I purchased used 2004 Ford Escape with 5650 miles in 8/04. In sept04, front passenger door unlatched while I was driving in parking lot. My 13-yr-old son was in the passenger seat. After I stopped the vehicle, he attempted to open the door using the door handle, and the door would not open. He then tried unlocking the door using the pwr door control to no avail. I then used the driver side pwr door control to lock/unlock the door, and door still would not open. Suddenly the door look control on passenger side began locking/unlocking by itself. In order to open the door, I had to get out of the car and open the passenger door from the outside. I took car into dealership, and they did not find a problem. Five days later on 10/5/04, the airbag light came on. Returned vehicle to the same dealership. Dealership advised blinking code 37. They ran self test on rcm module. Fault code is B1998 (passenger side air bag high resistance). Code was cleared & self test re-ran. They also flexed wires at connectors & fault did not return. On 11/24/04, I returned vehicle to dealership again because airbag light came on again. The found same fault code. Dealer found oasis message 18280. Ford is working on a fix that is supposed to be available 4th quarter 2004. Dealer cleaned terminals per Ford instructions & re-tested. I asked service advisor if my airbags will work, and he advised he didn't know. I feel this is a safety hazard.

- Folsom, CA, USA