Ford Escape Hybrid harsh shifting problems

Filed Jun 27, 2025 · IA

There was a clunking sound when I opened the sun roof. Later when we closed the sun shade, it seems to be hesitating. The next time we opened the sun shade, it seems to be catching. As I drove there was a sliding sound that we finally identified as coming from the sunroof. Something could be seen from the sunshade: an outline of something that continued to slide around in all directions. I looked it up on the internet, concerned about what it could be and discovered that there have been 2021 Escapes with the panoramic sunroof that have a manufacturing defect resulting in poor adhesion of the fixed glass panel and/or front panel to the roof frame. There was a warning that The roof panel or front panel could detach from the vehicle while driving. Detachment could result in injury or death to road users. It can also lead to water leaks and wind noise which it links to the drip rails. I am concerned that this item sliding around is going to tear the headliner and fall on me or a passenger and am not sure it IS a drip rail.

Filed Nov 26, 2024 · Transmission · SD

Vehicle started making clunking and knocking noises when switching between hybrid and gas. Thought this was due to the engine knocking issue that Ford had previously sent a recall letter about. Then the transmission started to slip or have a hard time when switching gears and makes a cracking noise. Brought to dealership and they said there was metal in the transmission but were unsure of the cause. The transmission needs to be replaced, ford will not cover because it is no longer under warranty. Vehicle is only 4 years old.

Filed Aug 15, 2024 · Body · VT

The spot weld in the driver’s side door arm has failed. The door is not closing properly and makes a loud clunk when opening or closing. Car is available for inspection, Dealer can not assess for another week.

Filed Feb 19, 2024 · Body · PA

On the driver door, the door check welds have failed. Heard a grinding clunking sound and had my mechanic look at the car; he identified what had occurred. I have researched online and found instances where once this is broken the door might open without warning. Because of this I am very gentle in using the door, opening it just enough to get inside. I do not use the window. I had my dealer body shop look at the door and they advised this is a problem they have been seeing. Their repair estimate is about $750. That’s just to rivet the part in place. They advised that to replace the part is approximately $2500. The odd sound the door was making started gradually and became worse. I first noticed a couple of months ago. There were no warning lights or messages prior to failure.

Filed Dec 9, 2023 · Body · TX

Driver side door, popping, clank, clunk sound when opening and closing. Visually, there are new signs of metal damage in proximity with the door brake that were not previously there. Three roundish spots on metal have the appearance of tearing off.

Filed Sep 28, 2023 · Body · NH

The drivers side front door developed a loud clunking sound upon opening and closing. My car sees somewhat higher mileage than typical and my mileage is at 79K miles currently. Upon inspecting the issue, I determined that the door closing indent mechanism that stops the door from swinging open all the way was jumping around and making the loud thunking noise. Upon further looking I noticed all the spot welds were ripped out of the door body. Those welds hold a bracket on the inside of the door that holds the closing mechanism. I did a bit of online research and determined there was a service bulletin from Ford on this issue. I call the service rep I was working with on another issue and left a message about the door and the service bulletin number and asked for a call back. No Call back received. Meanwhile I have to drive my vehicle so I have been driving it. Opening the door causes loud thumping noises and ocassionally the window will no longer operate. I was going to live with it as didnt really think it was a safety issue. But the other day I stopped quickly on a downhill letft leaning slope and asTher I went to get out the weight of the door pulled me out of the car and I feel next to the car. The car started to roll forward and then slammed into park before the car ran over me. e is a failsafe on my car (hybrid with rotary shift know on console) that disengages the car from drive to park when you open the door. It did work but the 1ish second delay nearly allowed the car to run over me. Fortnunaely I was not injured except for a few bruises from the fall. Ford should make repairs to this car for driver safety issues. From what I read, the repair involves replacing the entire door and can cost thousands of dollars after bumper to bumper warranty is done. It is an obvious manufacturing issue and seems to be developing on many cars as their mileage, and therefore the number of cycles of door opening and closing taking place. Doors flying open should not happen.

Filed Aug 9, 2023 · Brakes, Engine · 69,000 miles · WI

The contact owns a 2022 Ford Escape Hybrid. The contact stated that the driver's side door was making an abnormal clunking noise. Additionally, the window failed to roll up or down as designed. While driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. The EVAP system warning light was illuminated. Additionally, the brake pedal went down to the floor. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the federal safety agency Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 69,000. The VIN was not available.

Filed Apr 11, 2016 · Suspension · 190,000 miles · PA

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 ford escape hybrid. While driving at various speeds over a bump in the road, the contact heard an abnormal loud clunking noise under the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the rear passenger shocks failed and pushed through corroded metal in the rear of the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The VIN was unknown. The failure mileage was 190,000.

Filed Mar 18, 2016 · Body · 181,000 miles · WI

I heard a loud clunky from the right rear wheel well, louder when going over bumps. Upon inspection I observed the entire wheel well was missing it's protective coating and flaking rust/corrosion was everywhere with exposed white fiberglass sheeting visible the right rear shock is exposed, missing bolts and with the bracket missing the other side of the care (left rear) does not exhibit this rust. With palpation of the right rusted rear well a person can move the remaining pieces. This is very unsafe and can not imagine why there is not a recall as other reviews online describe the same problem. I called ford: no assistance or recall as of this date. I reside in wisconsin and took care to remove underbody salt to no avail, evidentially.

Filed Jan 7, 2016 · Transmission · 40,245 miles · AZ

Started with occasional clunking when in reverse. Slowly developed a sort of thumping like when driving. Like from a bad tire or wheel bearing. As my wife had a medical problem, I drove it for about a week before checking out. I rotated and inspected the tires and breaks. I manually rotated each wheel by hand to check for signs of a wheel bearing problem. Nothing found. The next couple days the noise became worse. I took it to a reputable transmission shop. When they test drove it, they would not even take it off their lot. Their comment to me is that they hope I had not been driving it long like this. They were sure that something in the trans axle was about to lock up. I am sure they were right. By this time it was quite bad. They found that my transfer case had failed at 40,245 miles. A little research on the internet shows that this is a common problem with awd escapes. I notice that 2 were reported to the federal safety agency, one resulting in injury. If this unit locks up while driving, loss of life is possible. Only a small percentage of escapes are awd and have transfer cases. It appears that a high percentage of early awd escapes are suffering from this problem. Any drive train issue in any vehicle which could result in the vehicle locking up while under way should not happen. Ford has a responsibility to fix this issue. I have to admit that when I drove the car to the shop that morning it sounded so bad that I was a little scared to drive it faster than around 30 MPH. It would have completely failed within days. I feel I was lucky to get it repaired when I did. It cost me $4,353.00 to replace the transfer case. Now I am not sure I want to keep the vehicle. Not sure I should trust their CVT either.