2004 Ford Escape

2004 Ford Escape 4-DR.

Overall

Not Rated

Front Crash

Not Rated

Side Crash

Not Rated

Rollover

Not Rated

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:LEVER AND LINKAGE:FLOOR SHIFT

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2001-2008 Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner vehicles manufactured March 31, 2001, to September 1, 2009. The affected vehicles are equipped with either a 2.3L or 3.0L engine and have had their CD4E transmission replaced with remanufactured one that was rebuilt between June 11, 2015 through July 15, 2015. These service repair part transmissions have a shift lever bolt that may not be properly tightened. As a result, the shift control lever could disengage from the transmission without warning.

Campaign: 15V606000

STRUCTURE:FRAME AND MEMBERS

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2001-2004 Escape vehicles manufactured October 22, 1999, through January 23, 2004, originally sold, or currently registered in, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia. These vehicles may experience excessive corrosion at the forward attachment of the lower control arm.

Campaign: 14V165000

SUSPENSION:FRONT:WHEEL BEARING

The Timken Company (Timken) is recalling certain aftermarket front wheel bearings, part number 510072, sold from January 22, 2015, to May 21, 2015, to be used as service parts on 2001-2012 Ford Escape, 2001-2011 Mazda Tribute, and 2005-2011 Mercury Mariner vehicles. The affected wheel bearings have incorrect dimensions of a 42mm bore, 76mm outer dimension, and 39mm width, instead of a 42mm bore, 78mm outer dimension and a 45mm width.

Campaign: 15E045000

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

Ford Motor Company is recalling certain model year 2001 through 2004 Escape vehicles equipped with 3.0L V6 engines and speed control manufactured from October 22, 1999, through January 23, 2004. Inadequate clearance between the engine cover and the speed control cable connector could result in a stuck throttle when the accelerator pedal is fully or almost-fully depressed. This risk exists regardless of whether or not speed control (cruise control) is used.

Campaign: 12V353000

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP:CONTROL UNIT/MODULE

ON CERTAIN SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH ANTILOCK BRAKES (ABS), THE ABS MODULE CONNECTOR MAY HAVE MISSING OR DISLODGED WIRE SEALS. THIS CONDITION COULD ALLOW CONTAMINATION TO ENTER THE MODULE CONNECTOR, CREATING A POTENTIAL FOR AN ELECTRICAL SHORT.

Campaign: 07V156000

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:CABLES

ON CERTAIN SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES BUILT WITH 3.0L V6 ENGINES, THE ACCELERATOR CABLE MAY PREVENT THE THROTTLE FROM RETURNING TO THE IDLE POSITION.

Campaign: 04V574000

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:MASTER CYLINDER

CERTAIN CARDONE MASTER CYLINDERS WITH PART NUMBERS 10-2925, 10-2987, 10-2987MZA, 10-3083, 11-3015, 11-3042, 11-3044, 11-3045, 11-3047, 11-3064, AND 11-3156, AND WITH DATE CODES LOWER THAN DCA7078 SOLD AS REPLACEMENT EQUIPMENT FOR USE ON THE VEHICLES LISTED ABOVE. THE SEAL ON MASTER CYLINDER CAN FAIL AND LEAK BRAKE FLUID.

Campaign: 07E023000

LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:DOORS:LATCH

CERTAIN 2004-2005 SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES AND CERTAIN 2001-2003 SPORT UTIITY VEHICLE HAVING REAR LIFTGATE COMPONENTS SERVICED WITH 2004 EQUIVALENT COMPONENTS FAIL TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 206, 'DOOR LOCKS AND DOOR RETENTION COMPONENTS.' THE REAR LIFTGATE LATCHING SYSTEM DOES NOT MEET THE INERTIA LOAD REQUIREMENT IN ONE DIRECTION.

Campaign: 04V602000

LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES

The contact owns a 2004 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 04V602000 (Latches/Locks/Linkages); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where other recall repairs were performed; however, the contact was advised that parts for NHSTA Campaign: 04V602000 (Latches/Locks/Linkages); were no longer being manufactured. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure.

STRUCTURE

The contact owned a 2004 Ford Escape. The contact's son stated while driving at approximately 45 MPH, he lost control of the vehicle and rolled. The contact stated that her son had gone unconscious and did not remember any details. The contact arrived at the scene and saw that the vehicle had rolled into a ditch. The contact stated that the vehicle had been rolled back over onto its four wheels. The contact noted that none of the air bags had deployed. The contact stated that the police were on the scene but had not issued a report. The contact drove her son to a local hospital where he received stitches to close a cut over his left eye on his forehead. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact was not aware of NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V165000 (Structure). The manufacturer had not been notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 217,000.

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES

A few times I have pressed the brakes when coming to a red light and stop signs But instead of my vehicle stopping it propelled me forward as it excellerated out of no where and pushed me into oncoming traffic, I almost was hit by other cars and I almost hit other cars and even have had to swerve onto the side walk to prevent myself from getting g hit by another car. If there were people walking, I would have definitely hit them! When I press the brake, I’m not expecting to accelerate instead Also apparently this recall of this issue was already done back in 2005 but i just purchased this vehicle in the fall of 2023 And the dealer says there is no recall since it’s already been fixed by the previous owner years ago But it needs to be fixed as it’s still doing it to me

SERVICE BRAKES

Brake master cylinder is leaking brake fluid I read about a previous recall not sure if it pertains to my model but it leaks everytime I push my brake pedal

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE

UNKNOWN

AIR BAGS

I have a 2004 Ford Escape which I absolutely love knocking on the door of almost 300,000 miles. Go Ford. But lately my airbag light blinks and my escape beeps 5 times every 8 seconds or so and then it repeats itself with a total of 20 beeps. After the beeping is finished my airbag light stays illuminated. When I checked online what it means it says a defective airbag. It is intermittent or when I am on long trips.

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE

The contact owns a 2004 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, he heard an abnormal noise coming from the rear of the vehicle and started to smell fuel in the vehicle. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to park on the side of the road and noticed the fuel tank straps were corroded and had caused the fuel tank to detach from the vehicle. The contact stated he manually taped the fuel tank straps and drove to his destination. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer and made them aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA ID Number: 10183774, however his year, make and model were not included. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 160,000.

SUSPENSION,STRUCTURE

The body panel around the rear driver side shock mount has almost completely rusted away. Driving one day, I started to hear a loud clunking noise from the rear driver side. It started to get louder the more I drove it. Upon inspection, I found the body panel had completely rusted around the shock mount tower, which is only now connected to the rear floor panel. Without the support of the rest of the body panel, the metal is slowing ripping away where it is connected to the floor if it is driven. The vehicle is completely unsafe to drive now as the rear shock could rip away from the vehicle at any moment. There have been many complaints of this happening on the rear passenger side, which I also had on this vehicle. Roughly 5 years ago, I had an independent auto body shop repair rust on the passenger side shock mount/body panel where it had rusted through. I noticed a hole in the body panel when changing the rear shocks, but it was not large enough or bad enough at that point to create a safety issue. So, I had time to safety get it to an auto body shop for repair before it got bad. This same issue has now happened on the driver side and I am left with a car that is unsafe to drive. When the other side was repaired, there was no sign of rust or concern on the other side. So, it has completely rusted through in that 5-year time frame. I inquired about repairing this with an auto body shop, and I was told that the rust is too significant to repair safely and cost effectively. It would require extensive metal repair on the body and frame underneath it. This absolutely could have put myself, my passengers, and other drivers at risk if the rear shock and mount had unexpectedly ripped away from the body of the vehicle. It could have ripped through the rear body of the car or come in contact with the rear wheel while driving, causing a significant risk of losing control of the vehicle.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

There seems to be a wiring grounding problem. I have had to replace multiple alternators over the length of time that I've had this vehicle. Whenever I have to use my windshield wipers during mid to heavy rain, along with lights, and heat/ac. The next day my alternator doesn't respond properly and generally will not run. After checking batteries, replacing batteries, blown fuses, I still end up having to get a new alternator. Which last until I back in the same situation. This car has completely shutoff while driving on the interstate and in traffic. The cigarette lighters do not work properly either; therefore I'm not able to charge my phone or use navigation systems.

STEERING

after experiencing steering issues with this vehicle I had it inspected by a mechanic and was told the sub frame was rusted out. my research indicated repairs may be covered under a recall for this issue but found no recalls for this vin. the problem is exactly as described on the Ford web site yet this vehicle is not covered. was curious as to whether there is something that could be done.