Recently purchased car, check engine light came on. Diagnostics scan shows 2nd cylinder misfire, ignition coil faulty. Went online to check common issues with this model..it is a common issue with most 04 escapes. Lots of complaints for wheel well rust..upon inspection, mine too is corroded and the shock is coming through the floor board in the hatch. I heard noises while driving but hadn't inspected it until now, as I just bought this vehicle. The corroded spots were concealed under the carpet. Unsafe to drive. My photos are too large to upload.
2004 Ford Escape suspension complaints
Page 2 of 6: complaints 11 to 40 of 154, newest first, as owners wrote them.
When hitting a bump in the road, car pulls sidewavs. Got checked out. They found excessive corrosion on engine cradle and steering components were loose and affected by excessive corrosion on engine cradle. Stabilizer rod is almost ready to fall off. They advised us not to drive the car until all components are repaired. Steering is erratic and tires squeal when turned left or right.there is a recall for 386,000 of these vehicles in road salt states. We live in one of them, michigan. When ford put the car on the rack, they said something is seriously wrong: that the wheels were bowed out.bought car from ford after a 3-year lease was over. No problems til now. The car is now 14 years old, mileage is apprx. 128,000.
I am a mother of three children whom I use my ford to drive to school, I also depend on it to get me to work three weeks ago I was on my way to work my children present in car when we heard a loud bang from the back of my SUV I pulled off to the side of the road immediately to check out the vehicle nothing seemed to be wrong so I resumed driving from that day when I drove the car there was a clanking sound in the cabin it sounded like one of my doors wasn't shut all the way when they were all shut. I had my father inspect my ford and he discovered the problem. The suvs right rear shock had popped threw the plastic casing in the rear of my SUV due to the entire mount and wheel well has completely rusted away. I can't aford to get it fixed and it is not safe to drive. I need help. Thank you.
I was driving on a city street,began having trouble steering and heard a loud noise from the front passenger side. Almost like a flat tire. Took the car to the dealer and was told the right front sub frame was rusted through. Was told that the recall had already been closed and there was nothing they could do. Mileage is at 95000. Wrote to customer care for further assistance and was told again that there was nothing they will do. The federal safety agency safety recall 14v‑165.
Rear passenger inner fender well rusted out, causing the shock mount and shock to come disconnected. The shock now has nothing to connect to.
The rear passenger side suspension has completely broken off and hangs freely. Had it inspected at a local garage and was informed this was an extremely common problem for this type of vehicle, and that a safety recall should've been put in place due to the routine failures of this part. I'm now forced to drive a dangerous vehicle to get to work and respond to emergencies.
The federal safety agency campaign number 14v16500. Lower control arm on the front passenger side lose, resulting in loss of steering control and increased risk of accident when driving. It may be due to rust and corrosion for the lose bolt that holds the underneath bracket.
The rear suspension mount is completely rusted out and the vehicle is undriveable and not safe to put 2 children in and drive around as the suspension mount is just dangling around underneath and I can see the back speaker! Why has ford not included all escape vehicles from 2004 in their recall? This is a clear safety issue !
Driver's side rear lower control arm broke causing left rear wheel to collapse. This occurred while backing out of garage. Just an hour before we had been on the freeway. Fortunately due to the low speed no major damage occurred and lower control arm was replace at a local firestone store.
We had noticed we was getting water inside our escape bad it was standing water in floor board so we looked at the inner and outer wheel housing and it was rusted very bad the mechanic said it was not safe for us to drive. The passenger side was the worst. They had to weld in pieces to truck and floor boards now mind you we have an 11 year old that rides right where this was rusted the worst :( when we noticed this we was in kansas city missouri and had to drive home to carrollton. Missouri .I will have a repair invoice this week cause it is in the shop now getting fixed and they told us at the shop they have had to redo a lot of these but has never been this bad please help someone is gonna get hurt bad.also this is a very expensive repair so please help with this.if you send me somewhere to send pics I will get them from the shop because they took some.thank you for taking time to read this
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford escape. While driving various speeds, the contact heard a rattling noise from the rear of the vehicle. The contact noticed that the rear passenger side strut detached from the vehicle. The contact called howell motors (located on 6488 ridge road lockport 14094) and was informed that the VIN was not included in the federal safety agency campaign number: 15e045000 (suspension). The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and did not offer any assistance. The manufacturer stated that the federal safety agency issued recalls. The VIN and failure mileage were not available.
Structure: frame and members. My lower control arm rear right rusted out separating entirely from the body of my escape. I live in michigan and noticed a ford recall 14v165000 but when I called the ford dealership they informed me that my vehicle is not affected by it. I quit driving my ford for risk of crashing. Please inform me why my vehicle is not affected but it is exactly what happened to my ford. [xxx] [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).'
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford escape. While driving 35 MPH, the vehicle violently bounced up and down without warning. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the rear subframe was rusted and corroded and the rear lower control arm separated from the vehicle. The technician stated that the rear lower control arms needed to be replaced. The vehicle was serviced per the federal safety agency campaign number: 14v165000 (structure), but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 118,000.
My 2004 ford escape has major rust issues that has affected the structural integrity of the vehicle. The vehicle is not driveable unless the rust is repaired. I just filed a complaint with ford (case #cas12002459). Currently there are no recalls on the vehicle and as a consumer I am turning to the federal safety agency for support in having ford make the ncessary repairs yo my vehicle.
I was driving to work on a smooth roadway and all of a sudden my rear end started to clunk and bang. I was so startled that I had to pull over in heavy morning traffic and had to miss work and take it to a mechanic where I was told the rear shock assemblies had snapped from the vehicle. After due diligence I found there was a recall issued for the front end for the same make and model because of mounts separating from the auto due to salt and corrosion. When I contacted ford I was told there was no recall for that situation, but I did find a large amount of complaints from individuals with the same issue in their same year and model escapes. The mechanic told me at the least it will be 1800 to fix, but since there is no metal to weld to it will require a full rebuild of the body, mounts, and frame in that area. The following site is a representation of the issuehttp://www.fordforums.com/f59/2005-escape-shock-mount-rusted-out-177762/index4.html.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford escape. While driving over a bump in the road at any speed, a thumping noise emitted from the vehicle. The contact pulled the vehicle over to the side of the road and noticed that the rear passenger side wheel well was rusted and the shock absorber had loosened. The contact notified the manufacturer. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 116,000.
Strut mount passenger side rear rusted right out
My vehicle was serviced for recall that was issued. The recall was for the subframe rusting through where it meets the control arm resulting in steering failure. My vehicle had this problem under way and was rusted through to the point of separation. The dealership performed the recall and installed a "brace" on the subframe but advised that the vehicle was not safe to drive because of the separation, which is exactly what the recall is designed to prevent. The dealer stated that since the failure/separation had already begun they could not repair it and gave me the vehicle back in a condition which is "unsafe to drive", according to the word of the dealership. My concern is that my vehicle is experiencing the safety issue for which the recall was issued and the vehicle manufacturer will not resolve the recall issue.
Passenger rear wheel well has completely rusted out and shock and mount have rusted and broken off of frame. While driving the vehicle on a village street, hit a rough patch of road by a manhole and heard a terrifying noise, then it sounded like the back of the car was going to fall off. Upon parking and inspecting the vehicle, the broken piece was pressed against the rear tire, and had rubbed some of the rubber off in the short time it was driven afterward. Research shows that frame corrosion seems to be a common problem with the vehicle, and there was a recall for corrosion on the front end. It seems that it should be for the entire frame, and rectified before accidents and injuries occur. My vehicle falls under those date and state parameters, yet the VIN # is not included for some unknown reason. Front recall: ford motor company (ford) is recalling certain model year 2001-2004 escape vehicles manufactured october 22, 1999, through january 23, 2004, originally sold, or currently registered in, connecticut, delaware, illinois, indiana, iowa, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, missouri, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, vermont, west virginia, wisconsin and the district of columbia. These vehicles may experience excessive corrosion at the forward attachment of the lower control arm. Consequence: a separation of the lower control arm can result in a significant loss of steering control, increasing the risk of a crash. Remedy: ford will notify owners, and dealers will install a newly designed reinforcement cross-brace, free of charge. The recall began on may 30, 2014. Owners may contact ford at 1‑800‑392‑3673. Ford's number for this recall is 14s02.
End of march 2015 owner of service station declared my vehicle unsafe to drive. Underneath bar that goes between the front tires was rusted and snapped. Fortunately the vehicle was in the drive way when the bar snapped. The vehicle was in forward motion in the driveway when bar snapped. Driving the vehicle you felt unsafe.
Rear structural body, joints, massive rust and corrosion.
Structural excessive rust and corrosion rear wheels
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford escape. While driving approximately 50 MPH, the shock absorber entered the rear passenger side of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the shock mount needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The VIN was unknown. The approximate failure mileage was 103,000.
Had a recall from ford shortly after buyiny car in 2014 about subframe rust.ford said they fixed problem.about a year later the subframe broke complexly making frone wheel wobble and pull to right I went off the road into some brush before I got control of car!!I made it home and saw the (fix)a piece of flat steel holding left frame to right not a repair at need to replace complete sub frame.ford blamed it on dealer.dealer will not speak to me about it.I also had promlem with right rear shock coming up through floor no recall on that.lucky no injury or death.
The right rear suspension system disintegrated requiring $1,300 for body shop repair. This apparently occurs regularly on this type of vehicle.
Vehicle steering has become unstable and wobbly. Took it to the shop to check on the alignment, and was told the entire subframe has corroded. I found a recall for this issue, but apparently my VIN was not included in the recall, even though it has the same issue.
Right rear wheel well is totally rusted through, left side slightly started rusting, causing shocks to break free from frame
The wheel well on the right rear side of car completely rusted out causing my shock to be free in my car. Ford will not fix it and it is a serious issue. A quick search will reveal at least 96 other complaints of the exact same issue in the exact same area of the vehicle
My rear shock mount tower is rusted out and baning it is ready to come up through the interior.
The frame around the rear suspension is rusted out (through) the rear shock is not connected to anything. Is there a recall on this ? I know the vehicle is old but I have never heard of this on even older vehicles.
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