Wheel Bolts problems of the 2014 Ford Escape

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated while having new tires installed on the vehicle, the tire dealer was unable to remove the lug nuts because the lug nuts were swollen. The contact was informed by the tire dealer that the bolts and the lug nuts needed to be removed and replaced to properly mount the new tires. The contact called a dealer and was informed she had to pay out-of-pocket to have the lug nuts and mounting bolts replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 36,000.

I would like to voice concern about the 2 pc lugnuts that Ford places on vehicles. They are not good & after doing some research & talking with other suppliers and companies regarding this matter, it is my understanding this is an ongoing issue that Ford continues to ignore. This is not safe. My tire had a slow leak in it. I took it to a local tire shop who advised the tire could not be fixed because the tear was in the sidewall. They also advised the lugnuts were swollen & in terrible condition & then went on to show me the lugnuts & educate me on the design that Ford has. The reason for the terrible condition is likely because the nuts have to be beaten off unless the work is done at Ford, as they have special tooling & capabilities to deal with the nut. He also advised, instead of recalling, Ford opted to come out with a special tool or tooling that is specific to only their dealers. Not ok. Not all people want to use Ford for their tire needs. Nobody should ever take one opinion at face value. I went to another local tire shop to make sure the info I was given about my tire and the lugnuts was correct. However, when I went, I made no mention that I already had the first opinion, nor did I share any of the info with the 2nd company. Same information was repeated to me, both about the lugnuts & my tire. Very concerning on the lug nuts & I now believe this to be accurate. This place felt so bad for me & for the condition the nuts were in, that they put gently used ones on 1 of my tires, free of charge, just because they had the tire off to look at it & knew the Ford ones were total "garbage". As of today, I went to my local Ford dealer for a tire rotation & oil change. Low & behold, they mention all of my lug nuts are swollen & that I need new. I voiced concern to the service manager about the lugnut information. He & the service advisor both advised that yes, this was an ongoing complaint & it was bad for them too. This is ridiculous & I complained to Ford also.

Light went off for low tire pressure. Rear passenger side tire was low. Filled with air and drove for a couple weeks; light again went off. Filled tire again and took to service center this morning to see if something had penetrated tire or if bead had loosened. Service center found nail in tire and repaired. They had to replace 4 lug nuts as they were swollen. (I didn’t even know this was possible!). A simple and inexpensive tire repair turned into more than expected, which is rough when you’re on a small, fixed income. My fear is that I will eventually have the same experience/expense, at some point in time, with the other three tires. As a side note, and something that maybe should be filed as a separate complaint, is that the back-up camera malfunctions frequently…sometimes with image appearing upside down or a completely black screen. I spoke with two separate repair shops and was told it couldn’t be fixed…had to be replaced…and was quoted over $500 to replace it…obviously something I cannot afford to do. Was told it’s a common issue on Escapes, yet there have been no recalls for this issue. If we’re really trying to improve safety, then maybe this issue needs to be addressed as well. I have heard they will be required on new cars in the future; but something needs to be done about existing failures…and to set a standard regarding future failures on those new cars. My camera went out after warranty expiration, so I had no way to afford to fix it. Ford should stand behind their product and replace these defective cameras. My car now has 95,207 miles on it, and the camera failed over a year ago. I wouldn’t think a 7-year-old (6-year-old at time of failure) car with less than 100,000 miles on it should have that type of failure. Ford needs to use better equipment or offer better warranties. For most of us, $500 is a pretty substantial expense, and I’ll bet there are a lot of Escapes with defective cameras that people can’t afford to fix.

I had a blowout on my left driver tire. We were on a interstate highway. The highway patrol was unable to get the lug nuts off to change the tire. I had the tire iron that came with the car and the highway patrol had a 4 way tire iron. None of them were able to get the lug nuts off. When I had it towed to a Ford dealer I was told that this is a problem with all the Ford Escapes. The lug nuts swell up and cannot be removed. I was told to get the lug nuts changed out and I would not have this problem. I did this at my expense. Why is Ford not required to change these out at their expense and why were we not notified before I had this blowout out on a interstate???? it cost me $150. 00 to get all the lug nuts replaced.

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated that after driving, there was an abnormal knocking sound detected. The contact became aware that the lug nuts were loosened. While driving at an unknown speed, the wheel detached. The contact stated that the studs had sheared off. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that the wheel bearings needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure persisted. The manufacturer was not contacted or informed of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the lug nuts were swollen due to a manufacturing defect. The contact stated that it was difficult to remove the lug nuts in order to change or replace the tires. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic however, the mechanic was unable to remove the lug nuts. The contact called currie motors Ford of valpo (2052 w morthland dr, valparaiso, in 46385, (219) 336-1373), and informed the dealer of the failure. The dealer referred the contact to the manufacturer for assistance. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to NHTSA. The failure mileage was 112,000.

Tl the contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. While the vehicle was undergoing routine service at sanderson Ford (6400 n 51st Ave, glendale, az 85301, (800) 729-3501), the dealer diagnosed that all 20 lug nuts were detached and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and did not assist. The warranty failed to cover the repairs. The failure mileage was 26,000.

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact was unable to remove the lug nuts from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the lug nuts were swollen and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The VIN was unknown. The approximate failure mileage was 47,000.