Best tires for the Ford Escape
Top picks across four categories for the Ford Escape, anchored to the current-generation OEM size 225/65R17. Every recommendation is selected from our 22,000-tire catalog by ranking on UTQG treadwear, mileage warranty, cabin-noise rating, and season class; no commission-weighted reordering.
Daily driver
Best all-season touring
Long warranty, low noise, balanced ride. The one-tire compromise that works for 80% of owners.
Bridgestone
Turanza QuietTrack
UTQG 800 with a 80,000-mile warranty; long-wear all-season compound built for the daily-driver mileage profile typical for Ford Escape owners.
Goodyear
Assurance MaxLife
UTQG 820 with a 85,000-mile warranty; long-wear all-season compound built for the daily-driver mileage profile typical for Ford Escape owners.
Michelin
CrossClimate 2
UTQG 640 with a 60,000-mile warranty; long-wear all-season compound built for the daily-driver mileage profile typical for Ford Escape owners.
Michelin
Defender 2
UTQG 800 with a 80,000-mile warranty; long-wear all-season compound built for the daily-driver mileage profile typical for Ford Escape owners.
Lowest cost per mile
Best budget
Best price-per-warranty-mile in this size. Trade-off is shorter warranty vs premium options, not safety.
Goodyear
Assurance MaxLife
820 UTQG with a 85,000-mile warranty works out to roughly 0.00¢ per 100 miles before install. Best price-per-mile in this size; no premium-brand markup.
Bridgestone
Turanza QuietTrack
800 UTQG with a 80,000-mile warranty works out to roughly 0.00¢ per 100 miles before install. Best price-per-mile in this size; no premium-brand markup.
Continental
TrueContact tour
Lowest sticker price in this size that still meets the OEM load index. Trade-off is shorter warranty vs premium options.
Hankook
Kinergy PT
800 UTQG with a 90,000-mile warranty works out to roughly 0.00¢ per 100 miles before install. Best price-per-mile in this size; no premium-brand markup.
Lowest cabin noise
Best quiet
Tread patterns engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning. Pick this if you commute long highway distances daily.
Bridgestone
Turanza QuietTrack
68 dB cabin-noise rating per the EU tire label; library-quiet. Tread pattern engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning.
Michelin
Defender 2
68 dB cabin-noise rating per the EU tire label; library-quiet. Tread pattern engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning.
Goodyear
Assurance MaxLife
70 dB cabin-noise rating per the EU tire label; library-quiet. Tread pattern engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning.
Hankook
Kinergy PT
70 dB cabin-noise rating per the EU tire label; library-quiet. Tread pattern engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning.
Cold-weather grip
Best winter
Dedicated winter or all-weather compounds that stay pliable below 7 °C. Necessary for >5 snow days a year.
Bridgestone
Blizzak WS90
Dedicated winter tire compound; stays pliable below 7 °C where summer/all-season rubber hardens. Recommended for Ford Escape drivers in cold or snowy regions.
Michelin
X-Ice snow
Dedicated winter tire compound; stays pliable below 7 °C where summer/all-season rubber hardens. Recommended for Ford Escape drivers in cold or snowy regions.
Side-by-side
Pick the trade-off that matches your driving
| All-season Bridgestone Turanza QuietTrack | Best budget Goodyear Assurance MaxLife | Best winter Bridgestone Blizzak WS90 |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| UTQG treadwear | 800 | 820 | - |
| Mileage warranty | 80,000 mi | 85,000 mi | - |
| Cabin noise | 68 dB | 70 dB | 71 dB |
| Season class | all-season | all-season | winter |
| Type | touring | touring | passenger |
OEM tire sizes by year
What size does the ford escape use?
Recommendations on this page are anchored to the latest model-year's OEM size. Confirm yours against the driver-door placard before purchase.
| Year | OEM size | |
|---|---|---|
| 2001–2012 | 235/70R16 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2013–2019 | 235/50R18 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2020–2022 | 225/55R19 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2023–2026 | 225/60R18 | Year-specific fitment → |
How we ranked these tires for the ford escape
We started with the latest model-year's OEM tire size; 225/65R17; and filtered our catalog of 22,000+ tires to those offered in that exact size. From there, four parallel rankings:
- Best all-season ranks on a weighted score: tire type matches passenger car segment, season is "all-season", premium brand bonus (Michelin / Continental / Bridgestone / Pirelli / Goodyear / Nokian).
- Best budget ranks on cost-per-warranty-mile; the lower the better. Premium brands get no bonus here.
- Best quiet ranks on the EU tire-label dB rating; lower is quieter.
- Best winter filters to tires marked 3PMSF severe-snow rated or all-weather class, with a small premium-brand bonus because winter-compound R&D is capital-intensive.
For sedans and compacts, the all-season touring tire below is the best default; long warranty, low cabin noise, reasonable cost per mile. Switch to the quiet pick if highway droning is a deal-breaker; switch to the winter pick if you see significant snow each year. Use the side-by-side comparison above to weigh the trade-offs against your specific driving; highway-heavy, winter-state, performance-oriented, or budget-constrained.
NHTSA-reported issues for ford escape
Top issue category: Tires (General)
Most reported: Tires (General) (122) · Tread / Belt (33) · TPMS (31) · Sidewall (19) · Valve (3)
Reported across: 2001 – 2022 (21 years)
What owners described
Blowout or sudden deflation is the most common description, in 15% of these reports. Percentages are shares of the 143 reports covering every model year of the Ford Escape that include a written account; a single report can describe more than one problem, so they do not total 100%.
| Reported problem | This subject | All tire complaints | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blowout or sudden deflation | 15% | 20% | 0.8× |
| Tread or belt separation | 14% | 13% | 1.0× |
| Sidewall failure | 14% | 15% | 0.9× |
| Cracking or dry rot | 14% | 9% | 1.5× |
| Loss of control, rollover or collision | 10% | 8% | 1.2× |
| Pressure-monitoring (TPMS) fault | 8% | 2% | 3.2× |
Mileage at failure
85 of these reports state an odometer reading. The middle report is at 21,474 miles, with 8 in 10 falling between 2,500 and 80,000 miles.
In owners' own words
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA about Ford Escape. Reports are published by NHTSA as filed and are lightly cleaned here only to remove intake codes.
HAVE A ONE MONTH OLD 2014 FORD ESCAPE WITH 1,380 MILES ON IT. WHILE DRIVING WEST ON NEWLY PAVED I-94 IN ST. CLAIR COUNTY, MY TIRE PRESSURE WARNING LIGHT CAME ON. TEN MINUTES LATER MY REAR PASSENGER TIRE BLEW IN FOUR SPOTS AROUND THE INSIDE OF THE TIRE. THE FORD DEALER TOLD ME I RAN OVER SOMETHING AND DISMISSED IT. I'VE HAD BLOWOUTS AND FLAT TIRES BEFORE BUT NOTHING WHERE THE INSIDE OF THE TIRE FAILS IN FOUR PLACES. *TR UPDATED 02/11/15
THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 FORD ESCAPE. THE VEHICLE IS EQUIPPED WITH MICHELIN CROSS TERRAIN TIRES (NA), SIZE P225/65/R17 (NA). THE CONTACT STATED THAT ALL FOUR TIRES DEVELOPED CRACKS ALONG THE TREAD. THE FAILURE HAD NOT BEEN DIAGNOSED NOR WERE THE TIRES REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER HAD NOT BEEN NOTIFIED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 39,022.....UPDATED 09-03-14 *BF UPDATED 11/12/2014
THE CONTACT OWNS A 2014 FORD ESCAPE EQUIPPED WITH CONTINENTAL CONTI PRO CONTACT TIRES, SIZE: 235/55R17 99H. WHILE INSPECTING THE VEHICLE, THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT A BUBBLE HAD DEVELOPED ON THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE TIRE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER AND THE TIRES WERE REPLACED. THE CONTACT MENTIONED THAT THE FAILURE RECURRED ON THE DRIVER SIDE OF THE VEHICLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE AND TIRE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 16,223.
THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 FORD ESCAPE. THAT VEHICLE WAS EQUIPPED WITH CONTINENTAL CONTI PRO CONTACT TIRES, SIZE 235/550R18 (NA). WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS AT AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC FOR ROUTINE INSPECTION, THE FRONT TIRES WERE FOUND WITH PREMATURE STEEL BELT SEPARATION. ONE OF THE FRONT TIRES WAS REPLACED. THE CONTACT ALSO STATED THAT THE REAR TIRES EXHIBITED SIDEWALL FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE VIN WAS UNKNOWN. THE TIRE AND VEHICLE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 35,000.
Complaints are voluntarily submitted to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation and are not verified by NHTSA; they represent owner-reported problems, not proven defects. Counts can be useful as a relative quality signal across comparable tires or vehicles.
Tire recalls & safety complaints for the Ford Escape →
FAQ
What's the best all-season tire for the Ford Escape?
Should I get a cheaper tire for my Ford Escape?
Does the Ford Escape need winter tires?
Can I run a different tire size on my Ford Escape?
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Last verified 2026-10-07.