The right rear wheel well/shock mount became badly corroded, resulting in the rear shock absorber and suspension being connected to a thin piece of metal, and the top of the shock absorber hitting against a plastic interior body panel. Had the thin piece of metal corroded entirely, a severe accident probably would have resulted. Various online sites report this same problem on the same year and model vehicle (2005 ford escape), but no recalls, as they have been for other ford vehicles and other years of the escape that have experienced this severe problem.
2005 Ford Escape Hybrid suspension complaints
Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 30 of 30, newest first, as owners wrote them.
The passenger side wheel well rusted through and now the shock mount rusted off.
Vehicle developed loud banging noise in rear of vehicle. Upon inspection it was discovered that severe corrosion has occurred in the right rear wheel well, separating the top of the right rear shock assembly from the body of the vehicle, affecting handling of the car. After searching this issue on the web, it was also discovered that this corrosion is a widespread and ongoing problem with these cars, and a known issue to ford motor corp. Who has to date declined to take any action to rectify this major structural and safety issue.
Over a few days I heard a banging sound in the car that I could not identify. My daughter looked under the rear passenger wheel well and noticed the shock was knocking against the rusted wheel well. The next day I went to a funeral and the shock pierced through the trunk. I called my body shop/mechanic and told him what the issue was. He said he had another ford escape 2005 in his shop with the same exact issue. He said it was a manufacturer defect. Ford didn't do a recall on the 2005 models even though they recalled prior years. I had tried to contact rizza ford about the issue but received no response. In searching the internet I realized there are at least 300+ complaints written about this exact issue and ford's handling of it. My mechanic had to practically rebuild/weld the wheel well. I can't believe that ford can be allowed to get away with ripping so many people off, especially with it being such a safety issue. This was a very expensive problem to fix and I didn't have enough money to get a different car. After this, I don't think I'll ever buy a ford again. Why would I go with a company that can't even stand behind their own product and has no issues putting their customers safety at risk.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford escape hybrid. While driving at an unknown speed, the contact heard a loud banging noise coming from the rear passenger wheel area. The vehicle was inspected by an independent mechanic. The technician discovered that the rear passenger side wheel well and shock tower were corroded. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 69,000.
Right rear well corroded extensively. 4 inch hole exposing high voltage battery in trunk to water, salt, snow. Dealer states that vehicle is unsafe to drive due to risk of collapse of struts and risk of explosion/fire from high voltage battery exposure. Quotes more than $4000 to repair this vehicle with only 59,510 miles. Rear bumper and rear suspension both compromised. Rear bumper has no support on right side risking passenger injury in accident. Rear shock strut collapsing. Request investigation and recall action.
While driving on city streets, we heard a hollow thumping sound coming from the rear passenger-side wheel well whenever we went over a small bump. After externally inspecting the wheel well, we discovered that it was extremely rusted, and appeared to be in danger of completely disintegrating. Medium-sized pieces were flaking off with only a slight tug. An identical issue caused the recall of ford escape models from the years 2001-2004, but ford representatives to which I have spoken have indicated that they are not considering a recall for the 2005 model year. This is an extremely dangerous situation, and could cause crashes if shock or axle supports fail at highway speeds. This is clearly a design flaw, since this model is less than 10 years old with only 111,000 miles. Others have indicated that ford is aware of this problem, but refuses to address the safety concerns.
Right rear shock became detached from underbody of car creating hazardous condition due to advanced rust through.
Driving hit a small bump then started to hear a banging in back passenger wheel. Pull over to look the hole shock tower was rusted out.
Wheel house rotted out shock/spring broke thru wheel house hitting on hybrid battery.
Right rear shock absorber mount broke away from fender well due to extensive rust in surrounding area.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford escape hybrid. The contact stated while driving at no particular speed, there was a loud knocking noise in the rear passenger wheel. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the shock separated from the wheel well. The wheel well needs to be replaced in order to repair the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the defect. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.
I was driving my vehicle and the "service soon" light came on then about 10 seconds later the "stop safely" light came on and my vehicle shutdown and would not restart. I had the vehicle towed to the nearest ford dealership and found out that there was a failure with the electrical system that had to be reset (shutdown was to protect the hybrid battery). Once ford fixed the electrical system to get car to start again, they informed me that the passenger side rear shock absorber had fully detached from the wheel house and was basically a dangling piece. Ford could offer no help "they didn't have the equipment or capability to fix" and said I had to go to a auto body shop to have the piece welded back to the frame. Turns out there is nothing there to weld, the entire connection has rotted out and needs to be replaced. From what I can find online this is a recurring issue on 2005 ford escapes and ford refuses to deal with it. Cars with these issues are extremely unsafe to drive. Luckily I was not involved in an accident when this happened but I was only driving 35mph on a side street, imagine what could've happened if I was traveling at 70mph on the highway and the piece just fell out. This is an extremely difficult fix that ford owners should not have the burden of dealing with financially on a car that is less that 10 years old. My car is very well maintained and has a lot of life left in it, but now this fix is going to cost close to $2500. This should be further investigated so ford has to fix this safety issue! Has anyone considered filing a class action suit for defective car parts???
I was en route to a repair shop to check a possible u-joint noise, and hit a repair bump in the road when my car made a very scary clunk at the right/rear wheel. It continued to make a banging /clunking noise. I continued on to the repair shop traveling at 25mph with my flashers on. They took the vehicle for a short test drive and confirmed the banging/clunking noise. They then put the vehicle on a hoist for a visual inspection and found the under-body frame around the right/rear shock mount had rusted away, and the remaining portion that was still attached to the shock was snapping and banging with any movement of the right/rear wheel. Since then I have not driven my vehicle. The repair shop has informed me that they have seen 5 more escapes since then ,and only one had the same problem. It was also an escape hybrid. They also advised me to contact your website and make a complaint.
I presented my vehicle for pa safety inspection. Inspection revealed that the right rear shock tower had rusted out and needs to be fixed. This is a compelling safety concern.
I noticed an unusual sound from the right rear end of my 2005 escape hybrid a couple of weeks ago and was only able to look at it today. I was amazed to find the wheel well had rusted out at the attachment point of the shock and the upper part of the shock is hanging free. Then I looked at the other side and it is starting to go. Clearly the vehicle is unsafe to drive in this condition. I was hoping to keep the vehicle a few more years but it looks as though without major reconstruction it is junk at this point in time. Clearly the vehicle is out of warranty but it does not seem to me that the degree of failure seen here is unexpected under normal conditions especially in that I have owned the car since new and it has been well maintained. In a brief search of the web I have found that other escape owners have experienced this problem and that ford is aware of this. I am concerned that with a potential for catastrophic failure ford did not notify the owners to check for this problem.
I was driving home and slowed down to go over some railway tracks. As I went over the tracks I heard a "thud" coming from the rear of the vehicle. The sound continued as I went over bumps, and I discovered once I arrived home that the passenger side rear wheel well was completely rusted out and the shock was unattached at the top. Since then the top of the shock has pierced through the interior cabin wall.
The right rear shock mount broke free from the body of the SUV due to errosion/rust. From what I can see from research this is a prevelant issue with 2004, 2005, 2006 ford escapes. However ford has not issued a recall to deal with an ongoing issue. It is my understanding that because of the frequency with the issue, they corrected the suspension design in 2007 escapes.
The passenger side rear wheel well body and frame has totally rusted away leaving no anchor for the shock absorber and rendering the car unsafe to drive (see attached pictures). This defect occurred despite the vehicle being garage kept, well maintained and maintained only by a licensed ford dealership. Highland park ford and ford motor company knowingly and/or negligently concealed a known, major defect from the owner of the vehicle while the vehicle was still under warranty so as to avoid having to repair the product per ford's express warranty.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford escape hybrid. The contact stated that the rear of the vehicle was vibrating and exhibiting an abnormal noise. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer and was told that the power take off unit needed to be replaced. The current mileage was 50,700 and the failure mileage was not available. Updated 03/14/12
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