We took a 2013 Escape with the 1.6l EB. It seemed like a very smooth SUV. I just had some reservations concerning a turbo engine with 106000 miles. And carcomplaints.com has several hits concerning this engine. Am I overthinking this?

 

They had some problems with the valves on these motors getting carbon build up. Never let anyone sell you a top end cleaning as it will fry the turbo.. The biggest problem on these motors where the oil changes. Depending on the care the motor had would play a roll in its longevity. I have seen several that reached alot hire mileage. If it had good maintenance records that would help. In the end its always going be a gamble with any vehicle new or used.

 

I've read up on the direct injection problems. The carfax report shows oil changes at about the 1 year/10k mark. Hopefully that was synthetic, but that still seems too long.

 

Yeah on these new motors one thing they have stressed at all our training no mater what is the oil changes. 10k is a long time even on synthetic. I try to get my customers in every 3 to 5k or once a year depending on their driving habits. My 7.3l truck had its oil changed every 3k for its whole life and at 349000 I finally pulled the injectors and replaced them cause the oils were leaking(not cause the injectors were worn). We have had 2 SUVs come in this year with bad motors at just over 100k both had the oil changes ignored and the engine uses the oil for everything including timing so timing actuators froze destroying the motors. Direct injection on gas cars is still young and they have had problems with some but I have seen and heard more problems related to oil then the injection systems.

 

2013 Escape/Fusion: Ford had a recall on the 1.6L Eco-Boost 12/2012, leaking valve cover gasket and fuel rail o-rings. Some owners reported engine fires.

Recall notice said STOP driving the vehicle, take it into your local dealer, a free rental car will be provided until the vehicle is fixed.

Both the valve cover gasket and o-rings were on D99 - backorder Detroit, in other words, FoMoCo did not have any.

It was several months before the parts became available.

Before buying one of these cars, make sure this recall was performed. There were several other 2013 Escape recalls, you'll have to research to find out what they were.

And, be aware the front seats are cramped, due to the wide console and the back seat legroom is tight, unless you're Billy Barty sized.

Ford has since dropped this 1.6L Eco, replaced it with the 1.5L Eco.

 

Update: we found an Escape with 41k. The carfax showed its oil changes at around 4k to 5k. It was bought at the dealership and serviced. It had 2 outstanding recalls (not the one BKW mentioned) that this dealership took care of.

Thanks for the info! This is the best site anywhere!!

 

Now concerning this new to us Escape. So far it has been a wonderful SUV. Great ride. 27 MPG. Even with the wife driving! Only reoccurring thing is the splash pan underneath the engine compartment. All 5 fasteners came off after about a month. Took it back to the dealership and they replaced all of them. No problem other than the hour or so wait. Now one of those have fallen out again. I'm going to try this myself this time. Has anyone else suffered with this?

 

Only on my son's santa fe
I put nutcerts back in the holes, and used bolts and washers. Problem solved

 

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YEP every dame time i change the stinking oil on this POS escape we have . 8 of the 10 screws go into plastic nuts 4 # 27 torque fasteners in front 4- 27's in back the 2 side screws of 7 mm hex go into easy to strip snap nuts.
end of the story NEVER use a power driver of any kind when dropping that pan to change the oil only use a hand screw driver

1.6 ecoboost in 2013's the we catch fire motors .

 

add in note
our 2013 was 4 days old when the dealer called saying your new car has been recalled and ordered off the road for catching fire . the 1.6 had issues with the head cracking allowing combustion gasses to enter the cooling system, blowing hoses off and what turned out flammable antifreeze to hit the turbo and start fires,
ford did put us in a rental for over a month while the so called fix was made and installed, 3 months of it still loosing coolant and dropping into fail /reduced power/ shut off, they replaced the motor and head with a service motor, 6 months later another motor, each time a pressure test and inspection camera into the bore from the spark plug holes you could see coolant dripping down, unto the pistons ,
we went lemon law and won 60 days down in 10 months


while we have had good luck with our 2015 with the 2.0 till recently when the transmission starting to slip shifting into 2 and 3 'common clutch drum for 2-3 and 4" at 75k, ford has told us it will cost about 8 grand with labor to replace it with a factory rb unit, sorry ford trade in time. while it still moves on it's own it's not even worth 4 k on trade why stick near 8 into it?