Body problems of the 2004 Ford Escape - part 2

Right rear inner fender well rusted out. Causing shock not to be attached. Unsafe to drive as is. Ford should do something about this.

Wheel well rusted through to interior of car, shock dislocated from wheel well. We just moved to raleigh from michigan. . Read more...

Right rear shock breaking free due to rusted out inner fender well. Called Ford. They wont back the problem even though thousands of owners have complained and there are currently no replacement parts for repair. This is an unsafe situation and causes a swerve in stability. It is also causing repairs to be made unsafely with cob job fixes. It needs to be addressed with Ford to do something about it.

Tl- the contact owned a 2004 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken into a dealer for NHTSA campaign number: 14v165000 (structure) and repaired. During the corrosive failure described by the recall happened the cross brace installed could not support the weight and was fractured rendering the part unusable. The vehicle was not taken to an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The contact was informed that Ford would only repair the vehicle once for a recall repair. The vehicle failure mileage was approximately 145000. Kh.

The car began making a loud creaking that I suspected was the back window or something inside. It got worse after a couple of days. I pulled over and checked those and then the wheel wells, and the back right wheel well was rusted so badly that the shock mount was nearly completely detached. It detached the rest of the way over the course of the 2 mile drive to my home. This is apparently a common problem with this make and model, especially in the 201-2004 range, and can affect handling. It has been referred to as a factory defect and a recall was issued for this in some vehicles, but not mine. The local Ford dealership will not look at it because any repair would require alteration to the body, so they've referred me to a body shop.

The contact owns a 2004 Ford Escape. While driving at 15 mph, the vehicle independently veered to the right. Upon further inspection, the contact noticed that the front passenger tire leaned outwards. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the subframe fractured and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was included in NHTSA campaign number: 14v165000 (structure). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 101,000.

The contact owns a 2004 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 14v165000 (structure). The contact brought the vehicle to dealer for the recall remedy. The mechanic stated that the vehicle was unsafe to operate because the subframe was extremely corroded. The vehicle was not repaired and the manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was 143,000.

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.

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.

Right rear wheel well completely rusted out and shock mount which was bolted to it fell and is hanging next to and on the wheel along with a ball of sharp twisted metal from the wheel well. Heard noises from back of car past month or so but thought it was something in the cargo compartment. Then went over pothole and loud bang like the exhaust pipe fell and was dragging. Then a burning rubber smell. The metal piece is about to pierce the tire and the shock itself is hanging and banging against tire. Car is undrivable and may be unfixable in that the fix would be worth more than the car. I of course can not get another car right now due to financial reasons so without a car now because of this. The other wheel wells seem fine, no rust. Though there is a few rust spots on the bottom of the running boards and one of the doors (which there should not be in this day and age any rust) to have this immense amount of rust only in one well tells me something is wrong with the design or the paint job at the factory. If a tire blows out it could kill someone traveling at highway speeds in an SUV . This is a defect, not aging. Needs to be a recall. Though the car is 11 I have less than 90,000 on it. I should not have to trash the car due to body rot at 90,000. If this was due to aging or weather all the wheel wells would be like this.

Had been noticing noises when I drove over bumps and rough surfaces coming from the back right side of the vehicle. I hit an unavoidable hole in the road today and heard a loud thump from the rear right side of the vehicle. I proceeded to my sister's house where my brother in-law checked the vehicle and found that the strut/shock had broke through the horribly rusted wheel well and was hitting the underside of the plastic wheel well cover. This could have been a disaster had it happened a few days ago while I was on the freeway. I have an appointment to take the vehicle in to see if it can be fixed. In the mean time I have no vehicle to drive as it is not drivable. I see from numerous complaints that this is a continuing problem with this vehicle. Why is Ford not being held accountable for this issue? I may have to get another vehicle that I am not prepared to do. This is a safety issue that I feel should be addressed.

Passenger (right) rear wheel well rusted through, causing the strut to detach.

I was driving and the rear end of the truck sounded like it was falling apart. When I stopped and looked the passenger side rear wheel well was completely rotted out and the metal plate that holds the shock in place was hanging and banging around. The left side is completely intact. I took it to causeway collision to look at it and they said its a defect and probably not fixable. The truck has high mileage but runs great.

Tl-the contact owns a 2004 Ford Escape. The contact stated while approximately 35 mph, the steering wheel turned independently with a loud abnormal noise. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who informed that the passenger's side control arm separated and the entire frame would need to be replaced. The failure occurred after the vehicle was serviced under NHTSA campaign number: 14v165000 (structure). The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 128,000. Js.

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.

While driving on a rough road I noticed a rattling in the rear compartment that I had never heard before. When I investigated I found the right rear wheel well had disintegrated from rust damage and the shock is now floating basically freely which is causing the noise. I am concerned for the safey and handling of the vehicle at this point. This seems to be a very common issue with Escapes and always the right rear wheel well. Why has Ford not issued a recall? this is clearly a systematic failure.

2nd Escape I've owned that has had the rear right wheel well rust out, shock breaks loose. Ford saying it has never heard of it, and yet every dealer and body shop I've talked to knows all about it. This should be a recall, faulty part.

I purchased a 2004 Escape a little over a year ago. My cousin had the same car. We both had to take a few thousand loss and sell these vehicles due to severe, unsafe wheel well rust . Not to mention cadilitic convertors on both cars were bad. Two on each Escape. I was ready to do repairs, until a friend with the same Escape had just repaired the body in his for the same issue. So we all took loss. Who is responsible for this?? I had family that worked, and retired from Ford. I had several Ford's over the years. This has put me in a hole. . Bought it for 6,000. Just gave it away for 1,000. Help.

The contact owns a 2004 Ford Escape. While driving at approximately 40 mph, there was a loud noise emerging from the rear passenger side of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the rear passenger strap mount was rusted and the rear passenger wheel well needed replacement. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 121,000.

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.

While driving to my home went over a small dip in road and SUV made a very load clunking noise in right rear section of vehicle and started handling poorly got it to my parents home which is only few minutes from incident,father looked at and found right rear strut mount and wheel tub rusted out under a thick layer of sound deadening material applied at factory making it nearly impossible to see until it breaks free, father has been a mechanic all his life and tried to get pieces at local salvage yards to repair but found all in a 50 mile radius at salvage yards from years 2001-2007 to be in as bad or worse condition and is currently looking for parts on line out of the rustbelt ,I believe if it had happened on a twisty road it could have been a bigger problem fortuantely it was a fairly level straight road I can only assume there isnt an investigation on these is that most people dont now where to go to file a complaint I only new to go here because my father told me too,as he believes it to be a major design flaw that may or could lead to injuries.

Driving and sounds like a square bowling ball is rolling around in back. Look to find a rusty mess from shock mount going through wheel well. Asked around and seems to be common problem. Thank goodness I wasn't far from home. Very dangerous, why is this not recalled yet!.

I was driving the vehicle when I started hearing a loud thumping noise coming from the rear of the vehicle. Upon inspection I discovered there was rust inside the rear passenger wheel well and that the shock mount was unattached from the vehicle.

2004 Ford Escape. Rear right wheel hub rust/corrosion around strut assembly. Safety issue with rear shock. Known problem with 2004 to 2006 Ford Escape despite rust proofing. Rusts around area for strut leading to structural compromise of this assembly. Unsafe to drive.

The contact owns a 2004 Ford Escape. While driving approximately 45 mph, the contact heard a clunking sound near the rear passenger side of the vehicle. The dealer stated that the wheel well was corroded. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 140,000.

Running board rusted and fell off.

The contact owns a 2004 Ford Escape. While driving at an unknown speed, the contact heard a loud abnormal noise near the rear of the vehicle. The contact discovered that the rear passenger side wheel shock and tower were severely corroded and penetrated the subframe and floor interior. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 103,000.

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.

The contact owns a 2004 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 mph, the rear passenger side started to rattle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. The technician diagnose that the rear passenger side wheel well was corroded. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 143,000.

Tl- the contact owns a 2004 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle a clanking noise was present coming from the passenger side. The contact inspected the vehicle and discovered that the passenger side rear wheel inner suspension shock had rusted. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who determined that the rear passenger and driver side sub frame and suspension was damaged due to rusting and corrosion. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 123,000. Jft.

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!.

I bought my 04 Escape brand new, and am the original owner car garage kept, this is a severe safety issue!! rusted out wheel well and shock mount went right through the frame while driving at only 15 mph out of a parking lot.

My daughter complained about a loud clanging noise from the right rear of her car. I bought it used from a dealer and it has been kept in a garage and used sparingly. Upon inspection I noted that the right rear strut had completely broken free due to extensive rust of the wheel well. I cannot allow her to drive it in this condition. Not sure if it can be repaired yet or whether it will cost more than the car is worth. I now recognize that there are many other owners with the exact same problem. With so many owners having the same experience something should be done.

The contact owns a 2004 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the rear passenger side inner fender well was rusted due to excessive corrosion. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 109,000.

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 NHTSA complaint web site reveals many other owners with exactly the same problem.