2016 Ford Escape · symptom sheet

Wheel bearing, tires or wheels

34owner reports
49,436median miles
$756median quote
1involved a crash

Newest report Mar 25, 2025 · checked Oct 2, 2026

34 of the 1,127 complaints on this car describe wheels.

No recall on this systemas of Oct 2, 2026

1 crashin 34 reports

Tick what matches of 34 reports

a humming or growling that changes with speed

a wheel bearing was replaced

tires wore out early

a tire blew out

lug nuts or a wheel came loose

Wheels on other Escape years

201451 reports 201530 reports 201634 reports 201782 reports 202028 reports

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: 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024.

What this problem usually is

This sheet gathers complaints about the parts that meet the road: tires that wear out early or blow out, wheels that crack or bend, lug nuts that come loose, and wheel bearings that start to hum. The median mileage owners give is about 21,000, among the lowest on the site, so many of these are fairly new cars.

Read the full explainer · Which cars report it most

What got replaced

Owners who name the part that was replaced mention the tires (25 reports) and the wheel (12 reports).

Recalls and investigations

No recall on the wheels covers the 2016 model year as of Oct 2, 2026.

NHTSA investigations into the wheels on the Escape

PE08-060opened Oct 14, 2008

Tires · model years 2007 to 2008

Tire valve cracking. Closed apr 9, 2009.

None of these investigations covers the 2016 model year.

What owners paid

5 of the 34 reports quote a price. Each dot is one quote. The middle half runs $400 to $900.

$400$756$900

$0k$2k$4k$6k$8k

When it happens

The middle half of failures fell between 35,450 and 61,900 miles, from the 16 reports that gave a mileage.

Is this a known problem?

The manufacturer has sent NHTSA 2 service bulletins or notices for the 2016 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.

Service bulletinSSM 47634Nov 1, 2018
Some 2013-2019 Escape and 2015-2019 MKC vehicles may exhibit a vibration attributed to the tires. Prior to performing any road force balancing procedures or related diagnosis, make sure the vehicle tire pressure is correct and is driven a minimum of 24 Km (15 ...
Service bulletinASI-45225Jul 1, 2015
LINCOLN/FORD: SOME VEHICLES WILL EXPERIENCE TIRE VIBRATION AND POSSIBLE FLAT SPOTTING. VEHICLE NEEDS TO BE CHECKED AND DRIVEN, BY WORKSHOP TECH, APPROXIMATELY 15 MILES FOR DIAGNOSIS OF VIBRATIONS AND FLAT SPOTTING. MODEL 2013-16 ESCAPE, 2015-16 MKC. *PE

What owners wrote

“My Ford mechanic states that my lug nuts are swollen. This would make it impossible for me to change my tires if something happened and I had a flat tire on the road. This seems a like a clear manufacturing defect and should be addressed at their expense not mine. Ford is quoting a price of $276 (without taxes) to replace all lug nuts. This is ridiculous.”
Filed Nov 10, 2024

“Aluminum covering on lug nuts becomes enlarged and have to be destroyed to remove them. Service tech at Ford dealership advised that he sees this problem several times per week.”
Filed Apr 16, 2024

“I purchased the Goodyear Assurance tires (235/55R17) when I purchased my Escape with the understanding that they had a life of 80,000 miles. They're barely through the halfway point and show signs of cracking and wire protrusion. We ran over a screw and they hole was beyond repair and the technician pointed out how the tire was failing. All four are being replaced for safety concerns.”
Filed Jul 11, 2023 · 80,000 miles

“The transmission failed at 116,00 miles with no warning. The warning light went on after the transmission failed and the car would not move. The dealer replaced the transmission at a cost of $5600. Also, the lug nuts swelled and could not be removed with the lug wrench supplied by Ford.”
Filed May 8, 2023

Should you keep driving it?

This page can't tell you that. 1 of 34 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 Taking it to a shop? How to describe this problem so it gets found