2013 Escape oil leak

[jam]

I just got my father - in - law a new escape on the z-plan, fully loaded SEL. He picked it up on June 29 and drove it for 4 days (63 miles), The cars been in the shop ever since, 13 days and counting. The problem is an oil leak somewhere on the back side of the motor. At first they wanted to replace the motor, said the leak was not repairable, now they claim it is some hose and o-ring, and are going to replace them. Anyone from KC know of a problem with the small ecoboost leaking oil? Bad thing is my father in law was a GM Man and I talked him into to this vehicle, now I getting beat up over it.

[Pioneer]

Never buy the first model year of an all new vehicle. You are the guinea pig.

Edited July 18, 2012 by Pioneer

[boppergee]

I'm assuming they gave your father in law a free rental, but that still suck a big one.Is this with the 1.6 engine?

[MY93SHO]

I've seen brand new GM vehicles leak too. I've seen a brand new Ram pickup have to be pulled off the delivery truck because of a bad transmission. Time to calm down and fix it.

[goinbroke2]

Jam, I know the feeling. The inlaws are mopar people, used to be ford up until late 70's. They STILL go on about the brand new 78 f-100 that never made it home from the dealership. 20miles on it and the fuel pump went. To this day, "ford doesn't know how to make a fuel pump". They continually pump money into their mopars but it's ok, but I have a flat and "SEE FORDS SUCK".

Whatever, just suck it up and ignore it as long as you can. Hopefully it will be fixed soon.

But yes, everything will be your fault...with every ford out there...in their eyes.

 

 

 

But I'm not bitter..hehehe

[silvrsvt]

All I have to say, is crap happens..and its unfortunate that this has happened to them. I'd give them the benifit of the doubt to see what happens with the truck. Like Pioneer said, don't by the first year of a major change over in a car, there are bugs that need to be ironed out!

[transitman]

That's a drag and hopefully an isolated incident. There's always the chance of a few bad seals slipping into the mix, or an assembler messing up on one engine. The Bridgend assembly has been building them for the European market since 2010 so it's not like these are the first. As far a buying the first year, the drivetrains have been in production since 2010, it's not like it's new technology, only the body styling is new.

[mackinaw]

I talked to a Ford engineer a few weeks back. There is a oil leak problem on the 1.6L Ecoboost. A bad hose clamp. Ford is aware of it and is working on a fix.

[akirby]

Never buy the first model year of an all new vehicle. You are the guinea pig.

 

I bought the 3rd Fusion off the truck at my local dealer back in 2005. Almost 7 years later I've only had to change the oil, tires, cleaned out the hvac fan and replaced a broken door handle. 54K miles and still on the original brakes. Not a single dealer visit.

 

Yeah, those first year vehicles are horrible.

[FordBuyer]

I bought the 3rd Fusion off the truck at my local dealer back in 2005. Almost 7 years later I've only had to change the oil, tires, cleaned out the hvac fan and replaced a broken door handle. 54K miles and still on the original brakes. Not a single dealer visit.

 

Yeah, those first year vehicles are horrible.

 

So do you think all new first year vehicles on average have less or more problems than norm? Anecdotally, my 2002 Taurus is five times better than my '97 and three times better than my '99. In fact, my 2002 was so good that I bought it outright when lease was up, and I couldn't wait for lease to be up on '97 especially. Still waiting for that first recall notice in mail on my 2002. TSB on fan motor was it and fixed under warranty and no problems since it was sealed so no water could get in and destroy electric motor. Fusions though do seem to get consistently better than avearge reliability ratings. Ford's best vehicle for quality.

[BORG]

I have neighbors who were GM people and then bought a Ford Escape which was a total POS (two bad trannies, suspension failures, you name it broke on that car). I feel sympathy because the Escapes/Mariners in the family have proven to be very chintzy and flimsy products with lots of problems, they are NOT good vehicles! Suffice it to say they will never buy Ford again (and it's one reason I HATE the outgoing Escape). It happens to all automakers and it's well deserved, I don't fault the owner for their bad experiences.

 

But it's becoming clear that Ford has a significant problem with Initial Quality in the last two years and it's reasonable to assume at this point that any 1st year launches are not going to be trouble free until proven otherwise. Eventually they work it out as they always have, but they still have not figured out how to iron out quality before launch. But Ford is an innovator, unlike the quality stalwarts, so there is some forgiveness there since we know they'll get it all worked out eventually.

Edited July 18, 2012 by BORG

[silvrsvt]

But the Escape is the latest in a series of buggy launches at Ford. AVOID 2013!

 

But it's becoming clear that Ford has a significant problem with Initial Quality in the last two years and it's reasonable to assume at this point that any 1st year launches are not going to be trouble free until proven otherwise.

 

Nice edit on your first comment....anyways...for crying out loud, your friggen chicken little running around with his head chopped off...one issue reported here isn't a disaster you make it out to be.

 

Man I hate to see you in the real world...do you ball your eyes out when you stub your toe or iPhone loses its charge? Serious...drama queen isn't the answer...

[BORG]

I bought the 3rd Fusion off the truck at my local dealer back in 2005. Almost 7 years later I've only had to change the oil, tires, cleaned out the hvac fan and replaced a broken door handle. 54K miles and still on the original brakes. Not a single dealer visit.

 

Yeah, those first year vehicles are horrible.

 

The Fusion, Edge, Five-Hundred, Freestyle and the Lincoln/Merc counterparts all emerged at a time when Ford had REALLY nailed down quality. But these were also very conservative products with virtually no innovation beyond a 6-speed GM tranny and later a 3.5L V6 (and not including the unloved CVT). The products launched now are much more risky and initial quality has suffered. The quality decline also accompanies Mulally's push for One Ford and innovation. So in many ways, you can thank Mulally for deconstructing Ford's quality focus in an effort to reshape the company. Hopefully they can figure out how to be financially and globally viable while maintaining quality. In many ways, Ford and VW are starting to share some characteristics. Global Innovators with quality problems.

[BORG]

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Nice edit on your first comment....anyways...for crying out loud, your friggen chicken little running around with his head chopped off...one issue reported here isn't a disaster you make it out to be.

 

Man I hate to see you in the real world...do you ball your eyes out when you stub your toe or iPhone loses its charge? Serious...drama queen isn't the answer...

 

Indeed I am speaking of the Escape based on initial feedback, but I've seen it many times before...like the Focus. And combine that with IQS surveys which now rank Ford as the worst in Detroit, I have reason to be alarmed. But thanks for your input.

[NickF1011]

And combine that with IQS surveys which now rank Ford as the worst in Detroit,

 

*COUGH*DODGE*COUGH*COUGH* -- and problems-per-vehicle in 2012 is lower for Ford than it was in the mid-2000's which you claim were their "glory days" for quality. Ford had 120 PPV in 2007 vs 118 now.

[BORG]

*COUGH*DODGE*COUGH*COUGH* -- and problems-per-vehicle in 2012 is lower for Ford than it was in the mid-2000's which you claim were their "glory days" for quality. Ford had 120 PPV in 2007 vs 118 now.

 

That's in aggregate and quality at Ford remains very uneven so it's best to look at individual models. Remember the Expedition had notoriously bad numbers year after year. Specifically, I'm looking at IQS of all-new products. Essentially Ford's product launches ushered in a wave of high quality products with each new launch that erased the never-solved quality problems of older products. But now we are seeing a regression, at least at launch.

Edited July 18, 2012 by BORG

[silvrsvt]

Specifically, I'm looking at IQS of all-new products.

 

Your actually saying your cherry picking numbers to support your views...

[NickF1011]

That's in aggregate and quality at Ford remains very uneven so it's best to look at individual models. Remember the Expedition had notoriously bad numbers year after year. Specifically, I'm looking at IQS of all-new products.

 

So, I assume you have a listing of Ford's IQS results by model to come to such a judgment then? Bottom line: Ford's overall IQS is better now than it was when you said it was best.

[akirby]

So do you think all new first year vehicles on average have less or more problems than norm? Anecdotally, my 2002 Taurus is five times better than my '97 and three times better than my '99. In fact, my 2002 was so good that I bought it outright when lease was up, and I couldn't wait for lease to be up on '97 especially. Still waiting for that first recall notice in mail on my 2002. TSB on fan motor was it and fixed under warranty and no problems since it was sealed so no water could get in and destroy electric motor. Fusions though do seem to get consistently better than avearge reliability ratings. Ford's best vehicle for quality.

 

I don't think first year models are much worse than established models in todays computerized vehicle design and engineering state. Most problems that used to plague new models are now worked out prior to release.

 

What we see today are problems with software which is easily upgraded once it's fixed or engineering/design issues or defective parts which can plague anything that's changed at any point in the vehicle lifecycle.

 

I'm about to purchase a new 2013 Fusion and I have no qualms about it being a new model.

[BORG]

So, I assume you have a listing of Ford's IQS results by model to come to such a judgment then? Bottom line: Ford's overall IQS is better now than it was when you said it was best.

 

And we only need to compare Ford to Ford right? This is rankings game. You want to sell cars, people do research, they don't want to buy a 'below industry average' product. They don't care if Ford is improving relative to itself. And more importantly, Ford's quality perception outpaces actual ownership experience, meaning that Ford's quality reputation is overstated.

Edited July 18, 2012 by BORG

[FordBuyer]

That's in aggregate and quality at Ford remains very uneven so it's best to look at individual models. Remember the Expedition had notoriously bad numbers year after year. Specifically, I'm looking at IQS of all-new products. Essentially Ford's product launches ushered in a wave of high quality products with each new launch that erased the never-solved quality problems of older products. But now we are seeing a regression, at least at launch.

 

I would think that most first year all new vehicles have teething problems. Anyone expecting perfection from vehicle is a bit naive in my book. Now if Escape has like five-six recalls in first year like the original Escape did when it first came out, then I could see some real negatives developing. But let's not get ahead of ourselves yet and label the new Escape as some huge problem vehicle. Way too early for labels yet. I would imagine Ford is feverishly working on any teething problems and getting them solved before the media starts making hay about them. Early Focus problems seemed to be fixed by Job 2 before things got out of hand and new Focus is not labeled as bad vehicle to stay away from even after a lot of auto reviews complained about Poweshift. 2012 Focus launch while not perfect, was much better than 2000 Focus launch with its 11 recalls or so and national headlines labeling the vehicle as defective. And while it took Ford about two years to get the original Focus acceptable, Ford this time did it in about 6 months with far fewer initial problems. I wouldn't be shaking in my boots if I bought a new Focus.

[BORG]

I would think that most first year all new vehicles have teething problems. Anyone expecting perfection from vehicle is a bit naive in my book. Now if Escape has like five-six recalls in first year like the original Escape did when it first came out, then I could see some real negatives developing. But let's not get ahead of ourselves yet and label the new Escape as some huge problem vehicle. Way too early for labels yet. I would imagine Ford is feverishly working on any teething problems and getting them solved before the media starts making hay about them. Early Focus problems seemed to be fixed by Job 2 before things got out of hand and new Focus is not labeled as bad vehicle to stay away from even after a lot of auto reviews complained about Poweshift. 2012 Focus launch while not perfect, was much better than 2000 Focus launch with its 11 recalls or so and national headlines labeling the vehicle as defective. And while it took Ford about two years to get the original Focus acceptable, Ford this time did it in about 6 months with far fewer initial problems. I wouldn't be shaking in my boots if I bought a new Focus.

 

I buy 1st year products all the time, I'm generally not worried about it because (believe it or not) I'm more forgiving and understanding than most. But if a family member was about to buy the new Escape, I would tell them to reconsider (both to wait on quality and incentives). Up until recently, I had believed the notion that you should not buy the 1st year was obsolete...but no longer. I do have confidence that Ford will solve problems eventually, whether they are design or quality issues. And I think the Escape has less potential design/user experience problems than Focus/Fiesta.

 

It's also a bigger concern for me than it use to be because my Lincoln dealerships are no longer close by so any problem becomes a bigger inconvenience when they happen. My 2005 LS was probably the worst Lincoln I've owned for quality, but service and location made that a non-issue for me. Now my wheels have to fall off before I'll take the car to a dealership to address problems. Right now I have three concerns on my car not related to MFT, but they are not critical enough to warrant a visit (steering squeak, brake squeak, alarmingly jerky transmission behavior to the point I grinded a gear). Which reminds me, anybody know of a TSB for the 2011 MKX for transmission software?

Edited July 18, 2012 by BORG

[FordBuyer]

And we only need to compare Ford to Ford right? This is rankings game. You want to sell cars, people do research, they don't want to buy a 'below industry average' product. They don't care if Ford is improving relative to itself.

 

With Ford having the freshest lineup in industry, quality ratings were bound to suffer a little and not surprised. Standing pat or falling behind was not an option, so Ford did what it had to do. Breakthrough technology like MFT, Powershift, small displacement EB, and so on come with a price attached. Ford took the risk and their sales volume seems to be going up further, not down. When I see a previous generation Focus now, you really realize how Ford has come. Same with Escape. No turning back. I would bet that any teething problems will be fixed almost immediately and like was said already any software glitches will be attended to even quicker. If you don't like the new technology, buy used. If I had to replace my Taurus now for some reason, I would probably be looking at used 2010 Mercury Milan V6 Premier model. That's me though, and Ford has to move on. Understand that fully.

[NickF1011]

And we only need to compare Ford to Ford right? This is rankings game. You want to sell cars, people do research, they don't want to buy a 'below industry average' product. They don't care if Ford is improving relative to itself. And more importantly, Ford's quality perception outpaces actual ownership experience, meaning that Ford's quality reputation is overstated.

 

If you are asserting that Ford's quality has gotten worse (which you are), then yes, you should only compare Ford today to Ford of yesterday. Yes, Ford's rate of improvement has fallen behind some key competitors, but it still improving, which is the exact opposite of what you initially asserted.

Edited July 18, 2012 by NickF1011

[aneekr]

Thanks mackinaw for confirming that faulty hose clamps can result in oil leaks with the 1.6T engine.

 

jam, hopefully the pending fix that mackinaw alluded to will resolve the issue on your father in law's Escape. If not, suggest that he consider a Honda CR-V or Mazda CX-5 as a replacement vehicle.

Edited July 18, 2012 by aneekr