Vehicle Data Hub

2021 Ford Escape Hybrid problems

Owners have filed 158 complaints with NHTSA about the 2021 Ford Escape Hybrid. Engine is the most reported problem area, at 23% of complaints. Next are body & structure (20%) and electrical system (15%).

At a glance

Complaints
158 filed with NHTSA
Most reported
Engine 23% of complaints
Crashes and fires
2 and 3
Injuries and deaths
2 and 0
Typical mileage
37,000 miles 26 complaints with mileage

Source: NHTSA owner complaints

Where the complaints are

Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.

  • Engine 23%
  • Body & structure 20%
  • Electrical system 15%
  • Drivetrain & axles 9%
  • Fuel system 6%
  • Brakes 4%
  • Cruise control 4%
  • Forward collision avoidance 2%
  • Hybrid & electric propulsion 2%
  • Seat belts 2%

When problems show up

Complaints by mileage, 2021 Ford Escape Hybrid Complaints by odometer reading in 20,000-mile steps. The median is about 37,000 miles. 0k to 20k miles: 10 complaints 20k to 40k miles: 4 complaints 40k to 60k miles: 8 complaints 60k to 80k miles: 1 complaints 80k to 100k miles: 1 complaints 100k to 120k miles: 0 complaints 120k to 140k miles: 2 complaints 140k to 160k miles: 0 complaints 160k to 180k miles: 0 complaints 180k to 200k miles: 0 complaints 200k+ miles: 0 complaints 040k80k120k160k200k miles Typical: 37,000 miles
Based on 26 complaints that include mileage. 85% were reported before 60,000 miles. The amber marker shows the median: half of these complaints happened before that mileage.
View the numbers
MileageComplaints
0k to 20k miles10
20k to 40k miles4
40k to 60k miles8
60k to 80k miles1
80k to 100k miles1
100k to 120k miles0
120k to 140k miles2
140k to 160k miles0
160k to 180k miles0
180k to 200k miles0
200k+ miles0

What the data shows

Of the 26 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 37,000 miles.

Safety-related details: 2 complaints mention a crash; 3 complaints mention a fire; 2 injuries reported. Its complaints are less severe on average than those of 84% of model years in our database.

Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2021 ranks 3rd most-complained-about out of 11 model years of the Ford Escape Hybrid with enough data (158 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 1 safety recall campaign.

What owners wrote

A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.

On Dec. 26, 2021, I was in a collision with another vehicle and the driver side airbag failed to activate. I suffered a fractured sternum as a result. The car was a total loss, sent to a yard and sold. I don’t know if it is available for inspection. The police report states the air bags were deployed, but only the bottom one was and not the top one. I have a photo of the steering wheel which says “airbag” and shows it did not activate. My insurance company is Allstate and deemed the car a total loss.

December 2021 CrashInjury

I was driving down the road and the car stated to stall. I noticed white smoke in my review mirror. I started to pull over and I got a warning message that said I had zero oil pressure and the engine shut down. I costed off the road into a pull off. When we got out of the car there was a fire in the engine compartment. As we were out in the middle of no where it took the local voulunteer fire depart 25 minutes to respond. In that time the car was a total loss.

April 2022 Fire

The contact owns a 2021 Ford Escape Hybrid. The contact stated while attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle failed to start. The contact stated that AAA was notified and was able to jumpstart the vehicle. Additionally, the contact stated that a message indicating to turn off the voltage to save power or restart vehicle appeared on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed, and the contact was informed to drive the vehicle more and the battery was replaced.

Reported at 12,000 miles, February 2023

The contact owns a 2021 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while the vehicle was being Emissions tested, the contact was informed that the OBD Port was inoperable, and the emissions test could to be performed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a failed OBD Port. The contact was informed that the OBD Port needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact was informed that the repair was not covered under an unknown recall or warranty. The vehicle was repaired.

Reported at 36,702 miles, June 2025

Other model years of the Escape Hybrid

Best and worst years for the Ford Escape Hybrid