Four problems related to front suspension have been reported for the 2001 Ford Escape. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2001 Ford Escape based on all problems reported for the 2001 Escape.
On the left front wheel of the vehicle their is noise coming from the axle. There is a lot of movement in the brake pedal, and the vehicle pulls to left.
Loud ticking noise when turning vehicle. Occurs at all speeds. Ford notified but can't fix problem. Will not state whether or not vehicle is safe for driving. No safety defect listed.
Had severe vibration of steering wheel at speeds of 75 mph or greater. Dealer said it was the after market rims installed on the vehicle. When dealer installed the stock rims and took it out and tested it, the vibration was still there when he achieved a speed of 75 mph or better. Dealer re-balanced the wheels and problem still occured. Dear checked the alignment and said it was out of alignment and probably came that way from the manufacturer. After front end aligned no more problems. As for prob#2 , I noticed some pink fluid leaking from under the vehicle. Took to dealer and had them put it on a rack to inspect it. They found that the power steering fluid is leaking at the left side of boot. They have to replace the entire rack & pinion unit. Are there any other Escapes out there with less than 10,000 miles having the same problem? also when dealer received the rack & pinion unit for my vehicle they noticed that it was not the same unit that is on my vehicle. Dealer said they contacted the manufacturer of this rank & pinion unit in indiana and the manufacturer stated that they changed the ranck & pinion steering unit. The dealer was unaware of this change becausse no notification was ever sent. If I had not noticed this the steering fluid could have leaked out and I could have had a serious problem with the steering while vechicle was in motion. The vehicle was serviced by the dealer to check fluids at the same time I was having the vibration problem. I notified Ford cust. Service and they could not tell me if thre were any other Escapes having the same 2 problems. They said the dealer would know. . . Ford's cust. Service will not let you speak to anyone up the ladder at Ford. They just take the complaint or concern and that's it. What they do with those complaint's or concerns is beyond me. Ford can't tell me why this steering unit has to be replaced on a new car nor are they sympathetic.
Intermittently vehicle pulls to left or right randomly at variuos intensity. Dealer has adjusted alighment twice, but problem still exists.