2005 Ford Escape: harsh or hard shifting

Filed Sep 23, 2019 · Body, Suspension · WI

As I was driving there was a really loud clunking on the rear. I figured it was potentially a broken shock. In the passenger rear wheel well where the shock bolts to the frame was copletely rusted out. When I was hitting bumps it wasnt even attached to the frame. There was no way of repair. I am so greatful I was safe. And didnt get into an accident. One wrong bump. And the whole shock wouldve went through the trunk and could have caused a very serious accident.

Filed Sep 21, 2019 · Body · 322,100 miles · IL

The body of the car is generally solid. I noticed a hard clunking sound coming from the right rear wheel well and figured it was bad shocks. When I inspected the vehicle, I noticed a very large rust hole surrounding the shock tower where it meets the wheel well. The rust was on both sides of the shock. Eventually, if I hit a bad bump, the shock will most likely fail and go up into the trunk, essentially leaving the vehicle totaled. This failure seems to be reported commonly for this specific year (2005) escapes. It is very dangerous with it being so close to the crucial shock tower, and is extremely expensive if even possible due to the severity to repair. This absolutely seems like something ford should be aware of this massive flaw and offer customers some kind of solution to this problem.

Filed Jan 21, 2019 · MN

Excessive wheel well/shock tower rust located in the rear passenger side. I have heard a clunking sound when driving; brought it to my garage; they showed me the pictures of huge gaps in the wheel well that were completely rusted out. My understanding is there was a recall on ford escapes (2001-2004) but ford forgot to do a recall on the 2005 escape model. This is a very common problem with my vehicle.

Filed Dec 29, 2018 · Body, Suspension · 80,000 miles · PA

The escape started making a squeaking noise for about 3 days while driving it on city streets and on the highway and then it started making a loud clunking noise and was banging like something broke loose. We thought the shocks broke. Upon closer inspection we noticed that the frame at the right rear wheel well had completely rusted out and the shock had came off because there was nothing for it to attach to. We have the car parked because it is too dangerous to drive. It only has approximately 80,000 miles. Our daughter had just purchased it in may 2017 from a local car dealer. I have researched but there was no recall on this and there very many complaints about the same issues with different year escapes.

Filed Jul 16, 2017 · Body, Suspension · 125,658 miles · WI

The rear passenger strut was completely rusted out of the wheel well. The vehicle was sent to a ford dealer to install a "kit" and weld the strut bracket to the wheel well. I found the problem after hearing significant clunking noise in the back as I drove.

Filed Sep 28, 2016 · Suspension · 150,000 miles · CT

Started hearing a clunking sound on the rear shock. Back rear shock tower rotted out. Not even anything to weld it too. Had to have it rebuilt.

Filed Oct 21, 2015 · Body, Suspension · 139,000 miles · NE

When I was driving down the interstate at 70 MPH, I began to hear a clunking sound from the rear passenger side. It happened every time I hit even a small bump or crack. When I took it to the body shop, they discovered the passenger side rear wheel well is corroded; rust/rot has caused the shock mount to become nearly completely detached from the frame. It is unsafe to drive, and body shops won't even provide an estimate for repairs as the deterioration is too extensive, and they can't fix it. A quick online search shows this is an ongoing issue with 2005 escapes, and must be addressed for safety. The body shop owner told me not to take the car on the interstate because if I were to hit a bump at 65 MPH, I would be "asking a lot of this car to hold together." the clunking sound is now consistent no matter what speed or surface I am driving on.

Filed Oct 11, 2015 · Body, Suspension · 125,000 miles · MI

2005 ford escape, have had a lot of clunking in back of car, and the rear right wheel well is falling/rusting apart (other wheel wells are not, just rear passenger side) right where shock absorber is mounted. Large rusted out hole in wheel well, and if I press around the wheel well, the black coating crumbles revealing crumbling rust behind it. Many other 2005 escape owners with same issue. I have no money to fix this; this is a dangerous flaw should it break through while driving at high speeds. Should be recalled and fixed by ford. It can't be said this is just "normal wear and tear" when only the one wheel well is consistently the one that is rusting while the other wheel wells do not. I have 125k on my escape, but who knows how long the hole has been there.

Filed Jul 13, 2015 · Suspension · 170,000 miles · MN

Noted at a local car repair shop that my passenger rear inner fender is rusted so bad that the metal where the shock is attached to is coming away. While driving on bumps, am now hearing loud clunking sound and no longer driving the vehicle for fear of the shock falling off. Car shop stated that they've seen 12 escapes come through their place with the same issue on the same side that were 8-10 years old.

Filed Apr 18, 2015 · Body, Suspension · 135,000 miles · WI

We started to notice a "clunky" noise coming from the right rear wheel hub. Upon inspection, the right rear wheel hub is over 50% rusted out. The left rear wheel hub is intact. We can not drive vehicle fearing a structural failure will result in an accident or injury. After researching this issue on the internet, it seems to be a common problem for this model, and other ford models.

Filed Apr 10, 2015 · Suspension · 148,100 miles · PA

I had been hearing a large clunk on my passenger side in the back. At first I thought it was my shovel hitting. However, I finally really took a look at the entire back and wheel and notice it completely rotted under and even broke through my trunk. I took it to 3 different shops and was told it was the suspension/shock that has rusted and rotted away. It wasn't suppose to do that. I have a welder pricing it out because both other garages said they couldn't fix. I feel completely unsafe driving thinking the car could go flat out anytime. The car is in really good condition otherwise, and from the sound of it this is a common problem among 2004 and 2005 escapes. If this keeps happening someone is going to get hurt. And it should be fords responsibility to fix.

Filed Mar 30, 2015 · Body, Suspension · 136,585 miles · WI

The right rear wheel well and shock mount is completely rusted out. When I bought the vehicle used, I drove it and heard a slight clunking somewhere in the rear end of the vehicle. I thought maybe the shocks were bad. I continued to drive it, hoping to replace the shocks. Recently the noise became very loud and disturbing. I looked at the shock area and discovered the whole area on the right rear wheel well and shock mount are rusted through and breaking apart. The left side is fine. I am afraid to drive it this way and believe it is an unsafe condition. I looked up the problem on the internet and found a multitude of the same problem with other owners of 2005 ford escapes. To my knowledge, ford will only fix 2001-2004 escapes, but not 2005. Why not? It clearly is a defect in material and workmanship. It has rusted prematurely and causes a hazardous safety situation. If this was an isolated incident, I would understand. But from what I have learned, it has happened to all 2005 ford escapes.