Check engine light came on

I’ve got a 2017 Escape that I bought about two months ago. Everything’s been running perfectly until today when the check engine light came on. I know I need to take it to a mechanic to figure out what’s going on, but the car hasn’t had any problems—no weird noises, no performance issues, nothing. The only odd thing was one time it said the key wasn’t detected, even though it was in the car. Hoping this isn’t a major problem. Has anyone else had this happen? Any advice?

You should plug in a code reader to see what it says.

I’ve had something similar happen three times with my 2017 Escape. Here’s what happened:

  1. The mechanic forgot to insert the oil dipstick properly after an oil change—easy fix, but it triggered the light.
  2. The battery was about to die. I got a “key not detected” warning, and the battery completely died that day.
  3. Worst case: the engine had the known coolant intrusion issue. Ended up needing a full engine replacement.

Hopefully, yours is something simple!

This has happened a few times with my 2017 Escape after getting gas. I just pushed the gas tank door lever to make sure it clicked back in place, and the check engine light turned off after a couple of drives. Maybe try that?

My 2023 Escape is having a similar issue, and the app says it’s an engine misfire. My 2018 Escape had the coolant problem—engine got rebuilt at 45,000 miles, and then the head gasket failed at 80,000. I just want one car to make it to 300,000 miles!