CSR

Ford · NHTSA safety record

2022 Ford Escape PHEV

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

Owners have filed 78 safety complaints about the 2022 Ford Escape PHEV with the US government. Of those, 1 describes a crash, 1 person was injured and no death is recorded. 2 recall campaigns are open against it, covering the electrical system.

The most complained-about system is the engine, named in 36 complaints, 46% of the total. The typical failure was reported at 3,000 miles, the median across the 5 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers July 2022 to August 2026 · How this is counted

What is on file

78 complaints on file

78

Complaints

1

Describe a crash

0

Mention fire

1

People injured

0

Deaths

A complaint is an unverified account by the person who filed it, not a finding of fault. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.

A recall is the manufacturer conceding a defect, and the repair is free. Whether one covers your particular car is a question only its VIN can answer, because a campaign covers a production range rather than a model year.

Which system owners named

Complaints naming each system
ENGINE 36 · 46%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 23 · 29%
POWER TRAIN 11 · 14%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 10 · 13%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 7 · 9%
STRUCTURE 5 · 6%
STEERING 3 · 4%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 2 · 3%
SERVICE BRAKES 2 · 3%
AIR BAGS 1 · 1%
HYBRID PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 · 1%
LANE DEPARTURE 1 · 1%
0 15 31

Red marks a system with a recall campaign against it. One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 78.

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2023 at 27.

32 24 16 8
22 23 24 25 26

This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2022 to 2026, the last of them a part year, which is why its column is drawn faint.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program

NHTSA crashes a car into a barrier and a pole and measures what happens to the dummies inside. This is what it awarded the 2022 Ford ESCAPE PHEV, and it is a separate question from what owners report going wrong later.

Test SUV FWD
Overall
Frontal crash
Frontal, driver
Frontal, passenger
Side crash
Side barrier
Side pole
Rollover
Chance of rollover 14.3%
Stability control standard Forward collision warning standard Lane departure warning standard

A dash means NHTSA did not rate that test for this vehicle.

Recall campaigns

2 on file

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:PROPULSION SYSTEM:TRACTION BATTERY

26V091000 · February 17, 2026

The defect
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2022-2026 Ford Escape and 2023-2026 Lincoln Corsair plug-in hybrid vehicles. A manufacturing defect in one or more of the high voltage battery cells may result in an internal short circuit and battery failure.
The risk
Battery failure can cause a loss of drive power, increasing the risk of a crash. Battery failure can also increase the risk of a fire.
The remedy
Dealers will update the battery energy control module (BECM) and hybrid powertrain control module (HPCM) software, free of charge. Owners are advised to only use "Auto EV" mode and will be instructed by mail to limit the maximum charge of the battery until the remedy has been completed. Interim letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, and instructions to limit the maximum charge of the battery were mailed February 26, 2026. Additional letters will be sent once the final remedy is available. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25SC4. This recall expands previous recall numbers 24V954 and 25V489. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on February 18, 2026.

Ford Motor Company · up to 25,237 vehicles across all model years covered

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:PROPULSION SYSTEM:TRACTION BATTERY

25V789000 · November 14, 2025

The defect
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2024 Ford Escape and 2021-2024 Lincoln Corsair plug-in hybrid vehicles. A manufacturing defect in one or more of the high voltage battery cells may result in an internal short circuit and battery failure.
The risk
Battery failure can cause a loss of drive power, increasing the risk of a crash. Battery failure can also increase the risk of a fire.
The remedy
Dealers will update the battery energy control module (BECM) and hybrid powertrain control module (HPCM), free of charge. Owners are advised to only use "Auto EV" mode and will be instructed by mail to limit the maximum charge of the battery until the remedy has been completed. Interim letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, and instructions to limit the maximum charge of the battery were mailed December 8, 2025. Additional letters will be sent once the final remedy is available. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25SC4. Vehicles in this recall were previously recalled under 24V954 and will need to have the new remedy performed. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on November 18, 2025.

Ford Motor Company · up to 20,558 vehicles across all model years covered

In owners’ own words

Quoted from the complaint file

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

STRUCTURE:BODY

1 injured

I recently purchased a 2022 Ford Escape and during my first drive with it upon arriving home while unloading the trunk I felt a pain in my hand. I looked where I had place my hand to reach in the trunk and there was razor sharp metal. I contacted Ford and brought the car in to get it deburred and Ford refused to repair the issue telling me all Ford Escapes had the razor sharp metal and that is as it’s designed. They provided this response in writing. Please keep in mind the jut outs in the photos on the edge are razer sharp metal burrs from the sheet metal cutting process and not paint drip or other buildups on the metal

NHTSA complaint 11508144. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL

crash

While driving on a divided highway in the right-most lane with adaptative cruise control and lane-centering turned on, the steering wheel jerked to the right harder and faster than the driver could react, causing the wheels to collide with a concrete curb that led up to a pedestrian walk way next to the highway. We have not had issues otherwise with the lane-centering. And on a 12-mile diagnostic drive, the dealership did not observe the behavior.

NHTSA complaint 11514922. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN

towed · 700 miles

The contact owns a 2022 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled with several unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact was able to restart the vehicle and drive to her destination. The contact restarted the vehicle, and the vehicle failed to remain started. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and the dealer stated no failure was found. The contact stated that the failure persisted. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 700. The contact stated that at the time of the failure, the vehicle had stopped in the middle of traffic and a battery icon flashed in red on the dash. This failure has happened twice now.

NHTSA complaint 11509302, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The contact owns a 2022 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V789000 (Electrical System); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was contacted via an online chat. The contact had not experienced a failure.

NHTSA complaint 11754677. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
this recall has been in effect for nearly 1 year & puts my car @ risk but also doesn't allow me to charge beyond 80%, greatly effecting fuel efficiency. Ford has failed to address the issue in a timely manner or offered any compensation for my additional fuel consumption or offered a realistic deadline for repair

NHTSA complaint 11750860. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STEERING
The incident occurred while my 2008 Allegro Bus was towing my 2022 Ford Escape PHEV. Incident occurred on Sunday, 21 Jun 2026 about a mile from my home. I had just started a left hand turn and was in the intersection when I felt a thump-thump at the back of the coach. I did a quick inspection and saw no apparent damage and all tow connections were secure, so I continued to my home. While uncoupling the Escape from my motorhome, I saw the dash display warning of a steering issue. The steering felt heavy immediately; this wasn't a steering problem that developed over time. This happened during a single, towing maneuver, where the towed vehicle suddenly oscillated left and right twice while

NHTSA complaint 11748826, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
My PHEV car randomly and suddenly has loss of propulsion creating a safety hazard in traffic. It seems to occur at low speeds, sometimes from waiting in line at an intersection. This fault produces a solid red battery warning light, but no additional safety warnings, nor an error code for diagnostics. I have experienced this fault randomly in April, May, and June. The worst experience was within intersection traffic when I was unable to accelerate; just coasted with cars whizzing past. My usual dealership servicing staff were unable to reproduce the error. I was told they would/could not assess this fault without an error code. I had my car towed to a different service company. They advised

NHTSA complaint 11746769, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The guard plate between the sunroof and the moonroof fell off and the retractable screen rolled all the way back and is inoperable. The guard plate fell and hit my child while I was driving. When I searched the internet to see if others have experienced this issue, I discovered that it is a known issue with these vehicles. Unsecured falling parts is a danger and a recall should be issued to fix this issue immediately.

NHTSA complaint 11673864. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
While driving, the metal crossbar trim above my head separating the front (movable) and rear (fixed) roof glass fell off, jamming the sunshade and then falling on my head

NHTSA complaint 11666816. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Ford Escape PHEV

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2023 11 2 —
2021 22 1 —

Other 2022 Ford models

Every Ford on this site — 359 vehicles.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. How many repair attempts it takes, and how long you have to file, is set by the state you bought in and by nothing on this page.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst