Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VISIBILITY - GLASS, SIDE/REAR | |||||
| TSB-10-22-10 | 11/09/2010 | 10039131 | Ready | 07/11/2011 | |
| TSB-10-22-10 | 11/09/2010 | 10039131 | Ford:the liftgate window glass may break in cold temperatures. 2010-2011 escape/mariner. *rm | 07/11/2011 | |
| TSB-11-2-9 | 02/11/2011 | 10039080 | Ready | 07/07/2011 | |
| TSB-11-2-9 | 02/11/2011 | 10039080 | Ford: the liftgate window glass may break in cold temperatures. 2010-2011 escape/mariner. *rm | 07/07/2011 | |
Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VISIBILITY | ||||||
| PE11016 | FORD MOTOR COMPANY | 04/27/2011 | 08/18/2011 | Rear Liftgate Window Glass Breakage | ||
| In its response to the agency, ford acknowledged a higher than normal level of glass breakage incidents in the model year (my) 2010 to early-build my 2011 subject vehicles.the incidentsoccurred when the liftgate glass was being opened, or more typically while being closed, but in both cases while the vehicle was stationery, i.e., not moving on the roadway.additionally failures often occurred during early morning hours when ambient and/or liftgate glass temperatures may have been lower.ford advised that it investigated the failures but failed to identify an anomaly in the glass manufacturing process (which is often a factor in glass breakage trends odi investigates) that could explain the reports.it did however identify a potential thermal expansion/compression condition in the mounting of the rear wiper motor to the liftgate glass.starting at my 2008 vehicle production the motor was attached to the glass using an adhesive.ford revised that design to a nut and bolt type attachment in october 2010, during my 2011 vehicle production.odi's review of ford data indicates that vehicles built after this change exhibit lower glass breakage rates.among the 296 consumer complaints on the subject vehicles, odi identified 15 injury incidents resulting in a total of 18 alleged injuries.all the injuries were minor in nature and consisted mainly of superficial skin cuts or minor lacerations, with two of the injury incidents occurring when vehicle owners were cleaning up broken glass.additionally both the injury rate and report rate (including warranty claims) are low in comparison to similar investigations resulting in safety recalls (see pe04-045, my 2002 ford explorer liftgate glass failure, which resulted in nhtsa safety recall 04v442). in november 2010 ford issued technical service bulletin (tsb) 10-22-10 to address reports of liftgate glass breakage on all my 2010 vehicles, and my 2011 vehicles built through 10/15/2010, the date the above design revision was implemented.the tsb enables owners of affected vehicles to have a broken liftgate glass replaced under normal vehicle warranty, which would not otherwise be a warrantable failure, with the revised design liftgate glass.a safety-related defect has not been identified at this time and further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted.accordingly, this investigation is closed.the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by nhtsa that a safety-related defect does not exist.the agency will monitor this issue and reserves the right to take further action if warranted by the circumstances. | ||||||
| PE11016 | FORD MOTOR COMPANY | 04/27/2011 | Liftgate Window Glass Breakage | |||
| Odi has received eighteen consumer complaints concerning liftgate window glass breakage on 2010-2011 ford escape and mercury mariner vehicles. the complaints alleged that the liftgate window glass shattered spontaneously, while opening the liftgate or while closing the liftgate. in one alleged injury incident, the complainant and her 10 year old son were cut by glass fragments.many of the incidents occurred during cooler temperature operation.ford issued tsb 10-22-10 dated november 22, 2010 titled broken liftgate window glass - built on or before 10/15/2010 for the subject vehicles.the issue section of the tsb states some 2010-2011 escape and mariner vehicles built on or before 10/15/2010 may experience the liftgate window glass breakage, typically when colder ambient temperature are present.this pe investigation is opened to ascertain the extent of the issue. | ||||||
| VISIBILITY - GLASS, SIDE/REAR | ||||||
| PE11016 | FORD MOTOR COMPANY | 04/27/2011 | 08/18/2011 | Rear Liftgate Window Glass Breakage | ||
| In its response to the agency, ford acknowledged a higher than normal level of glass breakage incidents in the model year (my) 2010 to early-build my 2011 subject vehicles.the incidentsoccurred when the liftgate glass was being opened, or more typically while being closed, but in both cases while the vehicle was stationery, i.e., not moving on the roadway.additionally failures often occurred during early morning hours when ambient and/or liftgate glass temperatures may have been lower.ford advised that it investigated the failures but failed to identify an anomaly in the glass manufacturing process (which is often a factor in glass breakage trends odi investigates) that could explain the reports.it did however identify a potential thermal expansion/compression condition in the mounting of the rear wiper motor to the liftgate glass.starting at my 2008 vehicle production the motor was attached to the glass using an adhesive.ford revised that design to a nut and bolt type attachment in october 2010, during my 2011 vehicle production.odi's review of ford data indicates that vehicles built after this change exhibit lower glass breakage rates.among the 296 consumer complaints on the subject vehicles, odi identified 15 injury incidents resulting in a total of 18 alleged injuries.all the injuries were minor in nature and consisted mainly of superficial skin cuts or minor lacerations, with two of the injury incidents occurring when vehicle owners were cleaning up broken glass.additionally both the injury rate and report rate (including warranty claims) are low in comparison to similar investigations resulting in safety recalls (see pe04-045, my 2002 ford explorer liftgate glass failure, which resulted in nhtsa safety recall 04v442). in november 2010 ford issued technical service bulletin (tsb) 10-22-10 to address reports of liftgate glass breakage on all my 2010 vehicles, and my 2011 vehicles built through 10/15/2010, the date the above design revision was implemented.the tsb enables owners of affected vehicles to have a broken liftgate glass replaced under normal vehicle warranty, which would not otherwise be a warrantable failure, with the revised design liftgate glass.a safety-related defect has not been identified at this time and further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted.accordingly, this investigation is closed.the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by nhtsa that a safety-related defect does not exist.the agency will monitor this issue and reserves the right to take further action if warranted by the circumstances. | ||||||
| PE11016 | FORD MOTOR COMPANY | 04/27/2011 | Liftgate Window Glass Breakage | |||
| Odi has received eighteen consumer complaints concerning liftgate window glass breakage on 2010-2011 ford escape and mercury mariner vehicles. the complaints alleged that the liftgate window glass shattered spontaneously, while opening the liftgate or while closing the liftgate. in one alleged injury incident, the complainant and her 10 year old son were cut by glass fragments.many of the incidents occurred during cooler temperature operation.ford issued tsb 10-22-10 dated november 22, 2010 titled broken liftgate window glass - built on or before 10/15/2010 for the subject vehicles.the issue section of the tsb states some 2010-2011 escape and mariner vehicles built on or before 10/15/2010 may experience the liftgate window glass breakage, typically when colder ambient temperature are present.this pe investigation is opened to ascertain the extent of the issue. | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| VISIBILITY | |||
| 12/06/2011 | 16500 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford escape. the contact stated that upon closing the rear hatch door, the glass shattered and cut the contact's finger. the dealer was contacted and advised that they would call the contact back at a later date. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the vehicle was in the process of being repaired. the failure and the current mileage was 16,500. | |||
| 12/06/2011 | 16500 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2011 ford escape. the contact stated that upon closing the rear hatch door, the glass shattered and cut the contact's finger. the dealer was contacted and advised that they would call the contact back at a later date. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the vehicle was in the process of being repaired. the failure and the current mileage was 16,500. kmj | |||
| 12/06/2011 | 16500 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2011 ford escape. the contact stated that upon closing the rear hatch door, the glass shattered and cut the contacts finger. the dealer was contacted and stated that they would call the contact back. the manufacturer was not contacted. the vehicle was in the process of repair. the failure and current mileage was 16,500. nw | |||
| 11/21/2011 | 17 | ||
| While closing the rear hatch, the glass/hatch exploded. exploeded into and outside of the car hitting my daughter in the face. there was not unusual tention or binding while closing the rear glass hatch. did not require additional effort to close it. vehicle was in park engine was off temparature outside approx 50 degrees vehicle was warm as it had been previously driven | |||
| 09/03/2011 | |||
| The rear window exploded while the vehicle was at rest, after unloading groceries from the rear. the glass hatch was successfully closed but then shattered. | |||
| 05/10/2011 | 200 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2011 ford escape. the contact stated when ever the drivers side visor was used it would either move close to the rear view mirror. the contact did not notify the dealer of the failure. the contact was concerned about the safety risk if the failure occurred while driving. the failure and current mileage was 200. | |||
| 05/10/2011 | 200 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2011 ford escape. the contact stated when ever you pull down the driver side visor it will either move the rear view mirror or cover parts of the rear view mirror. the contact had not spoken to the dealer. the contact feels this could be a safety issue if it happens while driving. the failure mileage and current mileages were 200.rl | |||
| 01/20/2011 | 11342 | ||
| This is a more detailed description of the occurrence: i was about to leave work, temperature at 27 f. i loaded gear in my trunk of the vehicles not using the the raised glass option, but the full door. upon closing the door, the rear windshield shattered and the glass fell on my hand on the way down, cutting it up. the piston rods on either side both broke out...looks like the plastic cracked on both. prior to shattering, the window appeared to have bubbles in it. dealer said that it was normal and cosmetic. ford extended warranty and customer support have said that their glass is not covered by warranty...so mile 1, if it shatters like this, the consumer is held liable. filing with insurance company and looking for a company that will cover a window failure. | |||
| 12/31/2010 | 382 | ||
| I closed the rear hatch of the escape and the rear glass exploded. the car was in the driveway of my house and the glass went everywhere, covering the cargo area of the vehicle and the driveway. there was nothing even close to touching the glass inside or outside of the car when it shattered. i received a small cut on my hand from the glass that i was able to treat myself. the vehicle was about a week old at that time and we took it back to the dealer to have them address the issue. | |||
| VISIBILITY - GLASS, SIDE/REAR | |||
| 11/21/2012 | 15800 | 1 | |
| I filled my gas tank at a holiday gas station/store in escanaba, mi about 6 p.m., november 21 while traveling. i filled the tank, locked the vehicle, and went into the store for a snack. when i returned to the vehicle, an employee was sweeping up glass from my back window which she heard explode. the window was completely gone. there was nothing against the back window or the hatch back that would cause stress. fishing equipment was lying flat on the floor. i drove 200 miles home with no window. besides the employee witness, i filed a police report with the escanaba police. i contacted a ford dealership and was told to take pictures. i sent documentation along with the pictures to the dealership. that was not good enough for ford. i was told to take the car to the dealership where the body repair manager took pictures and sent them to ford who came back denying the warranty coverage on the glass because it cannot be proven that this was a ford glass defect. i drove 200 miles round trip wasting an afternoon of my time. i have contact and talked with ford customer relations a half dozen time. i asked the witness to call ford customer relations to verify that i was not even in the vehicle at the time of the glass explosion. glass few from 10 to 15 feet in small, deadly pieces. luckily, i or someone else was not standing behind the car. i have not opened the back window for months finding it easier to remove item by lifting the hatchback door. in contacting ford customer relations, i was told that once a decision has been made, it could not be reversed. i asked to speak to someone in authority and was told that once a decision was made by ford, it could not be reversed and was given an address to write my complaint. *tr | |||
| VISIBILITY/WIPER | |||
| 02/04/2013 | 39800 | ||
| Closing rear lift gate after the car remained stationary overnight, the window shattered onto the ground and into the trunk. low temperature from the night before was 19 deg f. subsequent clean-up efforts revealed scratches to car body and resulted in personal injury (lacerations). ford would not cover the repair cost based on vehicle mileage, despite explicit reference to pe 11-016 and to ford technical services bulletin 10-22-10. | |||
| 01/06/2013 | 24500 | 1 | |
| After unloading items from rear cargo area, tailgate was closed, and the rear tailgate window exploded in my face spontaneously. it seemed as if the reciprocating arms perhaps did not collapse completely and went through the window. an individual who assisted in cleaning up the debris was cut by the glass. *tr | |||
| 01/06/2013 | 24500 | ||
| After unloading items from rear cargo area, tailgate was closed, and the rear tailgate window exploded in my face spontaneously. it seemed as if the reciprocating arms perhaps did not collapse completely and went through the window. an individual who assisted in cleaning up the debris was cut by the glass. | |||