Ford bulletin SSM 52501
What it saysSome 2023-2024 Escape vehicles equipped with a 1.5L engine may require a cylinder head replacement as directed by other service bulletins. NHTSA’s full summary ↓
Ford filed this with NHTSA as a service bulletin dated May 2, 2024, received May 17, 2024, about the engine. It names 2 model years (2023–2024). A service bulletin is not a safety recall: it is the manufacturer telling its dealers how to diagnose or repair a condition, and whether the work is paid for depends on the warranty in force. Quoting the number at a service desk can save a diagnosis.
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What the bulletin says
Source: NHTSA's summary of the manufacturer's communicationWhat it applies to, as NHTSA’s summary states it — build dates and equipment as the manufacturer filed them. The dealer checks the VIN and the build date on the door jamb; a vehicle outside the window is not covered by this bulletin.
Some 2023-2024 Escape vehicles equipped with a 1.5L engine may require a cylinder head replacement as directed by other service bulletins. It is not necessary to discard the 17 valve cover bolts during disassembly; these bolts can be reused up to 3 times. The Workshop Manual (WSM), Section 303-01A, is scheduled to be updated by the end of June 2024.
Document filed under this number
| Document | Kind | Dated | NHTSA id | At NHTSA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SSM 52501 | Service bulletin | May 2, 2024 | 11000180 | PDF, 65 KB |
The summary is NHTSA’s abstract of the document, as filed under 49 CFR 579.5. One communication is usually filed as several documents — the bulletin, a dealer notice, an owner letter — and the number on any of them finds this page. A PDF link is shown only once NHTSA’s own server has been seen to serve that document; the rest are checked over the following nights. Quote the number at a service desk; it is what the dealer’s system is keyed on.
Model years it names
Source: as the manufacturer filed themA vehicle page’s bulletin list shows the newest few communications filed against that model year; the count there is every one.
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What owners reported
Source: NHTSA complaint databaseOwners of the 2 model years this bulletin names have filed 228 complaints with NHTSA since 2015. 52 of them name Engine — the same broad component group this bulletin is filed under. NHTSA groups complaints coarsely, so that means the same area of the vehicle, not necessarily the same fault.
vehicle threw code P0CFF, risking thermal management failure. Ford is refusing to honor the emissions/hybrid defect mandates, leaving a known thermal defect active on a high-voltage system. They're refusing to cover this under warranty for me
2023 Ford Escape · Engine · filed with NHTSA Oct 9, 2026 · ODI 11770252
While accelerating the Vehicle I felt a massive kickback via the gas pedal, I was able to drive for half a mile more before the vehicle would no longer accelerate at all. The gas pedal was no working.
2024 Ford Escape · Engine · filed with NHTSA Jul 30, 2025 · ODI 11677347
A complaint is one owner’s account, not a defect finding, and a bulletin is not a recall. Nothing here says this bulletin was issued because of these complaints, or that the repair it describes fixed them. Complaint files on this site begin in 2015.
More bulletins about the engine
Source: same model, same component group31 other manufacturer communications filed against the Ford Escape under the same component group (engine), newest first. The eight newest are listed; the rest are on the Ford list.
| Number | Kind | Dated | NHTSA’s summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| SSM 55211 | Over-the-air update | Oct 2, 2026 | 2023-2026 Escape and 2025-2026 Bronco Sport vehicles equipped with a 1.5L EcoBoost engine may require removal of the turbocharger wastegate… |
| SSM 55142 | Service bulletin | Sep 1, 2026 | Some 2023-2025 Escape vehicles built on or before 16-Sep-2024 equipped with 1.5L EcoBoost engine may exhibit an "Engine Coolant Over-Tempera… |
| 25M03 | Other | Aug 18, 2026 | Customer Satisfaction Program 25M03 Certain 2020-2025 Model Year Escape, 2021-2025 Model Year Corsair and 2022- 2025 Model Year Maverick Veh… |
| 25B33 | Other | Jun 1, 2026 | Certain 2023-2025 Model Year Escape and Corsair, 2024-2025 Model Year Nautilus, 2025-2026 Model Year Bronco Sport and 2025 Model Year Maver… |
| 25B51 | Other | May 9, 2026 | Certain 2021-2024 Model Year Bronco, 2021-2024 Model Year Bronco Sport, 2020-2022 Model Year Corsair and Escape, 2016-2024 Model Year Explor… |
| SSM 54631 | Service bulletin | Mar 6, 2026 | Some 2020-2026 Escape and 2022-2026 Maverick 2.5L Duratec hybrid vehicles may require various repairs on the exhaust system. This may requir… |
| SSM 54540 | Service bulletin | Jan 31, 2026 | Some 2025-2026 Escape/Bronco Sport vehicles equipped with a 1.5L EcoBoost engine may require replacement of the engine thermostat due to var… |
| 25M02 | Other | Dec 12, 2025 | Customer Satisfaction Program 25M02 Certain 2021-2024 Model Year Bronco Sport and 2020-2022 Escape with 1.5L Engine and 8F35 Transmission U… |
Quote the number at the service desk. It is what the dealer’s system is keyed on.
Every manufacturer communication NHTSA holds for Ford, by the number printed on the letter.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA, 49 CFR 579.5Is Ford SSM 52501 a recall?
No. A service bulletin is a manufacturer communication filed with NHTSA under 49 CFR 579.5; a safety recall carries an NHTSA campaign number (two digits, a letter, six digits) and a federal duty to repair for free. Check the vehicle’s recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls, or on its page here.
Is the SSM 52501 repair free?
Not automatically. A service bulletin describes how to diagnose or repair a condition; who pays depends on the warranty in force, any extension, and the dealer. Quoting the number can save a diagnosis either way.
Which vehicles does SSM 52501 cover?
The manufacturer filed it against 2 model years: 2024 Ford Escape, 2023 Ford Escape. Whether one particular vehicle is affected is a matter of its VIN and its build, not its model year alone.