I own a 2011 Ford Escape Limited. It overall has been a good vehicle. I have experienced the common rust issues with the 2008-2012 Escapes. I am a retired certified auto body technician with 32 years of experience. My Escape has had the rust at the bottom of the tailgate and the all to common rust on both the right and left quarter panels.

First let me say that rust is very difficult to contain and completely stop. I first focused on the rear hatch rust and have experienced some reasonable success with halting the spread of the problem. Please note that I performed all my repairs with the plan to avoid painting outside surfaces. I suggest removal of the hatch inside panel (easy to do). Go to the bottom of the gate where the fold of metal is rusting. Gently tap all along the rusted area until the loose scale starts to fall out. find an "L" shaped type of pick tool and reach into the fold as much as possible to remove all the loose rust. Use an air blower or a small vacuum to pull out any residual particles.

Very gently so as not to damage the outside of the gate pull the folded over metal to open the gap. You should be wearing eye protection during this entire procedure by the way. Purchase a good quality rust reformer or converter spray ( I like Rustoleum ). Protect your bumper and surrounding areas with a drop cloth. and tape off painted areas against over-spray. Spray the converter in the open gap thoroughly and let it soak in, then repeat. do the same inside the bottom of the gate to seal rust forming inside and repeat. If auto body seam sealer isn't available use a good sealer like urethane on the open outside fold over gap and force it into the entire gap. before the sealer dries tap the seam closed with a small hammer.

Neatly wipe off the excess and run a nice looking thin seam along the top of the fold. Let dry and find a close spray paint to match the car color. Blend in the repaired painted area and you're done. Install the inside trim panel. The wheel openings can TEMPORARILY be slowed down with a similar type repair.

I have always had Fords and I will continue to buy them. Everyone says that they will never buy another Ford but please remember that all cars have some problems.

Update from Jan 10, 2019: For those of you out there who don't wish to repair the rust around your rear 1/4 panels there is one thing you can do to somewhat improve the Escapes appearance and hide the rust. On Ebay and Amazon you will find wheel opening trim in stainless steel. this trim will cover most if not all your rust and also enhance the looks of your vehicle. The cost of the trim kit is about $90 and includes four pieces to install around all four wheel openings. This kit requires some drilling but this is easily done with an 1/8 " drill bit. The entire process should take no more than 45 minutes to an hour.

Just a note to those who were told that the only way to fix the rust over the rear wheels was to replace the entire panel at a tremendous and cost prohibitive expense. There is a much cheaper and better solution. First remember that if you are experiencing rust to the outer panel then you will also have rust in the inner panel known as the wheel housing. Any good body technician can cut out only the affected areas and weld in new steel even stainless steel that will never rust out again. the will make the job much easier and less expensive than a total panel replacement. The paint repair cost should be lower because there is a smaller area to paint.

This 2011 Ford Escape XLT is otherwise in great shape. But noticed top of rear wheel wells both rusting through. Bad design as it appears there is a 2nd sheet of sheet metal that runs behind the painted fender metal. Salt water can easily get in between and trapped. Unfortunately we also have a 2012 of the same vehicle with the same problem on both wheel wells. Just called Ford and they can replace the quarter panels at $2,500 a side...so $5,000 for both. I definitely won't be spending that kind of money to fix this thing. These issues have finally gotten me to think about moving to another brand of vehicle as we now run all Fords.