NHTSA Complaint #11438158 — 2014 FORD ESCAPE

Light went off for low tire pressure. Rear passenger side tire was low. Filled with air and drove for a couple weeks; light again went off. Filled tire again and took to service center this morning to see if something had penetrated tire or if bead had loosened. Service center found nail in tire and repaired. They had to replace 4 lug nuts as they were swollen. (I didn’t even know this was possible!). A simple and inexpensive tire repair turned into more than expected, which is rough when you’re on a small, fixed income. My fear is that I will eventually have the same experience/expense, at some point in time, with the other three tires. As a side note, and something that maybe should be filed as a separate complaint, is that the back-up camera malfunctions frequently…sometimes with image appearing upside down or a completely black screen. I spoke with two separate repair shops and was told it couldn’t be fixed…had to be replaced…and was quoted over $500 to replace it…obviously something I cannot afford to do. Was told it’s a common issue on Escapes, yet there have been no recalls for this issue. If we’re really trying to improve safety, then maybe this issue needs to be addressed as well. I have heard they will be required on new cars in the future; but something needs to be done about existing failures…and to set a standard regarding future failures on those new cars. My camera went out after warranty expiration, so I had no way to afford to fix it. Ford should stand behind their product and replace these defective cameras. My car now has 95,207 miles on it, and the camera failed over a year ago. I wouldn’t think a 7-year-old (6-year-old at time of failure) car with less than 100,000 miles on it should have that type of failure. Ford needs to use better equipment or offer better warranties. For most of us, $500 is a pretty substantial expense, and I’ll bet there are a lot of Escapes with defective cameras that people can’t afford to fix.