Just for the record, I too have a gold 2003 Ford Escape with paint peeling. The car has 70,000 miles on it, runs great, but now looks like crap. I had planned on buying another one when this one dies but after reading all the same complaints I think not. I'm sending a certified letter to Ford this week. Not likely to get a satisfactory response but, have to put it on the record anyhow.
Gold and silver metallic has a very bad habit of dulling and peeling if it is not waxed twice a year. I never buy either color for that reason. High metallic-content paints are very prone to fading and peeling.
"Answer to brakes is get off them, and your transmission is one of the best ones Ford has."
You've gotta be kidding right? I bet you didn't know the Escape uses the same transmission as the infamous Mazda 626. The transmission's on these are TERRIBLE. Ford transmissions in general tend to be of poor quality, but the Escape's transmission is especially bad.
Note: A Comments RSS Feed is available. New comments appear in the Members Area before the main site