Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford escape. While driving at various speeds, a loud noise emitted from the rear of the vehicle. The contact discovered that the shocks were corroded through to the wheel well. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 135,000.
2005 Ford Escape suspension complaints
Page 8 of 16: complaints 191 to 220 of 459, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Driving down street and ran over rough spot in pavement and heard a thump from the back of the vehicle. Next day drove over railroad tracks and there was a loud banging noise. I checked under vehicle at right rear wheel opening (passenger side) to find most of the wheel well rusted and gone from the shock mount location to the rear most part of the wheel well. The bucket or bracket that mounts the top of the shock absorber to the wheel well and chassis is just floating in mid air. When I look through the side compartment in the back of the vehicle I can see the top of the tire and the pavement and shock absorber.
While driving the car, whenever we would hit a bump of any kind the passenger side rear of the car made a horrible rattling/banging noise. I took it to the dealer and they told and showed me where the part that connected the shock to the wheel well had pretty much rusted away and was no longer safe to drive. The service writers and the body man all said this is a very common issue with this year and model. They conjectured that since we get snow in pittsburgh the roads are salted. Since the roads are slanted to the right to help drainage, that side is bathed in salt water. However I am also developing rust on the outside edge of the body panel on the opposite side. Why then is this not happening to other model years? Since it is not drivable I have had to schedule the repairs. At the time of the repairs I am going to have the car completely gone over by the dealers mechanics and body man to validate the condition and document any further required repairs. This is a total engineering screwup by ford and they should be required to recall all of this model and year and either repair them at no cost to the owner or reimburse the owners who already had to have the repairs done. Do people have to die before action is taken? Is no one held accountable for their actions in today's society?
The rear right upper shock mount felt off so there is no where we can put the shock. Therefore, it has a big hole on the fender well that you can see the inside this is something that should not had happen plus on the left side you can see rust cracks in the fender well and continues to the upper shock mount. I think this is something that the company has to address and fixed it because it is a safety issue.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford escape. The contact stated that the rear passenger side wheel well was corroded and deteriorated. Also, the contact mentioned that the shock mount fractured. The contact stated that the failure caused the shock mount to puncture the trunk. The contact stated that there was a loud noise each time the vehicle drove over a bump due to the failure. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. The technician performed an alignment and the failure recurred. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 113,000.
The right rear shock plunged through the right rear wheel well (rusted away) and rattles at low speeds. Steering pulls to left and shakes.
Had rear shocks replaced on my 2005 ford escape and was told that mounts for the shocks are rusted out. The shocks are detached from the frame due to poor design by ford. The car is not safe to drive as the shock bounces into the rear interior when moving. There is a recall from 2001 - 2004 escapes but not 2005! For the exact same problem!
Passenger side rear wheel well has rusted through compromising the connection to the strut.
Driving less than 30mph-hit a manhole cover and heard very loud bang in back of car. Discovered inside rear passenger side wheel well completely disintegrated. Shock barely holding on. Still waiting on estimate to fix. Based on the other over 100 complaints of the same nature, not going to bother calling ford.
I was traveling at 60 MPH on a highway interchange. I hydroplaned, lost control of my vehicle, and hit a guard rail with the front driver's side head on. My vehicle bounced off the guard rail, traveled backwards, and hit the guardrail on the other side of the road on the driver's side rear. The car spun 90 degrees and came to a rest with the passenger side against the guard rail, opposing highway traffic flow. The airbags did not deploy, despite a 60-MPH collision. The suspension, wheel, and shock fell off in the collision.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford escape. The contact stated that the rear passenger shock fractured without any warning. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who indicated that the failure was not rust related but rather that there was a manufacturer defect with the drive train. The vehicle was not diagnosed. The contact was not included in the federal safety agency campaign id number: 14v165000 (structure). The VIN was not available. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was not available.
While traveling approximately 35 MPH, the rear passenger side shock punctured through a completely rusted out rear wheel well on my 2005 ford escape. The car is undrivable and the auto repair/body shop quoted me $3,000.00 to repair this. I contacted ford and they stated that only the 2001-2004 models are covered under a recall for this exact same problem. I have researched this problem and have read hundreds of people with the same problem. .
Right rear wheel rusted apart and shock absorber is not attached any longer. The car is not drivable to safety concern.
We noticed a noise coming from the back right rear side of our ford escape especially when you would go over small bumps in the road. A quick look underneath, we noticed a lot of rust. We called the ford dealership to get it in to be checked out and upon us describing the problem, they said it is most likely the right rear shock mount. A couple of days later, we received a call and found out that is the problem along with an estimate to repair it (15 hours and $1,200.00 approx.). The dealership said that this is a very common problem that they see in escapes from years 2005-07. We reached out to ford because this is not only a major safety issue but the vehicle will not pass our state inspection. We were told that there is no recall at this time nor would they help assist with any of the repairs, at this time. They told us to hold on to our receipt and if there is a recall, that they would reimburse us. Very disappointed.
The vehicle's rear passenger wheel well rusted out completely. This allowed the rear shock to become dangerously loose and produced a loud banging noise. Had the shock come loose there would have been a substantial loss of steering. Car is now unsafe to drive.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford escape. The contact stated that while driving at 50 MPH, the shock absorber detached and fractured through the rear passenger side of the trunk. The vehicle veered to the right causing the contact to lose control of the vehicle without warning. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 160,000.
The right rear wheel well has rusted out. The strut is no longer attached to the vehicle. When driving there is a knocking sound. When investigated at the repair shop, this was the diagnosis.
Back right passenger wheel well rusted through. Shock is holding on by a thread. Makes loud banging noise when any bump is hit. I was told vehicle is unsafe to drive by local mechanic.
The passenger side rear shock tower completely rusted away making the vehicle unsafe to drive.the rest of the vehicle is spotless and we keep it very clean.this is a manufacturing defect.
We noticed a rattling/banging noise coming from the right rear of vehicle, my wife rode in the rear seat and could feel the shock mount hitting against the back of the interior trim panel. Looking into the wheel well, we could see where the wheel housing had completely rusted out, revealing the interior. The upper shock mount can be wiggled by hand. Today 12/31/2014, I went to see my "friends" at our local ford dealership, the service writer said I was in "luck" as he remembered researching the same issue for another customer. He found a diagram with the replacement panel & wheel house, part# 7l82-7827886-a, with a list price of $150, then we went to talk to another "friend" in parts, he said that the price had recently increased and now listed at $700. They offered to have me talk to another "friend" in sales, but I informed them my wife refused to buy another ford, and if we were to buy a new vehicle it would be a toyota. With that said, my "friends" suggested to unload (trade) it at a toyota dealer. They also informed me our 2005 ford escape was "unsafe" to drive. I went to our local body shop to get his recommendation. He said, they had just done one, in 10/2014 for just under $900 and he got the part from my "friends" at the dealership for $120. In apparent disbelief he called our "friends" and they confirmed the price increase. We searched online and found many 7l82-7827886-a for $20-$180, after ordering from several different vendors, each vendor cancelled the orders for various reasons; unavailable, part number change and is more expensive, due to the size and fragile nature we are unable to ship, not available,etc. What is ford's objective with this price increase ? ? ? There was clearly a defect in manufacturing, craftsmanship, and/or materials, that created this severe defect in safety of the 2005 ford escape ! ! !
Rattling, banging, right rear shock mount is rusted loose, completely corroded away from wheel house.
I had my car inspected today and had them look at an issue of a banging sound I was hearing in the back passenger side area. The mechanic found extensive rust and rot in the rear passenger side wheel well and the strut was almost ready to come off. The mechanic commented he has seen this issue several times with this model. I see that ford recalled 2001 to 2005 model years, but not the 2005. From doing research there are numerous complaints from 2005 owners. I keep my car washed and always make sure to wash salt off in the winter. My mechanic recommended that I not drive the car because it was unsafe because the strut was ready to come off and could cause the tire to bend outward. How can ford not recall this year with all the obvious complaints concerning this issue? My daughter drives this car and imagine her going 65 on the highway and the tire bends! An investigation needs to be conducted for this model year since this has been ongoing issues with rust and rot in the wheel wells with previous model years. The issue was never corrected a,no continued past model year 2004.
Beautiful, well-maintained 05 ford escape - rare 5 speed manual, 4 cyl, awd. Always garaged and cleaned. Opened plastic bin in rear compartment, passenger side, to store tools. Noticed small cracks and daylight in wheel well. Just below and behind shock mount. Applied light pressure. Entire section pushed through. Completely rusted away. Held in place only by rubberized undercoating. 119k. Based on all these complaints, same location, same event, I consider myself lucky it didn't fail while I was driving. I'm going to show the dealer tomorrow. Curious what his reaction will be. My guess is sympathy but nothing to do about it without ford supporting the dealer.
My problem is the rear passenger side shock mount broken off and has been pushed up into the rear hatch wheel well into the interior of the vehicle.
I've recently started noticing a lot of creaking and popping in the structure / suspension of my 2005 ford escape. I took a flashlight and crawled underneath the vehicle to inspect, and immediately noticed a large amount of rust/rot in my front subframe of my vehicle. I see ford has a recall for 2001 to 2004 models, but this needs to be expanded to cover all years of this chassis design, as my 2005 shows significant rot. The recall should also cover rear wheel well rust/rot (including shock mounts), as this area is also heavily rusted. Definite design flaws and poor quality of materials used on the frame/subframe. A 2005 should not be rusting out this bad, even in the "salt belt". Nothing has broken from rust yet, however judging by the rate of decay, it's not going to last much longer. Ford should expand this recall immediately.
While driving a loud thud was heard from the rear of the vehicle, while driving a continued banging was heard, upon inspection we noticed the inner wheelhousing or inner fender had a large diameter hole where the shock mounted to it, the hole is large roughly 10 inches across and upon searching I have noticed this is a design flaw and road salt combined to cause this, numerous complaints online but no action from anyone on this issue, it seems a possible loss of control while loaded could result in a crash.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford escape. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 55 MPH, the rear shock mounts detached from the vehicle and the frame was completely rusted on both sides. The contact was a certified mechanic, who diagnosed that the rear frame rail and the fuel filler neck were completely rusted. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 160,000.
My vehicle has severe corrosion in the driver side rear wheel house. The corrosion has allowed the left rear shock absorber to fail to effectively dampen the suspension movement (its purpose). The problem is very prevalent on ford escapes, mercury mariners, and mazda tributes. For the federal safety agency to determine if this is truly a safety issue, your will need to secure a 01 - 06 escape, remove one rear shock absorber (worse case for the failure of my vehicle) and drive the vehicle on a rough road. Please hang on tight when doing so. The failure of the body around the mounting point of a critical component of a suspension system puts the general population at risk as they share the roads with the escape/mariner/tribute drivers. This is a safety issue that results in failure of state safety inspections and cannot be ignored by the government agency which is charged with preventing manufacturer safety defects from endangering people on public roads. This defect is very well document on the internet .remember...to protect and serve! Me and others on the road....not ford motor company.
Like I see many other times. 2005 ford escape, rear passenger suspension is rusted and almost detached. This vehicle was garage kept and well maintained.
Heard thumping noise on passenger side rear. Took it to check it out and wheel well completely rusted out and unsafe to drive.
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