I heard a knocking sound coming from the rear passenger of the vehicle. Upon inspection, I discovered that the rear shock absorber mount showed clear signs of rust - it appears to be rotted through! the interior wheel well has an enormous crack running through it, with the back of the interior insulation visible from the outside.

- Webster, NY, USA

I noticed the problem when I was driving down the road and heard a knocking coming from the rear of the vehicle I thought it was a bad shock at first so I pulled over to check it out and the rear shock brackets are completely rusted through and are breaking away from the main frame. I contacted Mazda on April 10 2014 and they said they heard of this happening to many of their vehicles as well as many Ford escapes. They havent provided any other info on assitance with repairs or a recall. The car is no longer driveable until it goes through massive reconstruction of the sheet metal and framing in the rear wheel well.

- Medinah, IL, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Mazda Tribute. The contact stated that the rear passenger side shocks was separating from the vehicle. The vehicle was not taken for inspection or repairs. The manufacturer was not notified of the issue. The failure mileage and the current mileage was 169,000. Updated 06/17/14 updated 8/16/17

- Bridgewater, NJ, USA

I noticed a rattle in the rear end of my vehicle. I took to my work harvard Ford and had the technicians check it out. They discovered that the panels holding the shocks/struts up has rusted through. I would like to know if there is a recall on this problem.. the tech's say they have had three other vehicles( Ford escapes) with this problem in the last six months.

- Capron, IL, USA

Inside both rear wheel wells, the body is rusting out substantially around the shock tower bracket. It is so bad that the shock tower can break lose and the car will be a danger to drive. This is documented to have happened to many similar 2004-2006 Mazda Tributes and Ford escapes (made on same factory line). It is a difficult and costly repair. Https://www.facebook.com/pages/2005-Ford-escape-2004-2006/397923900236108.

- Wheaton, IL, USA

Wife left house to run an errand and returned immediately after hearing loud clanging noise in rear of car. She brought to my attention so I rode in the rear seat to observe as she drove. After just a very short distance I heard the noise and observed that I could see through the rear speaker area to the outside. She parked the car and I looked from the outside into the right (passenger) rear wheel well and saw the entire upper shock mount was rotted out offering no support whatsoever to the shock absorber. The overall condition of the car is very good with no or very little body rust. It is my opinion that the cannot be driven until this is repaired. I am not a certified mechanic but I do restore old cars as a hobby and consider myself to be of moderate ability in auto mechanics.

- Binghamton, NY, USA

The right wheel well is completely rusted through including the rear shock mounts. The only thing holding the metal together was the outer undercoating spray. My 18 year old son was driving on the interstate in this condition. I searched the internet and see that other Mazda Tribute and Ford escape owners have the same problem. It's an obvious manfacture's defect that is occurring nationally and is a serious safety issue. Department of transportation federal highway administration.

- Marietta, GA, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Mazda Tribute. The contact stated that the tires wore excessively from the inside. The contact also stated that two four wheel alignments were performed but the failure continued. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The technician was unable to diagnose the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 94,000.

- Manchester, NH, USA