NHTSA Complaint #11523537 — 2020 FORD ESCAPE

I heard a series of loud pops coming from the vicinity of my driver door hinges, while inside the vehicle with the door closed, over the course of several days. I could not identify exactly where they came from until the driver door stopped operating properly. Upon inspection I could see several small holes in the front inside edge of the driver door and after comparing them to the passenger side door they were clearly the location of spot welds holding the check arm inside the door. I took the vehicle to the dealer and was informed that they expected me to pay out of pocket to repair this obvious material defect. I then contacted Ford Customer Relations and was again informed that Ford would offer no remedy for this problem. The complaint number assigned by Ford is CAS-42808154-Y3S6L2. This is a clear safety concern because my driver door no longer operates correctly. The driver window also no longer operates. The door swings wildly without the stability of the check arm and often fails to latch properly when closing. As of the time of filing this complaint, I have not conducted any repair of the defective door because I cannot afford to do so at this time. This means that the problem is still completely available for inspection should anyone desire to do so.