all vehicles · every Escape year · method

Ford Escape 2012

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

0.48 per 1,000

0.7 times this nameplate’s own median · from 123 complaints filed in the first three years, of 618 ever. 95% lower bound 0.39.

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 141 complaints

steering	136	96%
turned off	25	18%
sensor	17	12%
torque	14	10%
models	14	10%
torque sensor	12	9%

Fuel/Propulsion System 139 complaints

parts distribution	30	22%
distribution disconnect	30	22%
parts repair	27	20%
however parts	26	19%
experienced parts	23	17%
confirmed parts	20	15%

Engine 75 complaints

throttle	18	24%
found	18	24%
throttle body	14	19%
body	14	19%
stall	10	14%

When it breaks

21% of reported failures happened before 30,000 miles (median 56,000 miles, from 426 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

3 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:

10434868 · 10439402 · 10443581 · 10449214 · 10450049 · 10452483

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.