Misfire or rough idle on the 2014 Ford Escape
When misfire or rough idle gets reported
Owners of the 2014 Ford Escape report misfire or rough idle at a median of 87,500 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 67,500 miles and a quarter after 112,500 miles, from 31 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 92,000 miles. It is the 12th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 45,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 117,500 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 73,000 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
A spread this wide points at use rather than design. Towing, climate, service history and city mileage all move a failure like this, so the median is a weak guide to any individual car.
6% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 45,000 miles | 68,012 miles | 88,000 miles | 112,541 miles | 118,000 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Putting it right typically runs $250–$1,600 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 19 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2024, at a median of 5,000 miles, and latest on the 2006 at 160,000 miles.
By volume the 2017 carries the most reports, with 407; the 2014 has 51. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
Tl* the contact owns a 2014 ford escape. While driving between 60-65 MPH, the check engine warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that there was a fracture to the engine block, which caused the engine to overheat, misfire, and oil to leak. The contact was also informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 17v209000 (engine and engine cooling). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 68,000.
We advised the local ford dealer that the engine was running rough during start up but then turned normal, slight smell of anti freeze but no over heating or change in temperature gauge, had previously take the can in for the heat sensor / low coolant recall, was told to drive car to dealer. After arrival and further inspection we were advised that the engine was warped, head warped and needed a new engine. Both dealer and ford and after market warranty blamed us for driving 5 miles on local roads to dealer and therefore they would not cover the problem.
Tl* the contact owns a 2014 ford escape. While driving various speeds, the engine coolant and check engine indicators illuminated on several occasions. The contact stated that the engine coolant was replaced, but the indicators remained illuminated. An independent mechanic found a diagnostic trouble code for the cylinder 2 misfire and stated that the engine was faulty and needed to be replaced due to a blown headgasket. Miracle ford (1394 nashville pike, gallatin, tennessee 37066, (615) 452-5267) was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to NHTSA. In addition, the manufacturer stated that there were no recalls or service warranty programs on the vehicle. The failure mileage was 118,571.
Also reported on the 2014 Ford Escape
Other engine problem
Other powertrain problem
Overheating
Radiator or coolant leak
Other body or interior problem
Other electrical problem
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 51 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does misfire or rough idle happen on the 2014 Ford Escape?
Across 31 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 87,500 miles. A quarter were filed before 67,500 miles and a quarter after 112,500 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is misfire or rough idle on the 2014 Ford Escape?
51 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.2 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed