Had a full week of coolant leaks from those plastic thermostat housings

Last week, I had three cars come in with the same problem, all 2010-2015 Ford Escapes. Every single one had a cracked plastic thermostat housing leaking coolant. The third one was the worst, the customer drove it until it overheated and warped the head. It cost them over $2,200 to fix. I'm starting to check these housings on every Ford of that era during an oil change now. Has anyone else seen this become a regular issue lately?

3 comments

3 Comments

riverwhite8h ago

Honestly, those plastic housings are a total time bomb. I just replaced a cracked one on a 2013 Fusion last month, same slow leak. It's crazy they used that material for something that gets so hot.

the_nathan4h ago

Yeah, the "slow leak" thing is exactly what got my buddy. His 2012 Escape had that plastic housing crack so small you could barely see it. It just kept losing coolant over months. He was adding a little to the overflow bottle every other week, thinking it was normal. Then one day it finally gave up on the highway and dumped it all out. Towed it to a shop and they showed him the hairline crack right along the seam.

perez.elliot2h ago

Man, that's brutal, @the_nathan, reminds me of my old beater that tried to cook itself.