2017 Ford Escape · symptom sheet
Infotainment, screen or backup camera fails
- 38owner reports
- 33,589median miles
- 0involved a crash
Newest report Jun 16, 2026 · checked Oct 2, 2026
315 of the 2,689 complaints on this car are about the electrical system. 38 of those describe infotainment.
Tick what matches of 38 reports
Infotainment 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: 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024.
What this problem usually is
Screen complaints read like a list of small betrayals. The display goes black or freezes, the backup camera shows nothing when you shift into reverse, CarPlay or Android Auto keeps dropping, or the radio changes volume on its own. Many owners had a software update that didn't fix it. A narrower sheet covers backup camera failures on their own, and another covers screens that freeze.
What got replaced
Owners who name the part that was replaced mention the head unit or screen (17 reports), the camera (7 reports), the module (5 reports) and the software (3 reports).
Recalls and investigations
3 recalls on the electrical system cover the 2017 model year. A recall on the same system isn't always the same failure, so read the defect text.
The power-operated windows may exert excessive force when encountering an object, before they automatically reverse.
The engine block heater may crack and develop a coolant leak, causing it to short circuit when the block heater is plugged in.
The settings for the closing-force of the power-operated windows may allow the windows to close on an object such as a body part and injure it before the windows auto-reverse.
All 4 recalls on the 2017 Ford Escape, with the owner complaints on each recalled system
NHTSA investigations into the electrical system on the Escape
Rearview camera fmvss 111 noncompliance. Open.
Fleet vehicle recall completion audit. Closed dec 28, 2015.
None of these investigations covers the 2017 model year.
When it happens
The middle half of failures fell between 17,403 and 57,322 miles, from the 27 reports that gave a mileage.
Is this a known problem?
The manufacturer has sent NHTSA 37 service bulletins or notices for the 2017 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.
Some vehicles listed in the Model statement above may exhibit various SYNC performance related concerns including but not limited to: Display operation concerns Navigation inoperative Voice recognition concerns Phone connection issues Dropped phone ...
Some 2016-2021 Ford and Lincoln vehicles equipped with SYNC 3 may exhibit a condition where the navigation voice prompts are inoperative after a SYNC map update. This may be due to an incomplete installation of the SYNC map software.
Some 2017-2020 Ford and Lincoln vehicles equipped with a TCU may exhibit inoperative remote features via Ford Pass/Lincoln Way mobile app, incomplete user authorization and/or no modem electronic serial number (ESN) displayed.
Some 2016-2021 Ford or Lincoln vehicles equipped with SYNC 3 or SYNC 4 may exhibit a blank screen or other various SYNC symptoms only when the vehicle is in transport mode.
33 more on the 2017 Ford Escape page.
What owners wrote
“Backup Camera display had lines then went blue and black. Backup camera no longer detected”
Filed Oct 24, 2025
Should you keep driving it?
This page can't tell you that. 0 of 38 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
- Engine overheats or leaks coolant 1562 reports
- Check engine light or misfire 1332 reports
- Engine failure, knocking or rod bearing 623 reports
- Engine stalls or loses power while driving 295 reports
- Transmission shudders, slips or shifts hard 92 reports
- Transmission fails or needs replacement 88 reports
- Wheel bearing, tires or wheels 82 reports
- Turbo failure or loss of boost 56 reports
- Brakes grind, pulse or wear early 49 reports
- Loses power when accelerating 48 reports
- "Service Transmission" message or wrench light comes on 44 reports
- Auto start-stop will not restart the engine 30 reports
- Battery dies or the car will not start 27 reports
- Windshield cracks or distorts 27 reports