2014 Ford Escape Body & Structure Problems

On 10/12/2025, we noticed the driver's side rear door would not latch properly while shopping. We contacted the dealer the following Monday and dropped the vehicle off for inspection on 10/15/2025 at Classic Ford of Columbia, SC. Two open recalls were identified: Manufacturer Recall 16S30 (NHTSA 16V643) - Door Safety Latch: The pawl spring tab in the side door latch broke, preventing secure latching. The recall requires replacing both latches. The failed door latch assembly is available for inspection at the dealership. Manufacturer Recall 18S20 (NHTSA 18V471) - Transmission Shifter Cable Bushing: The bushing is degraded or detached. Safety Risk: The rear door failure risks the door opening unexpectedly while driving, potentially causing ejection or injury to occupants/others. The shifter bushing risks the vehicle rolling if not properly in Park. The issues were confirmed by the authorized Ford dealership during the 10/15/2025 inspection. The vehicle has been inspected by the dealership; no other inspections noted. No warning lamps or prior symptoms before the door failure on 10/12/2025. Shifter bushing symptoms unknown. The dealer claimed to fix the shifter bushing on 10/15/2025, but both recalls remain "Incomplete". The rear door latch is unfixed, requiring bungee cords to secure it. The vehicle has been driven this way for nearly 4 months. We contacted Ford (case XXX) and escalation began. After weather closure, we were told an appointment would be rescheduled. I emailed Tiffany from Ford last night (~10PM 2/5/2026) and called today (2/6/2026); no response yet. This ongoing safety defect endangers the driver who needs the car for work. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA Recall Number 16V643 After 3 attempts in 2 years, it is become evidential that Ford dealers are deliberately NOT willing to complete this recall for customer, probably because it takes too much time. [XXX]: rear left door latch failed. Call Robinson Brothers Ford, 11455 Airline Hwy, Baton Rouge, LA 70816, was told there is no parts, so I had to replace it by myself using part bought from Amazon. 1st attempt: 23-Feb-2023 to 27-Feb-2023 at Robinson Brothers Ford, 11455 Airline Hwy, Baton Rouge, LA 70816 Called weeks in advance in order to complete all recalls, and called few days earlier to confirm door latch, and was told they have spare parts so I left the car there. All recalls were completed except 16V643, and I was told they had no spare parts by shop representative. Register cell phone number with them for spare parts update and NEVER receive any update till now. 20-Oct-2024: front left door latch failed. 2nd attempt: on 21-Oct-2024 call AutoNation Ford Katy, 20777 Katy Fwy, Katy, TX 77450, the lady (Christina) told me they have no spare parts. 22-Oct-2024: once again, I replace the door latch by myself using spare parts bought from Amazon. 3rd attempt: on 23-Oct-2024: I drove by AutoNation Ford Katy, 20777 Katy Fwy, Katy, TX 77450, the exact the same shop I called 2 days ago, the service representative (Austin) check the inventory, found 1 set of spare parts, and promised me recall can be completed in 24 to 48 hours. When I pick up the car 50 hours later, the job is NOT even started for one door. As such, I officially file this claim to urge NHTSA to investigate what is the percentage completion for this recall for Ford? It takes me 2-3 hours to replace 1 door latch, that may be takes too time for dealer and therefore they chose to put the safety of customer at the lowest priority, and bet on customer running out of patience to replace by themselves, just like I have done, TWICE. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Hood latch became un bolted and opened on the freeway going about 60mph . smashed the windshield and damaged the hood .

My driver passenger door does not close anymore as of 7/9/2023. My 2-year-old son could have flown out the door as he sits on that side in his car seat.

Contacted Ford again fourth time about saftey recall=20S30/20V331. I've been trying to get this fixed since i got the vehicle and recall letters from Ford. Multiple failed attempts because dealership's in my area stood me up, told me they dont do recalls, and said it was basically my fault for buying Ford. Ford customer service is no help, all they say is get in touch with my local dealership's to get it resolved. Duh!! Thats what I've been trying to do, then they give me contact details for dealerships that already stood me up and who said they cant fix the recall. So why bother. Unbelievable, i might as well just contact the dealership i purchased from and surrender the vehicle. Never will i buy Ford again!! Their customer service is lousy!

Ive been trying to get my local Ford dealer to fix this saftey recall but have just been ignored. First time i called my local dealer (Boggus Ford) in harlingen, TX, they just changed there name to Sames Harlingen Ford. They made a mobile appointment for me in April 21st at 9am, no one showed up i didn't even get a call. I called them to see why no one showed up. They told me my appointment was at the dealership and i didn't show up. I was angry and mad because they just lied to me, i have the texts from the dealership service team and a automated reminder that my appointment was mobile at 9am. I said get me another appt, the next appt was on the 26th of April at 9am it was mobile. Then the night of the 25th i get a notification that my appointment tomorrow is at the dealership at 8.30 am. I was dumbfounded, thats not what was discussed, it was mobile,(i have the texts) i couldn't go in to the dealership because my husband was working on the tires. So another missed appt by the dealership's error not mine. I called again no one answers me. I decided to contact Ford customer service directly, they said they will get in touch with another local Ford dealer to fix my saftey recall but, didnt get a reply back. I contacted Ford again same thing, no reply. In the mean time my doirs fling open when on the highway. First time was a scare, sone of my things in the car flew out. Good thing no one got hurt. And lots of times i see my door open out of nowhere.But now i have to physically tie the doors inside so they wont fling open. Either that or not drive it, which means i cant work. Ive contacted another Ford dealer near me and they said they dont do saftey recalls, so i guess im left with defective doors. I just want this recall fixed!

If the rear door (both passenger and driver side) is closed in an aggressive way (such as a child closing a door as hard as they can) the plastic paneling on the door can be "dislodged" sliding down and jamming with the metal door frame making the door unable to open from either the inside or outside. In the event of an emergency, the door would not be able to be opened leaving a child or passenger trapped in the vehicle. A jolt from a low speed crash (not directly on the door) could cause the door plastic to dislodge causing the door to jam leaving children or passengers in the back unable to exit the vehicle safety. The issues has been reproduced only by myself, that I am aware of; (first happened on drive side and then reproduced on passenger side) and could most likely be repeated on similar models preforming repeated aggressive door closes. This issues was brought to a certified Ford dealer and they made notes in the repair that the plastic was dislodged wedging with the metal door frame. The only warning signs were screws falling off the door panels and the plastic separating from the door through normal use and driving.

Our Ford Escape 2014 has two safety recalls. My complaint is that they didn't fix it timely. One of the door latches failed and the door was opened by itself on the road in August 2022. I have taken the car to a local FORD dealership and got it inspected. They said they would request the parts and fix it. However, nothing happened after weeks of waiting. I have checked back many times, and they kept saying that the parts were not available. Now, we have been driving a car that has one door unlocked for the past 1.5 years. How to solve this? FYI. Dealer name and address, Mission Valley Ford Truck Sls. 780 East Brokaw Rd, San Jose, CA 95112 (408) 471-2302. I also contacted the FORD customer service department in 2022; they asked me to check with the local dealership for parts availability.

The driver side rear door can not be opened. It appears the paneling of the door is caught on the frame, which prevents the operation of the door. This has been reported twice to the dealership, and so far they have ignored the request to inspect or fix it. In an emergency if needed passengers would not be able to exit through this door, which would put that at risk if the car were pinned on one side and the front too damaged to operate. Also the rear camera has failed and does not operate. This is the second camera to do so as the first was replaced under warranty a few years after purchasing the vehicle. If a child were behind the vehicle there would be no way to know looking over your shoulder, as you could only see them on camera. The only warning or indicator of the camera failure is a black screen with a message that you need to contact a service professional.

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the transmission was previously replaced. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. Additionally, the driver's side rear door had fractured from daily use, and the contact had to continuously refill the coolant reservoir due to the loss of coolant in the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 82,024.

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated that as her husband grabbed the front passenger's side assist grab handle to adjust himself in the front passenger's side seat, the grab handle fractured and separated from the vehicle. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred while her husband was grabbing the rear passenger's side grab handle to exit the vehicle. The contact stated that her husband fell on the ground and sustained a sore right ankle and bruises on and above the knee of the left foot. Additionally, the contact's husband sustained back pain. The contact's husband had not sought medical assistance. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 162,000.

The rear door panel gets stuck in the door frame, preventing the door from opening. This happens with all of the screws and clips firmly in place but the problem does eventually loosen and dislodge clips. It seems to be that the panel is a little too big for the door frame. Looking for solutions, the problem is very common and many people have attempted to fix it with little success. We have two small children who sit in the back in car seats and we have to put them both in and out from the one door that doesn’t get stuck. This has been an issue for about two years now and has damaged the panel so much that it nearly rips off when attempting to open the door. I have read that Ford has acknowledged the problem but has not issued a recall. Clearly a safety issue to not be able to open a door.

While driving on HWY 65-N, the interior lights came on and on the LCD we got a warning sound & message saying that the rear left door was open !!, we panic b/c our dog was in the back seat, we thought that he had open it, we rushed to the stop on the side of the hwy, we try, and try to closed the door, it never latched, we had to "secure" the door with my belt. very scary and dangerous situation. never got a warning about it; we went directly to the dealer that we bought it from, they inspected the problem, and said that we had to pay for the repair... why?

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the front-end experienced shaking and vibrations. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the motor mount had fractured. The cause of the failure was not determined. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 90,000.

UNDER RECALL 20S30 I DID ON LINE CHECK.IT CAME BACK RIGHT SIDE REAR DOOR NEED FIXED.WHEN I REDID CHECK I PUT IN WRONG NUMBER IT CAME BACK OK AND CLOSED RECALL.NOW FORD DEALER CAN'T FIX PROBLEM

RECEIVED SAFETY RECALL NOTICE 20S30 TOLD TO REPORT DOOR LATCH DATE CODES ON DOORS -HOWEVER THE WEB SITE GIVEN IN NOTICE PROVIDES NO WAY TO INPUT RESULTS

THE LIFTGATE SEPARATED THE OUTSIDE FROM THE INSIDE.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2014 FORD ESCAPE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 15 MPH, THE REAR PASSENGER SIDE DOOR OPENED. THE CONTACT PULLED OVER ONTO THE ROAD SHOULDER AND CLOSED THE DOOR. THE CONTACT TIED THE DOOR HANDLE TO SECURE THE DOOR FROM RE-OPENING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC BUT WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED AND INFORMED THE CONTACT THAT THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 14V239000 (STRUCTURE). THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 93,000.

MY DOOR LATCH ON MY VEHICLE HAS BEEN BROKE FOR 2 MONTHS . I COULDN'T AFFORD TO FIX THEN BUT AS SOON AS I HEARD ABOUT THE RECALL I CALL FORD HERE IN MARLIN,TX.76661. THEY SAY BRING IN ON THIS DAY SO I DID AT 8AM . BEFORE 5 THAT SAME DAY I GO BACK AND THE GENTLEMAN SAID THEY DIDN'T GET TO FIX IT THERE AREN'T ANY PARTS FORD HAS SENT OUT THEY WOULD CALL ME IN A FEW DAYS. NEVER GOT A CALL BUT WHEN SOMEONE CALLS UP THERE AND STARTS ASKING ABOUT IT WHEN IT'S THERE SAFETY AT RISK AND IT'S THE ONLY VEHICLE THEY HAVE WHAT IS SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN. MY SEATBELT WON'T SAVE ME FOREVER AND THIS IS THE SECOND RECALL FOR THIS ISSUE . I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHEN THE ISSUE IS GOING TO BE PRIORITY FOR CONSUMERS LIKE ME. THIS HAPPENED WHILE I WAS SITTING AND WENT TO OPEN DOOR AND GOT OUT WENT TO SHUT DOOR AND IT WOULDN'T LATCH. TYING DOOR WITH ROPE TO STEERING COLUMN JUST TO DRIVE ANYWHERE. *TR

WHEN OPENING THE DRIVERS DOOR SOMETIMES A NOISE COMES FROM THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE. IT LASTS ABOUT 1 TO 2 SECONDS AND SOUNDS LIKE A RATCHETING NOISE. THE VEHICLE IS PARKED. IT HAS BEEN IN SERVICE FOR TWO WEEKS AND THEY CAN'T DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM. I TOOK A VIDEO AND SHOWED TO THEM WITH SOUND. ALSO LAST SUMMER IT WAS IN SERVICE FOR A WEEK WITH NO RESULTS. I SAW A POSSIBLE CAUSE ON THE INTERNET WHICH WAS INVOLVING THE FUEL PUMP. *TR