2019 Ford EcoSport: What to check before buying

Sudden stalling, loss of power and engine failure dominate these reports. The check engine and low oil pressure lights often come on together, followed by knocking, shuddering or a seized engine. Many filings are about a recall campaign. Owners report that parts stay unavailable for long stretches, or that problems return after the recall work is done. Dealers sometimes say a later failure is unrelated to the recall. One stall in an intersection leads to a rear-end crash. Another report describes white smoke, a burning odor and flames from the engine compartment.

The low oil pressure warning appears, power drops, and the engine knocks or quits, often on the highway. Dealers commonly find a failed oil pump belt or tensioner and call for a full engine replacement, quoted at over $6,000. Reported failures cluster between about 61,000 and 73,000 miles, often just past warranty. Owners typically say the oil level was full and maintenance was current. Several say they could not keep up with interstate traffic. A few report the same symptoms coming back after a replacement engine.

Power loss and low oil pressure warnings repeat here. Engines get replaced and sometimes fail again, in one case for a fourth time. A second pattern is transmission trouble: shuddering, grinding uphill and surging RPM. Dealers diagnose a torque converter problem or a full transmission replacement. Many filings describe long waits for recall parts and repeat repairs that do not hold. One car stalls, smokes and smolders while driving. Another rolls backward after being shut off on an incline, drags the driver and hits a house.

The infotainment module (APIM) fails, and the touchscreen, radio, Bluetooth, USB ports and backup camera stop working. Dealers quote roughly $3,000 to $4,000 to replace it. Some owners see earlier glitches first: power windows acting up, a compass stuck on north, or Sync 3 updates that fail. The other complaints repeat the engine pattern of low oil pressure warnings, stalling and engine damage. In one case the car shuts off at a stoplight, then stability control cuts out and the driver briefly loses control.

Most of these reports are really engine failures: a low oil pressure warning, then a sudden loss of power. A few owners say the brakes stopped working or seized at the same time, with the check engine, battery and ABS lights on. One dealer replaces the oil pump belt and tensioner but refuses to cover the engine damage that followed. Long waits for parts come up again. One failure is reported at about 55,000 miles.

Speed drops sharply without warning, from highway speed to 30 mph or less, and the car will not accelerate. Owners describe stalling, jerking, hard shifting, and the check engine and wrench lights coming on, sometimes with the screen going black. Some say the problem continues after multiple engine replacements or while recall parts are unavailable. A separate report describes cruise control losing speed at 9,300 miles, which the dealer could not duplicate.

Nothing deploys in three serious crashes, and each one involves an injury. The reports include a T-bone at an intersection, a van striking the passenger side at about 30 mph, and a collision with a semi truck. Two of those vehicles are totaled. The remaining complaint describes a warning light for the airbag sensor that stays on at a little over 44,000 miles.

None of these reports describes a clear steering defect. Three are engine failures with a low oil pressure message, weak acceleration and repeated engine replacements. One owner is on a third engine, with coolant now leaking into the head gasket. Another hears a persistent whirring after major repairs. The fourth complaint says the car steers, brakes and changes speed on its own, which the owner blames on hacking. Inspections found nothing wrong.

No repeating suspension defect appears. One report describes a severe crash into a pole and rocks that bent the left front control arm and the frame. The air bags did not deploy, and the driver died. The other describes rear tires worn from the inside until they went flat with wires showing, at about 15,000 miles. A dealer blamed improper maintenance.