2004 Ford Escape: harsh or hard shifting

Filed Dec 30, 2021 · Body, Suspension · IA

The body panel around the rear driver side shock mount has almost completely rusted away. Driving one day, I started to hear a loud clunking noise from the rear driver side. It started to get louder the more I drove it. Upon inspection, I found the body panel had completely rusted around the shock mount tower, which is only now connected to the rear floor panel. Without the support of the rest of the body panel, the metal is slowing ripping away where it is connected to the floor if it is driven. The vehicle is completely unsafe to drive now as the rear shock could rip away from the vehicle at any moment. There have been many complaints of this happening on the rear passenger side, which I also had on this vehicle. Roughly 5 years ago, I had an independent auto body shop repair rust on the passenger side shock mount/body panel where it had rusted through. I noticed a hole in the body panel when changing the rear shocks, but it was not large enough or bad enough at that point to create a safety issue. So, I had time to safety get it to an auto body shop for repair before it got bad. This same issue has now happened on the driver side and I am left with a car that is unsafe to drive. When the other side was repaired, there was no sign of rust or concern on the other side. So, it has completely rusted through in that 5-year time frame. I inquired about repairing this with an auto body shop, and I was told that the rust is too significant to repair safely and cost effectively. It would require extensive metal repair on the body and frame underneath it. This absolutely could have put myself, my passengers, and other drivers at risk if the rear shock and mount had unexpectedly ripped away from the body of the vehicle. It could have ripped through the rear body of the car or come in contact with the rear wheel while driving, causing a significant risk of losing control of the vehicle.

Filed Mar 19, 2019 · Body, Suspension · 165,000 miles · MN

As with all other postings the rear passenger wheel well has completely rusted out.and the car started making very loud clunking noises. I do not know the exact moment the wheel well completely degraded. The repair shop said it is not repairable. So we are just now out a car. I just spent way too long chatting with someone from ford who gave me a postal address to send a complaint to. I think everyone who has had the issue should send a complaint. Mail: ford motor company customer relationship center, p.o. Box 6248, dearborn, mi 48126, I am also considering hiring a lawyer. I think this is just wrong. My son is a college student and left without a car when this is obviously an inferior product and I can not believe this is the service that ford wants to provide. If you would like to be a part of the lawsuit please contact me at [xxx]. This is insane that they have admitted the issue, recalled the front end, came up with an inferior solution and now are going to just say there is no recall. This is a dangerous issue. They at the very least should buy peoples escapes for the value they would be worth. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).

Filed Jan 24, 2017 · Body, Suspension · 209,000 miles · WI

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.

Filed Jun 29, 2015 · Steering, Wheels · 157,000 miles · IL

I am shocked at how many people have experienced the same issue that I am having with my escape in regards to the right rear wheel well rusting out around the shock mount. I initially noticed the issue when I heard a loud clunking noise in the right rear of the car. I thought there was something wrong with the rear shocks so I took it to a neighborhood mechanic. The mechanic told me that it was a frame issue and I needed to take it to a body shop. He also stated that it would probably cost hundreds of dollars to fix and some body shops would not be willing to fix it. He also stated that I should drive slow because the shock mount is completely rusted out. At this point, I am furious! I went to a body shop today on my lunch break and they told me it would cost upwards of $2,000 to repair. The guy at the body shop also told me that he has seen this issue on several 2004-2006 ford escapes and was well aware that this is an ongoing problem. I am so frustrated and agitated because I have taken very good I am so fed up with how irresponsible these huge million/billion dollar companies are. From what I have seen just in my little research that I have done today, ford is aware of the problem, yet they refuse to establish a recall.

Filed Apr 30, 2015 · Suspension · 175,000 miles · MN

Clunking noise and rough ride. Found passenger side rear wheel well extremely rusted out and shock essentially detached from vehicle. The rest of the vehicle has no rust aside from small surface rust on non-painted pieces. Searched online to find this problem is extremely common with these escapes, yet no recall has been issued despite the obvious defect and safety concerns.

Filed Jan 22, 2015 · Body, Suspension · 160,000 miles · NY

While driving to my home went over a small dip in road and SUV made a very load clunking noise in right rear section of vehicle and started handling poorly got it to my parents home which is only few minutes from incident,father looked at and found right rear strut mount and wheel tub rusted out under a thick layer of sound deadening material applied at factory making it nearly impossible to see until it breaks free, father has been a mechanic all his life and tried to get pieces at local salvage yards to repair but found all in a 50 mile radius at salvage yards from years 2001-2007 to be in as bad or worse condition and is currently looking for parts on line out of the rustbelt ,I believe if it had happened on a twisty road it could have been a bigger problem fortunately it was a fairly level straight road I can only assume there isn't an investigation on these is that most people don't now where to go to file a complaint I only new to go here because my father told me too,as he believes it to be a major design flaw that may or could lead to injuries

Filed Oct 1, 2014 · Body · 140,000 miles · PA

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford escape. While driving approximately 45 MPH, the contact heard a clunking sound near the rear passenger side of the vehicle. The dealer stated that the wheel well was corroded. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 140,000.

Filed Sep 7, 2014 · Suspension · 121,337 miles · NH

While driving heard a loud clunking noise coming from the passenger side rear wheel well. Arrived home to inspect the area of concern. Found that the passenger side rear shock mount had completely separated from the wheel well due to extensive rusting. This allowed the shock to travel upward striking the plastic interior trim panel. This vehicle was garage kept until two years ago. It also passed state inspection requirements nine months ago. I am not a mechanical engineer. However, I do not believe a critical suspension component should be attached to sheet metal that is prone to rust. I have taken the time and made the effort to inspect several other vehicle manufacturers and find that their suspension system is connected to a solid component of the frame. Obviously this is an engineered design flaw of a critical safety component that possibly could result in unsafe handling at highway speed. With only one rear shock attached to the vehicle an uncontrollable rear sway could occur resulting in a possible roll over. Given the number of reported complaints of the same nature, which given known statistics is a small percentage of actual cases, I do request a recall to be made.

Filed Aug 6, 2014 · Suspension · 88,000 miles · MI

While my son was driving he heard a loud clunking noise came from back of the car. He stop , pull over and take a look to see what happening and when he look in to the rear wheel well he see it was damaged badly . He made appointment to take car to ford dealer to check it out . They checked it and told him that the shock mount had rusted completely through the shock mount and no longer attach to the car, they told him that he should not drive it because it could cause bad accident and very dangerous . He asked them about the corrosion recall which I got a letter from ford but they said the recall is for a corrosion with the sub frame where it connect to the lower control arm and nothing about the problem my car having . They told him it will cost about $3000 to have it repair . I am very upset about this , the car only 10 years old . I check on line to see anyone has the same problem with 2004 ford escape with the same issue I could not believed that there are numerous complaint about same issue and it caught my eyes that most people had this problem at the same period of 10 years . I want to see the government should force ford to have a recall before someone get killed or hurt . Ford should stand behind their quality if they are trying to hide this problem they should be punish to the extend of the law.

Filed Aug 3, 2014 · Body, Suspension · 116,900 miles · OH

I have a 2004 ford escape . I received a recall notice for a corrosion issue with the sub frame where it connects to the lower control arms . I haven't had an issue with it yet and was planning on getting the recall work done within the next couple of weeks . On 8/02/2014 when I pulled in my driveway I heard a loud clunking noise coming from the rearof my escape . When I look in the right rear wheel well I could see an 8 inch area around the shock mount had rusted completely through the shock mount was no longer attached to the vehicle . I'm sure this could have caused a accident had I been driving down the road when it happened . I did a google search and found an endless list of people with the same issue . I called my local ford dealer and was told they could do the recall work on the front of the vehicle but there was not a recall for the rear wheel well /shock mount . I can not believe there is not a recall yet for such a serious and common problem . Please look into this situation . I work for ford and this makes me sick , they should not have to be forced into implementing a recall for such a serious problem . Ford should issue a recall on their own before someone is hurt or dies from this problem . This is a control item and ford should be held accountable !

Filed May 6, 2014 · Body, Steering · 83,000 miles · MN

I was driving down the road and hit a pothole, after hitting the pothole there was a loud clunking noise coming from the rear. After inspection the entire shock mount had rusted away from the body and became separated. It was free to jolt around and cause further damage. Not safe to be driving this vehicle now.

Filed May 4, 2014 · Suspension · 194,000 miles · VT

My wife noticed a clunking coming from the right rear of the vehicle. I was able to identify that the issue is a separation in the wheelhouse where the strut attaches to the wheel well. The factory-applied undercoating failed and caused the metal area beneath it to rust out. There is a visible hole in the structure, and we are able to see into the trunk area. Our body shop advises that the vehicle is no longer safe to drive, and that full detachment of the top strut mount is imminent. After investigation, he also advises us that he found online nearly 100 similar incidents on similar vehicles ranging from 2004-2006, all with varying mileage. In fact, he has two vehicles on his property that share the same concern: one lost full integrity, and the strut blew through the body into the cargo space; the other shares a similar level of failure as our car. It is also his professional opinion that this sort of rust-out is not common nor expected of a vehicle this age. After extensive local research and personal investigation, I have found in my city alone a half dozen ford escape-style vehicles of the same years-range with similar issues at various stages of concern. I also have recorded over 200 complaints from several bulletin boards across the internet noting similar concerns. We have yet to personally contact ford, yet we see from the postings that the response is the same: ford does not consider this an issue. Ford, however, has slated later this month to issue a recall related to a similar suspension-rust issue in the vehicle's right front wheelhouse. As the loss of an effective strut can cause serious handling, braking and suspension safety issues at any corner of the automobile, this concern from the rear of the vehicle should be no different.