I bought my 2003 escape limited brand new. In 2006 I started to notice what looked like rock damage on the front of the hood. So, I ordered a pen of touch up paint from the dealership. Then, I noticed the problem getting worse and over the last year it has spread to the front of the roof and slightly beneath the rear window on the tailgate. After google searching, I found this site and figured why bother. I have had an estimate of $3000-$4000 form a local body shop. I don't know if my insurance company will cover something that is clearly a defective paint job. However, I don't have that kind of money. Mechanically, this car runs great. I have just over 119000 miles and have performed all necessary maintenance to the vehicle. The painter at the body shop suggested I take a can of rustoleum paint and spray it on to prevent further damage. Of course, no one makes gold ash so I went with white. I guess we'll see how that goes.

We purchased our 2003 Escape Limited (Golden Ash) SUV brand new Dec 2003 for my wife, she absolutely loves it. We also purchased paint protection and rust proofing $600.00, because we intended to keep this vehicle for a long time. We have not had any mechanical issues what so ever. In 2006 (30K km), we noticed a small peice of paint peeling on the left hand corner of the rear hatch.

Took it to the dealer to have it repaired, but because we missed our paint inspection for 2005, it wasn't covered and it was past the ford warranty period. So basically we were screwed and it was written off as being our problem.

Two weeks ago, Oct 10, 2009, a 2003 Ford Escape XLT with the exact same colour (Golden Ash) had the exact same paint peeling in the exact same corner on the rear hatch. That's when I became really upset and discovered we weren't the only victims.

I decided to check the internet to see if there were other people that have experienced the same problem with paint peeling off their 2003 Escape models with (Golden Ash) paint. Low and behold, they are numerous. I am a retired Ford of Canada engineer, loyal to our company. I will now write my company and clearly point out to them this is a Ford manufacturing problem within their paint and or preing process.

I will reply back to this forum once I receive a response from Ford.

Bought my vehicle new in 03 and have loved it ever since. Except for the whole paint deal! I started having a problem in 06 with paint blistering and peeling on on the roof. Withing a matter of days it went from several dime-sized spots to numerous dollar-sized or larger spots all over the roof and the back hatch. This garage is vehicle kept!! Notified my dealership and like all other complaints listed on this forum, they said that they had not heard of any problems or recalls with the paint, that it was not covered by the warranty...blah blah blah. Ended up having the roof and hatch repainted at an expense of about $300-400. NOW as of yesterday (9-2-09) it is PEELING UP AGAIN!! I am awaiting yet another phone call from Ford. I can guarantee you that I will not be paying for the repainting this time, they will.

I like many others have not had any mechanical problems with vehicle and plan on driving it until it can no longer be driven. But when it comes time to purchase a new vehicle, I am sad to say that it will most likely not be Ford; not only for the paint defect problem but our local dealership who "prides themselves on their service" has been nothing but troublesome from the day that this vehicle was purchased. They titled me to another vehicle on the lot and then were deceptive about it when they realized the mistake 4 months later. Their mistake cost me more in taxes as well as the loan, then they tried to get to hand over the keys and just take the other vehicle (which was a lesser model, different color); it also screwed up all the paperwork to the extended warranty I purchased (7yrs/70k miles)...I am still fighting this mistake and is has especially made the paint concerns an even bigger hassle. Let's just say that I am finding it very difficult to stay calm, composed and tactful while addressing my concerns when I all really want to do is knock somebody out.

Wish me luck everyone! Oh, and I have printed out all the complaints listed on the forum and I WILL take it with me when I take my truck back in this afternoon!!

same problem as others on here with a 2003 Escape with Gold Ash paint. Last year the paint on the back started bubbling, then spread and kept peeling off. Same thing on the front hood. Just yesterday found a new bubble on the side near the back window. Looks like these spots will keep popping up over the years in different areas of the car. I can't afford to get a whole new paint job, so I'm going to attempt to paint the spots myself although I know it wont look great. Wanted to drive this car for 10+ years, but now because of a cosmetic problem I don't think I can. Not many other significant problems with the vehicle that I have owned for almost 7 years. Anyone that has had luck dealing with Ford customer service let me know.

I was very happy with my Ford Escape. When I bought it, the paint was perfect, no scratches, dents, nothing -- mint condition. At the beginning of this summer the paint (yellow-gold color) started to peel off the hood and the trunk. Now the affected areas are around a 16 inches diameter. I talked to a body shop and they asked me $2500 to fix it. I was planning on selling it to buy a newer one and now the car depreciated so much and I don't know what to do. I wrote to Ford and I am waiting for their answer.

Paint is peeling off the back hatch. Everyone who sees my car asks me if I've said anything to Ford about having it fixed. I tell them that Ford won't do anything about it, the dealer won't do anything about it. They all tell me they thought the paint warranty was for 10 years. I tell them that since the original warranty is out, so are my chances of getting it fixed by them.

Apparently, I'm not the only person to have this as I see there are hundreds of complaints out on the internet.

Guess Ford doesn't care. Guess I don't care to buy a Ford ever again. And since I'm not buying a government car, I guess this will be my last American car I will own.

Thanks Ford.

Buy the way...the FTC and all consumer groups I could find are aware of it now. Great way to run a business.

Same as others here, happy with the Escape...no mechanical issues. The appearance of the vehicle due to the paint coming off, starting with the panel between the windshield and sunroof is a different story. Mine started here and now it's coming off on the back hatch below the window on the passenger side, it is coming off underneath the rear passenger side door and also on the top of the rear hatch. The spots in front of the sunroof began to rust badly. The entire car needs to be repainted or it will just keep on coming off. My first contact with the dealership was a phone call when it initially started happening, I had an extended warranty, but the person who answered the phone told me that wouldn't cover it and basically 'good luck, bud'. It got worse and the rust started and I then went to the stealership where they took photos and made an official entry to Ford corporate. I finally got a reply and they basically said 'out of warranty, too bad'. This made me real mad because it eluded to the possibility that if that previous dude had told me to bring it in, I might have gotten my car back in good condition.

Oh well, my currently plan is to take it to the paint shop at my county's high school shop and have them do it where it will only cost about $1000.

First i have to say, that I love my Escape. It is a vehicle I have wanted ever since I saw it being towed on the highway in the Fall of 1999, since it had no markings I assumed it was a new vehicle going to an area Ford dealership for testing. With that said, it is quite disheartening to to see the list of complaints that have been dismissed and/or ignored by the Ford Corp. Currently my problem is at the back window, a relatively small swatch size area of paint has been peeling off. Though the paint is also bubbling up in the groove area of the back window. I am hoping that it goes no further but based on everyone else's e-mail I fear it is a waste of time and energy.

My Escape started to flake about a month after my lease was up and I decided to buy it. I went back to my Ford dealer who told me that the warranty was up and that there was nothing that they could do for me!!! I called Ford corporate office and asked for help--they told me the same thing and that there were NO other reports of paint problems !!! Now my car is starting to RUST all over and it looks horrible!!! I have gotten an estimate to have it fixed and it will cost over $3000!!!! If anyone out there has any suggestions I would really appreciate them!! Thanks!