Engine Belts And Pulleys problems of the 2014 Ford Escape

Shortly after starting the car (on a cool fall day) a warning came on the dash saying "stop immediately, engine overheating". This caused the car to limit my ability to drive therefore I had o slowly stop at curbside of highway. I checked the coolant which was basically gone. Which didn't seem right especially since I had just purchased the car two months prior. Additionally, the engine wasn't smoking or visibly showing signs of overheating. When I took it to the shop they were not able to identify any issues. There were no pools of liquid underneath the car that would indicate a leak. However, the issue got worse and I have had to fill the coolant tank every other week. Took the Escape into the dealership, they said it would be a hose leak and the coolant needed to be flushed for 800 dollars. I didn't have the money, so took it to another shop. That shop ran tests but couldn't find a leak in the hosing system nor could they see signs of coolant on other parts of the engine. My car continued to suck down coolant for no apparent reason until finally the timing belt broke.

Was driving home from work on the interstate. Engine began to jerk a bit then warning messages appeared on screen. Pulled over to side of road. After car stopped smoke began to appear from under hood and entering cab through the vents. I opened the window to clear the smoke and looked for phone number to roadside assistance thinking it was only a belt that had melted or burned. Within a few minutes I began to see flames coming from under the hood by the windshield. I exited the vehicle and a sheriff's deputy happened to be pulling in behind me after seeing my car in distress. Fire department was called. Within five to ten minutes the engine area of the vehicle was engulfed in flames. After a short investigation on the scene the fd believed the cause to be electrical and appeared to have begun and caused the most damage to the passenger side front corner of the engine.

My Escape suffered a catastrophic engine failure while driving. The engine failure while driving on an interstate presents a clear and potential life threatening event as all power was suddenly lost. At the time of engine failure I was traveling at about 35 mph. The vehicle was towed to a local dealership for repairs. The dealership told me that the engine failure was due to the ac compressor locking up creating tension on the drive belts that resulted in sudden loss of power and engine shut down. Had this occurred on a major interstate highway with semi trucks barreling upon you, the results would have been deadly. Fortunately for me the failure occurred 1/2 mile before entering the interstate. I have since learned other owers of Ford products have experienced the same thing. This is a serious design flaw that needs to be fixed in the interest of public safety. I purchased this vehicle new and it currently has less than 13,800 miles on the odometer.

While pulling out of a parking lot, the a/c was turned on. There was a grinding noise, smoke starting coming up from the hood and out the wheel well, and the engine stalled out, leaving the car in half way out in traffic. Each time the engine was restarted, it stalled out again right away. Finally the vehicle was pushed out of the road and into an adjacent parking lot for towing. The dealership says the compressor blew and sent metal shrapnel throughout the hood, penetrating rubber hoses and belts, and causing the car to stop running.