2004 Ford Escape Body Problems
- 108
- 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 108 stored complaint records:
- 3 indicate a crash
- 0 indicate injury
- 1 indicate fire
What owners report
- wheel well · 60 records
- rear passenger · 33 records
- passenger side · 33 records
- right rear · 30 records
- rear wheel · 25 records
- shock mount · 19 records
Mileage in stored records
| Band | Records |
|---|---|
| 100–150k mi | 55 |
| 150–400k mi | 23 |
| 60–100k mi | 13 |
| 1–30k mi | 4 |
| 30–60k mi | 3 |
Complaint records
Owner-submitted complaint content, presented as stored.
Body
Passenger side rear inner wheel well and strut mount rusted out. Hole the size of a grapefruit. Apparently this is a known issue with this make, model, and year of vehicle. Complaints regarding this exact issue all over the internet yet no safety recall regarding the problem. My strut has not yet protruded and broken through the mount but will shortly if not addressed.
ODI 10854035
Body
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford escape. When the vehicle was moved from a parking spot, there was evidence of fragments of corroded metal underneath the vehicle. The contact stated that the passenger and driver side rear wheel wells were corroded. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be inspected. The contact was informed that there was extreme corrosion to the fuel tank, the fuel tank straps, and the entire rear…
ODI 10851988
Body
Passenger side rear wheel well rusted. Shock mount is now completely disconnected.
ODI 10851523
Body · Suspension
The wheel well on the right rear side of car completely rusted out causing my shock to be free in my car. Ford will not fix it and it is a serious issue. A quick search will reveal at least 96 other complaints of the exact same issue in the exact same area of the vehicle
ODI 10850458
Body · Steering · Suspension
Engine cradle, part of the frame is under recall,is broke. Dealer applied "band-aid" manufacturer declines to replace broken cross-member, even though it is under recall. Recall #14v165000
ODI 10837054
Body · Suspension · Wheels
I just purchased a used 2004 ford escape xlt with only 45,000 miles on it (12 years old, 45,000'what i thought was a diamond in the rough). It had undercoating to protect from rust when it was new. Very well taken care of, like new inside! So imagine my surprise after driving it 2 months when the passenger side rear wheel well started falling apart (wasn't like that when i bought it). Within a 3 week span it was…
ODI 10824001
Body · Suspension
The frame around the rear suspension is rusted out (through) the rear shock is not connected to anything. Is there a recall on this ? I know the vehicle is old but i have never heard of this on even older vehicles.
ODI 10837361
Body · Suspension
Shock frame support on right rear side completely rusted out making vehicle unsafe to drive along with entire area rusting out prematurely. I can see the outside thru my speaker grill. How could this not be a safety recall when it is clearly a ford defect? Repair quotes in the $2000- $2500 range.
ODI 10808684
Body
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford escape. While driving 45 mph, a loud banging noise was heard. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the rear passenger wheel well, and the shock absorber tower were severely corroded. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vin was invalid. The approximate failure mileage was 144,000.
ODI 10795166
Body
Our 2004 ford escape is making metallic creaking, squeaking and groaning sounds from the passenger side rear. The sound is triggered by just sitting in the stationary car and rocking back and forth. It becomes constant as soon as the vehicle starts moving. There are also occasional heavy metallic thumps or knocks on the passenger side or underside of the car, and the ride is rough. The passenger side rear inner…
ODI 10808666
Body · Steering · Suspension
Ford's 14s02 recall was to deal with excessive rust on a subframe unit. If the recall inspection of the subframe did not result in characteristics warranting replacement, ford instructed dealers to install a cross brace. Approximately 13 months after our 2004 ford escape had the cross brace installed the subframe unit failed while we were driving. The car violently jerked to the side and if there had been another…
ODI 10765266
Body
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford escape. While driving at approximately 40 mph, the vehicle violently veered to the right without warning. The failure recurred three times. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the subframe failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The vehicle was previously repaired under nhtsa campaign number: 14v165000 (structure) but the…
ODI 10765069
Body
Right rear inner fender well rusted out. Causing shock not to be attached. Unsafe to drive as is. Ford should do something about this.
ODI 10760093
Body · Suspension · Wheels
Wheel well rusted through to interior of car, shock dislocated from wheel well. We just moved to raleigh from michigan. See related news articles: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2014/04/07/ford-recall-fusion-escape/7427299/ http://truckyeah.jalopnik.com/almost-400-000-old-ford-escape-suvs-recalled-1560352974…
ODI 10748089
Body · Suspension
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...updated…
ODI 10735839
Body
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford escape. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to a dealer for nhtsa campaign number: 14v165000 (structure). While having the repairs performed, the failure listed in the noticed occurred. Due to corrosion, the cross brace that was installed failed to support the weight and fractured, rendering the part unusable. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of…
ODI 10748792
Body · Suspension
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 [redacted] to my home. This is apparently a common problem with this…
ODI 10733114
Body
Tl* 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…
ODI 10725562
Body
Tl* 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.
ODI 10725318
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
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
Body
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…
ODI 10705051
Body · Unknown Or Other · Wheels
Passenger (right) rear wheel well rusted through, causing the strut to detach. *tr
ODI 10704227
Body
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…
ODI 10711871