ford Escape owner with only 12,000 miles is dealing with. 

Imagine buying a new 2024 Ford Escape; you paid nearly $35,000 for the small crossover. It only has 12,000 miles, and the engine is overheating. The light on the dash indicates the engine temperature is too hot, and it stays on all the time. 

You are afraid to drive it, so you take it to your mechanic, who is closer than the Ford dealer. You take it in and have him run some diagnostics, and he tells you it does have an overheating issue. 

He says that Ford has issued a Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) telling them that the Escape's 1.5-liter engine is known to have overheating issues. He tells you it may be due to machining chips trapped in the cylinder head, causing a potential blockage in the coolant passage near the cylinder head temperature (CHT2) port. 

You aren't sure what he's talking about, but you know it doesn't sound good. 

Now, you are faced with the daunting task of taking it to the dealer and having the engine torn down because it has metal shavings inside. It's hard to believe that your brand-new Escape is experiencing such a serious issue. What is going on with Ford? You can't help but wonder. 

Owen from Owens Garage, who looked at the Ford Escape, says, "Here is a 2024 Ford Escape with 12,000 miles."

"After checking the Ford TSB, GBS, SSM through Ford, I found that there's a special service message 52219 that applies to this vehicle with a concern."

"The concern is that the coolant temperature warning light comes on the dash, and the temp gauge completely pegs for about two seconds while under full power driving conditions." 

Owen says, "It says if the SSM does apply to your vehicle and it falls within the build dates, then there's a potential for metal shavings in your cooling system."

Owen shows a 1.5-liter Ford Escape engine that is torn down. "When Ford was machining the heads on these engines, they didn't get all the metal shavings (machining chips) out of the cylinder heads."

"So, the tiny chips build up in the coolant jackets inside the cylinder head, causing it to throw an over temp code by plugging one of the cylinder head temp sensors with metal shavings," he continues.

Owen has seen this before. In the shop, he shows the cylinder head in a Ford Escape 1.5-liter engine for the same issue. "So, I'm just tearing this thing down, ready to remove the head, and every camshaft looks like it has 90,000 miles on it." 

Owen says, "This is ridiculous; I don't trust these 1.5-liter Ford engines."

A comment says they have experienced the same issue on their Ford Escape fleet.   

Oem55 says, "We had 40 Escapes in our fleet; all of them went into limp mode for a head temperature sensor, some of them twice. Sold all of them at 20,000 miles. Hot garbage cars."

I checked the NHTSA report, and Ford does not have a recall for this issue on the Ford Escape. 

Consumer Reports gives the Ford Escape a reliability rating of 66/100, which is well below average for vehicles in this category. Here are the top-rated small SUV/crossover models. 

  • Mazda CX-5 87/100
  • Toyota RAV4 Prime 86/100
  • Toyota RAV4 Hybrid 85/100 
  • Subaru Forester 82/100
  • Toyota RAV4 81/100
  • The Ford Escape Hybrid has the lowest score, 04/100. This is a vehicle you should avoid. 

I obtained a copy of the Ford Escape TSB #SSM 52219. Here are a few excerpts from the Ford Escape TSB to its dealers.

Some 2023-2024 Escape vehicles built on or before 11-Jan-2024 equipped with 1.5L engines may exhibit an Engine Coolant Over-Temperature Warning message displayed in the IPC and an illuminated malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) with diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs) P1285 and/or P1299 stored in the powertrain control module (PCM) during hard acceleration or under high load conditions. 

This may be due to machining chips trapped in the cylinder head, causing a potential blockage in the coolant passage near the cylinder head temperature (CHT2) port.

Ford says that if the engine is diagnosed with the problem the tech is to drain the coolant system. 

The TSB says to disconnect the charge air cooler inlet and outlet hose, overflow hose, and upper and lower hose of the radiator and position these components aside. Disconnect the heater core's inlet and outlet coolant hoses and position these components aside. 

To diagnose this condition, start the vehicle and idle for 15 minutes. Perform a road test at a temperature above -20°C (-4°F) and apply wide-open throttle (WOT) hard accelerations in rapid succession. Drain and refill the coolant system if the concern can not be replicated. 

If the concern can be replicated, drain the coolant system. Disconnect the charge air cooler inlet and outlet hose, overflow hose, and upper and lower hose of the radiator and position these components aside. Disconnect the heater core's inlet and outlet coolant hoses and position these components aside. 

Perform a backflush of the radiator and heater core separately. If the degas bottle exhibits black sediments, disconnect the coolant hoses and flush the degas bottle.

If the concern persists, replace the cylinder head.

What should 2023 and 2024 Ford Escape owners do if they have the temperature warning light stay on?

Take your vehicle to the nearest Ford dealer as soon as possible. 

Let the service advisor know about the issue and that you know there is a Ford TSB. Give him the information and have them fix it under the new car warranty. The Ford Escape has a 5-year/60,000-mile powertrain warranty. 

Do you have a 2023 or 2024 Ford Escape with overheating issues? If so, click the red Add New Comment link below and let us know.

Read what a Ford F-150 owner says about Ford's reliability. 

My Ford F-150 Has Lost So Much Value, $20K In Negative Equity Since Ford Decided to Tank the Brand Due to Reliability and Cutting Corners. Check out my report here.

I am Denis Flierl, a Senior Torque News Reporter since 2012. My 30+ year tenure in the automotive industry, initially in a consulting role with every major car brand and later as a freelance journalist test-driving new vehicles, has equipped me with a wealth of knowledge. I specialize in reporting the latest automotive news and providing expert analysis on Subaru, which you'll find here, ensuring that you, as a reader, are always well-informed and up-to-date. Follow me on my X SubaruReport, All Subaru, WRXSTI, @DenisFlierl, Facebook, and Instagram.

Photo credit: Denis Flierl via Ford dealer

Comments

Mary Dipardo (not verified)    January 8, 2025 - 12:40PM

This is a known Ford problem my 2018 blew up with 72,000 miles on it Ford would do nothing and it cost us over $10,000 to fix it. There have been several class action suits against the 1.5 and 2.0 engines good luck getting any help from Ford

Mary Dipardo (not verified)    January 8, 2025 - 12:40PM

This is a known Ford problem my 2018 blew up with 72,000 miles on it Ford would do nothing and it cost us over $10,000 to fix it. There have been several class action suits against the 1.5 and 2.0 engines good luck getting any help from Ford

Matt (not verified)    January 8, 2025 - 6:35PM

I have a 2023 Ford Escape that has been taken in 3 times for overheating issues. They’ve flushed it all 3 times and said next time there going to tear apart the engine. If it goes back in I’m going for a lemon law. There’s no reason why we should have to go through this with a new car.

Michaelene Christian (not verified)    January 11, 2025 - 8:18AM

The 2018 isnt any better- not only does it not shift its automatic gears correctly and it putters and slips, its aldso had an array of issues. 2 batteries now in just since buying it 12/2021, and the pain is peeling off of it not to mention it is not matching its body designs from either side of the vehicle. Its had recalls and still more coming- total lemon but Form doesnt acknowledge it and barely will even fix recalls. Ours had been having same issue and car rolls in park even after the recall was fixed- I WOULD NEVER EVER EVER BUY A FORD PRODUCT AGAIN BECAUSE THEY ARE A TERRIBLE COMPANY AND DONT MAKE IT RIGHT AFTER PAYING OVERINFLATED PRICES ON SHITTY VEHICLES - BTW- I ONLY HAVE 65,000 MILES ON MINE AND ITS SHOT!

SheriZ (not verified)    January 12, 2025 - 5:29PM

I leased a 2024 Escape 1.5 st line, it has been trouble from the first 88 miles on the car with it smoking under the hood, check engine light and burning smell. The trans fluid “was too low” dealer said. The burning smell is still there. It runs horribly rough. This is my last waste of money lease with Ford. I called Ford and had it to the dealership 6 times and they just make excuses. The service department and Ford told me to try a different dealership. Now the car sits in my garage waiting for my 2 year lease to end. Only driven if another car in the family isn’t available.

Jennifer (not verified)    January 13, 2025 - 2:20PM

So, we purchased a 2023 last June. It was brand new with 26 total miles on it. Love everything it offered and we were car shopping for MONTHS! Even checked in surrounding states. We wanted a smaller SUV as we have a three row Mazda CX-9 (2011 and has over 210,000 miles on it. We purchased it new as well.
On December 5th 2024, I went to run an errand. Drove approximately a half mile when the alert came on. I turned the car off hoping it would cool. However, after waiting a good 20-30 minutes, it refused to shift out of park. Thankfully I lived that 1/2 mile away...finally got her to shift into drive, BUT the car was stuttering and I could not accelerate. Called my husband to meet me where my BRAND NEW CAR w only 2,712 miles on just stopped. I thankfully coasted to the grassy median. Car couldn't even make it fully onto the grass so the entire rear was still on th road. It was also nighttime and very dark outside!
My husband traded cars with me and he contacted roadside assistance.
I had to rent a car from Enterprise as my dealership has no loaners (hmmmm, questionable). They had my car for five days after they drove it 4 whole miles. They flushed it three different times.
FF to Christmas day...car is loaded up with my family's gifts and I was heading out to put them into the Airbnb.
Same route, and AGAIN my car posts the SAME alert but this time I'm a 1/4 from where I first stopped on December 5th.
Now, I'm screwed as my husband was 45 miles away at the airport picking up our daughter and boyfriend. Called him in a very frustrated, crying matter. P. S. I'm disabled due to an uninsured drunk driver who hit me head on.
Very grateful that an older couple stopped to see if I needed help. After coasting the car into the gas station where I was completely blocking their entance they loaded ny very full Escape Active into their trunk and graciously drove me home.
As it was Christmas day, , the tow trunk driver arrived a few hours later to once again drop it at tge Ford dealership. .
It is now January 13th and my BRAND NEW vehicle is STILL at the dealership. . Now, they have to replace the engine head. I'm beyond angry and frustrated! I am paying for a car that they've had for a total of 20 days and counting.
This time they put me in a rental but it's a mom and pop rental place. OLD, EXTREMELY barebone car. I mean BAREEEEEE BONED!
We had purchased the extended warranty thru Ford and while my car is obviously under manufacturers warranty my extended policy allows for $40.00 per day rental and REIMBURSEMENT. Enterprise was extremely helpful abd they net tge $40.00 per day on a car that was actually $75.00 per day.
Find is fighting to NOT reimburse us...
Oh, yeah, between the first allert to the second allert I only drove it less than 300 miles. My vehicle has 3110 miles on it. Like WTF? I'm so having buyers remorse and am already investigating the LEMON LAW. Only one more time if I ever get my car back!
Guess Ford still stands for FOUND ON ROAD DEAD!