First I've heard of the issue, did they look at just replacing the AGS assembly?

 

Thanks, I’ll look into this.

 

You say the front end is shaking and vibrating. Can you be more specific? What in particular is vibrating and shaking?

It it the back edge of the hood fluttering up and down at speeds over 60 mph?

Who diagnosed the grille shutters as the cause and did they say in what way the grille shutters were malfunctioning?

 

You say the front end is shaking and vibrating. Can you be more specific? What in particular is vibrating and shaking?

It it the back edge of the hood fluttering up and down at speeds over 60 mph?

Who diagnosed the grille shutters as the cause and did they say in what way the grille shutters were malfunctioning?

Thanks for your post.
The front end gets a vibration (and noise, sometimes) and sometimes the side of the hood will shake but not unless there is a very strong head wind. The vibration at speed varies with how strong the head wind is. Typically, 80km/he in to a head wind. However, If I’m traveling with the wind it may not occur or be barely noticeable unless I’m going more than 115km/hr.
I took it to the dealer where they checked it all out and could not find anything wrong. (I now have my winter tires on and it still the same) At this point the dealer communicated with Ford and Ford emailed back with this diagnosis. I was advised I would be notified when there is a solution. ( I’m not holding my breath) It’s been more than a month now. Car has about 2000 Km.

 

See the post in this section about the dancing hood. It appears this is what you may be describing. Rattling noises is another issue and may be coming from aerodynamic close out panels under the engine bay.

I have installed hood stop support pads at the rear of the hood in an attempt to reduce the hood flutter at high speeds. I have not had an opportunity to drive at 75 mph yet to confirm if it is effective at all. When I do test it and if it works, I can provide the details.

if Ford believes the grille shutters are malfunctioning, they are likely opening up when they are not supposed to, at high speeds when they should be closed. That would cause a variable pressure increase in the engine bay that could cause the hood and the close out panels in the engine bay to flutter and vibrate. Unlike older vehicles, the Escape has a relatively closed-in engine compartment.

Disconnecting the power to the grille shutters would probable make them stay open all the time which may only make the problem worse not better.

 

See the post in this section about the dancing hood. It appears this is what you may be describing. Rattling noises is another issue and may be coming from aerodynamic close out panels under the engine bay that may need more attachment points installed.

I have installed hood stop support pads at the rear of the hood that may eliminate the hood flutter at high speeds. I have not had an opportunity to drive at 75 mph yet to confirm the effectiveness of this fiix. When I do test it and am confident it works I can provide the details.

The hood stop support pads are available on Amazon and just snap into existing rectangular holes in the front fenders inside the engine bay in a few seconds with an exact fit with no drilling or other alterations to the vehicle.

Thank you, I’ll try the hood stops. Any chance you have a name or link for the correct size!

 

I just found this TSB. Was your Escape built within this date range? I would hold off on the hood stops given this TSB. The TSB fix should resolve the hood flutter.

 

Hi, thanks for finding the TSB.
My car was built 9/21. I can only see the month and year, no day. However, my car falls within the posted time frame. So far, no fix is offered.

 

Anybody have an update on this? My build date is outside of the time window (by 1 business day!) but I'm definitely getting the noise-buzzing, chattering, vibration above 70mph and is much worse with a headwind.

 

I was at the dealer a few weeks ago and there was no update on that TSB. I have since eliminated some of the high speed noises myself. There are two noise sources.

1) There is a close out panel under the engine bay that extends under the foot wells of the front seats. This close out panel is underneath and very close to the metal cabin floor. At high speeds it vibrates a bit vertically causing it to bang into the metal floor panel when vibrating creating a noise.

I added just two plastic expanding push pin attachment fasteners similar to those used by Ford to secure the close out panel in a strategic location to resolve that noise.

2) The plastic rocker panel covers just below the front and back doors are attached with plastic clips that are slightly loose and can’t be tightened. This allows the covers to vibrate under high wind loading conditions. This vibration of the covers causes a rattling noise only at high speeds (but not bumps or rough roads) that sounds like it is coming from the door panels.

I haven’t fixed this yet but I plan on adding silicone RTV caulk around the large rectangular rocker panel fasteners to eliminate the cover looseness that causes the rattle. The fasteners are underneath the rocker panel covers and face the road so they are out of sight. Silicone RTV can easily be peeled off if the covers ever need to be removed.

 

Has anyone had the AGS replaced? Seems like this would be the right procedure until Ford announces some kind of fix.

 

Apparently there is now a fix for this problem. I took mine in to the dealer this week and they replaced 2 parts under TSB 21-2445. Have been up to 75 mph and so far, no noise. And the hood isn't fluttering either. I suspect the 2 things were related.

 

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2022/MC-10208819-0001.pdf

 

Was just the dealer making a repair claim for the noise caused by the shutters. My 21 Escape makes the vibration noise consistently from 70+ mph. Dealer rep was not aware of a fix or of a TSB, so obviously I have to educate them. It either gets fixed or I'm removing the shutters myself.

 

The shutters are not replaced to fix the problem. It’s the two molded plastic ducts that direct air from the upper and lower grille openings to the upper and lower shutters that cause the racket.

 

I’m going to make an appointment next week with my local dealer relative to this issue. I called them and my vehicle is not included in the tsb . So obviously Ford has more vehicles with this problem than the existing tsb. Wish me luck

 

However Ford gets it fixed is what matters. Surprises me that this current design made it all the way through testing to production with such an obvious flaw. The noise made by the shutters at 65 to 80mph is loud enough to be heard alongside the vehicle, and felt in the body structure.

Bugs the crap out of me, and if this was a vehicle I actually paid for (it's a company provided vehicle) I'd be at the dealer weekly to get it fixed. That, or replace the vehicle. My 2018 Escape also has shutters and has never made one bit of noise at any speed (which has been over 90mph a few times).

 

However Ford gets it fixed is what matters. Surprises me that this current design made it all the way through testing to production with such an obvious flaw. The noise made by the shutters at 65 to 80mph is loud enough to be heard alongside the vehicle, and felt in the body structure.

Bugs the crap out of me, and if this was a vehicle I actually paid for (it's a company provided vehicle) I'd be at the dealer weekly to get it fixed. That, or replace the vehicle. My 2018 Escape also has shutters and has never made one bit of noise at any speed (which has been over 90mph a few times).

The dealer refuses to fix mine after waiting 4 weeks for my appointment. The build date of my vehicle is within the narrow window of the TSB. It happened very often at speeds of 75+ mph especially with cross winds on a 3500 mile trip I just took cross country.

It sounded like a rapid tapping noise like a stuck valve lifter but would come and go with the wind gusts.

The dealer said if the technician can’t reproduce the sound they will not put in the revised air ducts.

The tech apparently only drove the car 5 miles total ( my ford app tracks all trips) and couldn’t have been up to 75 in that short distance on the freeway which has a 60 mph speed limit. I complained but the dealer wouldn’t budge. They also will not accept a video and sound recording from my iPhone of the noise and hood flutter.

 

Since the dealer is not supporting Ford's initiative to correct the issue, the next step is to go past the dealer. The dealer is a contracted representative for Ford, but as such the dealer does not make final product decisions for Ford. I'd ask the dealer for the contact information for the Ford Dealer Support manager assigned to your region. Since your vehicle, like mine, is in the build range known to have the issue, it is not for the dealer to decide whether or not the repairs are applied. If the dealer refuses to forward the contact information to you, then the next step if the Better Business Bureau, and to contact Ford Corporate to file a complaint against the dealer. Dealer ratings affect their support from Ford as well.

I'd also offer to take the dealer Service Manager for a drive in your vehicle with you driving. If he again refuses, then the next step is the Operations Manager at the dealership. If no success then it goes to the dealership owners. If no success with them, then let them know the issue will be taken to Ford Corporate directly. The issue is already on file with the NTHSA and Ford has TSB communications for the dealers directly related to this issue. Since it is a Ford issue the dealer should be able to make the service claim back against Ford to recoup the service hours cost.

And as always, there are other Ford dealers out there. Pick one that likes to support their product and customers.

 

The noise on my 21 Escape starts almost exactly at 70 mph and higher. I suspect the shutters are never closing too, as anytime I have checked them they've been open, even after the car has cooled down and sat in the shade for days. The noise is loud, flapping type, like a loose panel is vibrating against a firm panel. I removed the under engine cover thinking it was the noise source, nope, no better. I zip-tied some other panels underneath thinking they were the noise source, nope. Thought it was the hod prop rod vibrating when the hood was down, nope. Thought it was the rear edge of the hood itself vibrating (which it does), but nope, no noise change. Then I found reports on the net about the shutter system issues and I feel it is the source and Ford should resolve regardless of the build date. My Escape was built in August 21, but not delivered to me until the end of October 21. So it is in the build date range of the known issue.

 

I don't understand why a dealer wouldn't perform the TSB or at least try to get it done - Ford pays them to repair the cars under warranty, so it's work. Unless they're so busy they don't want to do warranty work (it pays a little less). In any event, find a new dealer.

I'm also happy to report that in addition to fixing the noise and stopping the hood flutter, my highway mileage seems to be 1-2 mpg higher. Of course, that might just be the warmer weather...

 

...
I'm also happy to report that in addition to fixing the noise and stopping the hood flutter, my highway mileage seems to be 1-2 mpg higher. Of course, that might just be the warmer weather...

It's possible. One guy added a cover over his lower grill to get engine temps up to optimal and added about that in improved mileage.

 

Its a sign of the times that the "Quick Lane" is only quick when you have it scheduled out weeks in advance. Wednesday i went to the dealer Quick Lane for an oil change. Best they can do is get me in next week Friday for the oil change. Maybe its the same staffing issue that it seems every other business suffers from.

If the dealership is too busy to handle warranty work, he should tell the customer the dealership is to busy to handle the work right away, but not turn the customer away. For the service manager to refuse work on a vehicle in warranty, to resolve a known TSB issue just says that service manager doesn't want to deal with it. In other words HE is the problem, and that should be taken up the ladder within the dealership to the general manager or owner.

 

Good to hear, I cant wait to get rid of the noise.

 

You have to battle with your dealership and/or service department. Many owners have this very same issue including me. Tell them the “Active Grille Shutter System” needs replacement. It’s a common problem with 2021 Ford Escapes. Call the Ford Customer Care Service Center. There is a Technical Service Bulletin titled TSB-SSM50168 which covers this issue of a Flutter at hiway speeds. What gets me is that Ford appears to be aware of this issue but it doesn’t seem like they are getting the word out to every dealership/service department. It was like pulling teeth for me to get this looked into. In fact after 9 months of trying to get my dealership to look into this, including me showing them the TSB after much research by me!, I ended up going to a different dealership who luckily had one previous owner who had this issue and they knew exactly that it was the AGSS. They tested and confirmed the AGSS needed replacement. Ford NEEDS to spread the word!

 

I carefully looked at the old ducts before they were replaced and the new ducts now on the vehicle. I haven’t noticed any difference in shape.
The ducts do come very close to the moving vanes of the grille shutters.

I’m guessing that a batch of ducts from the supplier were warped out of spec. due to a temporarily out of control injection molding process. This may have created an interference with the moving shutter vanes causing them to become stuck open when they should be closed while the vehicle is at speed.

This would explain the hood vibration at high speeds caused by unexpected large volumes of air flowing into the relatively sealed engine bay. The ram air pressure would create a variable upward force on the hood and it would play havoc with the plastic close out under the engine bay causing flapping noises.
This would also explain why some have noticed an improvement in gas mileage after the repair. Open grille shutters over about 40 mph will create more air turbulence at the nose of the vehicle and reduce aerodynamic efficiency.

 

Just took my Escape into the dealership to have them address this issue. They confirmed that my car was in the production window of the TSB, and that my issue was the same as the one described in the TSB. They THEN told me that it wasn't covered under my warranty, and quoted me $950 to do the repair...

 

The warranty is 3yr/36k miles, if you're outside that window warranty wouldn't cover it.
Did you try calling Ford to see if they'll cover part of the tab or did you have a previous trip to the dealer for this?
The list price for the parts is ~$400, I'm impressed by the $550 labor charge for an hour's labor (based on the TSB).