2016 Ford Escape Tires & Wheels Problems

My Ford mechanic states that my lug nuts are swollen. This would make it impossible for me to change my tires if something happened and I had a flat tire on the road. This seems a like a clear manufacturing defect and should be addressed at their expense not mine. Ford is quoting a price of $276 (without taxes) to replace all lug nuts. This is ridiculous.

On October 16, 2022, I purchased a 2016 Ford Escape from the Stowasser Buick GMC car lot. I have had numerous problems with this vehicle since the beginning. On November 1, 2022, I took my car to their service department because it was running poorly. The mechanics worked on my vehicle and returned it to me. However, on January 8, 2023, I had to take my vehicle back to Stowasser shop because it was again running poorly. This time, they had to install a new motor. At that time, my mileage was 49,000, but when the vehicle was returned to me, it had 75,000 miles on it. I asked why the mileage had increased so significantly, but they kept changing the subject and never provided an answer. When I went to pick up my vehicle, the salesperson who sold me the vehicle whispered to me that my vehicle needed new tires badly. I feel this was something the dealer should have addressed. I had not put many miles on my vehicle for the tires to be so worn. On January 18, 2023, I had to put new tires on this vehicle, which cost me $756.00. It was difficult for me to come up with this money, but I had no choice if I needed reliable transportation. I had traded in my older vehicle because I needed transportation, I could count on in my retirement years. On October 2, 2024, I needed new brakes, which were badly worn down. This expense cost me $900.00. The mechanic told me the oil level was very low and asked if a red light had come on to warn me. I said, "No, there was no sensor light." If it had not been for the thoroughness of my mechanic, I would have driven off with no oil in the engine. Right now, my car is parked because another senor light came on and I was told that it is the catalytic converter. I am distraught because I trusted Stowasser that they would take care of me because they knew I was retired and needed a reliable vehicle. I have lost my job, exhausted my unemployment benefits, and now live on Social Security. I cannot afford to fix this lemon of a car I was sold.

There was a flat on the left rear tire last Friday, Aug 2. It had to be changed at home because it was ruined and could not be aired up. When I tried to take the lug nuts off, the plastic coating on the nuts (whose stupid idea was that!!) made it impossible to get the Ford lug wrench on the nuts. Since my options at that time were very limited, I hammered the lug wrench on by force and finally got the nuts off. It did not improve their looks or usefulness a bit. After buying a new tire I went to the Ford dealer to get some usable lug nuts. They had nothing to offer, but did say their mechanics frequently complained that the lug nuts were faulty. Who would have ever imagined a manufacturer would ever screw up something as basic as lug nuts!! Next car or truck I buy will not have such nonsense or I won't buy it.

Aluminum covering on lug nuts becomes enlarged and have to be destroyed to remove them. Service tech at Ford dealership advised that he sees this problem several times per week.

The front driver side tire went flat. When a friend tried to remove lug nuts it was discovered that the lug wrench supplied by Ford with the vehicle would not fit over 3 of the 5 nuts. In a youtube video search from home I discovered that Ford had applied a metal coating to the outside of the lug nuts that in time tends to swell and prevents a socket from from going over the lug. Several videos showed people using hammers to force a larger socket over it and using an impact hammer to get the lugs off. Some took 20 mins. to remove. Since our lugs could not be removed on the roadside, a can of FIX-A-FLAT and a short drive on the near flat to a service station allowed them to get the car to a safe place for the night. The next day a call to the SERVICE MANAGER at Dick Hannah Ford dealership in Sandy Oregon (503-809-4711) was no help and he said he had never heard of this before. I called a local outlet (Estacada, Or.) (503-210-5111)of regional tire repair company Les Schawb Tires, and the manager there told me that he sees this all the time. He even completed my description of the problem with added details. He says that he has been recommending the complete removal of all lugs on any trucks or cars that come in with these lugs for years. He is saving all the lugs that come off of my car and has agreed to attest to the facts of what he finds and his past experience with this issue. I will keep the lugs if you would like to inspect them. No one was endangered in this incident. It happened on a dry day in the early afternoon just miles from a friends home. But I can't believe that no one has ever found themselves in a dangerous situation with a flat tire that can't be replaced with the very tool that FORD has provided in their vehicle for doing so. No warning has been issued, no recall initiated, and FORD keeps putting these useless tools in cars and trucks letting people believe that they will work. Several Youtube videos have documented the issue.

A hole the size of a quarter suddenly blew out of the inside section of the metal wheel while driving 65 mph, and the tire instantly went flat. There was nothing in or on the road, no prior accidents that may have damaged the wheel, and there was no existing or resulting damage to the tire. Thankfully the wheel was on the rear passenger side. If it had been on the front end, the driver most likely would have lost control of the vehicle, causing a serious accident at a high rate of speed.

I purchased the Goodyear Assurance tires (235/55R17) when I purchased my Escape with the understanding that they had a life of 80,000 miles. They're barely through the halfway point and show signs of cracking and wire protrusion. We ran over a screw and they hole was beyond repair and the technician pointed out how the tire was failing. All four are being replaced for safety concerns.

TRIED TO REMOVE THE TIRES ON MY 2016 FORD ESCAPE TO ADD BRAKE PADS. THE TIRE TOOL IN CAR WOULD NOT FIT ON ANY OF THE TIRE NUTS. THE TOOL WOULD FIT ON THE JACK CONNECTOR. ALSO TRIED 19MM SOCKET. GOOGLE SEARCH SAID A LOT OF PEOPLE WERE HAVING THIS PROBLEM. I HAD THE FORD DEALERSHIP REPLACE MY TIRES 2 MONTHS AGO AND THEY SAID NOTHING ABOUT THE SWOLLEN LUG NUTS.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while the vehicle was at the dealer for an oil change and tire rotation, the contact was informed that the lug nuts on all four wheels had become swollen and could not be removed. The vehicle was not repaired. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 49,436.

Lug nuts are swollen so could not get tires off to rotate them.

Wheel lug nuts have swollen & distorted. Can't have tires rotated or worse, can't change tire if flat occurs away from home.

All tire lug nuts swollen.

Swollen lung nuts.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while the vehicle was at the dealer for a tire rotation, the dealer informed the contact that they could not perform the tire rotation due to the lug nuts being swollen. The dealer informed the contact that the lug nuts needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a complaint with NHTSA. The manufacturer informed the contact that the warranty had expired. The failure mileage was 42,985. The contact has stated that the lug nuts were replaced at their own expense.

I had service at Corwin Ford and inspection showed my lug nuts were in bad need of replacements. We were told there was a defect that was causing them to swell and become unsafe. No recall yet, but we were told add your name to the complaint list so they know how frequent this was a problem.

Vehicle tire became flat after striking an object in the road. Using the Ford provided equipment in the vehicle I was unable to use the lug nut wrench to remove the original Ford lug nuts from the wheel. It appears the lug nuts had become swollen/deformed and would no longer fit into the provided wrench thereby not allowing me to safely remove the affected tire and install the temporary spare. The vehicle was brought to a Ford dealership for repair. The dealer stated this is a known issue. The lug nuts are at the dealership for inspection if needed. My safety was put at risk as I was unable to remove the flat tire and install the emergency spare. A complaint was filed with Ford Motor Company as well.

Had to change the front parking lamp. To do this it was necessary to remove the front wheel. Due to swollen lug nuts I could not remove the tire. Tried the wrench on all remaining nuts and found it would not fit on any of them. It is impossible to change a flat tire. Faulty design/manufacturing. I had to replace all 20 lug nuts.

During routine oil change, the mechanic informed me that the tires could not be rotated due to swollen lug nuts. In order for other routine maintenance to be performed to ensure the vehicle is in safe operating condition, I had to purchase new lug nuts so the mechanic could complete the maintenance. The mechanic did not have the lug nuts available and I had to pay for labor. The reason the mechanic gave for not removing the swollen lug nuts was the lug nuts are likely to break during removal. In the event I have a flat tire, I would either be unable to remove the nuts myself or would drive with possibly damaged lug nuts. Damaged lug nuts could cause undue stress on other lug nuts, leading to breaks. Broken lug nuts mean tires can fly off cars. This seems like a major safety issue that Ford needs to address.

Right rear differential - 2016 AWD Ford Escape - Titanium Version - 2L engine Long story short: I had the rear brakes replaced in November 2021 at Fox Ford in Traverse City, Michigan. After having the rear brakes replaced, my husband noticed fluid leaking from around the right rear wheel. I returned the vehicle x 3 to Fox Ford; told it was the vent tube. Service advisor unable to find any reason for the right rear vent tube to be leaking. Since then, I have had my Silver Bullet looked at by my local, independent mechanic. He confirms the right rear vent tube is leaking. He noted during one of the visits the rear differential fluid was very low. Subsequent to re-filling the differential fluid, the vent tube continues to leak. Short of tearing into the rear differential, the cause is unknown, but a reported problem with Fords. I am requesting 1) additional information on this issue, and 2) a request FORD fix this issue in my beloved Silver Bullet (paying homage to fellow Michigander Pete Seeger and The Silver Bullet Band).

THE LUG NUTS ON MY FORD ESCAPE ARE DEFECTIVE. I DISCOVERED THIS AFTER A FLAT TIRE. THE "OVERCAP" ON THE LUG NUTS WIGGLED. THEY WERE ALSO ENLARGED AND WOULD NOT FIT ANY STANDARD LUG NUT WRENCH. THEY COULD NOT BE SAFELY REMOVED AND REPLACED ON MY VEHICLE. I HAVE SINCE HAD THEM PROFESSIONALLY REPLACED. THIS APPEARS TO BE ALL OVER THE INTERNET.