2016 vs. 2017 Ford Escape: What Changed

The 2017 Ford Escape has several substantial changes in the specifications and ratings we track compared with 2016.

EPA lists a 1.5-litre four-cylinder for 2017 that does not appear in the 2016 listing.

The 1.6-litre four-cylinder is listed for 2016 but not for 2017.

NHTSA's overall rating goes from 4 stars in 2016 to 5 stars in 2017.

The best combined rating for the 2.0-litre four-cylinder rises from 24 to 25 mpg.

Two campaigns cover both years. Two campaigns (air bags and back over prevention) cover the 2016 and not the 2017, while two campaigns (visibility) cover the 2017 and not the 2016.

Fewer campaigns do not establish better reliability. Confirm each car's coverage and repair status by VIN.

The campaigns that separate them

Imported NHTSA recall campaigns that name one of these two model years but not the other, with their component labels. Campaigns covering both years are left out of this list.

Only the 2016

17V398000 air bags
25V695000 back over prevention

Only the 2017

16V617000 visibility
26V374000 visibility

A campaign may cover only part of a model year's production. Use the campaign number to ask an authorized dealer whether the car's VIN is included and what work remains. Our recall tool finds model-year campaigns; this guide explains the vehicle-specific check.

Side by side

	2016	2017
Engines listed	1.6L 4-cyl, 2.0L 4-cyl, 2.5L 4-cyl	1.5L 4-cyl, 2.0L 4-cyl, 2.5L 4-cyl
Drive types	All-Wheel Drive, Front-Wheel Drive	All-Wheel Drive, Front-Wheel Drive
Fuel types	Regular Gasoline	Regular Gasoline
Combined MPG	23–26	23–26
Recall campaigns	4	4
Complaints on file	1109	2669
Investigations	0	0

Complaint totals reflect different time on the road, sales and reporting. They cannot rank these years for reliability. The categories below identify symptoms to read about, not failure odds. How reporting time affects the comparison.

What owners reported, by system

2016

Other 385 (35%)

Drivetrain 316 (28%)

Engine 190 (17%)

2017

Engine 1748 (65%)

Drivetrain 377 (14%)

Other 255 (10%)

Full reports

Open each year's report to read the recall, investigation, manufacturer communication and EPA variant records on file:

2016 Escape full report 2017 Escape full report Every Escape year compared

Sources and methodology

Recalls, complaints and investigations: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Engines, transmissions, drive types and fuel economy: FuelEconomy.gov (EPA/DOE). Differences between listed configurations do not by themselves establish a redesign.
See our methodology and data sources pages for how this comparison is built and its limitations.