2005 Ford Escape limited has a safety issue so bad that it's unsafe to drive. The right rear fender well has rusted out around the shock mount, ready or close to breaking free.

- Okemos, MI, USA

After a recent road trip, I heard a clunking noise coming from the rear passenger side of vehicle. Checked items in cargo area, spare tire, jack and even checked to make sure back seat was secure. Clunking noise was the shock hitting the underside of vehicle. The shock assembly was no longer attached, it was rusted under the wheel well around the shock assembly. So with every bump in the road, it was clanking around. Vehicle was not safe to drive for fear that the shock would break and cause a tire blow out or worse cause an accident. I took it to a private auto body shop which cost me $900 to repair the damage. The drivers side wheel well is doing the same thing and I may not have a fuel tank eventually. This needs to be addressed and taken care of. I love my vehicle and love not having a car payment too.

- Blue Grass, IA, USA

Thumping sound from right rear of cargo deck. Upon interior inspection, no loose items in cargo area, no loose panels, and jack was not loose. Upon exterior inspection noticed rusted out portion of wheel well. Can see into interior (back of interior panel, carpeting, etc.). seems that thumping is due to wheel or suspension parts being improperly supported due to corrosion of/in area of wheel well. Specifically, shock and/or large coil spring are hitting interior panel(s) of vehicle.

- Ann Arbor, MI, USA

The right rear wheel well has rusted out. This makes it a huge safety factor because at anytime the shocks can break free and bust upward into my truck. I took my 2005 Ford Escape to my mechanic and he said that in the last 2 months he had seen 4-5 2005 Ford Escapes with the same problem. It is all the same right rear wheel well. There is a facebook page with 195000 members following it so I know that I am not alone. Problem is that half of the country is not in an area that has rust. So southern Ford Escape owners are not going to be affected by this. This cannot be ignored because not all 2005 Ford Escape owners have this problem. Environmental conditions would show you that all 2005 Ford Escapes would have this if put to the same environmental factors. This needs a recall. It is an easy fix. Ford already fixed it with the newer models. Just weld in a new right rear wheel well. This is frustrating because I know it is a real problem with this model, but the environment is what is saving this from being a national issue.

- Amherst, OH, USA

The right rear inner wheel well rotted leaving the rear shock support unsecured making the vehicle unsafe to drive. After researching on the internet, found that this was a common issue for this year and make vehicle. Does not appear that Ford wants to take any responsibility for the faulty manufacturing and/or materials.

- Medina, NY, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the vehicle made a rattling noise while driving. The contact inspected the vehicle and found that the rear passenger's side wheel well, struts and shocks were separated due to severe corrosion. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer and was not repaired. The manufacturer was made of the failure. The failure and current mileage was 115,000.

- Pinckney , MI, USA

This safety issue requires immediate attention by both the NHTSA and Ford: 61 NHTSA complaints filed to date: '04- 16; '05- 45. Vehicle taken to Ford dealership for service. Service notified that a forward lower ball joint was failing, no other defects were noted in the detailed visual inspection. It was replaced two days later. The following day of the repair, on a daily commute between tol to dtw, the right rear shock tower separated while driving at 70 mph. Vehicle began dog-tracking. Initial inspection did not reveal the hidden damage caused by corrosion at the welded seams of the inner wheel well due to an underbody coating. Upon removing the undercoating, very easily by hand, two large sections removed, revealed the shock was penetrating the interior of the vehicle and was no longer being structurally supported by the vehicles uni-body frame. The large sections removed would have caused tire failure at highway speeds by puncture or hazard to other following vehicles. The separation of the shock tower from the body, did cause the vehicle to jerk at the time of failure, creating a loud popping sound and causing potential hazard as the vehicle steered into other lanes of traffic at highway speeds (70 mph). The vehicle is rendered inoperable due to the catastrophic nature of the failure. Local Ford dealership states they are uncomfortable repairing the structure and not aware of any manufacture recalls. In contacting their sister dealership, they have previously repaired this defect, and continued on stating this failure is a known issue with 2004 - 2006 Escapes. The failed panel is available, P/N:part 7L827827886A. A reinforcement piece is also available. See example picture here: imageshack.us/A/img854/6430/wheelwell2.jpg facebook site concerning this safety issue: www.facebook.com/pages/2005-Ford-Escape-2004-2006/397923900236108.

- Luna Pier, MI, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Ford Escape. The contact stated that upon inspection it was found that the driver's side rear suspension tower was completely rusted and rendered the vehicle inoperable. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the failure was confirmed and the contact was informed that the part was no longer manufactured. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted about the failure. The failure mileage was 80,000. The VIN was unavailable.

- Crystal Lake, IL, USA

As we are driving along we hear a very loud banging coming from the rear of the vehicle.when we get out to inspect the area we find the rear pasenger side wheel well is extremely rusted thru and chunks of the well are actually falling out. We took the car to the Ford dealer and they said it cannot be repaired!!!! by the Ford dealer....then we took it to several auto body shops that said they cannot fix this! several places said Ford used faulty metal or undercoating and that is why it rusted so badly.the car has only 50000 miles on it and has been highly maintained...I finally found an autobody shop that will replace the entire wheel well and theer will be no guarantee it wont happen again or to any of the other wheels!!! I feel totally ripped off! I read online that several other people have had this same problem.

- Bridgeview , IL, USA

The right rear upper shock mount completely rusted thru the trunk area&was protruding up about a foot into trunk area-very glad I wasn't going fast when this happened!!most likely would have lost control of vehicle!!!!!!!!!this is one of Ford best ideas ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!very thin sheet metal with a thicker piece welded to it to support 1 side of a vehicle.yeah, that is common sense at the finest!!!!! thankyou Ford engineers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!&designers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! these same common sense people hopefully put out a recall so people can get it fixed&get some money back!! I did have mine fixed right away_it's the only vehicle I have.

- Kennerdell, PA, USA

I had been hearing some loud noises from the back end of my car for a week or so, we had thought the spare tire and equipment hadn't been put back properly so we re-adjusted it and thought we had fixed the problem. A few days later the sound started back up. Then it got really loud and there was a loud pop. Upon further investigation, we found out the entire wheel well had rusted out in a perfect circle around the shock. The shock was no longer attached to the car. I took it to Ford and they told me this had been recalled on their mini-vans for the same year. Ford body shop staff informed me that this was the only rust on my vehicle and this rust would not be caused by mis-treatment of the vehicle nor normal wear and tear of any car. Ford is currently unable to get the wheel house to fix the car and it will not be available for "months". once I researched this a little more, it appears to be a highly common problem in the 2005 Ford Escapes. The car is not currently fixable or drive able.

- Lenexa, KS, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Ford Escape. The contact stated that upon inspection, it was found that the passenger's side rear shock had penetrated the body of the vehicle due to rust. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the failure was confirmed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted about the failure. The failure mileage was 48,000. The current mileage was 90,000.

- Orchard Park, NY, USA

The right rear shock mount has rusted out, and now bangs against the wheel housing.

- Houghton, MI, USA

The wheel well rusted out and the shock broke loose and was banging around. Basically the whole wheel well is rusted out and will not hold the shock any more. I called the local Ford dealer to see if there was a recall. I was told there was no recall. When I searched online I found many with the same experience, and even a facebook page. I'm disappointed that Ford isn't taking care of this.

- Wyoming, MI, USA

Right rear wheel housing that also is the top right rear shock mount is completely rusted loose.

- Bourbonnais, IL, USA

While driving my vehicle home from work, I heard a clanging sound coming from the rear passenger side. Thinking the shock needed to be replaced, I drove it until the end of the week and made an appointment to get it serviced. While the technician was checking out my car he noticed the inner wheel house and shock were completely rusted. The shock was detached from the vehicle and the frame is rusted and cracked. He recommended me to take it to a body shop to see if it could even be fixed. I then took it to a very reputable body shop in my town and they have never seen anything like this before. They work on all make and models of different years and said this is not normal wear and tear to a vehicle. They said underneath the vehicle is made to sustain any type of condition and this vehicle was poorly made. There is barely anything holding the back end of the vehicle together and for this reason I was told the vehicle is unsafe to drive because if I am in any sort of accident there will be no protection to me and the vehicle will probably be split in two. Due to the location of the defect who knows how long my vehicle has been dangerous to drive and it makes me sick to think about what could have happened if I was in an accident and I have had my two young children in my backseat. The estimate from the body shop was over $13,000 to fix. I have had this vehicle since 2005 and it has been a great, reliable car until all this has happened. It has not been in any accidents or had any other major repairs.

- Clinton, IA, USA

While driving on interstate, hit a bump and heard loud sound on right rear side of vehicle. After I stopped to inspect, found that the right rear strut had no support as the right rear inner panel was corroded all the way through with very thin metal around the entire area. Luckily the strut did not come up through interior. Seems very unsafe and likely to cause accident if driven. This appears to a manufacturers defect as the corrosion protection was not applied correctly. I called Ford motor customer service and they just indicated that there we no recalls yet on this problem. This seems to be a problem on the 2004-2005 Ford Escapes on the right rear. I took to body shop and have estimates from $1,400 to $1,700 to repair. The vehicle is in very good shape except for this one obvious defect.

- Paxton, IL, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Ford Escape. The contact stated that rear passenger's side wheel well exhibited extensive rust. The vehicle was taken to a dealer for diagnosis and the contact was informed that the entire rear panel would need to be replaced. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the diagnosis was confirmed. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure and current mileage was 122,000.

- Howell, MI, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 mph, he heard a loud thump from the rear passenger's side of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer, who stated that the failure was contributed to rust corrosion near the rear end of the frame. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 166,000. Updated 8/19/13

- Homewood, IL, USA

Right rear wheel housing rusts completely through allowing the shock to detach from the vehicle. After an online search this is a very common incident. After contacting the local Ford dealer, there is a back-order on the right rear wheel housing with no expected date of delivery. This is the only wheel housing on the vehicle that is rusting out and causing issues. The only time you start to realize that there is an issue is if you start the hear a "clunk" coming from the car, however; there is a rubberized undercoat that prevents you from seeing the damage until it is too late or a knowledgeable mechanic with the issue looks specifically at the wheel housing.

- Eaton, NY, USA