Took my escape in to local ford dealership for repair of safety recall 14v‑165. The dealership told me that the corrosion on the subframe and engine cradle was more extensive than what the recall has ever dealt with and that the installation of just the reinforcement crossbrace on the subframe will not fix the problem only "bandaid" it. The corrosion is so bad the part is going to break under any driving conditions and can therefore cause a crash. So now I have called the ford motor company to dispute the problem to be fixed properly but they denied my claim and I am therefore still without a vehicle to drive because mine is unsafe to drive.
2002 Ford Escape body complaints
Page 3 of 4: complaints 41 to 70 of 87, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Peeling paint on roof, hutch and around the driver side rear door.
Corrosion-related separation lower control arm from subframe. Car start pulling instantly to the right. Have to call towing to get to dealer for repair, ford company refuse to repair under safety recall notice 14s02. Dealer quote me around $2000 for repair.
Car was making creaking sounds. Going around a corner the car basically had no steering or control. Got car to ford dealership and based on taking photo of the car I was told that ford decided to put a cross brace on as opposed to replacing sub frame. I told dealership I did not agree with decision that subframe should be replaced car was returned to me with cross brace installed.aprox 4 weeks later car was undriveable. Contacted ford told me to tow car back to dealership. After inspection of vehicle was told now that sub- frame was broken dealership contacted ford and was told that their request to replace sub frame was denied. The sub frame holds engine,trans, all steering and brake components. This is a very dangerous. My family could have been killed. I was told by fordsupv that because they put on brace instead of making the correct repair that was actually part of sub frame recall they would not replace sub frame. This is how ford treats their customers and puts them in harms way. If you look at the history of ford vehicles ford windstar ford escape etc. You will see they are using defective steel on under body components causing excessive rust resulting in critical component failures. In my 48 years of driving I have never had a vehicle with a broken frame when I asked ford for phone number or address to [xxx]. Fields I was told that is not given out and that the ford supervisors denial was final decision. I feel ford is 100% wrong in this issue and is not making safe cars, and when there is a recall will not even fix the recalled parts. Once again this is an extremely dangerous situation that could have resulted in death to my family if I was driving on the x-way shame shame on you ford motor. I will be looking into filing law suit or class action law suit against you. Please do the right thing for the unlucky individuals who own these cars. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
I received a letter about recall notice 14s02/the federal safety agency recall 14v‑165. I have called my local ford dealership and gone in to the service center about this recall. The date on my letter was may 2014. They said they did not have the parts to fix the vehicle. I have tried several times to get this fixed and am just blown off by the dealership. What do I have to do get this recall taken care of.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford escape. The contact stated that the sub frame was rusted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the failure was confirmed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 130,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford escape. The contact stated that the front passenger door, rear hatchback, and driver's side rear door were rusted and unable to be opened. The dealer stated that the doors needed to be repaired. The vehicle was not repaired and the manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was 153,000.
While driving on a rural city street at 30 MPH I decelerated to prepare to turn right. When I began to make my right hand turn I heard a loud pop and the car began to rattle the car came to a stop within 10 feet of the pop. I applied a small amount of power to the engine to try and get completely out of the road, but the car would not move. Upon inspection of the front passenger tire it was facing 90 degrees in the opposite direction of the car, and pushed to the back of the wheel well. The cv shaft had come completely detached from the drive shaft. The vehicle had to be towed to a local shop that did sub-frame work. Upon inspection at the auto body shop it was revealed that the engine cradle had also become detached due to the proximity to the exhaust from the engine heating it up constantly. Along with the following parts needing replacement: right front cv shaft, front engine cradle, front control arm bolts, control arm bushing, cv drive axle, heavy duty exhaust clamps. The shop had to remove and replace the engine cradle and the right front sub-frame. If I had been on a high speed interstate, and this happened I would have probable flipped, because the front right tire was unable to move, and was pulling towards the inside of the car. The total cost to get this repaired to a safe driving condition was $1352.69.
While driving her 2002 ford escape to work my daughter noticed the steering was not right. In order for her to keep driving straight she had to turn the steering wheel. She went over a pair of rough railroad tracks & lost control of the vehicle. Her front passenger tire control bar had completely separated from the frame. It was rusted through. Luckily she was driving in a 30mph zone & there were no other cars around. Thankfully she was not hurt but quite shaken up. We were unaware of a vehicle recall on this model until a friend of hers recalled seeing an article in the news about control bars rusting through causing steering problems. Her front tire was completely bald after this incident. (tread was good before). I called ford as soon as I was able & reported the incident. The rep told me that in order for a repair the vehicle had to be towed to a ford dealer & to keep the tow bill as they would cover it. Right now the SUV is at the dealer. It has been 2 days since they've had it & I've heard nothing. I am getting very impatient. Because it's a recall I have a hunch they put it on the back burner. This vehicle is her only way to school & work. I asked about a loaner & they explained that because of the huge volume of recalls, a loaner would be difficult to come by. What has happened to customer service? I am expecting not only the vehicle to be fixed but I feel we should be compensated for the 1 tire - maybe 2 depending on the condition of the other side. I don't need a set of new ones - just something to pass inspection. If anyone has experienced the same issues please post something back. Thank you ! [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
While driving along a highway in virginia, I heard. (and felt) a loud noise from the rear of the car. I thought I hit a pothole. I continued driving toward florida, stopping in a motel in south carolina. The next morning, while re-packing the car, I noticed the gas tank had fallen and was partly sitting on the rear axle.
The passenger side door is stuck in the locked position. This is not an uncommon problem according to an internet search. I believe this should be a recall as it is a safety problem, and my car won't pass state inspection unless it is fixed. It is an expensive repair (I was quoted $700).
Escape was hit on front left bumper by another vehicle, causing escape to exit highway and crashing into and sliding down a concrete overpass pillar; damaging the front bumper, light, and complete left side of escape. The airbag did not deploy!
On nov 26 I was driving to my work at 45 miles per hour and the distance I kept from the car in front of me was sufficient to allow me stopping adequately. Suddenly, I noticed that traffic was approaching to a red light so I tap on the brakes to slow down and stop. However, the brakes were not reducing the speed so immediately I stamped on the brake pedal to let the car stop while simultaneously, I looked to realize that I could not change lanes. At this point I was left with no time to gear down the transmission or to pull the emergency brake. Consequently, my ford escape was forced to stop by crashing into the car in front of me and producing a domino effect involving a third vehicle in front of us. Fortunately, no personal injuries were reported from the other two drivers whose cars were involved.. I did suffered slight neck pain and after visiting the hospital I did not had major injuries or nothing to worry about so far. In regards to personal property damages, the two cars in front of mine, had minimal damages but, mine was severely damaged to the point is totally inoperable. All claims were reported and taken care by geico, my insurance company. Also a traffic crash car report was filed. I received a driving traffic citation from the police, which I plan to escalate to the courthouse, after knowing that the brake failure I experienced resulted from manufacturer's defects reported by ford under recalls 11s24 and 12 s37. * please note that this writing is only for information purposes and to alert any other drivers to perform on-time maintenance check-ups to prevent similar or worst scenarios.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford escape. The contact stated that the rear hatch door failed to lock. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the technician verified that the door latch needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 176,000 and the current mileage was 176,604.
The rear liftgate glass support broke while opening the rear window. I was able to quickly grab the rear window before it could break. I would note that the falling rear windshield can strike the operator and/or bystander and could cause significant injuries that could include bruises to the head, neck or back, and possibly cuts to the face, arm or hand. I took my ford escape to my local ford dealer (friendly ford of monroe, mi) to have this issue repaired. I mentioned to the service manager that explorers and mountaineers had been recalled for this same exact defect and he told me to save my receipt in case my vehicle is recalled in the future. The repair to my vehicle cost $236.00 at the dealer. I noted that on september 9, 2004, ford notified the owners that it will recall approximately 955,732 vehicles, specifically 2002 and 2003 ford explorer and mercury mountaineer vehicles to replace the liftgate glass strut brackets and/or hinges. I'm sure these hinges were also used on 2002 ford escapes. Before buying the above listed ford escape, I test drove several other escapes. On one of the escapes that I test drove, I opened up the rear liftgate glass and noticed that one hinge was broken and that the glass was hanging from just one hinge. I notified the dealer of this problem and told him that I would not be buying this vehicle. My niece also owns a 2003 ford escape and her hinge became rusted out and had to be replaced. See "the federal safety agency recall" 04v442000 for details.
I was driving my 2002 ford escape at 25 MPH on a suburban side street. Suddenly there was a loud clunk sound on the right front of the car with the front dropping and the car grinding to a stop. Inspection revealed the right front wheel was basically broken off with that side of the car sitting on the ground. Further inspection revealed that the lower front suspension a-frame pulled loose from the engine cradle due to rust on the crossmember.
My vehicle began to make unknown noises when driving, and steering control became very loose. I promptly took the car to my mechanic. I was told the subframe was so badly rotted that the passenger wheel control arm had separated from the subframe and can not be reattached without replacing the subframe. The vehicle is now no longer safe to drive.
While opening the rear liftgate window, both left and right hinges broke leaving the window hanging. Analyzing where the break occurred (which was the same place on each hinge), this could have happened even if there was no attempt to open the lift gate window. The screw inside of the car holding the hinge to the window was rusted, apparently due to the parts not making a water tight seal on the window. If this had happened while driving, the window could have possibly broken completely off and caused damage to vehicles and/or persons that were following. The liftgate window hinge part # is 420a68.
Lower control arm ripped off under cradle & ripped passenger side drive shaft off the transmission - the wheel fell off the car. It appears under cradle rusted from inside. I shudder at the thought of that happening when my wife was on the freeway, instead of coming to a stop. This vehicle was always kept in the garage.
The subframe was so badly rusted that the control arm separated from the subframe. I found several complaints of the same thing happening to other people with ford escapes. And it always seems to happen at the right front passenger area. This is a very dangerous flaw, and one that could cause serious injury or death if the failure happens at high speed. I think the ford ranger frames were recalled for a similar rusting issue, perhaps the two are related. Thank you for your time and prompt attention.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford escape. The contact was driving approximately 45 MPH and heard an abnormal noise outside of the vehicle. The failure recurred intermittently. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who stated that the sub frame was completely rusted and would need to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 120,000. Updated 5/7/13 *cn updated 05/28/2013
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford escape. The contact stated that the vehicle made a clunking noise. After inspecting the vehicle, she noticed that the frame was completely corroded. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The current and failure mileage was 93,000.
Was approaching a stop sign and the tire fell sideways. Called for a tow truck and the garage called and said the subframe was so badly rusted that the control arm separated from the subframe. I find this hard to believe that a vehicle with such little mileage could rust so bad. Ford should seriously look into this issue because if your traveling @ a high speed and the control arm separates you can have a major accident and cause injuries or even death.
While driving through a parking lot my 2002 ford escape suddenly made a clunking sound then suddenly stopped. I could not steer the car to the side or move it forward or backward. I exited the car and looked at the drivers side tire and it seemed fine . I then went over to the passenger side and saw that my wheel was completely turned in the opposite direction. I figured that I probably broke a tie rod. I called aaa to have the auto towed to a local service station. When the tow driver arrived he took a look at my escape and said that my subframe was rusted so bad that it had separated in two. By doing that my wheel axle had completely separated from the transmission. His opinion was that if I was driving on a highway and this had happened it probably would have caused a major auto collision and maybe even causing my escape to roll over. This to me seems to be a very dangerous flaw in the design and construction of the subframe and I am very fortunate this did not happen on the highway. It could have caused major damage and even death to innocent people.
Driving 15mph down home street and heard a clunk. Put in reverse to get back to driveway and right front wheel was sideways and dragging. After calling local garage was informed it was the subframe that holds the control arm that was rusted through. Able to maneuver car onto front lawn where it still sits.
1 - rear latch is not working properly. When it is cool outside, the latch will not open the back door. 2 - window latch has rusted causing the rear window to detach from the hinge. Not that I am bidder, but at 37k miles, the transmission blew.... I discussed this issue with both ford and my dealership ([xxx]). Both companies stated they could not help me and that it was on me to pay to correct. I explained that this was due to a lack of using proper supplies. They could not have cared less. I am hoping you can have them look into this because I would really hate to be involved in a car accident cannot use the rear as an exit.... Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford escape. The contact stated that while parked, the rear lift gate hinge fractured. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The contact stated the hinge part number was the same part number for the hinge being recalled under the federal safety agency campaign id number: 04v442000 structure:body:hatchback/liftgate:hinge and attachments. The dealer was made aware of the failure and stated the vehicle was not included in that recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 94,000.
My car had a loud squeak and creak while driving that continually got louder over the past week... I took it to my mechanic and he discovered the sub frame assembly on the front passenger side has completely rotted away. This attaches to the control arm, and ford has no recall. He is a certified mechanic and says this part should never have rotted. He advised to check with ford for recall, however ford denies any recall with this part.. So no action from ford about a rotted frame! Vehicle is now unable to be driven due to safety concerns of control arm becoming unattached.
The passenger side door became stuck in the lock potion and you can no longer open that door at all. You can't unlock the ether. The door does not open from inside, or outside of the vehicle.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford escape. The contact stated that the front passenger side wheel well and the sub frame had rusted out. The contact was informed by their mechanic that the vehicle was not safe to drive. The vehicle had not been inspected by the dealer. The failure and current mileages were 160,000. Updated 05/23/12
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2002 Ford Escape?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history