10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 0 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 1 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 7,382 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
I took my Escape to the Dealership for routine oil change and tire rotation. (almost 43000 miles). I received a call from Dealership that I had "swollen lug nuts" and to rotate my tires these needed to be changed. I had never heard of such a thing. My Significant Other had not either and he spoke to the Dealership Representative who said that this was true and that in order to rotate tires the lug nuts required changing. The Representative said they had them in stock and the cost would be around $180. We decided to investigate further and deferred the change at that time. After discussing with another repair shop and reading about other issues with Ford vehicle, dodge, and a few Toyota we ascertained this was an issue. I took my Escape to the other Repair shop and had the lug nuts changed for $110. It appears to me that this has been an issue previously and class action suit was filed and dismissed. This appears to be a problem that can lead to bigger problems if not corrected. ie swollen lug nut car has flat tire, tire cannot be changed due to special equipment required to change flat, all resulting in car being towed to appropriate dealership for change out of lug nuts. I bought a Ford product promoted as being a Quality product. How can this be if the lug nuts do not withstand 43000 miles and the vehicle being in a garage at all times when not in use, then develops this problem. I see potential for major safety issues if this is not corrected by potential injury to the driver of a vehicle with this issue and to the vehicle if a flat should occur and unable to change flat tire. Please review and advise. Thank you [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
- Lancaster, OH, USA
On November 26, 1923 I had a flat tire on my 2017 Ford Escape. I tried to take the flat tire off & put the spare tire on with the lug wrench provided by Ford & it would not fit on the lug nuts enough to remove them. The size of the lug nuts were bigger than the opening on the lug wrench & I could not get any lug nuts off. My son gave me the lug wrench from his wife-??s 2014 Ford Focus. It was identical to my lug wrench. He told me this lug wrench would not fit the lug nuts of his wife's car. It would not fit on the lug nuts of my car. We called roadside assistance to change the flat, but they could not. We borrowed our daughter-??s 2016 Ford Escape to drive home. I took the lug wrench out of her car & it was an exact match of my lug wrench & the one from my sons wife's car. I tried to put this lug wrench on the lug nuts of my daughter-??s car & it would not fit. All 3 vehicles had lug nuts that could not be loosened by the lug wrenches Ford provided. The next day our 2017 Ford Escape was towed to a Walmart & they fixed the flat tire without any difficulty removing or reinstalling the lug nuts. I have spent about $50 on tools that allow me to remove & tighten the lug nuts on my 2017 Escape. On November 30, 2023 I took our car to my local Ford dealer & they confirmed I had swollen lug nuts. They said the solution was for me to buy new ones that would not swell & the cost would be about $100. On December 1,2023 I talked to Ashley at the Ford Customer Care Center about this & was told Ford considers swollen lug nuts normal wear & tear. I have been driving & maintaining Ford vehicles for 50 years & never experienced this problem before now. I sent a letter to the Ford Customer Care Center requesting Ford solve this problem. Ford should tell owners of its vehicles that may have swollen lug nuts of the possible implications. In certain circumstances this could have caused my wife & I great harm or death. I have attached the letter I sent to Ford.
- Clinton, MO, USA
lug nuts are striped and wont spin off.
- Ocala, FL, USA
Lug nut has a two piece design a nut with a chrome cover that swells making it impossible to remove the lugs with the tool provided by the manufacturer. The safety issue is it leaves people stranded without any tool to replace a tire in the event of a flat.
- Stephens City , VA, USA
During scheduled oil change service on 8/8/2023, informed that wheel lug nuts were swollen and tire rotation was not completed. Replacement lugnuts were not in stock. Returned on 8/17/2023 and had all wheel lugnuts replaced.
- Cleveland, TN, USA
Wheel lug nuts stretching and become stripped. Lug nuts installed by a Ford Qualified service technician only.
- East Earl , PA, USA
All 20 OEM 2-piece lug nuts have swollen so that the OEM supplied lug nut wrench will not fit on the nuts. Therefore, if I have a flat tire while driving, and I need to pull over and change the tire, I have no way to get the lug nuts loose to change the tire. If this happens at night and/or in a dangerous part of town, or if I am stranded on the highway miles from the closest access to service or communication, I, or vulnerable passengers could be in danger. The local Ford dealer acknowledge that this problem occurs, but no recall has been issued to my knowledge. To remedy the potential danger, Ford should swap out all 20 0f the OEM 2-piece lug nuts, free of charge, for solid 1-piece nuts that will not swell.
- Indianapolis, IN, USA
I had a flat tire with my Ford Escape. The lug nut wrench Ford included with the vehicle would not fit the lug nuts. I understand there is a problem with the lug nuts swelling due to an extremely poor design. I can change a tire but because of the swelled lug nuts I had to hire a towing company. So these poorly designed lug nuts cost me several hundred dollars. They also pose a safety issue. Luckily I was in a safe location when this happened. But my wife and I often drive in isolated locations with little or no lighting. We could be in a dangerous situation if I can-??t change a flat tire due to swelled lug nuts. I can pay to install new lug nuts, but that is also a financial burden that I and all Ford owners should not have to bear. I understand a lawsuit against Ford regarding these lug nuts was thrown out. Sounds like another case of big industry getting preferential treatment over the safety of citizens.
- Jenison , MI, USA
When I took my car for it's most recent service I was told a tire rotation could not be performed because my car had "swollen" lug nuts. The service technician explained this is a common problem for many Ford models over several model years. The original lug nuts Ford put on these vehicles become misshapen over time making it difficult to remove and replace the lug nuts therefore making it impossible to perform tire maintenance without additional labor and total replacement of original lug nuts.
- Forest, MS, USA
Lug nuts swelled and we could not loosen them to remove the tire.
- Bossier City, LA, USA
Had to replace all wheel lug nuts--the lug nuts had enlarged to point that a bigger socket was needed to remove them and because of this the nuts were damaged so not to be able to use. This proble was confirmed by eau claire Ford-wi
- Eau Claire, WI, USA
Lug Nut issues. If I were to have a flat tire on the highway, it would not be able to replaced by the spare because the lug nuts have swollen. I have replaced the lug nuts to the cost of $263 from the dealer. No warnings except the last 2 times at the dealership, they did not rotate the tires because of the swollen lug nuts. Now, I need new tires (with on 22,000 miles on them) because of it. I have owned 7 different Ford Vehicles, and NEVER have I had to replace lug nuts! I am retired and don't drive long distances.
- Indianapolis, IN, USA
I went to an oil change service center to get a tire rotation on my 2017 Ford Escape. They told me that they could NOT remove the tires for rotation because the lug nuts were swollen, which is a known issue. I had just had the Ford dealership put on new tires about 8 months before that and they never told me about a defect with the lug nuts or when or how to get them replaced. Now I have way personally to remove and replace the lug nuts Plus I have been advised that Ford will charge over $200 to replace or $80 after market. Since this is a widely-known defect, why hasn't a recall been issued/
- Southfield, MI, USA
Can not remove the lug nuts using the provided tool. As a result, could not change a flat tire and had to call a tow truck. The tow truck could not remove the lug nuts using additional professional tools. Extra expense and time was incurred to fix the flat tire due to failure of the Ford tool to remove the Ford lug nuts.
- Reston, VA, USA
Swollen lug nuts. If I had a flat tire I could not change, and or roadside assistance. Dealer could not rotate tires. Inspected by dealer, seems to be because of aluminum lug nuts characteristics. No warning light attached to this part.
- Carson City, NV, USA
Lug nuts could not be removed to change flat tire. AAA service provider could not remove lug nuts at external location to change flat tire out with spare. Independent service center needed to replace lugs with new set.
- Bethlehem , PA, USA
the lug nuts are being striped when changing for tire rotation or a flat or new tiers
- Ocala, FL, USA
Took vehicle to service to ford dealership to include tire rotation. Was told technician had difficult time removing lug nuts as the were swollen and frozen. Service Manager informed me they would need to be replaced as in emergency on road may not be able to be removed. Was told by service manager this is an ongoing issue. Have researched this and this appears to be an ongoing issue as per numerous web sites and has resulted in several law suits.
- Dupont, PA, USA
Was having brakes replaced and was informed the aluminum coating on the lug nuts had swollen and could not be removed/tightened with the normal sized lug wrench. Was not concerned until I realized that meant that if I had a flat on the road, the lug wrench that came with the vehicle would not work. Not a fan of being stranded on the side of the road with no way to change a tire. Understand that Ford is not recognizing this as an issue. I find it to be a serious safety issue if you have to be stuck on the side of the road for an extended period because you have to wait for someone with the correct tool to show up because the one provided with the vehicle is no longer sufficient.
- Swansea, IL, USA
- Chicago, IL, USA