Underbody Shield problems of the 2002 Ford Escape

The contact owns a 2002 Ford Escape. The contact stated that there was extensive rust and corrosion on the underbody framing and the cross member. The vehicle was included in NHTSA campaign number: 14v165000 (structure). The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who installed a newly designed reinforcement; however, the frame and the cross member were rusted and not covered under the recall repairs. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 189,000. The VIN was not available.

While driving her 2002 Ford Escape to work my daughter noticed the steering was not right. In order for her to keep driving straight she had to turn the steering wheel. She went over a pair of rough railroad tracks & lost control of the vehicle. Her front passenger tire control bar had completely separated from the frame. It was rusted through. Luckily she was driving in a 30mph zone & there were no other cars around. Thankfully she was not hurt but quite shaken up. We were unaware of a vehicle recall on this model until a friend of hers recalled seeing an article in the news about control bars rusting through causing steering problems. Her front tire was completely bald after this incident. (tread was good before). I called Ford as soon as I was able & reported the incident. The rep told me that in order for a repair the vehicle had to be towed to a Ford dealer & to keep the tow bill as they would cover it. Right now the SUV is at the dealer. It has been 2 days since they've had it & I've heard nothing. I am getting very impatient. Because it's a recall I have a hunch they put it on the back burner. This vehicle is her only way to school & work. I asked about a loaner & they explained that because of the huge volume of recalls, a loaner would be difficult to come by. What has happened to customer service? I am expecting not only the vehicle to be fixed but I feel we should be compensated for the 1 tire - maybe 2 depending on the condition of the other side. I don't need a set of new ones - just something to pass inspection. If anyone has experienced the same issues please post something back. Thank you ! [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

I was driving my 2002 Ford Escape at 25 mph on a suburban side street. Suddenly there was a loud clunk sound on the right front of the car with the front dropping and the car grinding to a stop. Inspection revealed the right front wheel was basically broken off with that side of the car sitting on the ground. Further inspection revealed that the lower front suspension a-frame pulled loose from the engine cradle due to rust on the crossmember.

My vehicle began to make unknown noises when driving, and steering control became very loose. I promptly took the car to my mechanic. I was told the subframe was so badly rotted that the passenger wheel control arm had separated from the subframe and can not be reattached without replacing the subframe. The vehicle is now no longer safe to drive.

The subframe was so badly rusted that the control arm separated from the subframe. I found several complaints of the same thing happening to other people with Ford Escapes. And it always seems to happen at the right front passenger area. This is a very dangerous flaw, and one that could cause serious injury or death if the failure happens at high speed. I think the Ford ranger frames were recalled for a similar rusting issue, perhaps the two are related. Thank you for your time and prompt attention.

While driving through a parking lot my 2002 Ford Escape suddenly made a clunking sound then suddenly stopped. I could not steer the car to the side or move it forward or backward. I exited the car and looked at the drivers side tire and it seemed fine . I then went over to the passenger side and saw that my wheel was completely turned in the opposite direction. I figured that I probably broke a tie rod. I called aaa to have the auto towed to a local service station. When the tow driver arrived he took a look at my Escape and said that my subframe was rusted so bad that it had separated in two. By doing that my wheel axle had completely separated from the transmission. His opinion was that if I was driving on a highway and this had happened it probably would have caused a major auto collision and maybe even causing my Escape to roll over. This to me seems to be a very dangerous flaw in the design and construction of the subframe and I am very fortunate this did not happen on the highway. It could have caused major damage and even death to innocent people.

My car had a loud squeak and creak while driving that continually got louder over the past week. . . I took it to my mechanic and he discovered the sub frame assembly on the front passenger side has completely rotted away. This attaches to the control arm, and Ford has no recall. He is a certified mechanic and says this part should never have rotted. He advised to check with Ford for recall, however Ford denies any recall with this part. . So no action from Ford about a rotted frame! vehicle is now unable to be driven due to safety concerns of control arm becoming unattached.