Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (doors, hood, frame, rust, paint and trim).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2004 Ford Escape owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
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 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. …
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 Ford Escape. When the gear was shifted into drive, the vehicle independently accelerated in excess of 30 MPH. As a result, the contact's vehicle crashed into another vehicle. The contact was able to stop the vehicle by shifting into neutral and shutting off the engine. A police report was filed. There were no injuries. The vehicle was towed to the independent mechanic (ct conveyor llc located at 320 terryville rd, bristol, ct 06010; [phone]) where it was diagnosed that the cruise control cable needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign numbers: 12V353000 and 14V165000 (engine and engine cooling, vehicle speed control and structure). The parts to do the repairs were unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs. …
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 Ford Escape. While driving approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle swerved independently into a ditch. There were no injuries and a police report was not filed. The contact noticed that the subframe was rusted and detached. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 130,000.
Right rear wheel well completely rusted out and shock mount which was bolted to it fell and is hanging next to and on the wheel along with a ball of sharp twisted metal from the wheel well. Heard noises from back of car past month or so but thought it was something in the cargo compartment. Then went over pothole and loud bang like the exhaust pipe fell and was dragging. Then a burning rubber smell. The metal piece is about to pierce the tire and the shock itself is hanging and banging against tire. Car is undrivable and May be unfixable in that the fix would be worth more than the car. I of course can not get another car right now due to financial reasons so without a car now because of this. The other wheel wells seem fine, no rust. …
Ford's 14s02 recall was to deal with excessive rust on a subframe unit. If the recall inspection of the subframe did not result in characteristics warranting replacement, Ford instructed dealers to install a cross brace. Approximately 13 months after our 2004 Ford Escape had the cross brace installed the subframe unit failed while we were driving. The car violently jerked to the side and if there had been another car or any obstacle on that side of our vehicle we would have hit it. I contacted Ford several times and on each occasion was told Ford would not cover the cost of the repairs because they had already installed the cross brace - which was not the part that failed and was not the part for which the recall was initiated. The repair cost over $800. At the time of the incident the Escape had fewer than 60,000 miles. …
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 Ford Escape. While driving approximately 10 MPH, the steering wheel failed due to severe rust and corrosion of the subframe. The contact attempted to replace the control arms and noticed that a huge chunk on the subframe was rotted and corroded with a large hole near the front passenger side of the subframe. The contact stated that the steering wheel was approximately 40 degrees off balance. In addition, the steering wheel was adjusted while turning left or right to prevent independently intrusive steering due to the steering imbalance. The contact was unable to make repairs to the vehicle due to the damage associated with the mount of the subframe that had partially detached from the vehicle. The contact concluded that any replacement measures in relation to the failure would be faulty. …
As with all other postings the rear passenger wheel well has completely rusted out.and the car started making very loud clunking noises. I do not know the exact moment the wheel well completely degraded. The repair shop said it is not repairable. So we are just now out a car. I just spent way too long chatting with someone from Ford who gave me a postal address to send a complaint to. I think everyone who has had the issue should send a complaint. Mail: Ford motor company customer relationship center, p.o. Box 6248, dearborn, mi 48126, I am also considering hiring a lawyer. I think this is just wrong. My son is a college student and left without a car when this is obviously an inferior product and I can not believe this is the service that Ford wants to provide. If you would like to be a part of the lawsuit please contact me at [redacted]. …
I just purchased a used 2004 Ford Escape xlt with only 45,000 miles on it (12 years old, 45,000'what I thought was a diamond in the rough). It had undercoating to protect from rust when it was new. Very well taken care of, like new inside! So imagine my surprise after driving it 2 months when the passenger side rear wheel well started falling apart (wasn't like that when I bought it). Within a 3 week span it was almost completely destroyed. Again it was protected with undercoating and still rusted out all those years in a garage being barely driven!!! I asked about getting both sides done while it's in the shop and mechanic said the driver side rear well was fine and in good shape, almost no rust at all. Ford stocks only the passenger wheel well, not the driver side. …
While driving to my home went over a small dip in road and SUV made a very load clunking noise in right rear section of vehicle and started handling poorly got it to my parents home which is only few minutes from incident,father looked at and found right rear strut mount and wheel tub rusted out under a thick layer of sound deadening material applied at factory making it nearly impossible to see until it breaks free, father has been a mechanic all his life and tried to get pieces at local salvage yards to repair but found all in a 50 mile radius at salvage yards from years 2001-2007 to be in as bad or worse condition and is currently looking for parts on line out of the rustbelt ,I believe if it had happened on a twisty road it could have been a bigger problem fortunately it was a fairly level straight road I can only assume there isn't an investigation on these is that most people …
Related recalls
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…
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will install a newly designed reinforcement cross-brace, free of charge. The recall began on May 30, 2014. Owners may contact Ford at 1-800-392-3673.
Body complaints in other Escape years
Frequently asked questions
How common are body problems on the 2004 Ford Escape?
NHTSA has 138 complaints about the body & structure of the 2004 Ford Escape, 28% of the model year's 499 complaints. The component named most often is body (111 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2004 Ford Escape body problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 14V-165 (frame and members, Apr 2, 2014). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2004 Ford Escape body problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 120,000 miles, and 2% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 5 crashes, 1 fire and 0 injuries to body & structure problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.