These Escapes are a love hate relationship sometimes.
Comfortable. Slightly sporty. Lots of fun tech that comes standard...zippy, great in snow with the AWD.
.... But that cooling system. MAN.
Bypass solenoids.
Cracked hoses.
Water outlet flange damage.
Fluid level and temp sensors.
Heater hose connection failure...need I say more? You don't really hear about the regular things like radiator hoses failing.... it never seems to be the normal things that go wrong.
That's not even including the dreaded "Coolant Intrusion" monster that will make your exhaust look like dragon smoke and your cylinders crying out for help.
(Tapering the drama now...)
No car is perfect, and every make and model has its quirks. The cooling system just happens to be a big one for our Escapes. Nevertheless, not every leak is catastrophic, and sometimes you just need to top off the reservoir to be within that MIN/MAX level. Easy right?
Unfortunately, no. At least with the 1.6L EcoBoost engines in the 3rd Gen Escapes (2013-2016). This reservoir is tucked under the wiper cowl and back towards the firewall. If you're actually in a tight spot, you can't just grab a jug of coolant and pour it in- you'd miss it by inches because there's no top down access.
Therefore, a flex funnel is needed for best and assured adding of fluid- you can bend it into a slight "S" shape and run the flexible extension right into the mouth of the reservoir to hit your desired fluid height.
(If you'd like to get a flex funnel of your own, you can purchase it through our Affiliate link here on Amazon)
NOTE: A long, straight funnel is "ok", but you can risk wasting coolant as the straight funnel could have the fluid exit the overflow hole right at the lower rim of the threaded section where the reservoir cap goes.
The important things about this procedure include:
Make sure the engine temp is cool before removing the cap on your overflow reservoir.
Remove the cap.
Insert the outlet of the flex hose into the fill port on the reservoir and bend the funnel and add coolant until reaching the MAX fill height.
Drive and monitor the fluid level and add as needed from there.
Not too crazy, but here is the tutorial:
There have been some updates from Ford in terms of the recommended coolant type as of today, September 16, 2023.
However, whether you want to change over to new fluid, or just add more of what you already have, the above procedure is the same. Leave any comments or suggestions you may have either here or on the YouTube channel.
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