With few major issues and solid crash test scores from both the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the 2012 Ford Escape could well be the most reliable used SUV you ever buy. Just look out for fuel leaks and sudden unintended acceleration.
- 2012 Ford Escapes equipped with 3.0L engines may be covered in a major recall for a fuel leak.
- Many drivers have reported difficulty getting replacement fuel delivery modules following the fuel leak recall.
- Incorrectly sized wheel bearings led to a small but potentially disastrous recall.
- Transmission issues like rollaway and rough shifting have been investigated, but have not led to a recall.
- Your biggest concern when buying a 2012 Ford Escape is going to be the previous owner: did they get the recalls taken care of, and have they practiced regular maintenance?
Fuel Leak Recall Leads to Parts Shortage
The 2012 Escape was included in a 2016 recall for over a quarter million Ford units which were seeing fuel leaks owing to a cracked fuel delivery module, or FDM. This applied specifically to those equipped with 3.0L engines, so you can skip this one if you’re looking into buying a 2.5L.
The cracks in the FDM typically occur as a result of rapid expansion, so changes in driving conditions could result in sudden cracks when the previous driver never had any issues. If you’re moving the vehicle to a colder climate, you could see the module contracting in the night and expanding and cracking in the morning.
There are reports as late as 2022 of drivers not getting the necessary repairs and being made to wait around for replacement parts to ship to their local dealers. There’s not much that can be done about this but to sit and wait for new FDMs. The sheer scale of this recall means that demand is simply outweighing supply.
The smart thing to do for a 2012 Escape buyer right now is to either look for a 2.5L model so that you don’t have to worry about it in the first place, or run the VIN of any 3.0L model and make sure the recall has already been taken care of so that you won’t have to wait around on new parts to ship.
Small But Severe Recall Addresses Incorrectly Sized Wheel Bearings
In 2015, the Timken company issued a recall for front wheel bearings used as service parts on around 600 Fords, Mazdas, and Mercuries. The bearings were intended to be 45mm in width, but were actually 39mm. The outer dimensions were also off by a millimeter.
It’s a difference of just a few millimeters, but when you’re dealing with a piece of steel spinning around hundreds of times per minute, a few millimeters is a pretty severe difference. It can be very difficult to maintain control of your vehicle when things aren’t built to spec.
We’re still seeing steering complaints as late as 2022, but these are infrequent, and generally have to do with problems in the power steering. In other words, the initial recall for the front wheel bearings seems to have done its job.
As this was a fairly small recall, there do not appear to be any issues with parts shortages, so affected drivers should have no trouble getting this taken care of. That said, if the previous owner left this recall unaddressed, they’ve likely done some major damage to the axle and suspension, so check the VIN before you buy.
Transmission Issues Include Difficult Shifting, Rollaway
Powertrain and vehicle speed control complaints are among the leading concerns for 2012 Ford Escape drivers, with over sixty reports in each category on the NHTSA website. Complaints here are all over the place, but most of them likely come down to a common cause in the electronic throttle body.
Some drivers report sudden unintended acceleration, others report the car rolling down hills when they were certain it was in park, and several drivers report rough or difficult shifting, particularly between second and third gear.
These issues are occurring at every mileage from under 50,000 to over 100,000, suggesting that it’s not simply a matter of the vehicle’s age. On the surface, these problems may seem unrelated until you consider a pair of investigations conducted by the NHTSA for electronic throttle body control malfunction.
Ultimately these investigations were closed without a recall, which, according to the language used by the NHTSA, “does not constitute a finding that a safety-related defect does not exist.” This effectively means that there may be a problem at a manufacturing level, but it may not be common enough for a recall.
You Could do a Lot Worse Than a 2012 Ford Escape
Some of the issues laid out above sound pretty severe, but consider that, in a decade since the car was debuted, it has generated just over 500 complaints, two recalls, and two investigations. That’s not a bad track record for a ten year old car that sold around a quarter million units in the US alone.
But, while these problems may be uncommon, that’s not going to be of much comfort should they happen to you. So, given the potential severity of these issues, plus the age of the car, inspection and test-driving are even more important than usual if you’re buying a used Ford Escape.
Firstly, you’ll want to check the VIN to make sure the driver isn’t leaving any recalls unaddressed. If they’ve been driving on wonky bearings for years, skip it. Next, you’ll want to get the car out on the highway to see how it shifts and how it handles high speeds.
There’s no reason a 2012 Ford Escape can’t be the best used SUV you ever bought. If the car’s been well-maintained, if you manage to find one under 200,000 miles, you could easily put another five, six years on it with no major repairs. Just make sure to kick the tires.
