2017 Ford Escape Titanium w/ 2.0L engine?

I’m trying to buy a car and I really like the 2017 Ford Escape, I found one in my area for just $7500 and it has about 115k miles on it. I was wondering if, before I buy it, there was anything I should look out for. I’ve heard bad things about the 1.6L engines but is the 2.0 ok? I’m just concerned because I need something reliable and I can’t find much information about them at higher mileage. There’s also a 2014 RAV4 at the same dealership for the same price that I like as well but it’s at 150k miles and has NO service history. I don’t think I should take that risk.

I have the same car. Only 60,000 miles on it so far but I’ve not had any issues yet.

I have the same car. I had the coolant intrusion issue around 115k miles. Started as engine misfires, then engine overheating. I had to replace the long block. By that time it was out of warranty. Run away as fast as you can.

Do not buy the escape. My 17 with 75k miles engine blew due to coolant intrusion.

Arden said:
Do not buy the escape. My 17 with 75k miles engine blew due to coolant intrusion.

What engine? It makes a big difference.

I would say skip it, there are so many problems with these cars; something will go wrong. I know this because I have a 15 and it’s just trouble. Get the RAV inspected with a pre-purchase inspection; it will last twice as long.

General wisdom is 2.0 >> 1.6 > 1.5. The coolant intrusion and engine problems are not some kind of guarantee, but it’s a risk.

Ford has a recall going on with these engines. Get it done.

The 2.0 is better than the 1.6 or later 1.5. The earlier (iirc Mazda-derived, up to 2016) 2.0 is closed deck and seems to be more robust as opposed to the open deck later revision that is more prone to “coolant intrusion” (I hate that term lol) - it’s essentially a blown head gasket caused by a design flaw, or a cracked block caused by said design flaw. Anecdotally, it’s much less common on the 2.0 than the 1.5/1.6. I would MUCH rather have a naturally aspirated 2.5 Duratec, which I have in a Fusion and is a reliability beast, than a 1.5/1.6 with similar power. But I like my 2014 2.0 EB quite a bit and have had no engine- or drivetrain-related issues in 82k.

@Arlo
Well stated.

My 2018 titanium 2.0 has been perfect. That said, only 77k. I’m religious with maintenance.

Honestly, the RAV4 is a better buy. Get it inspected.

I’ll be downvoted into oblivion, but if your priority is reliability, do NOT get a third-generation Escape. Coolant intrusion is a very real issue on all of the four-cylinder Ecoboosts from this era and so are transmission issues. These Escapes also suffer from several smaller, but still annoying issues. Get the RAV4.