2005 Ford Escape Suspension Problems
- 425
- 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 425 stored complaint records:
- 3 indicate a crash
- 0 indicate injury
- 1 indicate fire
What owners report
- wheel well · 86 records
- passenger side · 49 records
- rear passenger · 35 records
- rear wheel · 24 records
- shock tower · 23 records
- right rear · 22 records
Mileage in stored records
| Band | Records |
|---|---|
| 100–150k mi | 201 |
| 150–400k mi | 82 |
| 60–100k mi | 80 |
| 30–60k mi | 14 |
| 1–30k mi | 5 |
Complaint records
Owner-submitted complaint content, presented as stored.
Body · Suspension
2005 ford escape, have had a lot of clunking in back of car, and the rear right wheel well is falling/rusting apart (other wheel wells are not, just rear passenger side) right where shock absorber is mounted. Large rusted out hole in wheel well, and if i press around the wheel well, the black coating crumbles revealing crumbling rust behind it. Many other 2005 escape owners with same issue. I have no money to fix…
ODI 10781321
Body · Suspension
Wheel well rotted out causing shock to break loose and create unsafe vehicle. I was driving down the street when it finally let go and saw debris fall all over road and heard a loud bang from passenger side rear of car.
ODI 10782272
Suspension · Unknown Or Other
Right rear wheel well rusted out so bad the lower control arm to the rear tire is close to separating from the vehicle subframe. Car unsafe to drive
ODI 10773978
Suspension
While driving down the road, heard a load bang in the back of the car on the right side. After inspecting the vehicle i noticed that the inner wheel well was rusted out and the shock was no longer connected to the vehicle. Looks like the frame may be cracked under the attach point of the upper strut mount.
ODI 10765238
Body · Suspension
Rear right shock mount rusting through . K-frame rotted through right front side
ODI 10776595
Body · Suspension
Right rear shock mount completely rusted out, bought car brand new, only 60,000 miles on it . Come to find out all ford escapes this year are having the same issue. This is a serious problem because this is a suspension and handling issue, car was very difficult to drive and keep in lane. The problem has it's own facebook page, 2004-2006 ford escape. Very poor engineering design mounting shock to sheetmetal.
ODI 10819939
Service Brakes · Steering · Suspension
The sub-frame rusted through causing both front wheels to toe out and also to camber in at the top. The abs warning light also triggered. The steering now pulls to the left and there is tire squeel even on gradual right hand turns. There is a recall for this exact problem for the ford escape model years 2001-2004. It is obvious that this same problem exists for this model year 2005 ford escape. I verified that my…
ODI 10759718
Body · Suspension · Unknown Or Other
Was driving along city street when i went over a small bump, heard a loud thud! The wheel well on back passenger side was rusted away where the strut connects. Or where it was once connected... 155,673 miles, this is my only vehicle and unsafe to drive my family in.
ODI 10807245
Suspension
While i was driving i noticed a banging noise in the rear of my 2005 ford escape that was getting louder, when i looked at both sides i noticed that the passenger rear well was completely rusted out. I took my escape to the car repair shop and was quoted $1000 for the repair and was told that this is a common problem with this vehicle. I started doing some research and found out that this is a very common problem…
ODI 10851322
Suspension
Right rear shock/strut rusted off the vehicle and is not attached anymore
ODI 10749923
Body · Suspension
Why is it that nhtsa is ignoring all the complaints about the ford escape vehicles from 2003 to 2007 in regards to the right rear fender well and shock mounts that are rusting out in which this is a safety issue where as the shock could hit the inner wheel of the right rear tire? No recalls from ford or nhtsa on this issue, but you can clearly see from the attached video that there is a major concern for safety of…
ODI 10749009
Body · Suspension · Wheels
Ford escape 2005 passenger rear tire wheel well rusted away where the shock absorber mount bolts onto frame and now the shock absorber mount has nothing to bolt onto anymore. Shock absorber mount is not attached to frame anymore and now hits the frame of the suv make very loud knocking sounds.
ODI 10750032
Body · Suspension
I was driving along the highway on my way to work and hit a bump in the road. Immediately after that i heard a rattling noise in the rear passenger side quarter pane on every subsequent bump. When i was able to properly examine it i realized that the metal that connects the shock tower to the wheel well had almost completely rusted away. In august of 2012, with 154,523 miles on the car, i replaced the rear shock…
ODI 10748882
Body · Suspension
When traveling at 40mph, a thumping noise could be heard in the rear of 2005 ford escape. Upon visual inspection, the passenger side rear wheel well was completely corroded, exposing the interior of the car. The mount of the shock suspension is corroded so badly that the shock is nowhere attached to the body and is what causes the thumping sound as it pushes up into the car interior. No other wheel wells on the car…
ODI 10763490
Suspension
When driving on bumpy roads i started hearing a loud rattle from passenger rear area. I couldn't find anything loose in the back of the vehicle that would make that sound. I looked up inside the rear passenger wheel well and saw that the upper portion of where the shock bolts to the body is rusted out all the way around the shock connection area. I see there are many other ford owners that have had the same problem.…
ODI 10747249
Suspension
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford escape. While driving at an unknown speed, the vehicle would sway slightly. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The technician diagnosed that the shock tower on the rear passenger side had completely rusted through to the frame. The vehicle was deemed unsafe to drive. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 108,000.
ODI 10747891
Suspension
Driving to work on aug 3, 2015, i heard loud rattling and clanking from the rear of my 2005 ford escape. Thinking that it was my tools on the back, i remove them the tools, but the rattling persisted. I walked around and did a visual inspection, and saw nothing wrong with the driver side suspension or wheel well area. The passenger side wheel well, however, had a large hole where the shock mount should have been…
ODI 10749903
Body · Suspension
The passenger side rear wheel well is rusted through so badly that the shock mount is banging in the interior panel and is about to break lose from the frame. When i bought the vehicle a month ago it still had the original undercoating on it, it was rusting from behind the undercoat. I now have to pay my mechanic to fix this safety hazard because ford, knowing that this problem exists and is extensive, will not…
ODI 10747173
Body · Suspension
Right rear shock tower mount is completed rusted away causing the shock to travel up into the wheel well
ODI 10873419
Suspension
Right rear shock absorber punched through horribly rusted wheel well into passenger compartment. I didn't hit anything. It just rusted through and totally failed. Very dangerous situation.
ODI 10761877
Steering · Suspension · Unknown Or Other
Sub-frame rust problem. There was a recall on 2001 to 2004 ford escape for this problem. Ford motor company has recalled escape crossovers from model years 2001-2004 in states that use a lot of road salt. In affected vehicles, part of the car could suffer damage from rust and even lose steering control.
ODI 10746694
Suspension
Rear wheel wells rusted away allowing struts to move. Very unstable! Afraid of an accident
ODI 10745341
Body · Suspension
I heard a load banging noise coming from the rear of my truck. After stopping to look at it my passenger side rear wheel well and strut were completely crumbled and my strut was no longer attached. I know my vehicle is 10 years old, but the mechanic i took it to said he has never seen anything like that ever on a car that old. He has been a mechanic for 40 years. After researching a little it seems there are…
ODI 10744824
Suspension
I had my daughter's car in the shop and noticed that the interior of the wheel well on passenger side rear was rotting away. This affects the suspension dramatically. It appears that it will eventually deteriorate to the point that where shock absorber mounts will eventually fail and could have disastrous results. This degradation is very similar to ford's recall #13-s-01 on select mini vans and where the rear wheel…
ODI 10744415
Suspension
While driving my 2005 ford escape hybrid i heard a dragging sound in the right rear of the vehicle. I stopped the vehicle to discover a piece of the inner wheelhouse suspension mount had separated and was rubbing on the right rear tire. This is a corrosion problem that has been reported many times to nhtsa and no enforcement action to date has been made to have ford recall these unsafe vehicles for corrective…
ODI 10735493