2010 Ford Escape Suspension Problems

1. I purchased a 2010 Ford Escape that had a preexisting rusted frame defect. That is shown by the Ford vehicle history report and related service documentation, which support that the problem existed before I took possession of the vehicle. The vehicle was determined as unsafe to drive and later broke down after the sale. Apple Ford Apple Valley documented that the vehicle was “not safe to drive due to rusted frame,” and after break down, Carlson Automotive also inspected the vehicle and confirmed serious issues. The vehicle and related records can be made available for inspection upon request. 2.My safety and the safety of others were put at risk because the structural defect caused loss of control, steering problems, and ultimately a breakdown while driving. This created a danger to me, my passengers, and other drivers on the road. 3.The problem was confirmed by a dealer ( prior to the sale to me) and an independent service center ( after it broke down ). I am not aware of any police or insurance inspection of the vehicle. The seller is not cooperating. Ford bought the vehicle through a trade in and then held it for resale, top gear obtains the vehicle which then sells it on kbids to me. 4. There were warning signs before the failure THAT WERE NOT DISCLOSED AND FORD ALLOWED THE VEHICLE TO LEAVE ITS LOT INSTEAD OF JUNKING IT. The Ford history report and service records showed the rusted frame condition before the vehicle failed, and Apple Ford Apple Valley documented that the vehicle was not safe to drive. The car fax report did not show detailed service notes. I was not able to find out more detail until I was listed as the owner at FORD. The vehicle was video recorded on top gear you tube page as drivable and operational WITHOUT restrictions.

NHTSA ID

11750831

Incident

Mar 27, 2026

Front subframe on the right side prematurely rusts, causing the vehicle to loose steering and pull to the right.

NHTSA ID

11742103

Incident

May 22, 2026

The complaint is regarding a 2010 Ford Escape, original owner and maintained mostly at dealer shop. Vehicle only has 79k miles on it, and has been garage stored. It has rust in the rear wheel wells and a crack in the rear right subframe due to rust.

NHTSA ID

11727713

Incident

Dec 5, 2025

Power steering quits working without notice and ford says it’s not a recall in this vehicle but it says everywhere that it’s a known recall issue

NHTSA ID

11653126

Incident

Apr 9, 2018

putting the car on a lift noticed the rust on frame the inspecting further notice the rear axle rusted away from body

NHTSA ID

11644817

Incident

Feb 20, 2025

The contact owns a 2010 Ford Escape. The contact stated while his daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle continuously pulled to the right, requiring the driver to make constant corrections. Upon visual inspection of the vehicle, the contact observed that the front passenger's side tire was angled inward and had nearly detached from the vehicle. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the front engine cradle after observing excessive corrosion. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 122,000.

NHTSA ID

11606825

Incident

Aug 6, 2024

Mileage

122,000 mi

Engine cradle rusted out. It was replaced and I have the old part. Problem was detected using the vehicle for a short drive at residential speed. If the part had failed on the freeway an accident may have occurred. Vehicle was left at a close by shop who confirmed part failure and warned vehicle could not be driven unless part replaced. Shop confirmed this is not uncommon. Called Ford Motor Company and was told to see my local dealer. Checked with dealer body shop. Body shop said never seen problem before. Parts confirmed common replacement part. Service would neither confirm nor deny quality of original part leading to failure. Concern is for younger drivers for whom this is a family hand me down.

NHTSA ID

11585915

Incident

Apr 9, 2024

I had exhaust work done, 2010 Ford Escape, and shop pointed out huge rust hole in ''subframe'' (engine cradle) This has been hundred thousand recalls but NOT all model years, yet they ALL have the same fault. Ford recall only puts a cheap ''brace'' on it but it is NOT a repair!! What kind of country allows these maggots to threaten the driver with complete !! loss of steering control and yet not require repair for faulty frames? They did the half-ass repair on 2001 to 2004 but ALL years up to 2012 have this, and the ''brace '' in cheapo B S.

NHTSA ID

11558694

Incident

Oct 30, 2023

On 8/17/2023 My daughter was on the highway and said she was having a problem after hitting a pothole. I told her to return home. Subframe Broke after hitting a second minor pothole on a side road close to my home. Passenger side tire (fell off?) was turned 90 degrees under the wheel well while the driver side tire was still pointing straight forward. About a 60 foot skid mark dragging the passenger tire at a 90 degree angle until she could pull the vehicle over. If this happened on the highway, I fear the worst would have happened to my daughter. Also, I see that the rear frame is rotted on both sides near the rear shocks.

NHTSA ID

11551188

Incident

Aug 17, 2023

A/C drain line located above the crossmember(Engine Cradle-#9L8Z-5C145-A) caused it to prematurely rot on the passenger side of the vehicle. Issue was discovered during a routine oil change. Crossmember rot is directly above lower control arm attachment point. In the event of total failure, it would result in loss of control of the vehicle. The driver's side of the crossmember does not have any signs of corrosion.

NHTSA ID

11536950

Incident

Aug 1, 2023

Had an alternator problem , had vehicle towed to garage for repair. When I picked the owner of the garage there is significant rust to the suspension. I inspected the damage my self and found the "suspension part" that holds the strut was just about rusted through. I researched the web and found out that there were plenty of others who have the same

NHTSA ID

11520500

Incident

May 4, 2023

Driving down the road started hearing minor noises in the rear, then louder clunks when driving over road patches and bumps. Parked in our driveway, and inspected, found out the entire strut tower on the rear driver side tire is rusted from the frame and there is a large crack that has formed in the unibody has well. Our local Ford dealership in town sent us to the auto body shop and the auto body shop will not touch it and said park it and do not drive it. It is dangerous to myself, occupants and others on the road you can move the entire strut tower. We are stuck with a loan for a vehicle when we bought had no rust marks anywhere until after a few months. Also the roof leaks as well which was not visible when we purchased this vehicle of a lot. We took it back to the dealership we bought it from and since we bought as is, they would do nothing. They said they'd help get us in something different and will not return any calls. They had to have known this was a problem when they sold this.

NHTSA ID

11467152

Incident

May 29, 2022

The contact owns a 2010 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle started shaking abnormally. The contact stated she was safely able to slow the vehicle to approximately 10 MPH and proceed back to her residence. The contact stated that on her way to the residence she noticed that the power steering warning light illuminated, and the steering wheel was difficult to turn. The contact called an independent mechanic and informed the mechanic of the failure. The contact was notified of NHTSA Campaign Number: 15E045000 (Suspension) and 14V284000 (Steering). The local dealer was contacted but the contact was informed that the vehicle was not included in the recalls and that the repair would be an out-of-pocket expense. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 140,000.

NHTSA ID

11443079

Incident

Nov 1, 2021

Mileage

140,000 mi

The vehicle started making occasional "clunking" sounds upon right hand turns around the 120,000 mile mark as if my tire were falling into a pothole that wasn't there. Had one occurrence where a sharp right hand turn resulted into what I'd call a "locked up" steer or loss of steering control and flashing warning light. It then mysteriously resumed normalcy. At 135,000 during a brake job service, mechanic pointed out that the crossmember has prematurely corroded through along with concerns about the subframe and this car was unfit to drive which may be the reason for the above. I'm reading very similar stories of all the same symptoms that have already resulted in accidents with this car which is forcing me to park this.

NHTSA ID

11440596

Incident

Nov 10, 2021

WHILE DRIVING MADE RIGHT HAND TURN INTO SERVICE STATION AND LOST CONTROL OF VEHICLE. FORTUNATELY HAD SLOWED FOR TURN AND ALTHOUGH SCARED NO ONE WAS HURT WHEN TOW COMPANY JACKED UP ESCAPE TO TOW IT ONTO FLATBED TRUCK WE SAW THAT FORWARD FRAME HAD RUSTED ALLOWING FRONT OF A ARM TO SEPARATE FROM FRAME CAUSING SUSPENSION TO SEPARATE FROM VEHICLE.

NHTSA ID

11412870

Incident

Apr 17, 2021

Mileage

211,000 mi

REAR SUBFRAME IS RUSTED, POTENTIALLY CRACKED CAUSING NOISE AND LOSS OF NORMAL CONTROL WHEN DRIVING.

NHTSA ID

11403450

Incident

Feb 22, 2021

Mileage

154,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 FORD ESCAPE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS, AN ABNORMAL KNOCKING SOUND WAS COMING FORM THE FRONT DRIVER'S SIDE WHEEL WELL AS THE ABS, TRACTION CONTROL, AND CHECK ENGINE WARNING LIGHTS WERE ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHERE THE MECHANIC REPLACED THE HALF SHAFT AND THE FRONT WHEEL BEARINGS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FAILURE RECURRED WITH THE POWER STEERING ASSIST WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT EXCESSIVE FORCE WAS NEEDED TO STEER THE VEHICLE. UPON INVESTIGATION, THE CONTACT LINKED THE FAILURES TO NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 15E045000 (SUSPENSION) AND 14V284000 (STEERING). THE CONTACT THEN CALLED TYLER FORD, LTD (2626 S SW LOOP 323, TYLER, TX 75701) AND WAS INFORMED THAT THE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 182,711.*DT

NHTSA ID

11400152

Incident

Oct 26, 2020

Mileage

182,711 mi

ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) AND ANTILOCK BRAKING SYSTEM(ABS) DISPLAY ON THE DASHBOARD: WHEN BRAKING AT A STOP THE BREAK SKIPS AND STRUGGLES TO BREAK. WHEN TURNING WHILE THE FOOT IS ON THE BREAK IT ALSO SKIPS. WARNING LIGHTS ON DASH PERIODICAL TURNS ON AND OFF. THE BREAK SKIPPING DOES NOT ALWAYS OCCUR. FAST BREAKING CAN TRIGGER SKIPPING OF THE BREAKS. RAIN ALSO INCREASES THE LIKELINESS OF BREAK SKIPPING AND ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) MAKING IT HARD TO CONTROL STEERING. THE BRAKE PAD AND ROTORS HAVE BEEN CHECKS AND ARE NORMAL. FORD ESCAPE 2010. INSTANCES HAVE BEEN HAPPENING AT RANDOM SINCE 2018 AT A FREQUENCY OF 3-4 TIMES A WEEK.

NHTSA ID

11390108

Incident

Jan 25, 2021

RIGHT FRONT CROSS MEMBER AT LOWER CONTROL ARM COMPLETELY RUSTED PREMATURELY, FRONT END STARTED MAKING CLUNKING NOISE WHEN DRIVING

NHTSA ID

11359998

Incident

Sep 19, 2020

Mileage

84,129 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 FORD ESCAPE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 10 MPH, THE FRONT SUSPENSION FAILED AND CAUSED THE PASSENGER'S SIDE FRONT WHEEL TO FAIL. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO MOVE THE VEHICLE ONTO THE ROAD SHOULDER AND FOUND THE THAT THE FRONT SUSPENSION HAD FRACTURED AND SEPARATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED FILLBACK FORD ' RICHLAND CENTER (2410 US 14 RICHLAND CENTER, WI 53581, (608) 647-5400). THE DEALER INSPECTED THE VEHICLE AND FOUND THAT THE FRONT SUSPENSION SUBFRAME FRACTURED DUE TO CORROSION. THE DEALER REPLACED FRONT SUBFRAME K-FRAME, THE AXLE, CONTROL ARM, AND TIE ROD. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 63,810. INVALID VIN. *BF

NHTSA ID

11352832

Incident

Aug 17, 2020

Mileage

63,810 mi

DRIVING VEHICLE DOWN HIGHWAY AT APPROXIMATELY 70MPH, HIT BUMP FROM ROAD CONSTRUCTION. SURFACE WAS SLIGHTLY ELEVATED, STEERING WHEEL JERKED AND THEN WAS TILTED APPROXIMATELY 30 DEGREES OFF CENTER TO THE LEFT. LIFTED VEHICLE AND INSPECTED, FOUND K-FRAME ON PASSENGER SIDE WAS ROTTING THROUGH AND HAD PARTIALLY DETACHED. CAUSING ALIGNMENT TO CHANGE. NOT MUCH MATERIAL IS HOLDING IT ON STILL.

NHTSA ID

11341802

Incident

Jul 26, 2020

Mileage

170,000 mi

MY MOTHER WAS DRIVING THE VEHICLE TODAY STRAIGHT ON A STREET AND SHE LOST CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE AND ALMOST HIT ANOTHER VEHICLE (ONLY BY GODS GRACE SHE WAS SPARED FROM A DEADLY ACCIDENT). I WENT TO LOOK AT THE VEHICLE AT HER HOME AND FOUND OUT THE RIGHT LOWER CONTROL ARM WHERE IT IS BOLTED TO THE FRONT SUSPENSION CROSS MEMBER WAS SEVERELY FATIGUED THAT WAS CORRODED BADLY BROKE OFF UNEXPECTEDLY WITHOUT ANY WARNING AT ALL. I THEN RESEARCHED THIS ISSUE AFTERWARDS AND THERE WERE SEVERAL COMPLAINTS ON LINE OF VEHICLE ABOUT THIS SAME SAFETY ISSUE. I MAY BE SEEKING LEGAL COUNSEL FROM TODD TRACY LAW FIRM OF DALLAS TX. FOR THIS POSSIBLY DEADLY AND SEVERE DEFECT THAT WAS NOT PROPERLY ADDRESSED FROM FORD AND NHTSA TO CONSUMERS AND IS A HIDDEN TICKING TIME BOMB PUTTING PEOPLE IN DANGER. WHY HAVE YOU NOT NOTIFIED PEOPLE OF THIS ISSUE? I CANNOT BE THE FIRST AND ONLY ONE WITH THIS ISSUE.

NHTSA ID

11316481

Incident

Mar 5, 2020

Mileage

106,000 mi

FRAME ON FRONT PASSENGER SIDE IS RUSTED THROUGH CAUSING WHEEL TO BE DETACHED FROM FRAME AND ALSO CONTROL ARM. TOLD NOT TO DRIVE CAR AT ALL UNTIL FRAME IS FIXED. SAFETY ISSUE. VEHICLE IS KEPT IN A GARAGE. THE VEHICLE WAS BEING INSPECTED.

NHTSA ID

11316379

Incident

Feb 17, 2020

Mileage

113,488 mi

TO ISSUE A RECALL REQUIRING TO REPLACE THE SUB-FRAME AND REPAIR ANY DAMAGE FROM A BAD FRAME. CONTROL ARM AND OTHER CONNECTING SUSPENSION PARTS WILL SEPARATE FROM FRAME AND OR SUB-FRAME WHICH CAN RESULT IN SERIOUS AND OR FATAL INJURIES. THIS VEHICLE HAS ROTTING FRAME/SUB-FRAME AND THIS PROBLEM WITH OTHER FORD ESCAPES HAS BEEN REPORTED MANY TIMES TO FORD. THIS ISSUE SHOULD BE RESOLVED ASAP AS SERIOUS INJURIES/DEATH WILL RESULT IF NOT ADDRESSED.ALONG WITH FORDS REPUTATION OF DOING THE RIGHT THING. THANK YOU

NHTSA ID

11312139

Incident

Jan 1, 2020

Mileage

120,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 FORD ESCAPE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE STEERING WHEEL AND FRONT WHEELS VIBRATED OUT OF CONTROL. THE CONTACT INSPECTED THE VEHICLE HIMSELF AND FOUND THAT THE WHEEL BEARING WAS THE WRONG DIMENSION. THE CONTACT REPLACED THE DRIVER'S SIDE WHEEL BEARING HIMSELF. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO AN UNKNOWN DEALER FOR THE STEERING FAILURE AND THE STEERING STABILIZER WAS REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED AND STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 14V284000 (STEERING) AND NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 15E045000 (SUSPENSION). THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 110,000.

NHTSA ID

11287537

Incident

Aug 15, 2018

Mileage

110,000 mi