My 2024 Ford Escape Only Has 12,000 Miles and My Temperature Warning Light Stays On, Now Ford Says There Are Metal Shavings In the Engine

The Ford Escape is facing potentially severe engine issues that require immediate attention.

A Ford Escape owner says, "The temperature light in my 2024 Ford Escape stays on all the time. I'm afraid my engine will overheat and leave me stranded. My Escape only has 12,000 miles. Is there a problem with it?" 

That's what a new Ford Escape owner with only 12,000 miles is dealing with. 

Imagine buying a new 2024 Ford Escape; you paid nearly $35,000 for the small crossover. It only has 12,000 miles, and the engine is overheating. The light on the dash indicates the engine temperature is too hot, and it stays on all the time. 

You are afraid to drive it, so you take it to your mechanic, who is closer than the Ford dealer. You take it in and have him run some diagnostics, and he tells you it does have an overheating issue. 

He says that Ford has issued a Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) telling them that the Escape's 1.5-liter engine is known to have overheating issues. He tells you it may be due to machining chips trapped in the cylinder head, causing a potential blockage in the coolant passage near the cylinder head temperature (CHT2) port. 

You aren't sure what he's talking about, but you know it doesn't sound good. 

Now, you are faced with the daunting task of taking it to the dealer and having the engine torn down because it has metal shavings inside. It's hard to believe that your brand-new Escape is experiencing such a serious issue. What is going on with Ford? You can't help but wonder. 

Owen from Owens Garage, who looked at the Ford Escape, says, "Here is a 2024 Ford Escape with 12,000 miles."

"After checking the Ford TSB, GBS, SSM through Ford, I found that there's a special service message 52219 that applies to this vehicle with a concern."

"The concern is that the coolant temperature warning light comes on the dash, and the temp gauge completely pegs for about two seconds while under full power driving conditions." 

Owen says, "It says if the SSM does apply to your vehicle and it falls within the build dates, then there's a potential for metal shavings in your cooling system."

Owen shows a 1.5-liter Ford Escape engine that is torn down. "When Ford was machining the heads on these engines, they didn't get all the metal shavings (machining chips) out of the cylinder heads."

"So, the tiny chips build up in the coolant jackets inside the cylinder head, causing it to throw an over temp code by plugging one of the cylinder head temp sensors with metal shavings," he continues.

Owen has seen this before. In the shop, he shows the cylinder head in a Ford Escape 1.5-liter engine for the same issue. "So, I'm just tearing this thing down, ready to remove the head, and every camshaft looks like it has 90,000 miles on it." 

Owen says, "This is ridiculous; I don't trust these 1.5-liter Ford engines."

A comment says they have experienced the same issue on their Ford Escape fleet.   

Oem55 says, "We had 40 Escapes in our fleet; all of them went into limp mode for a head temperature sensor, some of them twice. Sold all of them at 20,000 miles. Hot garbage cars."

I checked the NHTSA report, and Ford does not have a recall for this issue on the Ford Escape. 

Consumer Reports gives the Ford Escape a reliability rating of 66/100, which is well below average for vehicles in this category. Here are the top-rated small SUV/crossover models. 

• Mazda CX-5 87/100
• Toyota RAV4 Prime 86/100
• Toyota RAV4 Hybrid 85/100 
• Subaru Forester 82/100
• Toyota RAV4 81/100
• The Ford Escape Hybrid has the lowest score, 04/100. This is a vehicle you should avoid. 

I obtained a copy of the Ford Escape TSB #SSM 52219. Here are a few excerpts from the Ford Escape TSB to its dealers.

Some 2023-2024 Escape vehicles built on or before 11-Jan-2024 equipped with 1.5L engines may exhibit an Engine Coolant Over-Temperature Warning message displayed in the IPC and an illuminated malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) with diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs) P1285 and/or P1299 stored in the powertrain control module (PCM) during hard acceleration or under high load conditions. 

This may be due to machining chips trapped in the cylinder head, causing a potential blockage in the coolant passage near the cylinder head temperature (CHT2) port.

Ford says that if the engine is diagnosed with the problem the tech is to drain the coolant system. 

The TSB says to disconnect the charge air cooler inlet and outlet hose, overflow hose, and upper and lower hose of the radiator and position these components aside. Disconnect the heater core's inlet and outlet coolant hoses and position these components aside. 

To diagnose this condition, start the vehicle and idle for 15 minutes. Perform a road test at a temperature above -20°C (-4°F) and apply wide-open throttle (WOT) hard accelerations in rapid succession. Drain and refill the coolant system if the concern can not be replicated. 

If the concern can be replicated, drain the coolant system. Disconnect the charge air cooler inlet and outlet hose, overflow hose, and upper and lower hose of the radiator and position these components aside. Disconnect the heater core's inlet and outlet coolant hoses and position these components aside. 

Perform a backflush of the radiator and heater core separately. If the degas bottle exhibits black sediments, disconnect the coolant hoses and flush the degas bottle.

If the concern persists, replace the cylinder head.

What should 2023 and 2024 Ford Escape owners do if they have the temperature warning light stay on?

Take your vehicle to the nearest Ford dealer as soon as possible. 

Let the service advisor know about the issue and that you know there is a Ford TSB. Give him the information and have them fix it under the new car warranty. The Ford Escape has a 5-year/60,000-mile powertrain warranty. 

Do you have a 2023 or 2024 Ford Escape with overheating issues? If so, click the red Add New Comment link below and let us know.

Read what a Ford F-150 owner says about Ford's reliability. 

My Ford F-150 Has Lost So Much Value, $20K In Negative Equity Since Ford Decided to Tank the Brand Due to Reliability and Cutting Corners. Check out my report here.

I am Denis Flierl, a Senior Torque News Reporter since 2012. My 30+ year tenure in the automotive industry, initially in a consulting role with every major car brand and later as a freelance journalist test-driving new vehicles, has equipped me with a wealth of knowledge. I specialize in reporting the latest automotive news and providing expert analysis on Subaru, which you'll find here, ensuring that you, as a reader, are always well-informed and up-to-date. Follow me on my X SubaruReport, All Subaru, WRXSTI, @DenisFlierl, Facebook, and Instagram.

Photo credit: Denis Flierl via Ford dealer