Nightmare with 2005 Escape with under 50 miles

Buying a new car is suposed to be a happy experience, but unfortunately it has turned into the worst nightmare I have ever had. I just pray that my wife is not killed in it. She has bought into the myth that SUV's are safer. We took delivery of a new 2005 Ford Escape about 1:30 today, and by

8:30 I was writing letters to my congressman, state senator, Ford Customer Relations, and Bill Ford himself. I resisted buying it, because of all the nightmare stories I had heard about SUV's. I took the chance that somehow they had gotten better, but then there is the Escape. We were in the turn lane on a six lane section of road, and were in the far right turn lane. We turned onto the far right lane of another six lane road after the light had changed to green. We weren't going more than 20-25 mph, the Escape had so much body roll and lean that I was sure it was going to end up on its side. What makes it even worse is that there was a great deal of torque steer, and you could feel the vehicle wanting to go out of control. Thank God the sun was out and the road was dry, and there were no bumps in the road. Had it been wet and had there been a bump we would have went into a unrecoverable skid, and most likely rolled over on the Escape's side. This vehicle has no redeeming qualities. It is about the size and shape of a Model T. Unfortunately a Model T has less body roll, a better ride, and doesn't have to worry about torque steer. I was so shaken by the experience that I would not ride home in it. I intended to take a taxi home rather than get into that death trap again. My wife drove home in it, and got my car and came back to get me. I prayed the entire time she was gone that she wouldn't be hurt or killed. In college I had a 1973 Pinto, and at the time I knew they cought fire and could explode. I never felt as insecure about riding in a car as I did in the Escape. I had a much more secure feeling in the 1973 Pinto. After this unpleasant experience I found something that scared the living daylights out of me. As I walked to the back of the vehicle I could not see if any cars were comming past in the parking lot at work, until I cleared the back of the Escape. I am greatful that we don't have any young children now, because if I couldn't see oncomming traffic, an excited running child could never see or be seen. I wrote my state senator asking for legislation banning SUV's from school parking lots, and forcing them to outter areas of shopping centers and malls just for the safety of little children. I am a died in the wool Ford Fan, but after this experience, I sure am going to take a look at Rice Rockets. I sent an E-Mail to the dealership where we bought this deathmobile asking if we can put down cash for what we got as a trade, and this deathmobile can sit in the back yard until we can save up enough to trade it. I'll go to the bank on monday to get a signiture loan to upt down and get our eleven year old over 100,000 mile old car back. You can't stop people from being stupid, and if my wife is dumb enough to drive that death trap there is no way I can stop her. But I know I will not risk my life, nor will I let her take anybody in it. If she wants to kill herself by driving the Escape so be it, but I will prevent her from hurting or killing anybody else in it.
Reply to
Craig Shaffer
Loading thread data ...

I don't know what you were driving before, but an SUV is not a sports car. I traded a 2000 Mitsu Eclipse in for a 2002 Escape, and, I have to admit, there was a slight learning curve. I never felt like the vehicle was out of control, though. Labor Day will make 3 years that I've owned it, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Plenty of pep, great handling, and once I got rid of those crappy Continental tires, great traction. I don't do any off-road stuff to speak of, so I got the 2WD V6 XLT instead of the 4WD. If I were you, I'd take it easy for a while and learn to drive it before telling every one what a lousy vehicle it is. Part of it may be that you were scared to death before you even got in it. I get the impression from your post that you were the passenger in it- that's a much different feeling in any car than being the driver. Give it a chance, and I think you'll like it. I know I love mine. Good luck! SC Tom

Reply to
SC Tom

I suspect you are a troll but, on the off chance that you are not:

Why don't you just go ahead and admit that you are a control freak and are vey pissed that your wife did not buy what you wanted her to buy and, you don't "really" like Ford products. While your are looking at "rice rockets", remember that you are better of on the bus than in the Honda when they play contact sports. If you are as paranoid as your post would indicate, you should not allow yourself outside an empty well-padded room while your wife attends the business of getting on with life. If you allow your paranoia to control your life, you are much more likely to die of a heart attack than a traffic accident in an Escape. If the Escape were as dangerous as you insinuate, Ford would not have sold hundreds of thousands to happy owners.

Lugnut

PS: That body roll that you find so offensive in the SUV is a blessing for drivers of vehicles with high center of mass. It gives them a seat-of-the-pants feel for what the vehicle is doing long before it actually rolls instead of waiting to give you a complete surprise. Also, you might consider the necessity for the suspension of an SUV to be highly compliant with uneven surfaces for those who choose to take them offroad. Without this compliance, an SUV would be worthless in offroad operation. An automobile (sports car) on the other hand has an entirely different mission to keep the vehicle stabil and the wheels in contact with the surface at high speeds. At this point in automotive history, no automotive engineer has found a way to design a suspension that can meet all of the optimum criteria for a vehicle to operate in all environments with equal applomb. That's why we have so many categories of vehicle available from which you can choose to best meet your needs and preferences. Get used to it!

Reply to
lugnut

The original poster probably wouldn't be satisfied with a tank. My wife has a 2005 Escape and I have had no issues with feeling like its going to roll over. I bought the extra side air curtain for extra protection, but I don't anticipate rollovers or any other problem

Reply to
finiteguy

unfortunately it

unrecoverable

vehicle has no

doesn't have

wouldn't be

riding in a

scared the

excited

experience, I

Bet you're a real hoot at parties-what a drama queen....

Reply to
Rick

unfortunately it

From the rest of your post, sounds like you should have written to Dr. Phil instead....

Reply to
Rick

Snip tosh.

You berk.

On the assumption that you're not a troll, "stupid buyer beware" - did you not test it?

Have you read the handbook?

You we care?

Reply to
DervMan

I had 1 for 3 years/52000 mls, best car I ever had

Maybe you don't know how to drive..........

Reply to
johanb

Welcome to the land of SUVs.

It works like this: If you didn't buy the ultrasonic "kid-minder", you don't worry about it - they're somebody else's problem. Hell, Limbaugh is probably cranked up too loud to hear the alarm anyway.

On the flip-side, that Escape has all the height, power and handling abilities you'll likely need for the single occupant/bag-o-groceries they're typically lugging around.

Enjoy!

Reply to
FanJet

"Craig Shaffer" wrote: "Buying a new car is suposed to be a happy experience, but unfortunately it has turned into the worst nightmare I have ever had. I just pray that my wife is not killed in it. She has bought into the myth that SUV's are safer. We took delivery of a new 2005 Ford Escape about 1:30 today, and by 8:30 I was writing letters to my congressman, state senator, Ford Customer Relations, and Bill Ford himself. I resisted buying it, because of all the nightmare stories I had heard about SUV's. I took the chance that somehow they had gotten better, but then there is the Escape. We were in the turn lane on a six lane section of road, and were in the far right turn lane. We turned onto the far right lane of another six lane road after the light had changed to green. We weren't going more than 20-25 mph, the Escape had so much body roll and lean that I was sure it was going to end up on its side. What makes it even worse is that there was a great deal of torque steer, and you could feel the vehicle wanting to go out of control. Thank God the sun was out and the road was dry, and there were no bumps in the road. Had it been wet and had there been a bump we would have went into a unrecoverable skid, and most likely rolled over on the Escape's side. This vehicle has no redeeming qualities. It is about the size and shape of a Model T. Unfortunately a Model T has less body roll, a better ride, and doesn't have to worry about torque steer. I was so shaken by the experience that I would not ride home in it. I intended to take a taxi home rather than get into that death trap again. My wife drove home in it, and got my car and came back to get me. I prayed the entire time she was gone that she wouldn't be hurt or killed.

In college I had a 1973 Pinto, and at the time I knew they cought fire and could explode. I never felt as insecure about riding in a car as I did in the Escape. I had a much more secure feeling in the 1973 Pinto. After this unpleasant experience I found something that scared the living daylights out of me. As I walked to the back of the vehicle I could not see if any cars were comming past in the parking lot at work, until I cleared the back of the Escape. I am greatful that we don't have any young children now, because if I couldn't see oncomming traffic, an excited running child could never see or be seen. I wrote my state senator asking for legislation banning SUV's from school parking lots, and forcing them to outter areas of shopping centers and malls just for the safety of little children. I am a died in the wool Ford Fan, but after this experience, I sure am going to take a look at Rice Rockets.

I sent an E-Mail to the dealership where we bought this deathmobile asking if we can put down cash for what we got as a trade, and this deathmobile can sit in the back yard until we can save up enough to trade it. I'll go to the bank on monday to get a signiture loan to upt down and get our eleven year old over 100,000 mile old car back. You can't stop people from being stupid, and if my wife is dumb enough to drive that death trap there is no way I can stop her. But I know I will not risk my life, nor will I let her take anybody in it. If she wants to kill herself by driving the Escape so be it, but I will prevent her from hurting or killing anybody else in it."

Did you test drive the vehicle before you bought or did you let your wife test drive it then tell you she wanted it? Did you walk around the vehicle and observe the fact that you can not see and other vehicles coming until you cleared the back end? Writing to demand more legislation on where people should park is not the answer. I own two 3/4 ton pickups and 4 automobiles. I have a camper shell on one of the trucks and the other has a lid. I cannot see around the backend of the one with the camper shell until I clear the end of it.

I knew putting this thing on the back would reduce my line of sight and it also hinders the sight of others parked next to me. Rather then be selfish and make it harder on others parked next to me in a shopping center, I choose to back in most of the time. Other times I park to the back of the lot. This not only helps others but it keeps people from hitting my trucks while they backing out trying to see and forget where the front end is.

Learn to drive the thing or sell it for a loss.

Sarge

Reply to
Sarge

Why didn't you take it on an extensive test drive before you bought it?

Reply to
Jeff

I have the same suspicion. If he's not one might wonder why they didn't take it for a test drive before they bought it. Virtually any test drive would have included making the kind of right hand turns he's babbling about.

Reply to
Ashton Crusher

Has your wife moved out yet?

-- Jim Chinnis Warrenton, Virginia, USA

Reply to
Jim Chinnis

She must be planning her escape......... ;)

Bob

Reply to
BOB URZ

BOB URZ wrote in part:

Yeah. She knew exactly what car she needed. Haha.

-- Jim Chinnis Warrenton, Virginia, USA

Reply to
Jim Chinnis

If you deal with a reputable dealer you should have a grace period for returning the vehicle or if your state has a lemon law you should be able to return it for full refund im sure safety issues fall under the lemon law so check into that. you shouldn't have to bend over and take it where the sun don't shine on an unsafe vehicle I'd definatly check your states lemon laws. Good Luck!!!!!!!!

Reply to
racer30wa

Except that we have not established that this is an unsafe vehicle. Only one that the driver's husband doesn't like.

Jeff

Reply to
Jeff

What's the difference if he doesn't like the vehicle--it's not like that wuss has any say in it. It goes without saying that mister "Bwaaaah, I thought I was gonna DIE!!" doesn't wear the pants in the family. Diaper, maybe, but not pants. Plus, he used to drive a PINTO, "Nuff said. What a weenur.

Reply to
Gomer Einstein

Test drive?? Only fools do that!! No, seriously, he quit doing that after test-driving his Pinto and getting rear -ended and burnt to a crisp over 100% of his head. And his butt.

Or, maybe the 50 miles "WAS" the test drive--and then he bought it anyway (he encountered a salesman that was REALLY good).

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's what happened.

Reply to
James Goforth

"...worst nightmare I ever had."

Are you sure you're not just having a nightmare? If you're SURE you're awake, you might consider getting a '73 Pinto (not a '72--they were shit) and putting the Escape body onto the Pinto chassis. Then you can put the Pinto body on the Escrape chassis and both you and the little bride can enjoy many satisfying miles of happy motoring. If that doesn't solve the problem, back into each other at 50 mph. Don't forget to buckle up, though. You know--for safety. Be sure and notify the appropriate people, i.e. your banker, insurance man, the cops, fire department, newspaper, etc. before you do this. You know--for safety 'n shit.

Reply to
Gomer Einstein

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.