UsedScore

2010 Ford Escape: Avoid

Owners filed 1,232 complaints with NHTSA about the 2010 Ford Escape in its first five years on the road, about 661 for every 100,000 sold: 2.9× the rate of a typical Escape year. That's more than twice a typical year, across more than one problem area.

The biggest problem area, counting serious complaints more, is speed control (42% of complaints, median 51,000 miles).

Complaint index
2.9×
per vehicle sold, vs. a typical Escape year
Rank
14th of 14
1st = fewest complaints
Complaints
1,232
first five years; 661 per 100,000 sold
Recalls
3
campaigns
2nd generation, 2008–2012 · Updated September 24, 2026 · How we rate
2010 Ford Escape XLT

Photo: 2010 Ford Escape XLT · IFCAR, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Problem areas

Ranked by severity-weighted complaints · share · median miles
  1. Speed control42% · 515 complaints · median 51,000 miles
  2. Engine37% · 458 complaints · median 50,000 miles
  3. Powertrain36% · 442 complaints · median 50,000 miles
  4. Fuel and propulsion27% · 334 complaints · median 52,000 miles
  5. Electrical11% · 136 complaints · median 51,000 miles
  6. Visibility6% · 68 complaints · median 26,000 miles
  7. Body and structure3% · 32 complaints · median 43,000 miles
  8. Brakes3% · 34 complaints · median 43,000 miles
  9. Steering2% · 29 complaints · median 71,000 miles
  10. Air bags0% · 4 complaints

Bars rank problem areas by complaints weighted for severity (crashes, fires, injuries and deaths count more). A complaint can name more than one area. Mileage is reported on about half of complaints.

What owners describe

Engine

Owners of this 2010 Escape describe sudden loss of engine power or stalling on the road, frequently preceded by a wrench warning light, forcing them to coast to a stop and restart the vehicle. Many say dealers replaced the throttle body, though the stalling sometimes recurred, and several mention a service bulletin without a recall.

Warning signs:
Many report a wrench-shaped warning light, check-engine light, rough idle, sputtering, jerking, or an unresponsive gas pedal just before or during the loss of power.
What shops did:
Dealers most often diagnosed and replaced the throttle body, though some owners say technicians could not find a fault code or replicate the problem, and a few had purge valve or evap canister parts replaced.
Mileage:
most between 40,000 and 65,000 miles, among 510 complaints that give it

“I was no longer able to get enough throttle to continue moving forward. I had to coast to the side of the road.”

“Vehicle's throttle stopped working in traffic traveling at 35 MPH and had to coast vehicle to side of road where engine was idling roughly”

Powertrain

Owners of this Escape often describe sudden loss of acceleration on the road, sometimes with a wrench warning light, along with rough or jerky transmission shifting. Repairs frequently involved throttle body replacement or transmission work, though some owners say the issue returned.

Warning signs:
Many report a wrench-shaped warning light, engine revving or idling oddly, jerking or clunking when shifting, and sudden loss of acceleration.
What shops did:
Dealers often replaced the electronic throttle body, reprogrammed or rebuilt the transmission, or in some cases could not duplicate or repair the problem.
Mileage:
most between 40,000 and 65,000 miles, among 486 complaints that give it

“The transmission "flared" dropping out of gear causing the vehicle to stop accelerating, and the engine to rev”

“Wrench light came on and pressing gas pedal resulted in no forward momentum or response from the RPM gauge”

Speed control

Owners describe their Escapes suddenly losing acceleration or stalling at various speeds, often with a wrench warning light coming on first. Many say turning the car off and restarting temporarily fixes it, and dealers frequently diagnosed and replaced a failing throttle body, though wait times and repeat failures were common.

Warning signs:
Many report a dashboard wrench or check-engine light illuminating, rough idling, sputtering, or surging just before or during the loss of power.
What shops did:
Most owners had the throttle body (sometimes with related sensors or the assembly) replaced by a dealer, though some report parts on backorder or dealers unable to duplicate the problem.
Mileage:
most between 40,000 and 65,000 miles, among 549 complaints that give it

“Throttle became unresponsive and RPM's dropped to idle. Luckily was able to coast out of traffic.”

“My car suddenly lost all acceleration and I coasted to a stop on the left shoulder. Engine still ran, but car idled roughly and lurched forward.”

Summaries are written with AI from the owner complaints shown on NHTSA's site and checked against them; quotes are word for word.

Recalls (3)

Check a VIN on NHTSA ›
  • NHTSA 16V777000October 2016329,265 vehicles

    Fuel system, gasoline: delivery: fuel pump

    Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2010-2012 Ford Escape vehicles manufactured February 26, 2009, to April 29, 2012, and 2010-2011 Mercury Mariner vehicles manufactured February 25, 2009, to December 12, 2010. On vehicles with a 3.0L engine, the Fuel Delivery Module (FDM) may crack, causing a fuel leak.

    Risk: A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source increases the risk of a fire.

    Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the FDM flange with one that has a redesigned fuel supply port, free of charge.

  • NHTSA 14V284000May 2014740,878 vehicles

    Steering: electric power assist system

    Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2008-2011 Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner vehicles manufactured August 18, 2006, through September 11, 2010. The affected vehicles have a steering torque sensor that may not be able to properly detect driver steering input. As a result, the system could remove the Electric Power Steering (EPS) assist.

    Risk: If power steering assist is lost, greater driver effort would be required to steer the vehicle at low speeds, increasing the risk of a crash.

    Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will update the software for the power steering control module (PSCM) and the instrument cluster module, free of charge.

  • NHTSA 10V222000May 201019 vehicles

    Power train: automatic transmission

    Ford is recalling certain model year 2010 fusion, milan, and escape vehicles manufactured from february 27, through march 26, 2010. The park rod guide retention pin may not have been properly installed which fails to conform to the requirement of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 114, "theft protection and rollaway prevention".

    Risk: A vehicle parked without an engaged park pawl and without an applied parking brake may have unintended movement which may cause a crash.

    Fix: Ford will notify owners and dealers will repair the vehicles free of charge.

A recall only helps if the repair was done. Enter the vehicle's 17-character VIN on NHTSA's official recall lookup before you buy.

Service bulletins

Ford sent NHTSA 51 service bulletins and other notices to dealers covering the 2010 Escape. These are repair instructions, not recalls. Warranty extensions and bulletins about its top problem areas:

  • DOR-M3J3F-07 · June 2020These SKUs are Exhaust Manifolds with Catalytic Converters.
  • DOR-M9J4S-07 · June 2020These SKUs are Exhaust Manifolds with Catalytic Converters.
  • SSM 46085 · September 2016The Powertrain Control/Emissions Diagnosis (PC/ED) manual has been revised for diagnosing electronic throttle bodies (ETBs).
  • 16-0043 · March 20166F35 TRANSMISSION - FLUID LEAK AT LEFT SIDE HALFSHAFT SEAL BUILT ON OR BEFORE 10/14/2013 ISSUE Some 2009-2014 Escape, 2009-2011 Mariner, 2010-2014 Fusion, 2010-2011 Milan, 2012-2014 Edge/Explorer,…
  • 15-0079 · May 2015Ford 2009-2014 escape, 2010-2014 fusion, 2012-2014 edge, explorer, 2013-2014 taurus: lincoln 2013-2014 mkt,mkz: mercury 2009- 2011 mariner, 2010-2011 milan.
  • ASI-44707 · September 2014Ford: after powertrain control module reprogramming, the malfunction indicator lamp (mil) is on with several diagnostic trouble codes (dtc) p06b8, p068a, p2610, if key not left for 30 seconds in off…
  • TSB-14-0056 · March 2014Mercury/ford: on some vehicles, there is a fluid leakage, coming from left hand (lh) halfshaft seal of the automatic transmission and a service kit is available now, for repair.
  • ASI-32332 · November 2013Ford: due to an intermittent loss of RPM or lack of acceleration, in some vehicles, with illuminated wrench light, diagnostic trouble codes (dtcs) p2111, p2112 may or may not be stored in powertrain…

All 2010 Escape bulletins on NHTSA ›

Questions owners ask

Is the 2010 Ford Escape reliable?
Owners filed 1,232 complaints with NHTSA about the 2010 Ford Escape in its first five years on the road, about 661 for every 100,000 sold: 2.9× the rate of a typical Escape year. That's more than twice a typical year, across more than one problem area. Ratings compare Escape years with each other using complaints filed with NHTSA; they don't measure every problem owners have.
What are the most common 2010 Escape problems?
Owners' complaints most often involve speed control (42%), the engine (37%) and the powertrain (transmission and drivetrain) (36%). A complaint can name more than one area.
Has the 2010 Ford Escape been recalled?
Yes. NHTSA lists 3 recall campaigns for the 2010 Ford Escape, the most recent in October 2016 (fuel system, gasoline). Enter the vehicle's VIN on NHTSA's recall lookup to see whether the repairs were done.

Sources

Owner complaints, recalls and manufacturer communications from NHTSA's public data files, as of September 24, 2026. Complaints are counted once each, over the model year's first 60 months on the road. UsedScore is not affiliated with NHTSA or Ford. The 2010 Ford Escape on NHTSA.gov · How we rate