CarComplaints.com Notes: With solid trends of engine failure — $4,500 to fix at 85,000 miles avg — AND transmission failure — $3,000 to fix at 75,000 miles avg — we can't recommend the 2006 Ford Escape to anyone except your worst enemy.
1.6
hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
107,502 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.
THE REAR SHOCK MOUNT RUSTS OUT NOT LONG AFTER MANUFACTURE AND WE THE CONSUMER ARE LEFT WITH THE PILE OF POOP. FORD IS HIGHLY AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM, AND AS I TRANSPORT MY CHILDREN DAILY I WONDER IF THIS WILL BE THE DAY WE DIE. UPON THE SHOCK MOUNT RUSTING OUT, HOPE YOURE RELIGIOUS AND GOD IS YOUR CO PILOT BECAUSE AS THAT POINT THE SPRING IS WHAT YOU'RE LEFT WITH! ITS SO HORSE [XXX] FORD LEAVES THIS TO THE LITTLE GUY (THE CONSUMERS) TO RECTIFY THEIR PROBLEM DUE TO THEIR INFERIOR MANUFACTURING. I WAS GOING OVER THE I280 BRIDGE IN OREGON OHIO WHEN IT DECIDED IT WAS TIME TO FAIL. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
The contact owns a 2006 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving 70 mph when they attempted to brake the vehicle due to needing to come to an abrupt stop, however, the vehicle failed to immediately brake. Instead, the vehicle veered to the left towards the concrete barrier in the middle of the freeway. The contact then attempted to counter steer the vehicle. Fortunately, the vehicle stopped just before hitting another vehicle. The contact took the vehicle to a certified mechanic who diagnosed that the subframe had rusted and needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and informed the contact that the recall that related to their failure was NHTSA campaign number: 14V165000 (structure). The approximate failure mileage 139,000.
The contact owns a 2006 Ford Escape. While driving various speeds, a banging noise was present coming from the rear of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who discovered that the rear wheel well was severely rusted around the shock mount. Also, a rusted hole exposing the interior of the vehicle was present. The cause of the failure was not determined. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The local dealer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 57,000.
Rear wheel wells where the shock mounts is rusted through causing ride and control issues. I noticed clunking while driving caused by the rust and lack of shock stability. I talked to other owners and found this is a common issue. Being that my vehicle is not rusty and is cared for regularly this is bad and I am no longer going to invest my money into it. This is a safety concern and I feel with as common as the issue seems it should be taken care of by Ford as the shock being loose coming into the interior is another safety concern, and the wear and tear from the tire ride causes premature tire wear not to mention wear and snapping the break line causing the brakes to fail.
Heard a banging noise as I was driving that sounded from trunk. Nothing in trunk, rear passenger wheel well the shock tower had fallen through the wheel well which appeared to have rusted out.
- Harrisburg, PA, USA
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Similar to earlier models 2001-2004/5. took the car in to be checked out for cross country trip and daughter was told the sub-frame supporting the engine was rusted and car was unsafe to drive.
Our 2006 Ford Escape began making a rattling noise in the rear passenger side whenever we hit a bump. I initially thought it was a loose panel until I looked under the rear-passenger wheel well and noticed the massive amounts of rust and corrosion around the shock absorber. After doing some research, it appears that this is a fairly widespread issue that Ford has done little to remedy. It has since become a consistent issue anytime we are driving, there is at least a rattle--even on smooth roads. While we have tried to reduce the amount of driving as much as we can, making only necessary trips and completely eliminating any extraneous use of this car, the damage only seems to be getting worse, and at an alarmingly fast pace. This is our only vehicle and we are not in a position to buy a new car right now. If there was a recall on a similar issue for 2001-2004 models, why hasn't there been a recall on later years? the vehicle is a liability on the road--we cringe every time we have to take it out (again, it is our only vehicle) and we don't know which bump is going to completely ruin the car. An investigation into this widespread corrosion issue needs to be performed and all necessary steps need to be taken to ensure that the safety of everyone on the road is maximized despite shoddy construction of this vehicle.
The rear passenger wheel well is completely rotted around the connection for the shock absorber. No body shop will repair as it is too costly and too much of a liability they claim. Driving along and suddenly the car got loud in the back. Shock absorber had come through the interior of the automobile. Car has rust on back "trunk" door and a on the edge of the wheel well exterior on the same side, but remaining parts of the car have very little or no rust. But when you look inside the wheel well you see all the rust around the shock absorber. Google search shows I am not alone with this issue - others report same issue with passenger side rear and people are considering sueing Ford. 2001-2004 Escapes had a corrosion recall on the front suspension, but there is nothing for years 2005 and newer. This is should be looked at.
Driving this morning when I heard a banging noise when I hit any bumps in the road. I was fimiliar with the Escapes wheelwell rust issue. I liked under the passenger side and found the undercoating was falling off and the shock absorber was barely hanging on. I have a 173000 miles on it. I know Ford will not do anything about this on their own. Fixes are expensive, like a new wheelhouse, which has to be welded in, according to dorman or an L bracket for about 200 dollars, or cob something up myself. I'm 60 and live here in upstate NY, and no way should this be happpening. Salt or rain, there should have been something to prevent this. Something changed after 2006 by Ford. Unless there is a recall, no one is going to help you. You know the term...S.O.L.....
My daughter was alerted to a problem when loud banging noises started recently when driving under normal driving conditions. Upon inspection by a mechanic, he discovered that the passenger side and driver side rear wheel wells body parts and shock absorber mounts have significant rust damage. Our vehicle is well maintained according to the manufacture's schedule and as recommended by the Ford dealership service department. I do not understand how we could not have been made aware of a potential issue before during previous tire replacements, shock replacements, and other services that would have had the opportunity to see the problem. The passenger side rear wheel well is so bad that the dealership service department indicated that it is not repairable and referred us to their body shop. The attached pictures show that the interior of the cabin is now exposed. I also have an audio recording of the noise inside the vehicle when driving under normal conditions. My daughter was also cautioned by the mechanic about an imminent failure of the suspension. This is a safety hazard that has been widely reported on the internet. There was a recall by Ford for 2001-2004 for the same issue on the same model. I contacted Ford Motor Company customer service line and they indicated there was no recall for our vehicle. Based on our experience and the issues reported by others with the same problem for later model years, there should be a recall and action by Ford to repair these later year models such as ours as well.
While driving my vehicle on a highway, I could here a loud clunking sound coming from the rear. After investigating, it was visibly noticeable that the shock tower on the rear passenger side rusted completely off the vehicle. This allowed the wheel to bounce freely and the shock to jam up into the wheel well repeatedly. The vehicle is unsafe to drive.
There is a clunking sound coming from the rear passenger side. It happens every time I hit a bump. Upon inspection I see that the passenger side rear wheel well is completely rotted and rusted and involves shock mount. It is unsafe to drive and research shows that this is an ongoing problem with this model. I was told not to take my truck on the highway because if I were to hit a bump at 65 mph, I would be "asking a lot of this car to hold together." I reported the damage to the Ford dealership. I was told to contact Ford directly and if they were to write up a work order then I was to come back for repairs. So the Ford customer relationship hotline informed me that no recall had been issued for this vehicle, and that they were unaware that this was a common, frequent, or widespread problem. They did not consider it a defect. I am unemployed at the moment seeking disability so that mean no income. What am I suppose to drive now"???"
Bought vehicle for 17yr old son first car. While he was driving, he noticed a loud banging sound from the back. After investigation, found that rear wheel well had totally corroded away and rear shock was poking into the interior. Reported to Ford who said no recalls and would do nothing. When researching problem on the web, it turns out that many people have had the same problem. The Ford dealer advised me not even to drive it home as it is a safetly hazard and that the wheel might fall off. If this was a one off situation, I might be able to accept it, but how can Ford continue to allow people to drive around in a car with an obviously known defect and that their dealers tell you is deadly. I cannot continue to support an american company with such an attitude.
The contact owns a 2006 Ford Escape. While driving, the vehicle shook severely. The contact inspected the vehicle and could visibly see the rear passenger shocks. The contact also noticed damage from where the rear tire was hitting the rear wheel well and caused pieces of the well to detach. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnoised that the passenger side rear wheel well was severely corroded. The contact referenced NHTSA campaign number: 14V165000 (structure); however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 136,000.
Purchased new 2006 Ford Escape, maintained and garaged no rust on car anywhere..last week noticed loud noise right passenger wheel.brought to my shop he said unrepairable rusted wheel well.when I brought to Ford dealership they confirmed that this was the problem and the cost to repair was more than car was worth. I feel 10 years is not acceptable for the life of a car.
Escape wheel well rust caused strut to detatch from vehicle. I was driving down the highway when I heard loud thumping noises, I checked and didn't see anything that it might be so I took it to a mechanic who showed me the excessive wheel well rust that caused the strut to detatch from the body. He said it was not safe to drive and that it must be fixed by a body shop as he couldn't fix it. I got estimates from body shops as well as Ford and they all said it would be around $4,000 to $5,000 this is no other rust on the vehicle other than the excessive passenger rear wheel well rust and is has only 130-140K miles on it. Now I cannot drive it without risk of a major accident due to the problem so it is sitting in my garage. I have photos but am unable to upload them to this site at this time.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Toledo, OH, USA