Problems with 2005 Ford Escape SUSPENSION

Passenger rear is rested shocks struts detached

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford escape. while driving various speeds, the contact heard an abnormal sound coming from the rear passenger side of the vehicle. the contact discovered that the shock was not connected to the vehicle. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with rust between the shock and the rear passenger side frame. the shock absorber needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not notified. the failure mileage was 188,000.

Noticed undercoating peeling off in wheel well(rear passenger side). pulled off and also found a 3in. circle of metal loose. have seen other(300+) reports of this rust problem on this web page. i am original owner and vehicle has always been garaged when not in use and has less than 70k miles. there are no handling or noise issues yet.

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford escape. while driving 42 mph, the contact heard a clanking noise coming from the rear passenger side wheel well. the contact stopped the vehicle and noted that the shock absorber had detached from the wheel well. the vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the wheel bearings failed and needed to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired; however, the dealer stated that the vehicle was unsafe to drive even after being repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 172,000.*dt *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford escape. the contact stated that the wheel well was corroded all the way through. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic because the lower control arm was corroded through the entire frame underneath the vehicle. the vehicle was not repaired. the vin was not included in nhtsa campaign number: 14v165000 (structure). the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 100,000. ...updated 05/17/17 *bf *cn

We started to hear a very loud banging coming from the back passenger side when we drove over even the smallest bump. the rear passenger side wheel well is completely rusted though (you can see the interior) and the wheel could fall off at anytime. the car is not safe to drive with out a very expensive repair. after looking online i found that this is a very common occurrence and that 2001-2004 escapes were recalled for the same issue.

Almost suddenly, a loud rattling sound from the rear started last week. when inspected, to my shock, the rear wheel well was totally, totally rotted out . this vehicle has been been garaged and carefully maintained since we bought it. in fact, for the past 8 years--it has been basically driven about 16 -20 miles per day. and again--garaged day and night. and now, almost immediately, it appears very unsafe to drive. as a result, i'm now searching for another car to buy--not wanting to spend +$1,200 on this repair.

2005 ford escape. rear passenger side shock mount completely rusted/broken. wheel well and fender completely rotted out while the rest of the vehicle has no rust at all. why has ford not recalled the 2005 escape, after seeing thousands of complaints about the same issue

Underbody is all rusted, only 57,000 miles and stored inside, except when driving. *tr

Vehicle started making a noise in passenger rear wheel. upon inspection i observed that the well was completely rusted through where the shock is mounted. learned that this is a manufacturing defect from thousands of complaints

Back passenger shock mount completely rusted out and found over 500 compaints for same exact problem.

The passenger side rear shock tower is rusted to the point where the top of the shock is not secured to the uni-body frame. when going over a bump there is metal to metal contact. while not rusted completely through, a screwdriver can be easily poked through the rusty metal on the rear driver side shock tower as well. this has obviously been slowly rusting the last few years but was not visible until the inner panels were removed allowing access to the inner wheel wells. my grandchildren had been riding in their car seats in this vehicle. a rear or rear side accident would have been catastrophic.

I have a 2005 ford escape that started making sounds in the back of the vehicle while driving in the town streets coming home when i hit bumps. we looked at the rear passenger side tire well and the shock mount is rusted through. the body is resting on the coil. i am afraid to drive it due to the danger of the body coming down on the wheel.

Went to replace rear shocks. rear passenger wheel well has rusted and i could move shock mount tower when truck is bounced. also have banging and bouncing going on. rides rough and have a rust hole and can see tire below. bad engineering design. the ford motor company should fess up and correct this, but they won't they got their money!!!

Rust caused the separation of the lower control arm from the subframe of the vehicle. the vehicle was primarily used in a salt-belt state. the issue became evident after a small pothole caused the rear frame to puncture through the passenger rear wheelhouse into the cab of the vehicle causing a high-pitched squeal and steering difficulties..

I own a 2005 ford escape and recently began hearing a loud noise coming from the back passenger side. upon inspection, i found the entire passenger side rear well had completely rusted out and the shock was now coming through the rear well into my car. this has made my car completely unsafe to drive. i have made a complaint with ford as well as on here in hopes that ford would do the responsible thing and take care of it. it is quite obviously ford knows about this issue and is refusing to take responsibility for it. it is hard to miss the hundreds of complaints on this website for the exact same problem. not to mention ford has already recalled the 2001-04 for this exact same issue. for the absolute ridiculous amount that it costs to fix this issue, i personally would feel much safer putting my time and money into a new vehicle. obviously, that vehicle will not be a ford.

When i bought the vehicle from call lot tolled them brakes were going out he test drive and he said they were fine so i took his word then a few days later my water rateteravoter hose busted i had to get that them fixed and then they charged me to fix it then a few days later i here a thump on the back of my vehicle the whole back of my wheel area by the wheel was completely rusted out there no protection on the wheel and the strusts where busted they had stuff stuffed in it so you couldn't tell went to talk to them about it they say this happens there nothing they could for me but to charge me five hundred dollars to fix it i done nothing but have problems with this vehicle and this isn't the first one i've had problems with the are selling vehicle with safe hazards i paid out 1000.00 out on a car test drove it and guess i should of test drive it longer but i didn't i bought it and was on my way to put gas in it and the motor blow up. i had state police wait with me me and my 16 year old was stuck in high traffic because the motor blow state police said he had to get there and toll the car and he bought a trailer with a flat tired to try and toll it off the state police made him leave and called for a toll truck the car lot refused to give me my money back so i could go some where else so i bought a another car it was in fair condtion but when water stated hitting motor it ended up getting total by insurance company so still couldn't get money back made me pay out another 600.00 out for the vehicle and after i gave him the money he wrote out sold as is and could not trade vehicle or get my money back so i feel like he knew something was wrong with the vehicle because he didn't write this on the last two vehicles.

Last monday my 2005 ford escape cargo area items started bumping severely when going over road imperfections. by friday the suspension was shifting when driving over same imperfections. i got out and looked at the back end and found that the right rear shock mount has rusted completed through the wheel well. i only have 114,000 miles on the car and like so many of the other complaints the mechanic i had look at it said that shouldn't have happened and surely there should be a recall on it. when i checked the internet, no recall. i'm very nervous driving, but have no other options at this point.

Vehicle suddenly started making a banging sound so i took vehicle into our mechanic. apparently the passenger side suspension was not properly sealed and the sheet metal in the wheel well has deteriorated to the point in which the shock tower has disconnected from the vehicle frame. i was refereed to a auto welding shop by my mechanic and was surprised to see that there were two of the same vehicles at the facility having the exact same problem resolved. the mechanic at this welding shop says that he is repairing personally 3 ford escapes per week for the exact issue and he was able to show me the two that he had just repaired over the past two days. i am now more shocked to see that there are over 500 complaints with this exact same complaint just at this nhtsa.gov sight and that there are literally thousands of other identical complaints posted on the internet. this is an extremely unsafe safety issue. the fact is that the loud banging noise is enough to cause most owners to pause and to look into the matter and thus typically this issue does not result in an accident. however, safety issues and recalls should not only involve accidents or casualties. this is a very real problem impacting every single 2005 ford escape and costing consumers hundreds and thousands in repairs that ford refuses to acknowledge.

The entire right side shock mount and wheel well totally rusted and hanging on by a thread. my 18 year old son could have been killed had we not discovered it. i have read hundreds of these complaints which is how we discovered that this was the same noise we were hearing and decided to look at right side back door passenger wheel well. we can literally move it up and down. this is a major safety issue and someone is going to get killed from this because the wheel can fall off!!!! thank goodness we heard the noise while driving and investigated it.

The shock module on the right rear passanger side has deteriorated and has become dislodged from the wheel well. this has made the suv undrivable. this happened while driving on a newly paved road, going over a gentle hill. while driving the vehicle over the hill, there was a loud clank and the vehicle served slightly (thankfully no oncoming traffic was present). upon driving home there is an evident clanking heard in the rear and the suv can be felt to swerve slightly from left to right. this occurrence has only happened to the right wheel well and is not evident in any other wheel well. if road salt or weather conditions were to blame, equal distribution at all 4 wheel wells would be evident, but the other 3 are fine with no rust or deterioration present. searches on the internet have seen thousands of similar complaints, along with pictures and the damage all appears to be the same - and also applies to model years 2004, 2005, and 2006.

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford escape. while driving approximately 35 mph, the rear passenger side shock mount bracket rusted and dislodged from the vehicle. the vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the vin was unknown. the failure mileage was 125,000.

The right rear wheel well has rusted completely through; leaving the strut bouncing freely. the car can not be driven at this time. at the time it broke, it almost bounced me into oncoming traffic. this should be a recall as it happens to all 2004-2006 escapes. ....updated 07/11/16 *bf

The right rear shock mount disconnected from the body because of rust...early years were recalled for this problem

Rear passenger wheel well is rusted thru to the interior. shock absorber is about to separate from the body. unsafe to drive. quoted $2,200 to repair.

The passenger side rear wheel well rusted out causing the strut to break through the trunk of the car . it also have bad rust on the other side wheel well. this happened while i was driving on the hwy. upon taking it to an auto body shop was told the vehicle was unsafe to drive.

The rear passenger-side shock mount (where it mounts to the unibody) has rusted completely away. the top of the shock is no longer attached to the vehicle.

Started hearing a clunking sound on the rear shock. back rear shock tower rotted out. not even anything to weld it too. had to have it rebuilt.

Rusted out wheel well effecting the shock absorber top mount could break free while driving. i heard a new rattle investigated and found my whole wheel well above the top shock mount is rusted out. got prices from four ford dealers ranging from 900.00 to 4000.00 to repair it all of the dealers were aware of the problem and herd of many other examples. i am wondering way there hasn't been a recall?

2005 ford escape 4x4 v6 passenger side rear wheel house rusted significantly enough to cause rear wheel shock connected to wheel house to forcefully separate and begin colliding with the inside plastic moulding in the trunk of the car. damage was initially found while in motion, noticed by a rattling noise in the rear of the vehicle. upon further inspection and removal of the plastic trunk housing, the entire top of the wheel well was very clearly rusted. the shock was still connected to a piece of the wheel house. the rear passenger shock had forcefully disconnected the piece of the wheel house it was attached to because of the overwhelming around of rust. auto-body shop quoted a $2,000 repair (for a car bought for #3,600) to order a new wheelhouse and install it. professional auto body shop teams quoted that the issue wasn't something you could patch or lightly repair, and the shock would need to be reattached to the body of the car to be driven safely. ford was contacted twice and replied with their apologies that the customer was experiencing this issue, knowingly aware that the 2001-2004 models of this vehicle were recalled for the exact same issue and that hundreds of other customers have seen this issue around 120,000 miles. the issue seems to always be on the rear passenger side with no significant rust or damage on the drivers side.

Entire right wheel well of the vehicle is rusting away. the shock absorber is mounted to this sheet metal, so it is no longer effective, making the vehicle unsafe to drive. i understand this is a common problem with these vehicles and ford will do nothing to compensate me. currently hearing a loud thumping at every bump, due to the shock becoming detached from the vehicle.

The shock mount on the right rear rusted out detaching the shock from the body and piercing through the upper plastic cover in the interior of the vehicle. the vehicle was moving at slow speeds when this happened. ford should have been a recall on this because had it broke and separated at highway speeds the vehicle could have lost control! second, ford does not have the replacement parts available even though there are a lot of 2005 escapes on the road. also auto bodyshops are unwilling to do any modifications or wielding due to the liability of the location and importance of that piece. so the vehicle is un repairable at this time!

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford escape. while driving 35 mph, there was an abnormal noise coming from the rear of the vehicle. the dealer diagnosed that the rear shock tower had severe corrosion, which caused the rear shocks to fracture and separate from the subframe of the vehicle. the contact also stated that the rear hatch window support was severely corroded and needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 100,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford escape. while driving over a hump in the road, the contact heard a loud banging noise. the contact performed a test drive and discovered that the rear passenger wheel well had a rusted hole underneath the vehicle and the shock absorber was detached from the original mount. the manufacturer was notified. the failure mileage was 70,000.

Rear passenger wheel well rusting out around shock attachment. just discovered this today but through online research it appears to be a very common problem and should be a know issue to the manufacturer - they had a rust recall for 2001 - 2004 models

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford escape. the contact stated that the rear of the vehicle emitted a loud snapping noise, while driving at 60 mph. the contact discovered that the rear passenger struts corroded causing the rear passenger shocks to fracture, separating from the wheel well. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 180,000.

Loud banging coming from right rear of vehicle driving down city street. brought vehicle in for repair and was told the right rear passenger shock tower was completely rusted through the vehicle body to the point of entering the vehicle interior. i am told that the rear axle can tear away from the vehicle resulting in accident and possible injury or death.

My son was complaining that the back end of the car began rattling and "jumping" while driving in the city in nov of 2015. we had it checked out in dec and was told and shown how unsafe the car was to drive,due to the entire right rear wheel well and strut was completely rusted away. the only thing that was holding the wheel to the car was the plastic molding of the trunk area which was also melting away from the heat.i could not believe a car could disintegrate and deteriorate so badly. in good conscious the auto repair owner would not allow us to drive the car anymore. nor would i want to. plus, the cost to fix it was not worth the price of the car,and he couldnt fix it. he told me to list it on craigs list to sell the car in parts. the rest of the car is in great condition , after i spent $6000, to buy the car in aug of 2014, then another $2000 for 4 new tires, brake lines, and oil leaks!! who knows what else would have come up. i just glad my son did not get hurt driving home from college 21/2 hrs on the highway. i wish i knew about this exact common problem of 1000 other peoples complaints. ford needs to be accountable of the particular problem of faulty material. i do not know how many people have gotten hurt, and how many more need to get hurt before something is done,

The passenger rear wheel well and shock tower is completely rusted away and the body is coming away from the frame and the shock tower is loose from the frame. this is a common problem with the escape and should be addressed by ford before someone is killed or injuried.

Heard a noise near rear wheel house. upon inspection it was discovered that the wheel house on the passenger rear was completely rusted to the point that the shock was just barely hanging on. the repair would cost more than the vehicle is worth. lots of complaints on same issue that ford refuses to address or correct. should be compensation and/or a recall. also looks like the same thing is happening to the other side. nice job ford!

Son came home one day said there is a lot of noise in the back of the escape. once looking inside the back of the truck, i noticed i could see the driveway and tire. once i went to look in the wheel well, i could see a very large hole in the wheel. total rust out of passenger side inner wheel well and shock tower. the hole has to to be at least 16" wide and 13" height. the rear shock is completely disconnected from the body sheet metal. it is only being held in place by the lower shock absorber bolt and nut. vehicle only has about 100,000 miles. totally afraid to let my son drive this to college. sitting in driveway until i can find someone to fix it. called two ford dealerships and said there is not recall and it is up to me to find someone to fix it. they told me over the phone it would be $5,000 to repair this. this will be the last ford we ever buy if we have to scrape this because of this issue. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).' *jb

2005 ford escape rear left inner wheel well rusted through and shock support broken loose it has 150,000 miles on it.

While driving on the freeway started hearing a loud sound and the car became bumpy and bouncy. pulled off the freeway, but could not identify the problem. took to a garage and told right rear inner shock mount and fender panel had rotted. ford had a replacement part for this condition, but did not have a recall. labor cost due to welding was $1300.00, total cost 1,966.00. how could ford have a replacement part, but not a recall? tried 3 garages only 1 (who had a welder) would consider the job. car could not be driven...condition worsened quickly and had to drive 10 mph to get estimates with blinkers on...hoping no one would hit us. scary! had to replace inner shock mount and fender panel, install , weld, and seal. also needed new rear shocks.

While driving the vehicle, there was a noise in the back passenger side of the vehicle when going over bumps only. we could not locate the noise inside the vehicle. (it sounds like the glass or the tire jack, were not secure.) the auto shop explained, that the vehicle is not attached to the shock, and it along with exhaust is coming in through the truck area. explained that the vehicle was a 'death trap' if hit from behind, the vehicle that hit this one would go right though this vehicle. accorded to the auto shop, the issue is not fixable.

My passenger rear end is all rusted out and the shock has come thru my vehicle. it sounds horrible, and was told it was very unsafe to drive, as the shock isn't connected to the body of the vehicle now. it will cost more then it's worth, and this is the only vehicle that i have to drive me and my family around in.

When i was driving down the interstate at 70 mph, i began to hear a clunking sound from the rear passenger side. it happened every time i hit even a small bump or crack. when i took it to the body shop, they discovered the passenger side rear wheel well is corroded; rust/rot has caused the shock mount to become nearly completely detached from the frame. it is unsafe to drive, and body shops won't even provide an estimate for repairs as the deterioration is too extensive, and they can't fix it. a quick online search shows this is an ongoing issue with 2005 escapes, and must be addressed for safety. the body shop owner told me not to take the car on the interstate because if i were to hit a bump at 65 mph, i would be "asking a lot of this car to hold together." the clunking sound is now consistent no matter what speed or surface i am driving on.

After hitting pothole a loud banging sound was heard coming from rear storage area on passenger side. vehicle was taken to service shop and was shown that rear passenger wheel well was completely rusted out leading to shock tower breaking loose from body and protruding into the rear cabin area. service manager said this was likely due to catastrophic failure of body integrity in that area and stated that the vehicle was unsafe to drive. he also stated that he had seen this on other 2005 ford vehicles (windstar van). given the construction of the body the service manager stated that the affected portion would need to be cut out and custom fabricated to replace the cut out area, likely costing nearly as much as the vehicle is worth.

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford escape. the contact stated that while driving at various speeds, an abnormal noise emitted from the vehicle without warning. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the rear passenger wheel well had separated from the body of vehicle and needed to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was 99,000.

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.

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.