2016 Ford Escape · symptom sheet

Wheel bearing, tires or wheels

34owner reports
49,436median miles
$756median quote
1involved a crash

Newest report Mar 25, 2025 · checked Sep 9, 2026

34 of the 1,105 complaints on this car describe wheels.

Tick what matches of 34 reports

a humming or growling that changes with speed

a wheel bearing was replaced

tires wore out early

a tire blew out

lug nuts or a wheel came loose

What got replaced

Owners who name the part that was replaced mention the tires (25 reports) and the wheel (12 reports).

Recalls and investigations

No recall on the wheels covers the 2016 model year as of Sep 9, 2026.

NHTSA investigations into the wheels on the Escape

PE08-060opened Oct 14, 2008

Tires · model years 2007 to 2008

Tire valve cracking. Closed apr 9, 2009.

NHTSA summary

ON OCTOBER 14, 2008, ODI OPENED PE08-060 TO INVESTIGATE ALLEGATIONS OF CRACKED AND LEAKING SNAP-IN TIRE VALVES IN MODEL YEAR (MY) 2007 VEHICLES MANUFACTURED BY FORD MOTOR COMPANY.THE VALVES WERE SUPPLIED TO FORD BY TOPSEAL AUTO-PARTS, A SUBSIDIARY OF THE SHANGHAI BAOLONG AUTOMOTIVE CORPORATION IN CHINA.VALVES MADE BY TOPSEAL FOR AFTERMARKET SALE WERE THE SUBJECT OF TWO RECENT SAFETY RECALLS BY TECH INTERNATIONAL (08T-018) AND DILL AIR CONTROLS (08T-028), THE LATTER OF WHICH WAS INVESTIGATED BY ODI IN PE08-036 AND EA08-022.THE DEFECT CONDITIONS ADDRESSED BY THE AFTERMARKET TIRE VALVE RECALLS BOTH INVOLVED INADEQUATE RESISTANCE TO OZONE CRACKING DUE TO ISSUES WITH THE SUPPLY OF ANTI-OZONANT CHEMICALS TO TOPSEAL FOR A PERIOD FROM JULY TO MID-NOVEMBER 2006.THE AFTERMARKET VALVES WERE COMPOUNDED WITH A BLEND OF EPDM AND NATURAL RUBBER, USING A RELATIVELY LOW PERCENTAGE OF EPDM (EPDM PROVIDES INHERENT RESISTANCE TO OZONE CRACKING).HENCE, THE NEED FOR ANTI-OZONANT CHEMICALS AND THE PROBLEMS WITH CRACKING WHEN THOSE CHEMICALS WERE MISSING OR OUT OF SPECIFICATION IN SOME LOTS OF VALVES.BOTH RECALL CAMPAIGNS INVOLVED INSPECTION PROGRAMS TO IDENTIFY AND REPLACE VALVES WITH VISIBLE SURFACE CRACKING.ALTHOUGH THE TOPSEAL VALVES SUPPLIED TO FORD ALSO APPEAR TO HAVE BEEN AFFECTED BY THE ANTI-OZONANT SUPPLY ISSUES IN MID TO LATE-2006, FORD INDICATED THAT ITS VALVES WERE MADE AT A DIFFERENT TOPSEAL PRODUCTION LINE AND WERE COMPOUNDED WITH A HIGHER PERCENTAGE OF EPDM RUBBER TO MEET MORE STRINGE

None of these investigations covers the 2016 model year.

What owners paid

5 of the 34 reports quote a price. Each dot is one quote. The middle half runs $400 to $900.

$400$756$900

$0k$2k$4k$6k$8k

When it happens

The middle half of failures fell between 35,450 and 61,900 miles, from the 16 reports that gave a mileage.

517

318

319

120

221

822

723

424

125

What owners wrote

“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.”
Filed Nov 10, 2024

“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.”
Filed Apr 16, 2024

“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.”
Filed Jul 11, 2023 · 80,000 miles

“The transmission failed at 116,00 miles with no warning. The warning light went on after the transmission failed and the car would not move. The dealer replaced the transmission at a cost of $5600. Also, the lug nuts swelled and could not be removed with the lug wrench supplied by Ford.”
Filed May 8, 2023

Should you keep driving it?

This page can't tell you that. 1 of 34 reports involved a crash. Owners who file are the ones who had a bad experience, and nobody checks their reports. If the problem affects steering, braking, power or a fire risk, treat it as a safety fault and have it inspected before a long or high-speed drive.

File your own report with NHTSA. Complaint counts are how a problem gets an investigation.