Two problems related to headlights have been reported for the 2013 Ford Escape. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2013 Ford Escape based on all problems reported for the 2013 Escape.
Hid headlamp shutters stick in high beam position in cold weather. Ford only sells complete headlight assemblies, as the solenoid that controls the shutter is sealed inside the housing and not accessible. The design drops the shutter when the solenoid is activated for high beams and the return spring(?) is apparently not strong enough to counteract gravity and get the shutter back to the raised low beam position for proper light cutoff. The result is that high beams stay on and have the potential to blind oncoming drivers, creating a safety hazard. Ford has so far refused to warranty the issue and expects the customer to cough up $1300 list price plus labor per headlamp assembly to get the issue fixed.
The car has hid headlights. These lights use a "shutter" to cut off the light on "low beam". The "shutter" is stuck and does not raise to obscure the lamp in "low beam" leaving the lamp on "high beam" whenever the headlamps are on. Our Escape has this problem on the drivers side resulting in many flashes from oncoming drivers. This is a clear safety problem as it impairs the vision of oncoming traffic and we have no control over it. Ford will not recognize this as a safety issue. They will only repair it if it falls in the 3 yr. 36,000 mile warranty. I have found incidents on the internet going clear back to 2005 on Ford focus cars with same problem.