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.
Daughter driving her vehicle home from work noticed severe vibration in front of vehicle and gradual loss of control of steering. Following day, vehicle brought to repair shop for inspection. Discovered that right lower control arm broken. Discovered that there was a massive recall for exact issue. Remedy said to be support brace/cross member. Vehicle brought to Ford dealership for repair. Recall device installed, however, dealership failed to advise vehicle owner of rotting sub frame in right front of vehicle. Inspected by independent auto shop after install and severe rotting and structural defects found in right front sub frame. Support brace supplied by recall essentially useless as it bolts in to rotting sub frame. Independent shop advises that vehicle is unsafe to drive for both occupants and other drivers due to serious likelihood of loss of control. Note that there are multiple complaints on same issue. Also note that a significant number, (over 50%), of these complaints reveal severe rotting and structural failure to right front sub frame. Contacted Ford about sub frame issues and concerns and was referred back to Ford dealership. Advised to express concerns over workmanship! Ford dealership installed the replacement cross member just fine. But they bolted it to a rusted defected sub frame!! come on people. Do we have to wait until some young unsuspecting mother with a car load of kids loses control of her vehicle and hits a tree, or a pole, or oncoming traffic before the real issue is addressed? I can only imagine the lawsuits!! certainly have enough people for a class action.
While backing out of drive felt an unusual tug of steering wheel, and steering wheel was rotated approx. 30 degrees. Drove it to repair shop where they discovered the lower control arm had rusted away from the subframe mount and the subframe was significantly rusted. Also was notified of safety recall 14S02. Made appointment and slowly drove vehicle to Ford dealership to have recall addressed. Dealership replaced only sub frame crossbrace as directed by Ford Motor Co. Subframe is still rusted in other areas surrounding newly installed crossbrace and unsafe to drive. Dealership wanted over $2000 to replace subframe.
Severe corrosion caused steering failure. I had taken the car in June 2014 for recall from Ford Motor Company that sever corrosion may cause steering failure. They installed a new bracket. Apparently the new bracket did not help because it still failed 6 months later. Love driving a car you can not steer safely. Ford will not take any responsibility to actually make their car safe. It is heading to the junkyard with 46,000 miles on it. Case 5501030 denied by Ford. If you are driving an Escape, look out. It will fail and Ford will do nothing to help you. You may die.
The contact owns a 2003 Ford Escape. The contact received a recall notice for NHTSA campaign number: 14V165000 (structure: Frame and members). The contact took the vehicle to the dealer to have it repaired according to the recall. The mechanic installed a newly designed reinforcement cross-brace; however, the mechanic could not complete a front end alignment due to an excessive amount of corrosion present. The front end alignment was an enforced procedure per the manufacturer, which was included in the remedy for the recall. The manufacturer was notified and informed the contact that nothing could be done. The contact had not experienced the failure listed in the recall; however, the steering became affected due to the recall. The failure mileage was unknown.
At a slow speed, steering all of the sudden became erratic. It could not be driven, so my local dealer took a look at it. He is a certified Ford mechanic. He said the subframe was damaged and it was directly related to the recall #14S02 which is for a crossbar to the subframe due to a potential loss of steering. We had to have it towed to the only Ford dealership in our area, oneonta Ford. The put the crossbar in and performed only the specific recall work. They are telling me now that it still cannot be driven as the subframe is damaged. This is directly related to the issue and the recall. I don't feel I should have to pay for this. Oneonta Ford is not doing the right thing.
- Delhi, NY, USA
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Driving vehicle and heard a loud pop and sudden loss of steering. Limped the vehicle home and took to dealer who contacted Ford for further instructions. They installed a cross brace that does not fix the problem. Ford will not do anything to the subframe because it has not fully detached. There is no steering control at all over 15mph and in their eyes it is safe to drive. Service manager at the local dealership drove the vehicle and experienced for himself that there is no control over the vehicle. The recall has not fixed the problem at all.
I am writing about a recall for my Ford Escape. This recall included the front control arms and the subframe. They were being recalled for corrosion on the control arms and if separated from the subframe it could cause significant steering loss and loss of control of the car and increasing chance of an accident. I took my car in for the recall fix, they installed a reinforcement part and sent me on my way. After this, slowly, my steering wheel started becoming cock-eyed. After driving it like that for a few days, I noticed that after I take a left turn the car would jerk as the steering wheel straightened. I immediately called the Ford dealer that fixed the recall, since the recall clearly stated that it could lose steering control and asked them to look at it again, thinking that he recall was not fixed properly or something else to do with the recall is failing. They looked at it and said that the subframe is corroded and it has nothing to do with the recall. And that it would cost 1800 dollars to fix. I asked why it wasn't included in the recall since the steering is effected, they said that the subframe wasn't included. I have read several documents about this recall and several of them state that the subframe is included. So I called Ford customer care, they stated that the recall only included the subframe if the control arm separated from it before the recall was fixed not after. I think this is so unfair, since clearly the subframe was corroded when they did the recall fix. They had to have seen that, just because it wasn't separated at the time doesn't mean it shouldn't be included. Anyway, I ended up taking it to my own mechanic who can fix it for alot less, but it is still costing me 1400 dollars!! I can't afford it, can something be done about this, I think it should be fixed for free, and that the sub frame should be included. Please help, thanks. Recall 14S02.
Hi, I took my 2003 Ford Escape into the dealership to have a recall fixed and since the repair the vehicle has gotten worse, the recall was for a steering stabilizer and my steering has gotten more wobbly....I have email both the dealership and the company and so far nothing and that has been since the beginning of June. Thank you.
The contact owns a 2003 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving 40 mph, the subframe became separated from the passenger side wheel area and also became bent. The power steering assist also failed, which caused the vehicle to veer to the right and slide. The vehicle was towed to a dealer, but there was no diagnostic testing performed. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 123,000.
I have taken my car to a Ford dealer three weeks ago and they had to order the part. I'm still waiting for them to call me for my repairs. Mike castrucci St. Rt.28 milford, Ohio 45150.
The contact owns a 2003 Ford Escape. The contact stated that she received NHTSA recall campaign notice 14V165000 (steering) in May 2014 and attempted to have the vehicle repaired but the parts were unavailable. The manufacturer was notified of the delay. There were no failures at this time.
While that vehicle was being operated; decelerating from about 35 mph, a very loud pop noise was heard and the front passenger side became unstable and steering became unreliable. Vehicle was stopped immediately. Upon initial inspection is appears that the wheel became partially detached from vehicle. After a thorough inspection is appears that the rear mounting bolt of the front passenger side control arm had detached from the sub-frame. This part of the sub-frame show excessive corrosion which led to the failure of the control arm mounting point. As a result of the failure the vehicle lost all ability to maintain effective stability. Luckily the vehicle was already decelerating and being operated on a roadway that had sufficient room to make corrective measure otherwise the outcome of this failure easily could have been catastrophic and fatal. The vehicle has less than 100,000 miles. The body and other parts of the frame do not have significant amounts of rust.
On May 2 2013, my daughter lost the ability to steer the vehicle while driving at 35 mph on a busy city street. The vehicle made a left turn in front of oncoming traffic and eventually came to a stop in the entrance driveway of a fast food restaurant. It was towed to the local Ford dealership, where it was determined that the subframe had failed due to corrossion which caused the right front passenger tire to become partially detached from the vehicle. It appears the failure may be related to the vehicle air conditioning discharging condensate on the affected part. The Ford dealer advised they had seen 1 other vehicle recently with the same issue. I have asked for a factory representative to investigate the failure but so far my request has not been honored.
Left work and driving on a back road at 15 mph and was approaching a stop sign, applied the brakes and heard a loud snap/pop. The right side of the vehicle instantly slammed down/dropped to the road; steering locked; I had no control over the vehicle; slid a few feet and stopped. The passenger tire was pinned between the ground and the vehicle. The axle was hanging and the sub frame was visible. It was clear that the subframe had literally snapped at a weld joint without warning. Weld joint snapped on subframe. This vehicle is only 9yrs w/70K miles and mostly garaged; a major safety concern. This would have worse at high rate of speed, if not fatal. Vehicle then towed to a Ford dealership. I requested to have a Ford rep review the case. The dealership told me I had to call Ford. After calling, they then told me I had to request this through the dealership, but gave me a case number. The dealership then informed me that Ford were not interested in reviewing the vehicle and wouldn't do anything and that I had call Ford. I called Ford back who escalated my case and an acct mgr called me back who explained there was nothing they could do at this time. Over 1100 in repairs are required due to a faulty frame. I asked repeatedly that this particular subframe failure be investigated as a quality/mfg problem and I requested an investigation and informed the company of several other cases that log the same "?exact?" description and failure of the subframe. The company told me "keep my receipt". I stressed my dissatisfaction with how this was handled, but nothing could be done at this time. Ford should at a min. Issue a service bulletin to have the sub frame inspected to all of the Escape owners, so failures can be avoided before they happen. This is from a very dissatisfied customer and will choose no longer to purchase any Ford products, based on this experience.
The vehicle was being operated on city streets. As the vehicle approached a stop sign the brakes were applied, a loud crash and screech was heard as the vehicle fell to the ground and tire was dragged along. The front passenger side control arm has come detached from the vehicle because the front sub-frame had failed. The vehicle had to be towed to the shop. The failure was reported to be caused by corrosion. The vehicle only has 94,160 miles on it.
My wife's has a 2003 Ford Escape. We were driving luckily at a low speed when we heard a pop in the passenger front end and lost control of steering. The subframe on passenger side control arm popped and subframe is rotted. This should not happen to a vehicle that is only 10 years old. I saw that NHTSA did an investigation that deemed 2003 Windstar unsafe do to the same exact problem safety recall notice 11S16. My wife is pregnant and if she was driving any faster and this had happened Ford company could have put my wife and our baby in danger. I do not feel that I should have to pay for repairs on this vehicle when the same year vehicles have issues with them. My next contact is my lawyers office because if this would have happened to my wife the day before when we were on the freeway Ford would be responsible for knowing other vehicles in the same year had the exact same issue. I do not want to see other people in danger and Ford needs to step up and take responsibility for there vehicle defects.
The contact owns a 2003 Ford Escape. While driving approximately 25 mph, the contact noticed a loud snap and a knocking sound coming from the front end of the vehicle. A few days later the contact noticed that the steering wheel became uncontrollable and continued to pull to one side. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing. The mechanic stated that the a frame was corroded and detached from the vehicle, causing damage to the ABS and the tie rod. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a complaint was filed. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 45,000.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Silver Creek, NY, USA