CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2005 Escape has problems where the engine shuts down while driving. Ford finally issued a September 2014 recall. Time will tell if the recall fix really solves the problem.
However the 2005 Escape also has a defect where the PCM (Power Control Module) fries at around 100k miles. Ford extended the PCM warranty to 80,000 miles, but only after most owners were past the mileage limit. Now owners are on the hook for the average repair cost of over $2,000 (!!)
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
115,791 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
Upon arriving home from trip, hubby said he had heard loud noise while driving and vehicle's rear end felt funny. Inspection turns up a completely rusted out passenger side rear fender well.
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.
My wife came home and mentioned it was making noise in the back. Upon inspection I noticed that both fender wells have rusted away and pulled away from body. The vehicle has only 100,000 miles and is well taken care of. Going online I read where many owners of vehicles built before and after 2005 are suffering from the same problem. I'm from Ohio and I'm familiar with surface rust but this is both extreme and dangerous. How many years and complaints have to pass before you do something. Ford needs to be made to own up to this and fix this. I have a vehicle I can't afford to fix or drive because the back shock mounts have rotted away.
Our 2005 Ford Escape has rusted through behind the right rear tire. We heard like a loud bang when driving it and found the wheel well is rusted and broken as is the shock tower and the right rear tail light has its wires cut due to the broken frame. We owe money on this vehicle and we cannot drive it right now. This is definitely a safety issue and we have contacted Ford with all the pertinent information.
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 this; this is a dangerous flaw should it break through while driving at high speeds. Should be recalled and fixed by Ford. It can't be said this is just "normal wear and tear" when only the one wheel well is consistently the one that is rusting while the other wheel wells do not. I have 125K on my Escape, but who knows how long the hole has been there.
- Garden City, MI, USA
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Passenger side rear wheel well is completetly rotted/rusted and involves shock mount. It is unsafe to drive and research shows that this is an ongoing problem with this model. I heard rattling when I went over a bump and when I looked at the rear carriage of the vehicle I saw that the wheel well was totally destroyed by rust.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Escape. The contact stated that there was extensive rust and corrosion on the rear wheel wells and the frame, which caused the exhaust manifold to rust prematurely. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and a dealer where it was diagnosed that the rear wheel wells, the frame and the exhaust manifold needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 55,000. The VIN was not available.
Heard a loud thump from rear right side of the escort while driving 35 miles an hour on a city street. Took it to the shop, they said the right rear strut was rusted through, it is un fixable and to look for a new car. They also said it is a common thing to happen to the 2005 Ford Escape. No recall, Ford does not care.
My 2005 Escape was parked on 9/28/2015 when I noticed a large piece of metal resting on top of the tire. Looking closer, I noticed the underside of the right rear fender well has rusted out, you can see into the interior storage compartment. The rust crack continues up and around the upper shock mount allowing it to move/flex. The piece of metal that fell off was undercoated along with the rest of the wheel well, hiding the rust that formed underneath. I was not aware the condition was so bad, but now I am afraid to drive the vehicle in this condition.
Passenger rear wheel well rusting thru. Was replacing a tire and the auto shop would not replace the tire without fixing the rusted thru wheel well as they were concerned it was a safety issue and that the wheel well could fall apart and the shock/strut could detach.
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 have anywhere near that level of corrosion.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Escape. While driving at various speeds, a loud noise was heard from the rear of the vehicle. The contact discovered that the rear driver side tire well was rusted. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the rear frame was severely rusted. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not included in the NHTSA campaign number: 14V165000 (structure). The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 86,719....updated 10-13-15 updated 3/28/16
The hinge on the lift gate window rotted out and the back glass fell down on the passengers side of the vehicle in 2013. We had to replace it at a cost of over $70. Currently the hinge on the drivers side rotted through and the back glass on that side fell down. We had to replace that one at a cost of over $80. This is unsafe if it were to happen on the road and fall out and onto the roadway.
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.
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 these vehicles on the right rear side. Https://www.youtube.com/watch?V=9_ozk8igk5S repairs are costing the consumers on these vehicles nearly $2000 dollars or more at the auto body repair shop. How can Ford do this on these vehicles and current models. I have a 2011 Ford Escape and it is starting to rust out in the same place. Why?????????????????" make Ford recall these vehicle and pay for these repairs. Instead of the consumer having to get raked over the coals from the auto body shops or your local Ford dealer.
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 absorbers. There was no indication at that time of this problem developing. The metal on the vehicle seems to have an issue because it is rusting in other areas as well, such as the fuel filler neck, the bottoms of the rear doors, the bottom of the rear lift gate, the outer edges of the rear wheel openings, and at the base of the side view mirror.
Our 2005 Ford Escape in just a matter of weeks developed a basketball-sized hole over the right rear wheel well. It completely rusted through the wheel well, and the you can see through the opening to the shock and the tire from inside the vehicle. In addition, the shock is no longer attached to the frame, which makes this vehicle unsafe for the road. We will not allow our son to drive this truck any longer, and are now unable to provide him with a safe car since the repairs to this truck are very high. This is a major issue that affects a large number of other drivers. We all have the exact same complaint on where the damage occurs (right rear wheel well) and the extent of this damage (the truck is no longer safe to drive). Ford needs to recall these vehicles and fix this problem. Thank you.
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 recall the vehicle to fix there poor design.
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 thousands of complaints with the same issue. All on the rear passenger wheel well. These complaints range from different states and even other countries. To me if many many of the same vehicle is having the exact same problem then it sounds like a defect in the parts. I just thank god I wasn't going at a high speed and hit a pot hole or something. Something should really be done about this.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Fairmont, WV, USA