Ford bulletin SSM 51553
What it saysSome 2020-2021 Escape vehicles may exhibit cracks or broken spot welds in the left front door at the check arm attachment point in the door assembly. NHTSA’s full summary ↓
Ford filed this with NHTSA as a service bulletin dated Mar 6, 2024, received May 4, 2023, about the structure — 2 documents under this number. It names 2 model years (2020–2021). A service bulletin is not a safety recall: it is the manufacturer telling its dealers how to diagnose or repair a condition, and whether the work is paid for depends on the warranty in force. Quoting the number at a service desk can save a diagnosis.
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What the bulletin says
Source: NHTSA's summary of the manufacturer's communicationSome 2020-2021 Escape vehicles may exhibit cracks or broken spot welds in the left front door at the check arm attachment point in the door assembly. Ford has been provided feedback from fleet customers of this condition on some vehicles with high usage profiles. The door assembly replacement is the appropriate repair for this condition. Refer to the parts catalog and Workshop Manual (WSM), Section 501-03 as required to complete the repair. For claiming, use casual part 7820124 and the applicable labor operations of Section 12 and 13 of the Service Labor Time Standards (SLTS) Manual.
Documents filed under this number
| Document | Kind | Dated | NHTSA id | At NHTSA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SSM 51553 | Service bulletin | Mar 6, 2024 | 10251928 | PDF, 68 KB |
| SSM 51553 | Service bulletin | Apr 14, 2023 | 10234590 | PDF, 62 KB |
The summary is NHTSA’s abstract of the document, as filed under 49 CFR 579.5. One communication is usually filed as several documents — the bulletin, a dealer notice, an owner letter — and the number on any of them finds this page. A PDF link is shown only once NHTSA’s own server has been seen to serve that document; the rest are checked over the following nights. Quote the number at a service desk; it is what the dealer’s system is keyed on.
Doing the repair yourself, or pricing it before the shop does? Search the part by fitment on eBay Motors — the listing and the price are the seller’s.
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Model years it names
Source: as the manufacturer filed themA vehicle page’s bulletin list shows the newest few communications filed against that model year; the count there is every one.
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What owners reported
Source: NHTSA complaint databaseOwners of the 2 model years this bulletin names have filed 2,409 complaints with NHTSA since 2015. 909 of them name Structure — the same broad component group this bulletin is filed under. NHTSA groups complaints coarsely, so that means the same area of the vehicle, not necessarily the same fault.
On the 2020 Ford Escape, the 183 owners who gave an odometer reading for Structure reported it at a median of 45,000 miles. That figure is one model year’s, not the whole range this bulletin covers — medians from different model years are not averaged.
Lift gate randomly closed hit me in the head when I as in the back of the car. Thelift gate randomly opened when I walked behind the car
2020 Ford Escape · Structure · filed with NHTSA May 11, 2021 · ODI 11416047
In depth: 2021 Ford Escape body and structure problems → · 2020 Ford Escape body and structure problems →
A complaint is one owner’s account, not a defect finding, and a bulletin is not a recall. Nothing here says this bulletin was issued because of these complaints, or that the repair it describes fixed them. Complaint files on this site begin in 2015.
More bulletins about the structure
Source: same model, same component group8 other manufacturer communications filed against the Ford Escape under the same component group (structure), newest first.
| Number | Kind | Dated | NHTSA’s summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| TSB 26-2092 V2 | Service bulletin | Sep 22, 2026 | This article supersedes TSB 25-2466 to add Bronco Sport, Escape, Maverick and Corsair, as well as removing Expedition and Navigator. One tim… |
| 23B56 | Service bulletin | Dec 17, 2025 | Customer Satisfaction Program 23B56 - Supplement #2 Certain 2020 - 2023 Model Year Escape Vehicles Inspect Front Door Check-Arm Reinforcem… |
| 25B32 | Other | Jul 8, 2025 | Certain 2025 Model Year Corsair and Escape equipped with a panoramic roof Roof Opening Panel Rear Trim Inspection and Replacement Dealers ar… |
| 23B56 S1 | Other | Jul 1, 2025 | Certain 2020 - 2023 Model Year Escape Vehicles Inspect Front Door Check-Arm Reinforcement Spot Welds On all of the affected vehicles, the f… |
| SSM 52269 | Service bulletin | Feb 16, 2024 | 2022-2024 Explorer/Aviator vehicles built on or after 28-May-2022, 2022-2024 Expedition/Navigator vehicles built on or after 08-Jun-2022, 20… |
| SSM 51908 | Service bulletin | Sep 7, 2023 | Some 2020-2023 Escape/Corsair vehicles may exhibit a door ajar warning indicator or higher than expected efforts to fully close doors. Verif… |
| SSM 51702 | Service bulletin | Jun 12, 2023 | Some 2023 Escape vehicles built on or before 6-May-2023 may exhibit a condition where the power liftgate does not close when using the power… |
| SSM 51536 | Service bulletin | Apr 4, 2023 | For 2000-2024 Ford and Lincoln vehicles, swapping a module from a vehicle for diagnosis purposes is likely to cause errors and is not recomm… |
Quote the number at the service desk. It is what the dealer’s system is keyed on.
Every manufacturer communication NHTSA holds for Ford, by the number printed on the letter.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA, 49 CFR 579.5Is Ford SSM 51553 a recall?
No. A service bulletin is a manufacturer communication filed with NHTSA under 49 CFR 579.5; a safety recall carries an NHTSA campaign number (two digits, a letter, six digits) and a federal duty to repair for free. Check the vehicle’s recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls, or on its page here.
Is the SSM 51553 repair free?
Not automatically. A service bulletin describes how to diagnose or repair a condition; who pays depends on the warranty in force, any extension, and the dealer. Quoting the number can save a diagnosis either way.
Which vehicles does SSM 51553 cover?
The manufacturer filed it against 2 model years: 2021 Ford Escape, 2020 Ford Escape. Whether one particular vehicle is affected is a matter of its VIN and its build, not its model year alone.