all vehicles · every Escape year · method

Ford Escape 2011

Safety complaints filed by owners in the first three years, per 1,000 sold.

2.03 per 1,000

2.8 times this nameplate’s own median · from 451 complaints filed in the first three years, of 1355 ever. 95% lower bound 1.84.

Against its own model years

The model year carries far more information than the badge, so this is the comparison that matters.

Model year	Per 1,000	Complaints
2008	1.44	226
2009	0.55	90
2010	0.92	167
2011	2.03	451
2012	0.48	123
2013	1.40	389
2014	0.64	192
2015	0.34	104
2016	0.46	141
2017	0.72	221
2018	0.38	110
2019	0.28	71
2020	0.93	196
2021	1.17	189
2022	1.43	202
2023	0.62	86

What owners describe

Phrases over-represented in these complaints compared with the same component on every other vehicle. Counts are complaints containing the phrase.

Steering 425 complaints

included	125	29%
sensor	77	18%
torque	67	16%
torque sensor	61	14%
included recall	52	12%
functionality	40	9%

Power Train 273 complaints

throttle	142	52%
wrench	119	44%
body	106	39%
throttle body	104	38%
wrench light	59	22%
turned off	56	21%

Fuel/Propulsion System 256 complaints

parts distribution	39	15%
distribution disconnect	39	15%
distribution	39	15%
experienced parts	30	12%
parts repair	25	10%
confirmed parts	23	9%

When it breaks

14% of reported failures happened before 30,000 miles (median 57,000 miles, from 1098 complaints that recorded one).

Failures arrive late and spread out, which looks like wear. Service history matters more than model year here.

What NHTSA did

5 investigations covering this model year, 1 of which list a recall campaign.

Electronic Throttle Body Malfunction

What owners and forums say

Not built yet. This panel is meant to carry community sentiment beside the filed-complaint data, so the two can be compared. Showing something weaker here would defeat its purpose.

Check this yourself

Example records behind this page:

10377749 · 10378106 · 10396790 · 10398710 · 10399262 · 10402268

Limits of this figure. It counts safety complaints filed with the federal government, which is a floor on failures and not a census: problems that only cost money are under-reported. Complaint rates also reflect how likely a brand’s owners are to file, which cannot be separated from how often the car fails. Sales are calendar-year and the denominator for this nameplate is automated checks only, not verified against an external source.