 I purchased my Escape new in May of 2003 and have loved driving it ever since. When new they had to replace the radio (CD/tape) because the clock ran slowly. It was also missing the rubber stoppers for the liftgate's glass. Both problems were fixed under warranty. After a while I noticed another couple of defects, the rubber seals in the liftgate (both the glass and the gate itself) as well as the moonroof, leaked slightly in the rain. That is just sloppy workmanship in my opinion. The moonroof's switch didn't work correctly. They were however fixed by the dealership under warranty. I now have 34,000 miles on it and it runs like new. There have been no mechanical problems or any other problems.