Paint/Trim
Paint (fading, chalking, cracking, or peeling), loose interior and exterior trim or moldings, rust.
What Owners Say
"Some trim on the tailgate came loose and the dealer had to reattach"
Anonymous, KS (2012 Ford Escape 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Paint and finish deteriorating quickly even after taking good care of car with cleaning and waxing"
Robert H., OH (2012 Ford Escape XLT 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"paint peeling for no good reason"
Anonymous, FL (2012 Ford Escape 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"The paint is cracking and peeling over the two rear wheel wells"
Bob V., ON (2012 Ford Escape Limited 3.0-L V6)"The paint is coming off of course where the rust is looks bad"
Christine N., OH (2012 Ford Escape XLT 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"front bumper"
Anonymous, MT (2012 Ford Escape XLT 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Rust around wheel well and doors"
Anonymous, (2012 Ford Escape XLT 3.0-L V6)"Rust pain coming off back bumpers and by trunk they fixed front around tires earlier"
Anonymous, MI (2012 Ford Escape XLT 3.0-L V6)"They repaire all problems! i was Happy"
Bonnie B., MI (2012 Ford Escape XLT 3.0-L V6)"Flaw in the tailgate paint. Covered under warranty"
Robert C., MI (2012 Ford Escape Limited 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Paint peeling down to bare metal on driver rear wheel well and liftgate"
Anonymous, MN (2012 Ford Escape Limited 3.0-L V6)"Paint cracking and peeling around only one wheel"
Bev M., MI (2012 Ford Escape XLT 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Paint peeling on rear quarter panels"
Anonymous, AB (2012 Ford Escape XLT 3.0-L V6)"The paint on the top of the lift gate started to peel off. Ford repainted it, at no charge, and so far it is ok"
Anonymous, VA (2012 Ford Escape XLT 3.0-L V6)"Front grill chrome cracked, peeled, and the grill needed replaced"
Patricia P., PA (2012 Ford Escape XLS)"this was a precursor to the rust. The paint began to peel off before the rust set in."
Bob V., ON (2012 Ford Escape Limited 3.0-L V6)"Paint peeling wher3 rust was"
Anonymous, IL (2012 Ford Escape Limited 3.0-L V6)"peeling paint varies spots"
Anonymous, ON (2012 Ford Escape 3.0-L V6)"Paint began to chip and peel in two places on the front bumper."
Don S., MT (2012 Ford Escape XLT 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Tailgate and rear well paint flaw peeling paint caused rust dealer knew it said I was out of warranty. I take it there for everything why did they miss it! Tech told me to try to fight for it I lost"
Carol Y., ON (2012 Ford Escape 3.0-L V6)"Substantial rust on rear wheel well. Ford won't fix under warranty. Wanted $5,000 to repair"
Anonymous, MN (2012 Ford Escape XLT 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Rust: Both bracket hinges for rear hatch window developed white corrosion; PASS side bracket completely broke in two, DR side other was cracked approx. half way thru. As noted on rear hatch it was also corroded on inside (nut corroded on) due to window leak"
Nicole S., MI (2012 Ford Escape 3.0-L V6)"Paint is bubbling and metal is rusting on both rear wheel wells"
Timothy K., MI (2012 Ford Escape XLT 3.0-L V6)"Rusting on the upper portion of the wheel well - rear driver's side. Body shop states that it is a design flaw, fixing it would cost apx $800. The vehicle is only 5 years old!"
Kyle E., IL (2012 Ford Escape Limited 3.0-L V6)"The body rotted through on both sides above each rear wheel (along the fender well lip. The 60 month perforation wty had expired approx. 5-7 months before this happened. I can see why this happened. The wheel wells are constructed out of two pieces of painted sheet metal that are spot welded together. There is no sealant between the metal sheets, drainage looks minimal (trapping dirt and water) until it corrodes. This is a poor design and poorly manufactured. It is clearly designed to fail"
Anonymous, IN (2012 Ford Escape XLT 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Back quarter panels started to rust within 3 years"
Michael B., IL (2012 Ford Escape Limited 3.0-L V6)"Many rust spots on the body"
Perry B., ON (2012 Ford Escape XLT 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Back hatch door, rear fender wells above wheel"
Randal B., IA (2012 Ford Escape XLT 3.0-L V6)"Vehicle claimed it had a five-year rust warranty. Repeatedly took it back to the dealer. Repeatedly got the runaround from the dealer regarding the rust. Contacted Ford directly. Received no actual assistance from them. Finally told that complaint was no longer valid because of warranty had expired"
William M., IL (2012 Ford Escape XLT 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Rear fender rusting from the inside out and paint peeling off"
Anonymous, AB (2012 Ford Escape XLT 3.0-L V6)"Car rusting in rear wheel wells very early in it's life"
Robert H., OH (2012 Ford Escape XLT 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"rust is just starting on rear wheel well"
Anonymous, MI (2012 Ford Escape Limited 3.0-L V6)"Rust over rear wheel wells and bottom of lift gate. Seems to be a common problem with this vehicle as I see the same rust pattern and paint peeling on Ford Escapes of the same vintage. And I always check when I see them in a parking lot. Ford dealer doesn't appear to care. Body shop says Ford worst company for standing behind their product"
Anonymous, ON (2012 Ford Escape 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Rust is forming on the bottom edge of the lift gate and under the wheel wells of both rear wheels"
Bob V., ON (2012 Ford Escape Limited 3.0-L V6)"Above the right rear tire well there are spots of rust, paint is coming off, and the exterior is coming off"
Christine N., OH (2012 Ford Escape XLT 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Bottom edge of rear lift gate became severely rusted after 4 years"
Marc C., NY (2012 Ford Escape XLS 3.0-L V6)"Rust on tailgate, rust all over the car."
Anonymous, (2012 Ford Escape Limited 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Rust developed in the driver side rear quarter panel. Apparently this is a problem with this vehicle given the dual panel construction. Water gets quite and they rust. It was quite early and repaired"
Anonymous, (2012 Ford Escape Limited 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Rear wheel well panels are rusting. Just about every Ford Escape 2012 or older has the same problem. This shouldn't be happening. I was told when I bought the Escape that I didn't need to get it rustproofed. It would invalidate my body warranty. This was extremely bad advice! Every vehicle I bought previously I had it rustproofed. This resulted in no rust for well over 12 years."
Anonymous, OH (2012 Ford Escape Limited 3.0-L V6)"It started showing the significant signs of rust on the rear wheel wells on both sides after 4 years and now looks terrible. When Ford was contacted about the premature rust, they failed to help at all. My next vehicle will not be a Ford. We also have a 2004 Suburu Forester with no body rust at all so a I know that a solid body CAN be constructed."
Anonymous, MI (2012 Ford Escape Limited 3.0-L V6)"The bottom of the tailgate and the body around the wheel wells rust on all of these. I haven't seen a single one without rust spots in those areas."
Anonymous, WI (2012 Ford Escape XLT 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Left quarter panel at wheel well is beginning to rust thru. Notice this is a problem with other Escapes of same vintage."
Anonymous, PA (2012 Ford Escape XLT 3.0-L V6)"The rear fender wells were starting to rust due to chipping from road debris thrown by the tires. I had a repair shop repair and repaint the damaged areas. They also rust proofed the underside of the newly repaired areas."
Anonymous, VT (2012 Ford Escape XLT 3.0-L V6)"rust over the wheel well area. why don't you have a seperate trim over the rim around the wheel well. this would stop all the rust."
Anonymous, CT (2012 Ford Escape XLT Unsure)"Tire well, rear panel started to rust."
Anonymous, OH (2012 Ford Escape XLT Unsure)"The rear wheel well aprons and tailgate bottom began seriously rusting in the last 12 months. I learned this is a common problem for this vehicle after it was paid off. It would cost more to repair, so it will be driven until inoperable."
Anonymous, MI (2012 Ford Escape XLT 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Back side passenger door on drivers side + underside of back hatch"
Anonymous, ON (2012 Ford Escape 3.0-L V6)"under carriage rust at the spare tire crank point under the rear hatch"
Anonymous, AB (2012 Ford Escape XLT 3.0-L V6)"Rust appeared on tailgate"
Anonymous, NY (2012 Ford Escape XLT 3.0-L V6)"beginning to rust at bottom seam of rear hatch"
Anonymous, MB (2012 Ford Escape XLT 3.0-L V6)"peeling paint has resulted in rust on driver rear wheel well and liftgate"
Anonymous, MN (2012 Ford Escape Limited 3.0-L V6)"Lift back door hinge hardware rusty"
Anonymous, IN (2012 Ford Escape XLT 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Rust starting around rear wheel wells on outside"
Tom M., ON (2012 Ford Escape 3.0-L V6)"The tailgate and both rear wheel wells have severe rust which I was quoted thousands of dollars to fix. This should not be happening on a 6 year old vehicle."
Bob V., ON (2012 Ford Escape Limited 3.0-L V6)"Rear wheel wells are both rusting. Have noticed it on other Escapes also, must be a regular problem."
Jim B., OH (2012 Ford Escape Limited 3.0-L V6)"Rust on both rear fenders started in 2017. The car was only 5 years old. I thought that they had rust problems solved. Ford was unconcerned with the problem and would not help"
Anonymous, MI (2012 Ford Escape Limited 3.0-L V6)"Rear quarter panels both started to rust above wheel wells"
Anonymous, IL (2012 Ford Escape Limited 3.0-L V6)"A lot of rust not covered by warranty"
Vincent P., IA (2012 Ford Escape Limited 3.0-L V6)"rusting in the seam area it has for years an dealer told us they had corrected this problem"
John E., NY (2012 Ford Escape XLS 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"discovered rust on the body over the rear wheels. Huge disappointment"
P T., MB (2012 Ford Escape 3.0-L V6)"Rust at bottom of rear hatch door and other areas on hatch door"
Anonymous, ON (2012 Ford Escape 3.0-L V6)"Rust around rear wheel wells. Repair shop said this was a common problem with ford escapes of that year. It was a bad design. To repair would have been $2000. I decided not to repair. This occurred after 5 years."
Susan D., PA (2012 Ford Escape XLT 3.0-L V6)"Surface rust on right-rear wheelwell"
Laura W., MO (2012 Ford Escape XLT 3.0-L V6)"Design flaw around the rear tire wells; appears to be a common issue on all Ford Escapes of this style and age."
Fred H., NH (2012 Ford Escape XLT 3.0-L V6)"no rust in the Impreza (was out in bad weather also). no rust in daughters vw. Rear wheel housing and fender eating thru"
Anonymous, ME (2012 Ford Escape 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Around the doors cost $1,500.00 to repair."
Mat P., IL (2012 Ford Escape 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Ford is notorious for poor body paint and rust and they essentially don't care. Every Escape from 2012 and earlier have the same paint flaking and rust patterns - bottom edge of back lift gate and around the rear wheel wells. Look around any parking lot and it's obvious that it is a well-known flaw."
Anonymous, ON (2012 Ford Escape 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"rear wheel wells peeling and rusting, right through in one spot"
Anonymous, MB (2012 Ford Escape 3.0-L V6)"It is my understanding once rust has started it can not be stopped. I don't like driving a rusty vehicle as it gives the appearance that I did not care for it properly. I have given great care to this vehicle."
Shirley J., AB (2012 Ford Escape)"the rear wheel well area on the outside is now rusting and I understand this is a Ford problem they have known about for years. A protective rim for the top of the wheel well would have been a better fix."
Linda F., CT (2012 Ford Escape)"Rusting with paint chipping near left rear wheel well."
Anonymous, MI (2012 Ford Escape Limited 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Rust in the rear wheel wells started at 4 years and Ford Motor cared little. On the right side the rust is almost through now."
Anonymous, MI (2012 Ford Escape Limited 3.0-L V6)"Rear quarter panels rust by the wheel well"
Anonymous, NE (2012 Ford Escape XLS 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"tailgate started rusting in 2 years , LR wheel well RUSTING AT 3 YEARS , Ford would do nothing , asked at time of purchase an was told the problems they have had for years were taken care of , big joke"
John E., NY (2012 Ford Escape XLS 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Rust over rear wjheels"
Anonymous, IL (2012 Ford Escape XLS 3.0-L V6)"rust has appeared around the rear wheel body"
Robert H., RI (2012 Ford Escape XLT 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"There are many with the same problem, they rust and perferorate around the rear fenders,rear doors and talegate."
Anonymous, ON (2012 Ford Escape XLT 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Both rear wheel wells are rusting."
James W., MI (2012 Ford Escape XLT 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"rear wheel well rusting, paint peeling"
Anonymous, AB (2012 Ford Escape XLT 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Rust along the rear quarter panels. Looked at many other Escapes of this vintage and it's a problem that's common. Ford knows about it but is unwilling to correct the problems."
Robert D., AB (2012 Ford Escape XLT 3.0-L V6)"a 6 year old vehicle with only 60000 mi. should NOT be rusting out above the left rear wheel well. it is coming through the paint and have noticed loose pieces on the ground . And this vehicle is garaged every day. Not impressed."
Anonymous, WI (2012 Ford Escape XLT 3.0-L V6)
"as already mentioned crossbar immediateley under rear window"
Anonymous, ON (2012 Ford Escape XLT 3.0-L V6)