2020 Ford Escape Power Train

Shuddering transmission, vehicle struggles to change gears smoothly resulting in loss of acceleration. Rough gear changes from 1-3 gears Transmission fluid changed. Same issues. Issues go in hand with the current class action lawsuit of Ford Escape and Ford Focus over transmission issues. Failure of transmission and exorbitant repair cost over a safety critical issue should automatically require a NHTSA investigation.

Total failure of transmission. The transmission on this car failed while driving making it unable to move and creating a risk of collision with other vehicles. No warning displayed on dash until after failure. Noticed some minor vibrations when decelerating at speed was at 25mph. Mileage was approx 80,000 miles. Mechanic diagnosed the possible cause as the failure of the transmission fluid pump or failure of "lifetime" transmission fluid. Cost to replace was $9,000

I completed my 70,000 maintenance on my vehicle on Monday. Friday when I got in my car after shopping, the dash light for parking brake kept coming on. When I put it in drive, the engine light, park assist light, collision assist light, and multiple warning lights kept cycling on my car’s screen. I drove back to the dealership and they kept the car from Friday morning until Monday afternoon before a diagnosis was handed to me. The write up states that the vehicle is “is slipping in every gear” due to “internal mechanical failure.” I am at 70,000 miles and I purchased that car on Jan 4, 2021. Therefore I am out of warranty. I have only had the dealer work on my car except for purchasing tires from an outside source. This is a catastrophic failure of a part that should not be failing. The tech is not even guaranteeing that this will fix the problem.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that overtime she became aware that there was a sharp piece on the transmission dial, causing cuts on her fingers while turning the dial. The local dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed. The contact was informed that the VIN was not under recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 37,000.

The silver base of gear selector is chipping leaving sharp plastic edges causing pain to right thumb and repeated punctures with bleeding when operating the gear selector. Ford dealer and corporate report this repair is not covered under warranty since 3 year/36,000-mile warranty has expired. The issue became known at 4.5 years/ 32,519 miles. Ford previously had a service bulletin to repair the window lever buttons for the same issue at no cost to the owner. This issue is more dangerous because it involves gear selection which may impact safety when operating the vehicle.

At about 95,000 miles, I began experiencing transmission issues. On several occasions, the transmission would not go into second gear and left the vehicle unable to move forward unless I let off the accelerator and it shifted back into first gear. At about 96,000 miles, when placing the vehicle into Park, the Park light would flash and a growling/grinding noise is present for about 5-10 seconds. In my experience, the park light flashing is an indication that the vehicle has not shifted into the Park gear yet. On 11/25/2025, my local Ford dealer confirmed these issues, stating the vehicle had “harsh engage, shift flare 1-2 shift”. The fluid sample was dark and contained metal shavings. The Ford dealer has recommended a complete transmission replacement. The dealer stated they have seen numerous Ford Escapes/Broncos/Mavericks with my model years and mileage experience similar failures. Because the transmission lags between 1st and 2nd gear, the vehicle could be at low speeds during a lag, and may roll back during a lag, causing a collision. Additionally, it is possible that the vehicle may not be properly engaging its parking gear due to these issues, which may leave the vehicle in an unsafe condition.

Transmission shredded internally after piston blew.

When outdoor temperatures are above 85 degrees, the interior of the vehicle becomes warm enough that the vehicle may not shift out of Park. Our most recent experience was while on vacation in Florida last week. The outdoor temperature was around 90 degrees, though likely warmer in the parking lot. The vehicle was parked on a flat surface facing the sun, wheels facing forward, no reflector in the windshield, windows closed. When starting the engine, vehicle started normally, all functions appeared normal, but could not shift out of Park. Tried rocking the vehicle back and forth, turning the wheel, brake lights functioned, no movement of the shifter- as though the round shifter of the vehicle was electronically locked. This does not seem like a safety issue, but my wife is [XXX] and could have happened in a location where she would not have help available. Forums on the Intrnet have multiple complaints. Ford told me that they do not know of an "issue" but did find that my car was misbuilt - the cable coming off of this switch is a two part cable, at least two different cable sets were used in the manufacture of the 2020 Escape. My vehicle used the A part of one set and the B part of a different set. Ford gave replacement parts for free, I paid $600 for diagnostics and labor. Latest incident happened after the correct cable set was installed. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

the transmission experienced total failure. Ford repair claimed that the failure was due to the torque converter caused the failure. the car experience issues with not shifting into a higher gear at highway speeds and failure to go into neutral when going from forward to reverse.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the message "All Wheel Drive Fault" was displayed, and the vehicle only operated in 2WD. The contact was concerned that during winter weather the vehicle was unsafe to drive in 2WD only. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer and was diagnosed with AWD module failure. The contact was informed that the AWD module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The failure mileage was 50,000.

The gear shift module for my 2020 Ford Escape is detaching and sinking below where it is attached in the car. The gear shift isn't working correctly and sometimes operates as if it is in a different gear than what I shift the circular knob to be in gear for... P N R D (park, neutral, reverse, drive). Sometimes I put it into reverse but the car acts like it is in drive. This has cause some very dangerous near accidents with myself and my children in the car. The 2020 Ford Escape has been the worst car I have ever owned and is constantly falling apart. It has had over 10+ recalls since I purchased my car. I hope they will get this problem recalled before I am injured in a serious accident. I have attached pictures to show what it SHOULD look like if attached properly and what is looks like in MY BROKEN CAR.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle hesitated while depressing the accelerator pedal. There was no warning light illuminated. An independent mechanic was contacted regarding the failure and the mechanic acknowledged that several other similar vehicles had experienced the same failure with the transmission. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while shifting into reverse, the vehicle drove forward instead of reversing. During the most recent failure, after starting the vehicle, the contact shifted the vehicle into park, and the vehicle collided with the contact's home. No warning lights illuminated. No air bags deployed. No injuries were sustained, and no medical attention was provided. A Police report was not filed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the valve body was binding internally, and sticking shift valves assembly had failed. The vehicle was repaired under warranty. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for further assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 33,704.

2020 ford escape titanium with 28111 miles on it throwing A VERY COMMOM error “AWD fault” the amount of these at this point should be recalled.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving 15 MPH, the vehicle experienced a complete loss of automotive power with the “Service Vehicle Soon” light illuminated. The vehicle came to a complete stop in the middle of the roadway. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed, and the contact was informed that the powertrain was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 62,000.

The contact called on behalf of the owner of a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving at various speeds, the vehicle jerked and failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal. The check engine warning light and multiple warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed the vehicle and found metal shavings inside the transmission, with a burn odor coming from the transmission. The contact's daughter was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure persisted, and the vehicle remained at the residence unrepaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 50 MPH, the vehicle was hesitating and shuddering. The contact stated that there was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the shuddering was almost constant and occurred at various speeds. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the torque converter needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 106,000.

Car was jerking during acceleration. RPM needle was bouncing while accelerating. It felt like there was a loss of power. Brought it to a Ford Dealership and they were unable to find a problem directly related to this issue. They took care of other problems such as the fuel sensor. Brought it to a transmission specialist and they said the torque converter was bad and need to be replaced. Car has 89k miles on it.

Power Train Fault Indicator came on indicating that the Turbo Charger was in an underboost condition. This caused the vehicle to lose power on the highway which could have placed my family in a unsafe condition.

Component: Powertrain / Transmission Vehicle: 2020 Ford Escape Mileage at failure: 53,500 Transmission began violently jerking, hesitating, and mis-shifting around 53,000 miles. Brought to Ford of Sunnyvale on May 2, 2025 where the dealership diagnosed complete transmission failure. Instead of replacing, they installed a software update that masked the problem for a few weeks before it returned worse. Vehicle is now unsafe to drive — surging, delayed shifting, unpredictable acceleration — especially dangerous for highway merging or family use. This is a known issue with Ford’s 8F35 transmission. Ford TSB 22-2281 documents widespread failures and need for planetary gear replacement. What’s more concerning is that this failure occurred within what should have been the 5-year/60k powertrain warranty. Ford denied full coverage based on a hidden warranty start date from demo use. I was never informed at lease that the warranty had started 6 months earlier. My wife drives our two small children in this car, and it is now unsafe and undrivable. Ford should be held accountable not only for the mechanical failure, but for masking the problem and compromising customer safety.

I started experiencing transmission issues with my vehicle around 80,000 miles. When I initially brought it to a Ford dealership for inspection, I was told there was nothing wrong—despite also reporting other concerns with the vehicle. The jerking and shifting issues continued over the following months and became more frequent. Once the vehicle reached just over 100,000 miles, I returned to the dealership and was then informed that the transmission had failed. This was frustrating, as I had been reporting symptoms for a long time with no resolution. To this day, no warning lights or dashboard messages have appeared to indicate any transmission issues.No warning lights, messages, or diagnostic codes appeared before or during the progression of this issue. The only symptom has been the physical jerking and irregular shifting, which first appeared around 80,000 miles. I have a case number with Ford.

turn on vehicle dashboard lights up where my AWD not working, my collision assist not working, Trac not working, drive mode not working. This started about a week ago from end of June. I did find a recall for 2020 Escape EcoBoost but my vin is not on there. I cannot access my drive mode my collision light does not work and I am driving in front wheel.

AWD MODULE on 2020 Ford Escape failed at 21,000 miles. There has been a customer satisfaction repair done in 2022 when it started happening to select vehicles. I drive low mileage but should have been a recall issued due to the amount of complaints and fixes online

AWD Fault

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed on two occasions, the powertrain warning light illuminated, and the vehicle lost motive power. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle on one of the occasions, the message "No Hill Assist" and another unknown message were displayed. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where it was diagnosed that an active shutter switch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of failure. The failure mileage was approximately 47,000.