Consumer Complaint Detail

FORD / ESCAPE / 2003

Recalls
0 Injured
Investigations
0 Death
Complaints
No Fire
Components - Details
NHTSA Complaint Number: 007127057 Incident Date: Oct, 23 2007
Consumer's City: CHICAGO Consumer's State: IL
Vehicle Transmission Type: AUTO Manufacturers Name: Ford Motor Company
Model Name: ESCAPE Model Year: 2003
Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Component's Description: Unknown or other
Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Persons Injured: 0
Vehicle's VIN#: 1FMYU02143K Date added to File: May, 23 2021
Date Complaint Received: Nov, 16 2007 Complaint Type: IVOQ
Incident Reported To Police: No Purchase Date: Nov, 14 2002
Was Original Owner: No Anti-lock Brakes: No
Number of Cylinders: 0 Date of Manufacturer: -
Was Vehicle Towed: - Description of the Complaints: I recently noticed that the paint on my 2003 ford escape was peeling and flaking at an alarming rate, both on the roof and on the rear panel. the paint was so loose that a strong wind was able to pick up the edges and strip it off the car. on october 24, 2007 i took it to my local ford dealership, napleton's northwestern ford in chicago, for an appointment with the zone district manager. he declined my request for financial help in repairing this problem, citing that the warranty period had expired. my estimate for repair from napleton's recommended body shop said, in writing, that the peeling paint was caused by delamination of paint and a bad priming prep job. i sent a copy of the estimate, pictures of the damage and a letter of explanation to both the ford customer relations center in detroit and my dealership owner - and received back a short form letter from detroit stating that they would not help me financially as the warranty period had expired. although i realize that the warranty period has expired, i believe that my paint problem was caused by substandard work at the factory, a belief substantiated by the body shop. recalls are done all the time for parts that are faulty, regardless of warranty. my paint job was faulty, and therefore i believe ford should help me fix it. according to the center for auto safety and other web sites, paint should not be peeling off cars that are only 4 or 5 years old. i got the damage fixed, which cost me nearly $1,200. prior to owning my escape, i owned a ford escort for 10 years, which never had a paint problem. up until now i have been a loyal ford customer, but since it appears that cutting corners and doing substandard work is their mode of operation, i will never buy another new ford. *tr