"How reliable is the 2005 Ford Escape?"

"Based on 2030 NHTSA complaints, the 2005 Ford Escape has a median complaint mileage of 109000 miles. The most common issue is SUSPENSION."

"What are common problems with the 2005 Ford Escape?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2005 Ford Escape is SUSPENSION, accounting for a significant portion of the 2030 total complaints filed."

2005 Ford Escape: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 2030 complaints

2030

Total Complaints

109,000mi

Median Mileage

SUSPENSION

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

82,000 25th Percentile

109,000 Median Mileage

136,787 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

SUSPENSION

441

STRUCTURE:BODY

360

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

142

ENGINE

130

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

128

WHEELS

POWER TRAIN

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

STEERING

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"FRONT DRIVERS SEAT LEANS AND IS POINTING TO LEFT. DEALER STATED THAT FORD PURPOSELY MADE THE FOAM ON THE DRIVERS SIDE SEAT LESS DENSE THAN ON THE RIGHT SIDE FOR EASIER ACCESS AND EXIT OF THE VEHICLE. THIS STILL DOESN'T EXPLAIN WHY THE SEAT ALSO FEELS SLIGHTLY TWISTED OR POINTING THE LEFT. I WAS ALSO..."

"CONSUMER COMPLAINED ABOUT A COMPUTER PROBLEM. WHEN PUTTING VEHICLE IN REVERSE IT WENT FORWARD, AND WHEN PUTTING IT IN DRIVE IT DID NOTHING. CONSUMER TOOK VEHICLE TO REPAIR SHOP 3 TIMES, BUT MECHANIC COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG. WHEN VEHICLE WAS PUT ON THE COMPUTER IT SHOWED NO ERROR MES..."

"BRAKES ARE MAKING NOISE INTERMITTINGLY. IT SOUNDS LIKE BLOWING IN A BOTTLE. WENT TO THE DEALERSHIP FOR SERVICE 3 TIMES IN THE FIRST MONTH OF OWNERSHIP. THEY KEEP GRINDING DOWN THE ROTORS AND IT'S NOT HELPING. APPARANTLY FORD CORP. IS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM AND ARE TRYING TO FIND A CURE. THEY DON'..."

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28