Body problems of the 2014 Ford Escape - part 1

On 10/12/2025, we noticed the driver's side rear door would not latch properly while shopping. We contacted the dealer the following Monday and dropped the vehicle off for inspection on 10/15/2025 at classic Ford of columbia, SC. Two open recalls were identified: manufacturer recall 16s30 (NHTSA 16v643) - door safety latch: the pawl spring tab in the side door latch broke, preventing secure latching. The recall requires replacing both latches. The failed door latch assembly is available for inspection at the dealership. Manufacturer recall 18s20 (NHTSA 18v471) - transmission shifter cable bushing: the bushing is degraded or detached. Safety risk: the rear door failure risks the door opening unexpectedly while driving, potentially causing ejection or injury to occupants/others. The shifter bushing risks the vehicle rolling if not properly in park. The issues were confirmed by the authorized Ford dealership during the 10/15/2025 inspection. The vehicle has been inspected by the dealership; no other inspections noted. No warning lamps or prior symptoms before the door failure on 10/12/2025. Shifter bushing symptoms unknown. The dealer claimed to fix the shifter bushing on 10/15/2025, but both recalls remain "incomplete". The rear door latch is unfixed, requiring bungee cords to secure it. The vehicle has been driven this way for nearly 4 months. We contacted Ford (case xxx) and escalation began. After weather closure, we were told an appointment would be rescheduled. I emailed tiffany from Ford last night (~10pm 2/5/2026) and called today (2/6/2026); no response yet. This ongoing safety defect endangers the driver who needs the car for work. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

See attached documents: subject: ongoing unresolved recall issues and safety concerns with my Ford vehicle I am writing to formally express my deep concern and frustration regarding my Ford vehicle, which currently has 15 open recalls that have gone unresolved for nearly two years. During this time, I have contacted every Ford dealership within a 50-mile radius of my home in repeated attempts to have these recalls addressed. Each dealership has provided a different excuse for not completing the necessary repairs. Some initially allowed me to schedule service appointments, only to cancel them once they realized the work involved recall issues. In several cases, I was never notified that my appointment had been canceled—I only discovered this when no one showed up. Other dealerships claimed they did not have the required parts and assured me they would contact me once the parts became available. To date, none have followed up. One dealership required that I speak with a supervisor before scheduling any recall work, but despite multiple messages, my calls were never returned. On one dealership’s website, I attempted to schedule the recall repairs online. The system showed numerous open appointment dates until I selected “recall service,” at which point all availability disappeared, and I was unable to proceed. Each dealership I contacted referred me elsewhere, passing responsibility without resolution. Ford has been fully aware of the potential safety risks—including the risk of serious injury or death—associated with these recalls, yet I was repeatedly told it was “safe to continue driving. ” this was clearly not the case. Recently, while driving, my vehicle suddenly lost all power and stopped moving. I managed to pull over to the side of the road and called for a tow truck. As the tow truck driver prepared to load my car, it unexpectedly lurched forward on its own and crashed into the tow truck. Fortunately, no one was injured, but the incident caused significant front-end damage to my vehicle. It could have easil.

Environmental contributing circumstances (select up to 3):.

Nhtsa recall number 16v643 after 3 attempts in 2 years, it is become evidential that Ford dealers are deliberately not willing to complete this recall for customer, probably because it takes too much time. [xxx]: rear left door latch failed. Call robinson brothers Ford, 11455 airline hwy, baton rouge, la 70816, was told there is no parts, so I had to replace it by myself using part bought from amazon. 1st attempt: 23-Feb-2023 to 27-Feb-2023 at robinson brothers Ford, 11455 airline hwy, baton rouge, la 70816 called weeks in advance in order to complete all recalls, and called few days earlier to confirm door latch, and was told they have spare parts so I left the car there. All recalls were completed except 16v643, and I was told they had no spare parts by shop representative. Register cell phone number with them for spare parts update and never receive any update till now. 20-oct-2024: front left door latch failed. 2nd attempt: on 21-oct-2024 call autonation Ford katy, 20777 katy fwy, katy, TX 77450, the lady (christina) told me they have no spare parts. 22-oct-2024: once again, I replace the door latch by myself using spare parts bought from amazon. 3rd attempt: on 23-oct-2024: I drove by autonation Ford katy, 20777 katy fwy, katy, TX 77450, the exact the same shop I called 2 days ago, the service representative (austin) check the inventory, found 1 set of spare parts, and promised me recall can be completed in 24 to 48 hours. When I pick up the car 50 hours later, the job is not even started for one door. As such, I officially file this claim to urge NHTSA to investigate what is the percentage completion for this recall for Ford? it takes me 2-3 hours to replace 1 door latch, that may be takes too time for dealer and therefore they chose to put the safety of customer at the lowest priority, and bet on customer running out of patience to replace by themselves, just like I have done, twice. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

The car announced a low coolant in the system and then 10 seconds after the car turn on fire and burned down completely.

Hood latch became un bolted and opened on the freeway going about 60mph . Smashed the windshield and damaged the hood .

My driver passenger door does not close anymore as of 7/9/2023. My 2-year-old son could have flown out the door as he sits on that side in his car seat.

Contacted Ford again fourth time about saftey recall=20s30/20v331. I've been trying to get this fixed since I got the vehicle and recall letters from Ford. Multiple failed attempts because dealership's in my area stood me up, told me they dont do recalls, and said it was basically my fault for buying Ford. Ford customer service is no help, all they say is get in touch with my local dealership's to get it resolved. Duh!! thats what I've been trying to do, then they give me contact details for dealerships that already stood me up and who said they cant fix the recall. So why bother. Unbelievable, I might as well just contact the dealership I purchased from and surrender the vehicle. Never will I buy Ford again!! their customer service is lousy!.

Ive been trying to get my local Ford dealer to fix this saftey recall but have just been ignored. First time I called my local dealer (boggus Ford) in harlingen, TX, they just changed there name to sames harlingen Ford. They made a mobile appointment for me in April 21st at 9am, no one showed up I didn't even get a call. I called them to see why no one showed up. They told me my appointment was at the dealership and I didn't show up. I was angry and mad because they just lied to me, I have the texts from the dealership service team and a automated reminder that my appointment was mobile at 9am. I said get me another appt, the next appt was on the 26th of April at 9am it was mobile. Then the night of the 25th I get a notification that my appointment tomorrow is at the dealership at 8. 30 am. I was dumbfounded, thats not what was discussed, it was mobile,(I have the texts) I couldn't go in to the dealership because my husband was working on the tires. So another missed appt by the dealership's error not mine. I called again no one answers me. I decided to contact Ford customer service directly, they said they will get in touch with another local Ford dealer to fix my saftey recall but, didnt get a reply back. I contacted Ford again same thing, no reply. In the mean time my doirs fling open when on the highway. First time was a scare, sone of my things in the car flew out. Good thing no one got hurt. And lots of times I see my door open out of nowhere. But now I have to physically tie the doors inside so they wont fling open. Either that or not drive it, which means I cant work. Ive contacted another Ford dealer near me and they said they dont do saftey recalls, so I guess im left with defective doors. I just want this recall fixed!.

If the rear door (both passenger and driver side) is closed in an aggressive way (such as a child closing a door as hard as they can) the plastic paneling on the door can be "dislodged" sliding down and jamming with the metal door frame making the door unable to open from either the inside or outside. In the event of an emergency, the door would not be able to be opened leaving a child or passenger trapped in the vehicle. A jolt from a low speed crash (not directly on the door) could cause the door plastic to dislodge causing the door to jam leaving children or passengers in the back unable to exit the vehicle safety. The issues has been reproduced only by myself, that I am aware of; (first happened on drive side and then reproduced on passenger side) and could most likely be repeated on similar models preforming repeated aggressive door closes. This issues was brought to a certified Ford dealer and they made notes in the repair that the plastic was dislodged wedging with the metal door frame. The only warning signs were screws falling off the door panels and the plastic separating from the door through normal use and driving.

Our Ford Escape 2014 has two safety recalls. My complaint is that they didn't fix it timely. One of the door latches failed and the door was opened by itself on the road in August 2022. I have taken the car to a local Ford dealership and got it inspected. They said they would request the parts and fix it. However, nothing happened after weeks of waiting. I have checked back many times, and they kept saying that the parts were not available. Now, we have been driving a car that has one door unlocked for the past 1. 5 years. How to solve this? fyi. Dealer name and address, mission valley Ford truck sls. 780 east brokaw rd, san jose, CA 95112 (408) 471-2302. I also contacted the Ford customer service department in 2022; they asked me to check with the local dealership for parts availability.

The driver side rear door can not be opened. It appears the paneling of the door is caught on the frame, which prevents the operation of the door. This has been reported twice to the dealership, and so far they have ignored the request to inspect or fix it. In an emergency if needed passengers would not be able to exit through this door, which would put that at risk if the car were pinned on one side and the front too damaged to operate. Also the rear camera has failed and does not operate. This is the second camera to do so as the first was replaced under warranty a few years after purchasing the vehicle. If a child were behind the vehicle there would be no way to know looking over your shoulder, as you could only see them on camera. The only warning or indicator of the camera failure is a black screen with a message that you need to contact a service professional.

Contacted local Ford dealership(s) in reference to 2 open recalls on my vehicle: transmission gear shift linkage and door latches. I was made aware of the door latch recall when I was traveling with my 2 children who were in the back seat and the back door opened and would not latch closed. Upon researching, I found the 2 recalls and have tried for over 4 months to get it repaired as it is a serious safety issue. I was advised that it could be in the repair shop for 2-3 months and I would not have any transportation as they stated they do not have "courtesy" vehicles. I feel like Ford should honor the recall in a timely manner which they are not. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request.

Every time I put my car in park and I take my foot off the break it rolls back a little. I did have a overheating warning and my rear camera didn’t work and it is also upside down.

The rear door panel gets stuck in the door frame, preventing the door from opening. This happens with all of the screws and clips firmly in place but the problem does eventually loosen and dislodge clips. It seems to be that the panel is a little too big for the door frame. Looking for solutions, the problem is very common and many people have attempted to fix it with little success. We have two small children who sit in the back in car seats and we have to put them both in and out from the one door that doesn’t get stuck. This has been an issue for about two years now and has damaged the panel so much that it nearly rips off when attempting to open the door. I have read that Ford has acknowledged the problem but has not issued a recall. Clearly a safety issue to not be able to open a door.

While driving on hwy 65-n, the interior lights came on and on the lcd we got a warning sound & message saying that the rear left door was open !!, we panic b/c our dog was in the back seat, we thought that he had open it, we rushed to the stop on the side of the hwy, we try, and try to closed the door, it never latched, we had to "secure" the door with my belt. Very scary and dangerous situation. Never got a warning about it; we went directly to the dealer that we bought it from, they inspected the problem, and said that we had to pay for the repair. . . Why?.

A car took the red light as we had the green light she ran into the car in front of me and then fish taled and her rear car smashed into my front. . . None of my airbags deployed at all but the other 2 car did and my front end damages are severely damaged. The person responsible for this accident was arrested at the scene and they did a sobriety test on her.

Under recall 20s30 I did on line check. It came back right side rear door need fixed. When I redid check I put in wrong number it came back ok and closed recall. Now Ford dealer can't fix problem.

Received safety recall notice 20s30 told to report door latch date codes on doors -however the web site given in notice provides no way to input results.

Driving 65 mph, slight curve to the right. Heard a big bang and the driver side tire popped causing the car to veer to the right. The tired never shredded or anything. Upon inspection, the link kits had exploded and the stability arm had been bent.

My door latch on my vehicle has been broke for 2 months . I couldn't afford to fix then but as soon as I heard about the recall I call Ford here in marlin,TX. 76661. They say bring in on this day so I did at 8am . Before 5 that same day I go back and the gentleman said they didn't get to fix it there aren't any parts Ford has sent out they would call me in a few days. Never got a call but when someone calls up there and starts asking about it when it's there safety at risk and it's the only vehicle they have what is supposed to happen. My seatbelt won't save me forever and this is the second recall for this issue . I would like to know when the issue is going to be priority for consumers like me. This happened while I was sitting and went to open door and got out went to shut door and it wouldn't latch. Tying door with rope to steering column just to drive anywhere.

The vehicle was being driven and had only been started and moving for less than 5 minutes. Noticed that windshield wipers would not shut off or change speeds, then noticed a slight odor in car that increasingly strengthened. Phoned my husband while at a stop light, odor of something burning became much stronger, then noticed smoke coming between the the drivers side hood seam and between the hood and the windshield, this was immediately followed by noticable flame. I put the vehicle in park, turned on hazard lights and exited the vehicle. Local police and fire department responded, began with small fire extinguishers, without success and fire department opened hood and applied water to extinguish. This was on a city street in o'fallon, mo. Uncertain of cause, but am now aware that Ford issued a recall on this model (recall 17s09) and believe this could be a possibility.

Rear driver door opne while driving!.

Exterior passenger side door handle fell off. The vehicle was stationary. It fell off while opening the door.

Vehicle had recall work done regarding for handles, since then I have experienced not stop issues with drivers door handle getting stuck in open position which causes the door not to securely latch closed. I have brought the vehicle back and was told it's just a lubrication issue.

My rear passenger and driver door panels have completed been pulled off and hard to open the door because the panels were caught on the recall door latches. I've had the door latches replaced and it still continued, they say the panels won't be replaced under warranties I have but I told dealership because of the latches that were recalled that my door panels are doing this if the latches were good and not recalled in the first place I would not have the issue. Since my panels are messed up because of a recall specifically made on my vehicle I should not have to pay 400-600 to get my door panels replaced when it was out of my control.

Both rear doors on my 2014 Ford Escape suddenly stopped opening either from the inside or the outside thereby trapping the people in the back seat without a way to exit the car. This happened suddenly. Yesterday the doors worked fine then today broken. Nothing changed with the vehicle. . . . No accidents or abuse of any kind. Car was located in my driveway.

Tl-the contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated that she took her vehicle into the dealer gus machado Ford of kendall s dixie hwy, miami, FL 33157 (305) 238-9211 for an initial recall repair for the door latch. The initial repair took place in on 01/2018 and recurred again on 10/01/2019. When the problem recurred again the vehicle was taken to another dealer since the contact moved. They said that since the recall repair was done once they would not repair it again at no cost to the contact. The manufacturer was called and they just referred the contact to call NHTSA. The failure mileage was 42,000. Tf.

On Dec 31, 2018 our 2014 Ford Escape had recall 16s30 completed at richmond Ford west in glen allen va. Kit cj5z54264a26a, to include 4 door latches was used to replace the original 4 door latches on the recall invoice s212041. The dealership documented the recall repair as 1. 4 hours to get inside the doors and perform the warranty service. We were not charged for the recall repair. Prior to this replacement, and as sole owners of the 2014 Escape, we had not had an issue with door latch failure. On Aug 31, 2019 in oxnard, CA we experienced a door latch failure on the driver side rear door; it unexpectedly opened when we parked. We were not able to close, latch or secure the door. The car door alert system indicated a door was open. When we attempted to close the door, it would just bounce back open. We referred to the owner's manual for a quick fix and followed the manual lock instructions and it did not work. We secured the door by attaching a bungee cord to the other rear door and drove to a dealership. On September 3, 2019 at simi valley Ford in simi valley, CA the service department diagnosed a door latch failure for the rear driver side door and recommended a replacement at a charge of approximately $325. We were informed the recall repair had been closed out on December 31, 2018 by richmond valley Ford. We were told the replacement part is not under warranty because we had exceeded the 12,000 mile (or 12 month) threshold for repairs under warranty. We do not believe the door latch is a mileage dependent repair and we believe we should be covered under the original recall. We are reporting that it appears the recall repair has itself failed. The failure of this part can lead to devastating circumstances in a scenario of a passenger possibly falling out of the vehicle. Please investigate to determine if the repair of the recall has also failed.

My car has 15 recalls and 3 different Ford dealerships refuses to do recall work this has gone on for more than 2 years. They claim to have done recall work that has not been done. It has a defective transmission. It took off while in park and hit a tow truck.

The driver side rear door latch broke, which would not allow the door to close, posing a safety hazard to the occupants inside the vehicle. The vehicle was stationary and as I loaded a bag in the backseat and closed the door to leave one day, it did not close.

Attempted to start my vehicle and pushed ignition button. All of my panel lights and monitor started glitching and flashing and then everything went black. The engine did not start. There was a recall but my vehicle was not part of recall. I have owned vehicle for 2 years. I have had a drivers door lock cylinder fall out. I have rust in several locations, including hatch and passenger interior side of door.

Paint on the lift gate near the license plate bubbled up and flaked off exposing bare aluminum. My Ford dealer says it's not covered under warranty. This is a widespread problem known by Ford.

I was driving down the highway at a normal rate of speed (65), as by vehicle began to stall out. The car stopped driving right on the highway, and I was barely able to pull it to the shoulder without getting hit by other cars. Once I pulled to the shoulder, the car began smoking. Smoke quickly filled the inside of the vehicle. Before I could roll all the windows down, the engine had burst into flames.

The rear passenger doors fail to open from outside the vehicle because the interior door panels will not stay attached to the inside of the door causing them to hang on the frame of the door. The clips on the door panels have been repaired twice once and the same issue continues to occur leaving us unable to access the second row of seats in the vehicle.