The passenger side rear wheel well is completely rusted out. The strut is no longer connected to the body of the car.

- Franklin, IN, USA

Was driving along city street when I went over a small bump, heard a loud thud! the wheel well on back passenger side was rusted away where the strut connects. Or where it was once connected... 155,673 miles, this is my only vehicle and unsafe to drive my family in.

- Shakopee, MN, USA

Son came home one day said there is a lot of noise in the back of the Escape. Once looking inside the back of the truck, I noticed I could see the driveway and tire. Once I went to look in the wheel well, I could see a very large hole in the wheel. Total rust out of passenger side inner wheel well and shock tower. The hole has to to be at least 16" wide and 13" height. The rear shock is completely disconnected from the body sheet metal. It is only being held in place by the lower shock absorber bolt and nut. Vehicle only has about 100,000 miles. Totally afraid to let my son drive this to college. Sitting in driveway until I can find someone to fix it. Called two Ford dealerships and said there is not recall and it is up to me to find someone to fix it. They told me over the phone it would be $5,000 to repair this. This will be the last Ford we ever buy if we have to scrape this because of this issue. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).'

- Sterling Heights, MI, USA

While driving the vehicle, there was a noise in the back passenger side of the vehicle when going over bumps only. We could not locate the noise inside the vehicle. (it sounds like the glass or the tire jack, were not secure.) the auto shop explained, that the vehicle is not attached to the shock, and it along with exhaust is coming in through the truck area. Explained that the vehicle was a 'death trap' if hit from behind, the vehicle that hit this one would go right though this vehicle. Accorded to the auto shop, the issue is not fixable.

- Tallahassee, FL, USA

2005 Ford Escape rear left inner wheel well rusted through and shock support broken loose it has 150,000 miles on it.

- Edwardsville, KS, USA

My passenger rear end is all rusted out and the shock has come thru my vehicle. It sounds horrible, and was told it was very unsafe to drive, as the shock isn't connected to the body of the vehicle now. It will cost more then it's worth, and this is the only vehicle that I have to drive me and my family around in.

- Eaton Rapids, MI, USA

After hitting pothole a loud banging sound was heard coming from rear storage area on passenger side. Vehicle was taken to service shop and was shown that rear passenger wheel well was completely rusted out leading to shock tower breaking loose from body and protruding into the rear cabin area. Service manager said this was likely due to catastrophic failure of body integrity in that area and stated that the vehicle was unsafe to drive. He also stated that he had seen this on other 2005 Ford vehicles (Windstar van). Given the construction of the body the service manager stated that the affected portion would need to be cut out and custom fabricated to replace the cut out area, likely costing nearly as much as the vehicle is worth.

- Onalaska, WI, USA

When I was driving down the interstate at 70 mph, I began to hear a clunking sound from the rear passenger side. It happened every time I hit even a small bump or crack. When I took it to the body shop, they discovered the passenger side rear wheel well is corroded; rust/rot has caused the shock mount to become nearly completely detached from the frame. It is unsafe to drive, and body shops won't even provide an estimate for repairs as the deterioration is too extensive, and they can't fix it. A quick online search shows this is an ongoing issue with 2005 Escapes, and must be addressed for safety. The body shop owner told me not to take the car on the interstate because if I were to hit a bump at 65 mph, I would be "asking a lot of this car to hold together." The clunking sound is now consistent no matter what speed or surface I am driving on.

- Papillion, NE, USA

Wheel well rotted out causing shock to break loose and create unsafe vehicle. I was driving down the street when it finally let go and saw debris fall all over road and heard a loud bang from passenger side rear of car.

- Simpsonville, SC, USA

Our 2005 Ford Escape has rusted through behind the right rear tire. We heard like a loud bang when driving it and found the wheel well is rusted and broken as is the shock tower and the right rear tail light has its wires cut due to the broken frame. We owe money on this vehicle and we cannot drive it right now. This is definitely a safety issue and we have contacted Ford with all the pertinent information.

- Lansing, MI, USA

2005 Ford Escape, have had a lot of clunking in back of car, and the rear right wheel well is falling/rusting apart (other wheel wells are not, just rear passenger side) right where shock absorber is mounted. Large rusted out hole in wheel well, and if I press around the wheel well, the black coating crumbles revealing crumbling rust behind it. Many other 2005 Escape owners with same issue. I have no money to fix this; this is a dangerous flaw should it break through while driving at high speeds. Should be recalled and fixed by Ford. It can't be said this is just "normal wear and tear" when only the one wheel well is consistently the one that is rusting while the other wheel wells do not. I have 125K on my Escape, but who knows how long the hole has been there.

- Garden City, MI, USA

Passenger side rear wheel well is completetly rotted/rusted and involves shock mount. It is unsafe to drive and research shows that this is an ongoing problem with this model. I heard rattling when I went over a bump and when I looked at the rear carriage of the vehicle I saw that the wheel well was totally destroyed by rust.

- Carbondale, PA, USA

Rear right shock mount rusting through. K-frame rotted through right front side

- Hornell, NY, USA

Right rear wheel well rusted out so bad the lower control arm to the rear tire is close to separating from the vehicle subframe. Car unsafe to drive

- Pewaukee, WI, USA

While driving down the road, heard a load bang in the back of the car on the right side. After inspecting the vehicle I noticed that the inner wheel well was rusted out and the shock was no longer connected to the vehicle. Looks like the frame may be cracked under the attach point of the upper strut mount.

- Corinth, NY, USA

When traveling at 40mph, a thumping noise could be heard in the rear of 2005 Ford Escape. Upon visual inspection, the passenger side rear wheel well was completely corroded, exposing the interior of the car. The mount of the shock suspension is corroded so badly that the shock is nowhere attached to the body and is what causes the thumping sound as it pushes up into the car interior. No other wheel wells on the car have anywhere near that level of corrosion.

- Laporte, PA, USA

Right rear shock absorber punched through horribly rusted wheel well into passenger compartment. I didn't hit anything. It just rusted through and totally failed. Very dangerous situation.

- De Pere, WI, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Ford Escape. While driving at any speed, the rear of the vehicle made a loud abnormal noise. The contact noticed that the strut was on the inside of the vehicle and the shocks entered the passenger compartment. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 85,000.

- Lima, OH, USA

The sub-frame rusted through causing both front wheels to toe out and also to camber in at the top. The ABS warning light also triggered. The steering now pulls to the left and there is tire squeel even on gradual right hand turns. There is a recall for this exact problem for the Ford Escape model years 2001-2004. It is obvious that this same problem exists for this model year 2005 Ford Escape. I verified that my VIN was not covered in the recall. I then called Ford to see if they would remedy the problem as it was obvious that this was the same problem as in their other recall - they said they couldn't help. This is a low mileage, well maintained vehicle so it should be obvious that the sub-frame is faulty.

- Cockeysville, MD, USA

Ford Escape 2005 passenger rear tire wheel well rusted away where the shock absorber mount bolts onto frame and now the shock absorber mount has nothing to bolt onto anymore. Shock absorber mount is not attached to frame anymore and now hits the frame of the SUV make very loud knocking sounds.

- Kent, OH, USA