Ford bulletin SSM 53608
What it saysSome 2025 Escape vehicles built on 01-Jan-2025 and through 05-Feb-2025 may exhibit a clunk/knock or humming noise from a loose front wheel bearing. NHTSA’s full summary ↓
Ford filed this with NHTSA as a service bulletin dated Apr 9, 2025, received Apr 16, 2025. It names 1 model year (2025). 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 communicationWhat it applies to, as the document itself states it — the build window in the manufacturer’s own words, read by machine from the PDF NHTSA serves. The build date is on the certification label in the driver’s door jamb; the dealer settles a borderline vehicle by its VIN.
Some 2025 Escape vehicles built on 01-Jan-2025 and through 05-Feb-2025 may exhibit a clunk/knock or humming noise from a loose front wheel bearing. This may be due to the machining of the bearing bore of the front wheel knuckle. If noise is confirmed to be coming from the wheel bearing, replace the affected front wheel knuckle and front wheel bearing. Refer to Workshop Manual, Section 204-01. For claiming, use causal part 3K185 for right front and 3K186 for left front and applicable labor operations in Section 03 of the Service Labor Time Standards (SLTS) Manual.
Document filed under this number
| Document | Kind | Dated | NHTSA id | At NHTSA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SSM 53608 | Service bulletin | Apr 9, 2025 | 11017062 | PDF, 69 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.
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 1 model year this bulletin names have filed 31 complaints with NHTSA since 2015.
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.
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 53608 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 53608 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 53608 cover?
The manufacturer filed it against 1 model year: 2025 Ford Escape. Whether one particular vehicle is affected is a matter of its VIN and its build, not its model year alone. The document itself sets the build window: 2025 Escape: built 1 Jan 2025 – 5 Feb 2025 — the build date is on the certification label in the driver’s door jamb.