2005 Ford Escape problems
NHTSA has received 2,030 complaints about the 2005 Ford Escape, and 23% of them involve suspension. Next are body & structure (22%) and engine (11%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 2,030 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Suspension 23% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 54 and 24
- Injuries and deaths
- 39 and 3
- Typical mileage
- 109,000 miles 1,747 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 93 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 60 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 109 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 146 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 284 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 347 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 298 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 180 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 114 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 63 |
| 200k+ miles | 53 |
What the data shows
Of the 1,747 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 109,000 miles. For suspension specifically, the median reported mileage is about 121,000 miles (407 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 54 complaints mention a crash; 24 complaints mention a fire; 39 injuries reported; 3 deaths reported. Its complaints are less severe on average than those of 81% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2005 ranks 17th most-complained-about out of 25 model years of the Ford Escape with enough data (359 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 4 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
2005 ford escape xlt roll over resulted in a fatal death. The lift gate and door were opened during the roll over of SUV. The air bags failed to deployed. I lost my wife in this roll over. My self and my brother's wife got major injuries. This model has automatic 4 wheel engagement. During the crash the engine pumped more power to the wheels. Tried to control but becuase of more power from the engine the driver could not control it and got over corrected which ended up in ditch.
Complaint received via e-mail. The front wheel assembly came apart while driving, thus causing another vehicle damage as well. No contact was with this car until after parts came off the escape, causing us to lose control and cross the center line. There has been no remedy from ford motor company at all to fix my car. Ford will not even acknowledge that it was a defect in workmanship or in manufacturing.
I happened to notice rust through while checking my tires. It is located at the right (passenger side) rear wheelhouse panel where the strut assembly attaches to the body of the vehicle. The rust has disintegrated in the area leaving a barely attached wheel assembly with massive cracking and holes in the metal. It is the only area on the vehicle with rust.
Takata recall passenger back tower wheel rusted on my 2005 ford escape the meter sensor keep going off like the doors are still open the rims of the car has rusted like we had the car for 30 years in motion when I notice the wheel tower rusted out