2014 Ford Escape Tires & Wheels Problems

Ford Motor Company should issue a recall and replace the known faulty manufacturing defective lug nuts since 2019. The lug nuts swell and can not be removed by standard lug nut wrench. This is a safety issue because recommend tire rotation is impossible with standard tools. Dealerships are requiring owners to replace faulty lug nuts at an exorbitant cost. Vehicle owners are not performing the routine tire rotation thus creating a safety hazard resulting from tire failure, roadside safety issues and crashes due to excessive tire wear. This has been a known manufacturer fault since 2019. It is immoral and unprofessional to allow this practice to continue.

During an oil change, the technician discovered 14 of the 20 lug nuts had swelled and needed replacement for a 2014 Ford Escape. The cost was $110. The service manager stated the technician would not put the old lug nuts on the vehicle since it was a safety issue. He said the nuts could not be removed with the lug wrench which comes with the vehicle and there is potential for the nuts to crack. He said Ford is aware of the problem and the cause is defective lugs especially in an environment where salt and brine solutions are used for snow and ice control. We live in Wisconsin. He suggested searching the Internet for the problem. I searched the Internet and found a large amount of complaints related to Ford Escapes and other Ford models.

The lugnuts on my 2014 Ford Escape Titanium have swollen to the point that the lug wrench will not fit to remove the lugs. I found out that this is an ongoing problem and could result in lug failure and potentially cause an accident. When the Ford Dealership (Ted Britt Ford of Chantilly, Virginia) informed me that all 20 lugs will have to be replaced at $10 per lug nut (for a total of $200) plus $50 (or so) for installation. Auto supply parts have OEM replacement lugnut for about $25 to $8for0 for a set of 20 lugnuts. Over the years I've owned 4 Ford products and am at the point of trading in my Escape for a new one, but now have my safety concerns.

Second warning from tire dealership that lug nuts are swollen and need replaced ASAP due to swelling. Noted numerous complaints on-line

Brought in vehicle for service. Was told the tires couldn’t be rotated because of “swollen lug nuts”. I would be responsible for replacing all 20 at a cost of around $180.00 for the parts. The dealership said if I should happen to get a flat tire, I would not be able to do it and the car would most likely need to be towed. I don’t think I should have to pay for this repair on an item so basic and so important. I have not had an issue until the dealer brought it to my attention. I spoke with Ford customer service and was told this is out of warranty and there was no way to escalate my concern at Ford.

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated while having new tires installed on the vehicle, the tire dealer was unable to remove the lug nuts because the lug nuts were swollen. The contact was informed by the tire dealer that the bolts and the lug nuts needed to be removed and replaced to properly mount the new tires. The contact called a dealer and was informed she had to pay out-of-pocket to have the lug nuts and mounting bolts replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 36,000.

I would like to voice concern about the 2 pc lugnuts that Ford places on vehicles.They are not good & after doing some research & talking with other Suppliers and Companies regarding this matter, it is my understanding this is an ongoing issue that Ford continues to ignore. This is not safe. My tire had a slow leak in it. I took it to a local Tire shop who advised the Tire could not be fixed because the tear was in the sidewall. They also advised the lugnuts were swollen & in terrible condition & then went on to show me the lugnuts & educate me on the design that Ford has. The reason for the terrible condition is likely because the nuts have to be beaten off unless the work is done at Ford, as they have special tooling & capabilities to deal with the nut. He also advised, instead of recalling, Ford opted to come out with a special tool or tooling that is specific to only their Dealers. Not ok. Not all people want to use Ford for their tire needs. Nobody should ever take one opinion at face value. I went to another local tire shop to make sure the info I was given about my tire AND the lugnuts was correct. However, when I went, I made no mention that I already had the first opinion, nor did I share any of the info with the 2nd Company. Same information was repeated to me, both about the lugnuts & my tire. Very concerning on the lug nuts & I now believe this to be accurate. This place felt so bad for me & for the condition the nuts were in, that they put gently used ones on 1 of my tires, free of charge, just because they had the tire off to look at it & knew the Ford ones were total "garbage". As of today, I went to my local Ford dealer for a tire rotation & oil change. Low & behold, they mention all of my lug nuts are swollen & that I need new. I voiced concern to the Service Manager about the lugnut information. He & the Service Advisor both advised that yes, this was an ongoing complaint & it was bad for them too. This is ridiculous & i complained to Ford also.

Swollen lug nuts reported at 19,100 miles.

I set an appointment to take my 2014 Ford Escape into The Faricy Boys Ford Dealership in Cañon City, Colorado for a “The Works” service on 21 Oct 2022. This oil change service includes oil change, oil filter, multi point inspection and tire rotation. I took it in that morning for this service and waited in the waiting area for my vehicle to be completed. I was approached by [XXX], my Service Advisor, and told they encountered an issue. [XXX] told me my “lug nuts are swollen” and need to be replaced immediately for safety issues in addition to the fact that without new lug nuts they’re unable to do the tire rotation on my vehicle. I was told that swollen lug nuts meant there’s no way to change a tire with the provided tire wrench in the vehicle. She proceeded to tell me that they have the lug nuts in stock for just under $200.00. Sounded odd, extremely expensive and so I refused. $200.00 for lug nuts when this is a Ford issue with inferior product on an item as simple as the tires! According to what I found, “lug nuts can swell and delaminate after changes in temperature and exposure to moisture. Vehicle owners then have to try (and apparently fail) to remove the swollen lug nuts with a lug wrench supplied with the Ford. They have to replace them.” At home I looked this up and found that six models of Ford vehicles from mid 2010’s that all have the same problem. The core of the manufactured lug nuts is steel with chrome, stainless steel or aluminum to match the wheels. Now I’m in a place where my lug nuts may not come off if I have a flat, which could strand me who knows where in addition to not knowing what other long term problems these cheap lug nuts will cause all of us who own these vehicles. We should have these lug nuts replaced at no cost with correct lug nuts that are safe and won’t abandon us in unknown location, especially someone like me with Rheumatoid Arthritis!! INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

I have to keep replacing the lug nuts due to swelling. I’ve replaced them 3 times so far and they are not saying they need to be replaced again

Could not replace tire, swollen lug nuts

All Lug nuts needed replaced due to swelling

LUG NUTS ON WHEELS i HAVE BEEN ASKED TO REPLACE THE FORD LUG NUTS FOR SWELLING FIRST....WHEN I PURCHASED NEW TIRES,AND I JUST WENT IN FOR SERVICE TO FORD AND THEY DIDNT SAY ANYTHING.

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.

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated while in the driveway and loading the vehicle, wheelchair lift fractured. Additionally, there was a low-pressure sensor light illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the vehicle was still drivable. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 50,000.

I had a blowout on my left driver tire. We were on a interstate highway. The Highway patrol was unable to get the lug nuts off to change the tire. I had the tire iron that came with the car and the Highway Patrol had a 4 way tire iron. None of them were able to get the lug nuts off. When I had it towed to a Ford dealer I was told that this is a problem with all the Ford Escapes. The lug nuts swell up and cannot be removed. I was told to get the lug nuts changed out and I would not have this problem. I did this at my expense. Why is Ford not required to change these out at their expense and why were we not notified before I had this blowout out on a interstate???? It cost me $150.00 to get all the lug nuts replaced.

SUBJ: FORD'S SWOLLEN WHEEL LUG-NUT ISSUE ISSUE: WHEEL LUG-NUTS ON FORD VEHICLES BECOME SWOLLEN AND UN-SERVICEABLE. THE TIRE WRENCH TOOL THAT FORD PROVIDES WILL NOT FIT THESE DEFECTIVE LUG-NUTS AND BECAUSE OF SUCH A FLAT TIRE CAN NOT BE EASILY NOR QUICKLY CHANGED.; A SAFETY AS WELL AS A CONSUMER ISSUE.

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated that after driving, there was an abnormal knocking sound detected. The contact became aware that the lug nuts were loosened. While driving at an unknown speed, the wheel detached. The contact stated that the studs had sheared off. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that the wheel bearings needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure persisted. The manufacturer was not contacted or informed of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

I HAD A FLAT TIRE ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE REAR TIRE AND WHEN AAA CAME OUT TO CHANGE THE TIRE, THEY COULD NOT GET THE LUG NUTS OFF, SO AAA HAD THE CAR TOWED TO A LOCAL SHOP. THE SHOP HAD TOLD ME THAT THE LUG NUTS WHERE ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO GET OFF, WHICH THEY THOUGHT WAS DUE TO OVER TIGHTENING AND RECOMMENDED THAT ALL THE LUG NUTS ON ALL THE WHEELS BE REPLACED. I HAD THEM REPLACE ALL THE LUG NUTS. THEN A FEW MONTHS LATER AS I WAS DRIVING ON TOLLWAY DRIVING 60 MPH, I STARTED TO HEAR A THUMPING SOUND AND MY CAR SHAKING. THINKING I HAD ANOTHER FLAT TIRE I GOT OFF ON THE NEXT EXIT, WHICH WAS CLOSE TO THE SHOP I TOOK THE CAR BEFORE (LUCKILY). I TOLD THE SHOP MANAGER WHAT WAS HAPPENING AND WHEN THE SHOP TOOK THE CAR FOR A TEST DRIVE THE FRONT PASSENGER WHEEL BROKE OFF DAMAGING THE CAR AND LUCKILY NOT HURTING ANYONE. THE SHOP SAID THAT THE STEMS FOR LUG NUT BROKE OFF! HE WAS NOT SURE HOW THIS COULD HAVE HAPPENED. NOW THAT I HAVE READ THE OTHER COMPLAINTS ON THE NHTSA WEBSITE THIS SEEMS TO BE A MANUFACTURE DEFECT OF THE STEMS HOLDING THE LUG NUTS. IF THIS HAPPENED TO ME WHEN I WAS DRIVING TO WORK AT 60 MPH I COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED! THE COST TO FIX THE DAMAGE TO MY CAR IS $2,110.53, WHICH I HAD TO FILE A CLAIM WITH MY INSURANCE COMPANY, STATE FARM. CLAIM AND REPAIRS ARE STILL IN PROCESS. AFTER READING OTHER SIMILAR COMPLAINTS I DO NOT FEEL COMFORTABLE DRIVING THIS CAR ON THE HIGHWAY EVERYDAY GOING TO WORK.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2014 FORD ESCAPE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE LUG NUTS WERE SWOLLEN DUE TO A MANUFACTURING DEFECT. THE CONTACT STATED THAT IT WAS DIFFICULT TO REMOVE THE LUG NUTS IN ORDER TO CHANGE OR REPLACE THE TIRES. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC HOWEVER, THE MECHANIC WAS UNABLE TO REMOVE THE LUG NUTS. THE CONTACT CALLED CURRIE MOTORS FORD OF VALPO (2052 W MORTHLAND DR, VALPARAISO, IN 46385, (219) 336-1373), AND INFORMED THE DEALER OF THE FAILURE. THE DEALER REFERRED THE CONTACT TO THE MANUFACTURER FOR ASSISTANCE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND REFERRED THE CONTACT TO NHTSA. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 112,000.