Some Ford Escape Doors May Swing Open While Driving And NHTSA Is Investigating

Some older Ford Escape models may have a defect that could lead to their front doors inadvertently swinging open when driving, and now the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is probing the compact crossovers. According to a federal document from NHTSA, the agency says it has received 118 reports from 2020-21 Escape owners alleging “a failure of the spot welds in the check arm bracket for the front doors.”

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NHTSA’s letter says there have been 25 reported minor injuries as well as one report of minor property damage that can be traced back to the issue. A number of owners have reported hearing a “popping noise” as they opened the front doors of their Escapes.

The agency says that continued use of the doors – which is a bit necessary if you want to enter and escape your Escape – could end up resulting in a dislodged door check which could potentially cause a failure to latch when closed, a failure to open or open inadvertently when driving. A handful of complaints also reported issues that said the driver’s side window was not working properly.

Automotive News has reported a number of the complaints, and some of them are pretty damn wild:

“At 38,000 miles, I got into my car and it started making a popping noise on my driver’s side door when opening it and closing it. After further inspection, I cannot put my window down, and I am met with resistance whenever trying to open or close it,” one complainant said.

“At around 66,000, I opened the driver’s side door and noticed a popping sound when the door opened wide. I investigated a bit and noticed the door welds were cracked. The workaround was to only open the driver’s side door slightly when entering and exiting. Then the driver’s side window began behaving erratically,” another complainant said.

“It could lower slightly but then may roll back up or roll all the way down without human intervention. Then, if it was lowered, you may have to help guide the window back up to the top using the button and pulling the window upward.”

NHTSA has now opened a preliminary evaluation into the issue, and it’ll determine whether the alleged defects could lead to an unreasonable risk to highway safety. The letter says that over 346,000 Escapes may be impacted by the issue.

This is just the latest in a slew of quality issues that Ford has been dealing with. According to AutoNews, Ford has reported the most U.S. vehicle recalls of any automaker so far this year. As of right now, the Blue Oval has issued 31 recalls affecting over 4.1 million vehicles.