2020 Ford Escape UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
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UNKNOWN December 25th, 2025, my vehicle started to shift poorly, breaking very harshly, giving a clonking sound when putting the vehicle into any gear, and when putting it into reverse, the car rocked roughly and threw a wrench light onto the dash. That wrench light gave a torque converter/transmission code. I took it to a dealership to get it diagnosed and they told me nothing was wrong with it and that it is driving as it should. I took it to a different shop for a second opinion and as soon as my vehicle was in the air, the Mechanic found that ALL of my mounts were bad, I had a transmission leak and might possibly have a bad torque converter. My safety as well as my [XXX] daughters was put at risk from the dealership not doing a thorough diagnostic on my vehicle. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
The welds on the Driver's and passenger door hinges broke and now the broken hinge prevents the windows from rolling down. The welds on the muffler are also broken.
Drivers side door is popping/cracking. Upon reasearching I found numerous others complaing of the same problem
Premature failure of the moonroof shade dropping down or sagging from the track it is seated in, causing driver visibility issues and noise issues.
When in reverse then put in drive the camera freezes while driving still see reverse. GPS BLACKS OUT ALOT.when you want to put windows up they go down, the car has caused so many problems even my mechanic said give it back.we bought the car new with 34 or 35 miles on it n I been feeling so unsafe in this vehicle for a couple yrs I cant even travel in it it dont go up hills .if I try check engine light comes on. And goes aboutv5 or 10 miles per hr.up hill.Ford company does not care. I Told them plenty of times the problems I have with the car n because I have no warnety they didn't want to help I tried for 2 yrs about my problem with the car but they dont care.My door hinges broke they didn't want to fix and my window on passenger side didn't work But I have them problem s fixed for safety recall but after I pd out if pocket almost $1500 to get it fixed n here it got recalled n I wasted my money.Eds Automotive repaired that.but my other concerns that I been telling Ford in Lebanon Shaffer rd. They dont want to do nothing.it again is funny cause the 2020 Ford escape is junk it is no good. N it's funny how all my complaints end up getting fixed cause recall. But what about the cam.in reverse. N my tail gate has a mind of its own when I put my groceries in the tail gate seems to come down n nobody is around got my head hit couple times.started around 35000 45000 miles til I got in about it they said my warranty expired. N thats wrong when they sold me a junky car.
Ford has CSP 22N15 that provides a one-time repair to reprogram the Gateway Module (GWM) for unlimited years of service and unlimited miles from the warranty start date of the vehicle. My vehicle was manufactured in Louisville in 9/2020, which appears to fall in the range of vehicles covered by this CSP, yet Ford keeps telling me that it is not covered and I was required to pay for the fix.
I am getting warnings on my dash every day, about TPMS system failure. Sometimes it shows all four tire pressure, sometimes one or two of them will shut off with the warning alarm, sometimes it is all four of them will stop showing. It is intermittent module failure, the sensors in the tire are working. There is a current recall for some of my year/make/model 20S59, but corporate Ford is saying it does not apply to my vehicle. The exact same issue as this recall has happened to my vehicle.
1. AWD system: sensor in rear axel causing "AWD system fault error". 2. Without the functionality of my AWD system related to this malfunction I am left with a vehicle that can not perform in the conditions that may require AWD, such as deep snow which could result in me crashing. 3. Yes. My car is currently at a Ford certified mechanic. 4. Unknown. 5. "AWD system fault error, service engine soon" as we were driving down the highway toward our home. We took it to the mechanic as soon as they had an opening, which was a week from the error message appearing.
I have a moon roof with a canopy covering it, when you open the moon roof the canopy retracts also, my canopy retracts but came apart from the tracks on each side which causes the canopy to drop down and block the rear view mirror, which is definitely a safety hazard. I contacted Ford and no recall or TSB is available . I'm not the only one with this problem, this could cause a serious accident not being able to see behind you blocking your view.Ford has a case # that I reported to them the problem # [XXX] REFERENCE THIS PROBLEM INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
This problem is well documented and many other owners have had the same issue with the Ford Escape for many model years including 2020. When the car is left in the heat which is unavoidable these days and the gear shift knob is in the direct sunlight from the windshield it becomes locked. The knob will not turn out of the park position. So, you are stuck and must wait for it to cool. This last time it was several hours risking life being unable to leave the heat and possibly dangerous location. Once the car/shift knob cool normal operations resume. Obviously a engineering design flaw that the car “can’t stand the heat.” Please issue a recall and have Ford address the issue.
Informed by insurance company that there is a recall that could start a good fire. Still no remedy to fix. Have called a shop, takes months to get it seen, also says no remedy. Also has a problem starting after gas is put in car. Drops rpms and tries to stall randomly.
Ford had issued a customer satisfaction program recall on 2020 and 2021 Escape doors. On my 2020 escape se the driver side spot welds on the door attachment point are failing. The door no longer opens all the way and causing a loud popping sound when in use. My driver window no longer goes up or down as a result of the loose arm inside the door. My dealership ordered the door replacement back in January and no doors have been shipped by ford and no response is being given to the dealers as to an estimated time of delivery or notice there is a shortage. I contacted Ford Customer Service and was told my case has been escalated for faster resolution at the start of March and to expect a phone call about the case. I have heard nothing from Ford since and my dealer is at a loss of what to do because they have multiple customers in the same situation. I’m paying $550 a month for this vehicle and I’m struggling to get into it.
Door Hinge on drivers side door is broken. Making loud popping noises and now cannot roll my window down. Door changes plane when opening or closing and pops loudly. Afraid it is going to fall off
In July 2025 recall #25V467 was issued on my vehicle. The safety risk of this recall is that at any point fuel can accumulate near the engine or exhaust components and ignite resulting in an under-hood fire “increasing the risk of injury”. It has been over 3 months now and no remedy yet. Since that recall came out, I am scared for my safety and the safety of my children and anyone else who rides in my vehicle because I never know if/when a fire may start. I rely on my vehicle and so do my kids to get to and from places. I am a single mother with no options to drive a different vehicle until a remedy comes out. In addition to being scared, I feel helpless whenever I drive my vehicle and pray each time that I arrive safely to my destination.
The sunshade fell of the tracks due to a malfunction with the slide being hit by the guard piece that is attached by adhesive pads and is sagging. The sunshade fell on our head while trying to retract it when it broke. I did take the vehicle to the dealership and it is not covered by the dealership’s extended warranty. I was quoted for the repair. I have contacted Ford about this issue but have not been contacted back. The vehicle is only 5 years old and has 30k miles on it. No warning of this breaking, I just hit the button to open the shade and it broke.
A recall on rear camera was listed. My vehicle has distorted image when damp and rainy weather. Can make out is behind you. When contact dealer,she just said,my Vin # didn't match problem . It states that my vehicle doesn't meet Federal Safty standards for rear visibility.which could cause a accident.
Moonroof shade trim failure causing moonroof shade to derail. Requires extensive disassembly to repair.
Sunshade on sun roof is sagging and now blocking visibility through rear window. This is a safety hazard and concerning.
Have reported this incident before but we now know what caused the issue. Sunroof on the vehicle malfunctioned causing horrendous loud noise along with inability to retract or open the cover. A large heavy peice was then found sliding around between the cover and the sunroof itself. The peice was in fact the sunrood shade molding design between the front and back sunroof at the top of the car. The peice is quiet weighty so had the cover not been closed could have easily fallen on passengers. From service department that had to basically rebuild my whole sunroof, that peice is only held up by two adhesives, no screws or bolts. Here in the south it gets hot so anything with adhesives will melt and its surprising that there havent been more incidences. Quick Google search will show this is alot more common that I even realized. Sunroof has been fixed but at the cost $3600 and now have a complete bear spot where that molding should be. I will not replace it as I cannot risk it falling again and this time falling on someone in my back seats. I have included the diagrams from the manufacturer and can see how its only held by 2 square adhesives. Image of the car isnt my ford escape (mines having more seevice done) but can see how it sits right over back seat passengers and again this one is also missing the shade molding due to failed adhesives.
DOOR ON DRIVERS SIDE MAKES ALL KINDS OF NOISE WHEN OPENING OR CLOSING. CANNOT ROLL WINDOW DOWN, CANNOT USE KEY TO OPEN DOOR AUTOMATICALLY, AT TIMES HARD TO CLOSE SOUNDS LIKE SOMETHING IS CATCHING.
Molding between 2 parts of sunroof came off knocking the sunroof cover off its track. This is caused it to fall on driver's head.
The exhaust gas cooler (EGR) leaked coolant into the intake manifold and mixed with oil causing the engine over-temperature light to come on, a burning smell from the engine bay, loss of power while driving and while smoke to billow from the exhaust. I had my escape towed to the Ford dealership and their mechanic installed a new K2GZ 9F464-B EGR cooler, bled and filled the anti-freeze, drained the contaminated oil and installed a new oil filter and oil. Total cost of repairs was $1100.52
The sunroof headliner came separated from a component and the entire headliner fell.. hitting my child and not allowing me to visibly see while on the interstate. My entire vision behind me was impacted. I had to pull over and eventually just let the whole shade get stuck on the roller in the back section of the sunroof.
The sunroof trim fell down while I was driving. This caused the sunshade to retract completely. It is available for inspection upon request. The safety concern is that this was startling to the driver and caused me to swerve. Luckily there were not any other cars around. If I had a passenger in the back seat, they could have been harmed. The problem was reported to the dealer where I bought the car and also to another dealer where I had some recall work done. I also did a live chat with someone from Ford within in the Ford app. I was told this is not covered under warranty and if I needed to have it looked at, I would have to the diagnosis fee. There were no warning lights or other indicators that this piece of plastic trim was going to fall.
Transmission selector is poking my fingers.
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Quick Summary
The 2020 Ford Escape has 179 UNKNOWN OR OTHER complaints on file. 3 crashes have been reported. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.