jaydez Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 My mom owns a 2006 Escape Hybrind Limted 4x4 in red. It is the one with the body colored bumpers and rockers, not the flat black plastic. Over the last year, the rockers under the rear doors have been turning white. No washing will fix it and we have determined that the white is the primer on the plastic showing though the paint. This blasing is from sand and salt getting kicked up by the front tires and even with the mud flaps that were installed (for $200) its happening more and more. This is due to the shape of the rocker where it bows out in front of the rear wheel and the location of the front wheel on the short wheelbase. My mom orginally took it to the dealer where she bought the car. My family has purchased almost a dozen cars fron the same location over the last 20 years. They told her they cant cover it becaue is it not a factory defect and infact accident damage. The car has never been in an accident and has barely any scratches on it. She then called the 1-800 number for Ford and spoke with a rep. The rep told her that they will send an email to the dealership and she has to bring it back it where the service manager will make a determination. The service manager is the same person she was told no by the first time. Today she got a call from the service manager who said they will not cover it. We feel this is a serious factory defect and should be covered under the waranty. The sand pitting now is to the point where the area under the door is almost completely white on a red car. The sand pitting is due solely to the design of the car and not any fault of the driver (other than driving a 4x4 SUV in winter weather in CT). Who do we have to escalate this to get it fixed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green Lantern Posted September 2, 2009 Share Posted September 2, 2009 (edited) My mom owns a 2006 Escape Hybrind Limted 4x4 in red. It is the one with the body colored bumpers and rockers, not the flat black plastic. Over the last year, the rockers under the rear doors have been turning white. No washing will fix it and we have determined that the white is the primer on the plastic showing though the paint. This blasing is from sand and salt getting kicked up by the front tires and even with the mud flaps that were installed (for $200) its happening more and more. This is due to the shape of the rocker where it bows out in front of the rear wheel and the location of the front wheel on the short wheelbase. My mom orginally took it to the dealer where she bought the car. My family has purchased almost a dozen cars fron the same location over the last 20 years. They told her they cant cover it becaue is it not a factory defect and infact accident damage. The car has never been in an accident and has barely any scratches on it. She then called the 1-800 number for Ford and spoke with a rep. The rep told her that they will send an email to the dealership and she has to bring it back it where the service manager will make a determination. The service manager is the same person she was told no by the first time. Today she got a call from the service manager who said they will not cover it. We feel this is a serious factory defect and should be covered under the waranty. The sand pitting now is to the point where the area under the door is almost completely white on a red car. The sand pitting is due solely to the design of the car and not any fault of the driver (other than driving a 4x4 SUV in winter weather in CT). Who do we have to escalate this to get it fixed? Sorry to hear about your mother's bad luck on the vehicle. I think the first course of action is to determine if this is truly a 'design' issue or an 'isolated' one. That will help your Mom's case to ask Ford for assistance. If it truly is an isolated case there is probably little that Ford will do to help. While this is bad news for the individual consumer it is the way it works unfortunately. I deal with this type of situation quite a bit within the airline industry regarding OEM built engines and their parts and have to make similar type requests over 'warranty' type issues. If you or you Mom can find evidence that this is happening to other FE or FEH built around the same time then you will have more leverage to demonstrate to Ford that this may be more of a 'design' issue. You still may not get full coverage but you may be able to convince them to kick in some level of support. Keep in mind that regardless of the outcome there will be some level of 'typical' wear and tear that will most likely not be covered and would have to be borne by the consumer. Good luck! Edited September 2, 2009 by Green Lantern Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billyk24 Posted September 2, 2009 Share Posted September 2, 2009 The area in front of the rear wheels for the 2005-07 models usually displays "cosmetic" wear and tear and this is especially true for the vehicles with body cladding. This does not induce any safety issues. This issue has been reported by owners in the past. One can remove the body cladding or have it repainted. One can also remove the body cladding and have "anti-chipping" finish/painting applied. I doubt Ford would spring for a repainting of this vehicle as owners of all vehicles could then demand the front bumpers repainted after all the bugs smashed into it and ruined the finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
06mariner Posted September 7, 2009 Share Posted September 7, 2009 This is actually common in the majority of vehicles, especially those that are used in the salt states. It's a design issue, not Ford using cheap paint etc. I have a Mariner with mud flaps and running boards so the combo of the two seem to help with the chipping. I have seen other Mariners though with the rockers completely chipped to hell. It stinks I know, but most have this problem. Chevy Equinox, Nissan Murano, Toyota Rav 4 etc all have the same problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaydez Posted September 8, 2009 Author Share Posted September 8, 2009 I spoke with my mom about this over the weekend. She said the problem was originally reported at the 5,000 mile service and all they did was SELL her the mud flaps for it. They did not help. She has only a few months left on the factory warranty and wants it taken care of. This is not a normal wear and tear item, it is clearly a defect if it happened after 5,000 miles. She has been in touch with the owner of the dealership (who is a family friend). He told her they will pay for 1/3, ford will pay for 1/3 but my mom would have to pay 1/3 the cost to repaint the rockers. She refused the deal and told him it is not satisfactory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
06mariner Posted September 13, 2009 Share Posted September 13, 2009 Be happy they are even covering a 1/3 of it. If you and your mom aren't satisfied then go buy a Jap Crap SUV or a new "32 mpg" Equinox. I'll guarantee the same exact thing happens on those too ...EVERYONE is designing the rocker panels with angles/flares whathaveyou, no one makes straight rocker panels anymore, mainly because tire sizes are getting ridiculously big...10 years ago we had 14 and 15 inch tires....now the norm is 17-19 inch...and designers need some way of keeping all that rubber in line with the rest of the car. Best of Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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