Going 20 MPH down side road and hit pot hole. The part that you mount the rear shock to came apart do to rust and knocked a hole in rear wheel housing. Car is unrivalled and insurance will not cover do to it being a time related thing. There was no rust in wheel well or holes before. Very very disappointed. I insurance said it's a flaw in the design of ford. They have no recalls in past or present.
2004 Ford Escape wheels complaints
Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 34 of 34, newest first, as owners wrote them.
The right rear passenger wheel well rusted out, causing the sudden dislocation/breaking of the shock mount which in turned caused damage to my tire, and wore through the interior of the car. The damage is extensive and upon researching the issue, it appears that this exact thing has happened (only on the right rear side of the vehicle) to thousands of 2004/2005/2006 escapes. This has been a known issue since at least 20011/2012 and is a dangerous defect that is usually not cost effective to fix, based on the mileage of the cars at the time of the problem. Because the left rear does not experience this issue, it must be a defect in manufacturing and ford really needs to step up and offer a recall to fix it as well as reimbursing owners who've experienced the problem and chosen to do repairs to a vehicle in otherwise great running order.
Front tires now experiencing excessive wear after the lower control arm rusted through. Re-enforced brace in may 2014 recall does not help prevent an accident. Steering pulls to the right when turning. The control arms need replaced.
Rear passenger wheel well where the shock mounts to the body is completely rusted out and detached from the upper body of the vehicle. I was traveling on the interstate at about 65mph when this piece broke loose from the rest of the body. This is very dangerous, and almost caused me a serious accident on a busy highway. There are hundreds of other complaints filed just in this database alone with the same exact issue, rust/corrosion of the rear passenger wheel well where the shock mounts to the body. The ford dealership that I had my vehicle towed to told us that they have recently seen 4 or 5 other escapes that have the same exact issue. Please investigate, this is a serious safety concern.
Passenger (right) rear wheel well rusted through, causing the strut to detach.
The car started to ride rough over small bumps and a thumping sound could be heard from the right rear wheel well. Thinking I needed new shocks I inspected the wheel well and was horrified to see that the wheel well holding the shock was completely rusted away. There is a hole where the steel used to be. This is only on the right rear wheel well as far as I can see. A local auto body shop will not fix it because of the safety liability and warned me not to drive the car. The car is unsafe and I am at a loss as to what to do with it. After doing some searching I have found many ford escapes with the same exact problem. Apparently this is a design defect that ford knows about and should be responsible for. Had I driven the car a little longer I could have been in a catastrophic crash! Ford needs to fix this or replace my car.
Excessive corrosion in rear wheel wells, straps holding gas tank and underside of running boards. Both running boards completely fell off, the straps holding the tank had to be replaced because the tank was in danger of falling off. This car is in a covered garage 90% of the time.
Another case of a 2004 ford escape with extensive right rear wheel well rust putting the strut in danger of coming through the body. I'm currently trying to figure out how and where to get it repaired. This seems to be a flaw in the design of the product. While one would hope ford would step up I'm not seeing anything on their part so far.
A few weeks ago I was driving slowly down a dirt road and I started to hear a bumping noise towards the back of my car, only when I when over bumps. I figured it was just gear in my trunk making the noise and I was going to take a look at it later, but it didn't seem like anything to be concerned about. Yesterday I finally got all my ignition coils fixed after some trouble with the mechanics doing it wrong originally. When I left he told me I may have a suspension problem, but that it is not likely to be a problem aside from the annoyingness of it. When I got home I decided to have a look around my car and after discovering that it did not have to do with my trunk I looked under the wheel well and saw that the suspension mount had completely rusted off and had bouncing around as I drove. It was completely detached, and after goodling this I saw that many other people have this same exact problem and that it is very unsafe, and most likely to expensive to fix. I had been driving with this serious problem for a few weeks with no idea of the danger that it could cause. There is no recall on it but I feel that with the amount of people with this problem and the severity of it, ford needs to do something about this.
The rightside of my wheelwell was rotted out along with the floor around it that held the wheel well the shock needed to be replaced as well. When I went to the dealership to get the wheel well they told me this was a well known part to be replaced. So I asked why was it not a recall on it no answer could he give me. I was getting a burning smell from my exhaust (muffler fumes) as I drove home many times I felt myself getting sleepy as I drove on to get to my destination I prayed toget safely there little did I know I was getting fumes in my car that caused this. I have driven with my young grandchildren in this dangerous condition in this car my question is if the ford dealership knew of this to be a well known problem why did they not recall it I only thank the lord that it did not kill me or my grandchildren. Also it past inspection a year ago how could they have not seen what was happening in this area. I do have pictures of it and it was even worst then the pictures I have seen online proof one more time that god is always on yourside if you believe everyone else please check your wheel well god bless!
Noticed loud rattle, knocking in rear of truck. Stopped to have mechanic look at it. Discovered severe erosion in rear wheel well and shock mechanism completely separated from vehicle. Appears to be very common for 2004-05 escapes.
On a trip to upper peninsula, michigan this past week we experienced a failure of the front subframe crossbrace, a near catastrophic event as the piece broke. We were in grayling, michigan and were stopped near an independent service provider who showed us the damage and attempted to find a used part. The one he found had the exact same rust and break as ours and thus he ordered a new one from ford. In the meantime we were forced to rent a car and continue on to our vacation destination. After we returned home I learned that there had been a recall of these vehicles for just such a failure. I took the car and the broken crossbrace to mike castrucci ford in alexandria, ky where the warranty officer informed me that our escape was not part of the factory recall. She was able to tell me why and was very helpful although clear that nothing could be done. The argument was presented that the failed part in the recall was made by a particular manufacturer and used in certain plants or vehicles. I get the point but I have a car that failed in exactly the same way due to excessive rust and presented the same risk of catastrophic failure that we narrowly avoided by luck. The repair replacement cost over $1000 plus labor. I believe vehicles like mine should be part of the recall. Our front wheel could have totally collapsed while we were traveling at high speed.
I was driving home from the store and started hearing a loud banging noise coming from the rear of the truck. Upon investigation I discovered what I believe to be a major safety concern in my 2004 ford escape. The rear passenger side wheel well over the shock tower completely rusted out and separated over the shock. I have been told and seen that this seems to be a common problem with my vehicle and other years of escapes. After speaking with an independent body shop in my area they informed me this was a common problem they have seen several times before. But when I contacted 3 local ford dealers they all claimed to have never seen it before. And wanted to charge me a hundred dollars just to look at it. I am told the vehicle is undriveable in this condition. And that in most cases can not be repaired. After doing much research online I found hundreds of other people with the same exact problem. I have also contacted ford and am awaiting a response. I would like to see a recall made on this as I can see this being a major problem that could have caused an accident. And is going to be a very expensive repair job if it is even repairable. I have photos but am not sure how to attach them.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford escape. The contact stated while driving various speeds he heard an abnormal sound coming from the right rear passenger side of the vehicle. The contact discovered that right rear wheel well was covered with rust causing the shocks to fail. An independent mechanic discovered that the shock absorber needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 110,000.
Driving down the road wirht my 2 young kids and all sudden go over the train tracks and the rear strut broke from the shock mount and came right up thru the vehicle I have found thousands of complaints on this issue, ford needs to step up luck I gained control of vehicle with a 1 mont old baby and a 3 year old this is searious matter! Someone is going to die because of this it needs to be fixed!
The shock tower in the passenger side rear wheel has broken, due to rust and corrosion, and punctured through the interior of the trunk and the back seat. The interior of the car body has separated from the exterior body so that the wheel and road can be seen from inside the back seat through a large (inch or more wide) gap. There is no corrosion or damage in any other wheel well. There is a corrosion related recall on this car which the dealership says is unrelated to this particular area of the car (safety recall 14s02). Ford's customer "care" center acknowledged multiple complaints yet has no investigation or activity aimed at a remedy for this common problem. Due to ford's apparent negligence which has caused hundreds of ford owners identical damage, my car is unsafe and ford is unwilling to act.
Rusted out right wheel well with structural collapse. We bought this car used from a local ford dealer in april of 2013. This car was being driven on a freeway on june 15, 2014 when a loud thumping started in the right rear wheel on . On inspection the right rear wheel well is rusted out. The support that the shock absorber is attached to was completely eroded and a part of it punched through the wall into the interior of the trunk area. We felt it was not safe to drive. We had it towed to another ford dealer who diagnosed the problem. The estimated cost of repair is $2259. Review of the federal safety agency complaint web site reveals many other owners with exactly the same problem.
Driving on the interstate, the car was making a loud grinding noise. Pulled into rest area, and let car sit a few minutes. Started it up again, and no noise. Started back on the interstate, and noise started again. Pulled off again, and noticed right wheel was wobbling. Looked at wheel and lug nuts were loose, and wheel was now deformed. Had it towed to a repair facility and had to purchase a new wheel. Facility installed it and tightened all lug nuts. This problem has continued, with the lug nuts requiring tightening monthly. Accompanying rust in the wheel well is a problem. Hub is not holding wheel correctly.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford escape. The contact stated that while driving 30 MPH, there was an abnormal noise coming from the front passenger side wheel. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the wheel house strut mount was entirely rusted and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the problem, the approximate failure mileage 105,000.
We just purchased this vehicle . W e knew about a paint issue beneath the hatch window. Took the vehicle to a very reputable glass and body shop . The shop owner immediately went to the right rear wheel well and told us to look at it . The area behind the tire is very eaten with rust. A good sized hole exists extending to the shock and strut. The shop owner said that he has seen many of them. Always the same wheel well and nowhere else. Assuredly the strut and shock are compromised. He said that he almost always sees this on the escapes. The previous owner was extremely meticulous about servicing and upkeep with the vehicle.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford escape. The contact stated that while driving 35 MPH, the rear wheel weld became fractured. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the technician diagnosed that the rear wheel weld needed to be replaced. No repairs were done to the vehicle. The manufacture was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 100,000 and the current was 110,000.
Passenger rear wheel well has completely rusted out and shock and mount have rusted off of frame.
Two axles on the car have broken. Both times, the car was used for regular use (no "off-roading", no accidents). The car was driving fine, then suddenly, when braking, a grinding noise was heard. When I brought the car in to be repaired, they found a cracked boot, cracked ABS ring, and cracked axel. First time this happened was in 2007 (rear axel), and now in 2010 (front axel).
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 ford escape. The contact stated that she had to put air in her tires each week because they would constantly deflate. She took the vehicle to the dealer and they informed her that the failure was with the tires. The tire manufacturer advised her to call national tire and battery (ntb) and have them inspect the tires. Ntb stated that the failure was not the tires, but rather with the rims. The failure has not yet been identified and the failure has been occurring since october 10, 2005. The failure mileage was 11,000 and current mileage was 38,800. Updated 6/9/08 *cn updated 06/09/08
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