2015 Ford Escape · symptom sheet
Transmission shudders, slips or shifts hard
- 68owner reports
- 88,000median miles
- $5,294median quote
- 0involved a crash
Newest report Aug 5, 2026 · checked Oct 2, 2026
286 of the 1,105 complaints on this car are about the transmission and drivetrain. 68 of those describe transmission shudder.
Narrower sheets: Transmission jerks, lurches or bangs into gear (25 reports)
Tick what matches of 68 reports
Transmission shudder on other Escape years
Report counts are for each model year on its own, so a newer car has had less time to collect them. Model years with too few reports of it for a sheet: 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024.
What this problem usually is
This is the biggest drivetrain group on the site: a transmission that shudders, slips, hesitates or bangs into gear. It's the everyday version of transmission trouble, where the car still drives but doesn't drive right, and it has three narrower sheets of its own for jerking, hesitation and slipping.
What got replaced
Owners who name the part that was replaced mention the transmission (12 reports).
Recalls and investigations
2 recalls on the transmission and drivetrain cover the 2015 model year. A recall on the same system isn't always the same failure, so read the defect text.
The bushing that attaches the shifter cable to the transmission may degrade or detach.
The bushing that attaches the shifter cable to the transmission may degrade or detach.
All 9 recalls on the 2015 Ford Escape, with the owner complaints on each recalled system
What owners paid
16 of the 68 reports quote a price. Each dot is one quote. The middle half runs $350 to $7,000.
When it happens
The middle half of failures fell between 59,000 and 106,000 miles, from the 50 reports that gave a mileage.
Is this a known problem?
The manufacturer has sent NHTSA 3 service bulletins or notices for the 2015 Ford Escape that deal with this problem. Newest first.
Federal rules make a manufacturer send NHTSA a copy of any notice about a defect that goes to more than one dealer or owner. Most of these are service bulletins, the repair instructions manufacturers send to dealers. NHTSA generally leaves safety recall bulletins out of this file, and recalls are listed separately.
MULTIPLE 2014-2016 VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH 6F35 TRANSMISSION AND BUILT ON 1-JAN-2014 AND THROUGH 31-DEC-2015 MAY EXHIBIT HARSH REVERSE ENGAGEMENT AND HARSH/DELAYED 3RD AND 5TH GEAR UP/DOWN SHIFTS WITH NO DTCS PRESENT.
Some 2015-2016 Escape and 2016 Fusion vehicles equipped with a 2.0L GTDI engine may exhibit a rolling reverse to drive engagement shudder on acceleration.
FORD: SOME VEHICLES TRANSMISSION WILL EXPERIENCE, AFTER A COLD SOAK OR AN EXTENDED PERIOD WITH ENGINE OFF, A 2-3 SHIFT HESITATION DUE TO POSSIBLE HYDRAULIC CIRCUIT DRAIN. MODEL 2013-16 VARIOUS VEHICLES. *PE
What owners wrote
“As I was driving my car started to jerk, drag backwards and stop. I put it in park in the middle of the road and turned the car completely off. It would start and drive, then jerk, try to slide backwards again then stopped. The car starts, but the shift freezes after try to go.”
Filed May 18, 2024
“I was on my way to work, going about 40 mph, when all of the sudden my car slipped out of gear and a service transmission light came on. I pulled off the road and put the car in park, after that I tried to put the car and drive and it would only go in reverse. There were no warning lights or problems prior to this incident. I had the car towed to my home.”
Filed Jun 17, 2022
Should you keep driving it?
This page can't tell you that. 0 of 68 reports involved a crash. Owners who file are the ones who had a bad experience, and nobody checks their reports. If the problem affects steering, braking, power or a fire risk, treat it as a safety fault and have it inspected before a long or high-speed drive.
File your own report with NHTSA. Complaint counts are how a problem gets an investigation. How reports land on this sheet.
Guide Paid for this repair before a recall covered it? How recall reimbursement works
Other problems on this car
- Infotainment, screen or backup camera fails 226 reports
- Engine overheats or leaks coolant 145 reports
- Engine stalls or loses power while driving 136 reports
- Check engine light or misfire 120 reports
- Transmission fails or needs replacement 74 reports
- Power steering cuts out or goes heavy 52 reports
- Engine failure, knocking or rod bearing 46 reports
- "Service Transmission" message or wrench light comes on 39 reports
- Doors, latches or locks fail 36 reports
- Wheel bearing, tires or wheels 30 reports
- Battery dies or the car will not start 27 reports
- Brakes grind, pulse or wear early 26 reports