2012 Ford Escape Limited 2.5L | The Best Used Car Under $10K | Why Buyers Choose The Old Escape! 

Thought i was the only one who thought these looked good. The newer models all turned into hideous little jellybeans on wheels.

I have a 2010 XLT model with a 2.5L engine. She’s been with me for 14 years, and I have enjoyed every moment. It’s easy to maintain and pretty comfortable to drive. The only major issue I have faced is a transmission axle seal leak on the passenger side around 120K miles, but overall, this generation model is top-notch. Change your Mercon LV transmission fluid every 40K miles and your engine oil every 5K miles, and this car will last a long time.

I just picked up a 2012 XLT with the 2.5L. Under 10K on price and under 65K on miles. It is practically in mint condition. Thanks for your review!

Great job on the review! Very articulate and well-spoken. My wife had a 2002 Escape with the V6, which was a good vehicle for many years. The 4WD system was great in snow and mud, although the ground clearance from the independent rear suspension wasn't great, not that I ever took it off-road. I just remember it seeming too little clearance to get over a tall curb, for example. We both enjoyed driving it for the most part. I had forgotten about it being touchy at low speed, but you're absolutely right. Now, probably 15 years later and shopping for a car, I really appreciate the simplicity of older cars. Sometimes it really feels like newer cars are far too complicated and just aren't built to be run for more than 10 years at most. That said, I still don't think I would want to drive one now, but thanks for the nostalgia!

I have this exact car in the same color, thanks for making me fall in love with my car all over again 😊

I had 316K Miles on my 2012 when it finally started giving me an issue with a mis-fire on Cyl 1. I also had to replace the catalytic converter at 296K. Other than that, ZERO Issues. No Leaks, and AC blew Ice Cold. Pretty awesome car considering I drove this thing HARD

Thank you for watching my review of the 2012 Ford Escape! Comment your Ford Escape ownership questions below so I can get them answered! What used car would you buy for under $10,000? Here's a link to the Car Complaints Ford Escape page to see it's common problems: www.carcomplaints.com/Ford/Escape/

Just bought one about 3 months ago nice little car

Stop telling people about these, you'll ruin it!

Only issues I hate is the front suspension doesnt have camber adjustment and if you do any work with the bearing. Or anything where you take apart the knuckle from the coilover you need an alignment after.

I just bought the 2011 hybrid version of Gen 2 over the standard 2014 Gen 3. Will let you know how my experience goes. I prefer the Gen 2 stylistically like you mentioned.

I like these too! Duratec engine is great, and there is something to be said about the ease of cleaning and maintenance of a basic and plasticy interior.

I had a 2011 for a decade, almost to 200k without an issue, loved the roof rack and ton of storage in this SUV, I moved so much stuff with it and the interior was nice. Only got rid of it cause I was moving across the country.

I have a 2011 3.0L. The quality of this model is below average. Definitely worse than GM and Toyota that I owned. 1. Every Escape/Mariner I see in new England, including mine, developed rust along rear wheel well and lower lip of lift gate. It rots from inside so you cannot sand and paint it. 2. My muffler and resonator rattled at 5-y old/70K due to rust. 3. Many windshield washer tubes cracked and leaked near joints. 4. The D-shape linkage behind ignition key cylinder cracked. When you turn key, the internal parts just don't turn enough angle to start engine. There are many cheap ebay/amazon aftermarket ignition assembly, indicating this is very common problem. 5. Fuel pump (OE pump made by Bosch) made louder and louder noise so I replaced it before it fails. 6. My 3.0L developed oil leak at rear edge of timing cover at 100k. Started dripping on floor. I took 2 days to replace the timing cover gasket. Found all gaskets (valve cover, timing cover, oil pan) were hard and brittle. And what if you have 2.5L? As soon as you remove the balancer you are in big trouble, because the crank shaft is not keyed! A friction ring keeps your parts in time. Good car if you are good at DIY. It's simple without GDI or turbo. You will find many repair videos on YT, as well as cheap parts, because these problems are so prevalent. I agree they are better than 2013+ Escape.

I always liked this car , back in time a lot of taxis used this car in nyc , a lot of torque but a small space for people in the back seats.but it's probably not easy to find

I’ve got a 2008 limited and it doesn’t have the chrome piece below the grill and I’m glad because I really don’t like that… Some people might like it but not me… I can’t believe that one doesn’t have the parking assist option…

I have pictures of the hybrids at auction with 800k miles

Less than half the resale value as a 2012 Rav4 and has countless quality issues from catalytic to transmission. Mother in laws had some miles on it, but had to have both engine and transmission replaced on it. Check engine light stayed on regardless of any maint.?

Hey brother great review! I've never really looked too hard at the Escape but that really is a nice little SUV! I had a 2011 Taurus limited that was a great ride and so well equipped. The ambient lighting was so awesome and I notice now that many high end cars are finally starting to feature it. So is this Escape in your driveway now? I hope things have been going great for you. Not much new here...just some warmer weather but still tolerable. Take care and so nice to see you man!!

The absolutely killroy interior lighting really sets it off, espeically during a night cruise with some good tunes! Awesome video

My aunt had one of these and my cousin I took the thing up a wild 8 hour Jeep trail bounced the bottom off rocks the whole time.. got a standard alignment on our way home and no one was the wiser after we returned it 😅

Keep an eye on the subframe. The AC condenser drips on them and rots them out

Finding one as a Hybrid or a standard is a gold nugget. Unless you don't mind rebuilding the transmission

Thiers no escapping a bad escape... Having lived with 3.0 DOHC I would hands down say a 4 cylinder pays for its self for basic DYI..

I was looking at buying one of these a couple of years ago. The problem with them is they rust way too easily. I found a 2012 with 80,000 kms for $10,000 Canadian at a dealership in Toronto. It had so much rust I walked away. There were a couple near where I use to live and same thing, rusted to hell.

I dont think these are considered mid-size, but compact. The explorer is mid sized. I really wish they were RWD

Not helping me detach from my car, have a 2011 ford escape with repairs i cannot afford atm because i got scammed by a mechanic. Now even more i dont want to loose it. Ive only had it for 2 or 3 years

I had the 2010 with the V6 and really liked it, and it was fairly reliable until it wasn’t. Something happened in one of the cylinders that have necessitated a repair that cost more than the car was worth. So I sold it and bought a 2010 Highlander.

You’re crazy bro. Crazy

And you can fit at least a couole of corpses , or thats what i remembee from DEXTER the series

Another great video Ceal....Enjoyed it, and also liked the fact that you did something a little different from what all the rest of the pack is doing.

It's a crying shame this beautiful Limited doesn't has navigation package. The V6 was pretty good on gas for what it was.

I put a roof rack on mine for kayaking

My daughter a 2012 with only 80k miles. 2.5. It’s a good size, but man it’s slow. Also it suffers from the rust problem in the metal over the rear back wheels. It’s common. We had new medal welded in. And at the last inspection our mechanic said the frame is starting to rust. My 2010 RAV4 V6 with 191k miles is a better car even though it has 100k more miles.. We hope to get a few more years out of the Escape.

Escape the internal water pump...

Omg that's my car🥰

Most of these i see now have a lot of rust

I bought a 2011 XLS 2.5 L from a local city with 44000 miles maintained every 3000 miles for 4400! A few scratches, but came with brand new tires and freshly serviced.

does yours shake when is cold?

I bought a 2009 escape with 152,000 miles. It's approaching 200,000 miles. I did have to do the transmission rebuild at 179,000 and some other repairs bit it's been running great since. I really think the 2nd generation has a lot of life left and the design is the best of all the escapes. 😎

I purchased a 2009 Escape XLT 2 years ago. It only had 45,000 miles and was clean as a pin with no rust (southern car). It now has 60,000 miles and I plan on keeping it for a while. I have the 3.0 V6 and did have a rear seal leak that needed repair but I believe it has a lot of life left. I like the simplicity of the car.

I got a 2009 Ford Escape Hybrid with 75,000 miles in great condition. Very reliable car!

The empty gas gauge..definitely a quirk of the owner!

Awesome review. This video just made me make the right call. I am going to get this Escape version.

How bad do the inner rocker panels get rusted an how much off hand would it cost to repair it.

Those safety readings are awfully low.

I really like my 2014 Ford escape it looks mean and edgey minus the transmission there crap very crap