2004 Ford Escape Suspension Problems
- 143
- Owner complaint records in our dataset
Records are owner complaints, not a measured failure rate.
Owner complaint recordsComplaint records reflect reports in our dataset and do not measure how frequently the problem occurs across all vehicles.
Among these 143 stored complaint records:
- 1 indicate a crash
- 0 indicate injury
- 0 indicate fire
What owners report
- wheel well · 59 records
- right rear · 41 records
- rear wheel · 35 records
- passenger side · 31 records
- rear passenger · 25 records
- shock mount · 25 records
Mileage in stored records
| Band | Records |
|---|---|
| 100–150k mi | 63 |
| 150–400k mi | 38 |
| 60–100k mi | 24 |
| 30–60k mi | 6 |
Complaint records
Owner-submitted complaint content, presented as stored.
Suspension
Driving down the road when i heard a loud bang. Maybe hit a small pothole. Upon investigation, the entire sheet metal section where the rear strut mounts to the body was rusted through. All other wheel wells do not have this problem. Clearly a production problem with the underbody coating. Many other formal safety complaints talk about this particular wheel well. This vehicle was manufactured in kansas city assembly…
ODI 10731498
Suspension
My wife was going to the store and hit a small bump in the road at approx. 35mph. When she returned home she said there was a rattle in the rear of her car/truck. I took a look and the top of the shock and the shock housing was completely broken away from the suspension of the car/truck. The entire wheel well broke away from the car/truck. Can not drive our car/truck in this condition. Glad she was not hurt. Could…
ODI 10732182
Suspension · Wheels
The right rear (passenger rear) wheel well has corroded so bad that the strut mounts are beginning to fail. All other wheel wells have not corroded at all.
ODI 10730844
Body · Suspension · Wheels
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…
ODI 10724555
Body · Suspension · Wheels
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…
ODI 10717058
Suspension · Wheels
Going 20 mph down side road and hit pot hole. The part that you mount the rear shock to came apart do to rust and knocked a hole in rear wheel housing. Car is unrivalled and insurance will not cover do to it being a time related thing. There was no rust in wheel well or holes before. Very very disappointed. I insurance said it's a flaw in the design of ford. They have no recalls in past or present.
ODI 10726317
Suspension
The right rear wheel well rusted out and separated from vehicle body. Created suspension problem and hazardous driving condition. This is apparently a known issue with several ford products according to the repair shop that has not been addressed by ford.
ODI 10715684
Suspension
Rear passenger wheel well rusted shock came off. Ford won't fix it. Driving with one rear shock.
ODI 10725124
Body · Suspension
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…
ODI 10723739
Suspension
Clunking noise and rough ride. Found passenger side rear wheel well extremely rusted out and shock essentially detached from vehicle. The rest of the vehicle has no rust aside from small surface rust on non-painted pieces. Searched online to find this problem is extremely common with these escapes, yet no recall has been issued despite the obvious defect and safety concerns. *tr
ODI 10713717
Suspension
The rear passenger side wheel housing where the shock mount is located rusted and there is a big hole. Looking online there are multiple complaints about the exact same issue. Thank god i brought it into my mechanic before it tore my tire apart. *tr
ODI 10713288
Suspension
End of march 2015 owner of service station declared my vehicle unsafe to drive. Underneath bar that goes between the front tires was rusted and snapped. Fortunately the vehicle was in the drive way when the bar snapped. The vehicle was in forward motion in the driveway when bar snapped. Driving the vehicle you felt unsafe.
ODI 10902054
Body · Suspension
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford escape. While driving approximately 35 mph, the steering wheel turned independently with a loud abnormal noise. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who stated that the passenger 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…
ODI 10701644
Body · Suspension · Wheels
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…
ODI 10694733
Body · Steering · Suspension
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 safety and handling of the vehicle at this point. This seems to be a very common issue with escapes and always the right rear…
ODI 10695287
Suspension
I was driving my 2004 escape when i heard a rattling on the rear passenger side of vehicle. A mechanic told me that the entire shock tower has rusted out and there is a whole in the wheel well. I just got off the phone with ford on 2/23/15 and told them of this problem and they never heard of such a thing. I told them it amazing that i can find alot of complaints about this and you know thing. Also told them that…
ODI 10701255
Body · Suspension
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. *tr
ODI 10682350
Suspension
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 ford escape. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the rear passenger side shock detached from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the sub frame was rusted and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 80,000.
ODI 10692511
Suspension
Hit a bump and vehicle started making a rattling noise on every little bump.found passenger side rear shock mount had broken through body-rust all around wheel well.checked drivers side-ok. Have always washed on regular basis.has to be some manufacturing defect. *tr
ODI 10676339
Body · Suspension · Wheels
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. *js
ODI 10669299
Suspension
I heard a loud thump in right rear of my vehicle. Upon inspection the entire right rear wheel is rotted out and is not safe to drive. *tr
ODI 10668496
Body · Suspension
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…
ODI 10678182
Suspension
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 ford escape. The contact stated that the rear shock detached from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to dealer where it was diagnosed that the vehicle could not be repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 180,000. Updated 6/3/15*cn updated 9/27/2017*cn
ODI 10692006
Suspension
Problem with right passenger side wheel well rusted out. Vehicle is unsafe to drive and pictures can be provided. When discussing with mechanic said this is a problem with all escapes. Just had the vehicle over a year and was never seen when purchasing. Who would of thought of checking wheel wells. Shock is barely hanging on and was told if driven can flip over. *tr
ODI 10705268
Suspension
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford escape. The contact stated that the rear passenger side shock mount was rusted and fractured. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 162,000.
ODI 10661643