exhaust flex pipe cracked with 51,0000 miles?!?!?!
 

Has there been any recalls regarding the flex pipe breaking or cracking at the flex point on 2005 Escapes with the 4 cyl engine? My wifes car just turned 51,000 miles and she noticed a loud hissing noise coming from the engine depending on rpms and the acceleration. When I did the oil change on it yesterday, I noticed the metal weave covering the flex hose was off and kind of pushed back towards the rear of the car. I started the car up after the oil change was done and sure enough, there was exhaust gas pressure coming from the flex hose which had a significant exhaust leak. My wife luckily has the extended warranty up to 60,000 as the dealership quoted me a price of $447 for the part alone not including labor. The vehicle is going into the dealership tomorrow for them to look at it but I want to make sure that they will not shaft me if there was a recall on them as we have not gotten any notification on this matter.


Thanks,

Brian

Quote
"I noticed the metal weave covering the flex hose was off and kind of pushed back towards the rear of the car."

Did she hit something? I never saw that weave move on any vehicle.

The weaved metal part of the cover was equally moved back all the way around. I noticed when the engine is rev'd the exhaust would push backwards which could explain why the metal weaving could have broken over time and then separated. There is no evidence of anything hitting or gouging the weaved part as there is no distortion of the weave or cylindrical shape aside from about a 1/4 gap between where the weaved part is and where it was originally. It seems like the flex part was not designed up far enough towards the engine to flex in the middle of the pipe as the main flex point seems to be focused at the very front of the flex pipe.

This is problematic on Aerostars I and my son have owned. Seems to be the weak link on the Aero vans exhaust system, but usually after several years and over 100k miles. Have them check the motor/transmission mounts for looseness.

Many times if you roll over any type of debris or hit animals on the road, they can cause quite a bit of damage underneath a vehicle. I know all about that!