Ford Escape Question

[bummer]

Took my 09 Escape in for inspection and it failed. I was told that the rear front A arm bushing needed replaced and both sides had to be done ,not just the affected side.This vehicle has 40,580 mile on it ,is this normal wear? of course they want about $450 to fix it.

 

[M&P Freak]

My wife drives a 01 Escape. Has over 110K miles and have not had that or any other major problem. The rear hatch will not open when its hot out, but that's about it so far.

(Knocks on wood)

 

[scooter123]

I'd have another shop take a look at it, that mileage is much too low for something like this to be a problem. Unless you are beating it really badly on potholed roads the A arm bushing will normally last for well over 100K miles and it's not at all unusual for them to go for 200-300 K miles. I would also check at a dealer because this may still be covered under the warranty.

 

[Marshwheeling]

A shop that does a mandated vehicle inspection and then performs the repairs has an inherent conflict of interest. Figure out where you are going to have any repairs done (a mechanic you have good reason to trust), then have the inspection done elsewhere.

 

[Dmaxboy08]

sounds like to me someone is trying to get more money out of you. The other side (if left side has failed) the right side does not need replacement. Now on a lower control arm, there are two bushings connecting it to the frame. Sometimes these bushings are not serviceable and the entire control has to be replaced. I do not know if the ford escape is this way.
BUT if it isnt broke, dont fix it. the other side does not need replacement just because the other side failed. I would take it to the dealer and see what kind of warrenty is on the vehicle. Things break on vehicles all the time. I work at a chrysler dealership and we get brand new cars in all the time that parts have failed. just one of those things....

 

[JcMack]

Is this Escape 2 or 4WD? Just looking at the back of the 2 WD Escapes they look kind of fragile in the suspension dept.. On the other hand maybe the addition of a rear diff. on 4WD adds to suspension component wear.

 

[BuckeyeChuck]

Ruined lower control arm bushings are not normal for any vehicle at 40,000 miles. I'm especially suspicious that both sides would go bad at the same time with such low mileage.

 

[mr.jbk79]

I see control arm bushings fail on more later model vehicles then I think I should. Alot of them are under 60K miles. I think it has to do with bads roads, poor driving habits, and perhaps cheap, overpriced parts. Some bushings can be pressed out of the control arm and replaced,(once the control arm is removed from the vehicle) and others are serviced by replacing the control arms itself. My observation is this problem is more of a concern with domestic brands then in import brands. Either way I'd be less then pleased with only 40K.

 

[LVSteve]

Have a poke around the Internet to see if others have suffered this issue. You might be dealing with a known weakness that is not sufficient to generate a recall, but is enough to fail a rigorous state inspection. In these cases you, not the manufacturer, gets to pay.

 

[Knightrider03m]

Is this Escape 2 or 4WD? Just looking at the back of the 2 WD Escapes they look kind of fragile in the suspension dept.. On the other hand maybe the addition of a rear diff. on 4WD adds to suspension component wear.

That is because the 2WD have that ungodly hold in the middle were the rear diff should be.

I would take it to another dealer and see what they say.

 

[kraigwy]

I've been studing, or looking into Escapes. Trying to find a used one for my Granddaughter.

Everything I hear is great. Never heard of any major problem like mentioned.

To my regret, people like them, used Escapes are hard to find and if found they are expensive.

I'm gonna keep watching this post to see if there are other such problems.

I think it would be a perfect car for a young lady going off to college and might have to drive back and forth between here and Laramie in the winter.

 

[Maddog 521]

Go to www.ford-trucks.com/forum/index.php check out the Escape section. I'm sure your questions will be answered there.
I am on my second one and both have been problem free.

 

[JJEH]

...is this normal wear?

Well, I don't know your driving habbits. Off-road, bumps, driving sidewalks up and down... all that can cause this.

They wanna replace both sides, because that is what you usually do. Same with tires, shocks, coil springs, bearings, etc.

But in this case I would get a second opinion and would just fix what's broken.

 

[Arik]

While not impossible (maybe a bad batch of bushings) its highly unlikely. Ive also never heard of failing inspections due to bushings but your state might have different rules. Here its technically possible to fail but they would have to have went through 300k miles of Afghan mountains to fail. I'd get a second opinion.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

 

[jaykellogg]

Is the car under warranty?

You can check this yourself, have another driver drive by you in a parking lot. As the other driver drives by he (or she) should pump the brake. If the bushings are bad, the rear wheel will turn in and out.

Another good place to ask about this issue is flatratetech.com . There professional auto technicians will answer your questions. the Ford section is one of the biggest.