NHTSA Complaint #11456970 — 2020 FORD ESCAPE

In the early summer of 2021, I started to hear a snapping noise in the driver’s door. I thought it might be the hinge, but it appeared to be coming from the middle of the door. It got continually worse. When I put the window down it would come back up and catch my arm and then go back down. Eventually I was only opening the door a short distance so it would not snap. It made it very difficult to get in and out. So, for over 3 months I squeezed in and out of the car. I am concerned about the other 3 doors. In early September I contacted the dealer and was to take it on September 7th. But the door became worse suddenly and I could barely get out and at one point I was stuck in the car. I called the dealer immediately and asked to bring it to them that day. After some hesitation and my explaining if I was trapped in the car during an accident, they would be hearing from me. She said to bring it over immediately. The service manager, after inspecting the door, came out and asked me if I had been in an accident! I suggested he look at the car and check it thoroughly. It was obvious I had not been in an accident. He stated they had never seen anything like that before. They were taking pictures and I stated I wanted my own pictures. When I went into the shop and viewed the door, I was upset to find that all the welds on the bracket that holds the door check had failed. The bracket was down inside the door panel. Because it was catching it was making the snapping sound. When the window hit it, it would automatically go back up. They told me it would be necessary to contact Ford for more information and it would be a week or so before I heard anything. At 8:08am the following day, not one week, they called back and said they needed to order a new door, have it painted and replaced. That is the last I heard about the door. I have been in touch with Ford Corporate and discovered this is not the first time this has happened. I do have a case# with Ford.