Carrier/rack problems of the 2008 Ford Escape

Valve cover gasket leaks, suspension control arm both sides cracking, ac condenser leaking.

Took vehicle into Ford dealer for service on front wheel, yesterday 1/ 27/ 2021, which is unrelated. Serviceman told me that, due to excessive rust, the underframe has up to six cracks in it and that the vehicle is unsafe to drive. The vehicle is thirteen years old. He stated that there is no repair for this except to replace the whole unibody underframe, which Ford takes no responsibility for. I had to replace the two rear shock tower housings because one popped through the floor on sept. , 2020. The outer body has some rust but looks good, normal rust for it's age. On the internet I researched the problem and it shows that the 2001 to 2003 Escapes have had a possible recall and shows that one Ford dealer had a 'fix' for the engine cradle, that did not work out well. There are numerous complains online about undercarriage rust and its problems. I've also talked to a body shop owner and he tells me that they get several Escapes a year for this problem. When I took my vehicle in to get the rear wheel house mountings replaced, there was another Escape being repaired for the same thing in from of mine. My vehicle was repaired at iron mike's metal fab shop in flint, mi. 810 234 2996, of course welding any metal to rusted metal has no guarantee. . Truck was in motion on a residential street when the shock started breaking through the floor, around March of 2019. Now I am stuck with a vehicle that I have to use, which is unsafe to drive. This vehicle, according to your standard is under fifteen years old.

The rear inner fender rusted out and the rear strut broke through its mounting bracket while I was driving on a state highway and the vehicle is now unstable and dangerous to drive. Thankfully I was able to keep relative control of the vehicle and make it home safely. Upon doing a simple google search, this is a known issue with vehicles sold in the bother united states and canada as stated on numerous websites and forums. Unfortunately this is my primary mode of transportation and I travel 120-125 miles per day round trip to work. This could have been much worse had I not heard the noise and braces myself prior to the vehicle becoming unstable. My biggest fear is that a family could be riding in a this type of vehicle and not have adequate reaction and become a vehicle casualty statistic.

I think my vehicle has some kind of electrical short. After I take the key out sometimes the car will start by itself and today the locks started locking unlocking by themselves. I was in the vehicle and it was running. Also the back winshield motor cover fell off and no longer works. I can no longer lock my back window and it opens and shuts the whole time I am driving. Such a disappointment. My last Ford Escape I had 10 years and racked up over 250,000 miles - that car was a dream. This used 2008 I bought seems to be a lemon :.

The ignition switch moves in it's housing. Making the driver have to crack the wheel back and forth and/ or turn the key very hard to get it to start. Sometimes getting it started is nearly impossible. This part is faulty. There should be recall on this ignition switch. I have been doing some research online about this problem and am not the only one to encounter this issue with the 2008 Ford Escape. It is not a part that should fail after only 6 years on the road.

Serious vibration, lot of cracking noise, steering wheel locking up, have to adjust steering wheel to start vehicle.