NHTSA Owner Complaint Log
This page lists owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2020 Ford Escape. Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA and do not by themselves prove a defect or defect rate.
Data synced from NHTSA on May 4, 2026
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that during cold starts, a rattling sound was present coming from underneath the vehicle. Additionally, while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would not properly accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. The failure was also present when accelerating from a stationary position. Also, while operating the vehicle, the there was an abnormal fuel odor inside the cabin of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who examined the vehicle but found no cause for the failure. The contacted stated that the failure persisted. The contact later received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V859000 (Fuel System, Gasoline). The contact indicated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in the recall. The failure mileage was 55,000.
Driving on freeway at 70 when cruise went off and car slowed down “power train malfunction,detecting erratic signals from timing sensor” came on tried to get speed back up could get to about 67 and exited 1st ramp. Stopped in parking lot called dealer. They said it would be fine after turned off an back on. “Wrench repair light went off service light stayed on. After time both lights were off and drove home safely. Next time I drove was fine until drive home didn’t take freeway but busy road with 55 mph limit.started. Losing power again then when stopped at light stalled. It took eight tries to restart and slow acceleration finally got to speed but was hesitating . Took to dealer next morning said was probably reset on gear code. After he said that may not the be problem but drive and see. At first stop had only very slow speed, rpm we’re high but only going about 3 mph. I had to cross a busy 55 mph road and was so scared it would stall again. Got home safely dealer cannot get back in for 5 days. I drive 70 or on 55 mph roads usually with at least 1 or 2 children the youngest 5 months. I am too afraid of driving this car again incase it looses power or stalls and someone isn’t paying attention. Also when these cars stall and you are in traffic you can’t just put in neutral and push out of the way. You feel like a sitting just waiting to get squashed. This problem is very dangerous for driver passenger and other cars. Please help.
Driver side door hinge is broken and it had to be replaced at a cost to me. Also the passenger side is doing the exact same thing as the driver side. Safety is at risk because doors will not close properly. Vehicle was taken back to dealership when it the driver side hinge malfunctioned and passenger side door was inspected by a body shop. There was not any warning signs that the hinge was broken on either door.
My wife sliced her finger open using the up/down button to raise/ lower the driver window. The silver metal part of the button is very sharp. The passenger side is the same way. Our local dealer said he has noticed that on some models. I see there is no recall on this item but it should be.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle jerked and stalled with the check engine warning light illuminated. The emissions failure message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 10,000.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while opening the driver's side door, there was an abnormal popping sound heard. Additionally, the driver's side window failed to raise or lower as designed. The contact stated that that the driver's side door hinge was missing several spot welds. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the door needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 98,000.
The contact's company owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the driver's side front door latch was fractured, causing the door to not close properly. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and diagnosed that the driver's side front door latch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a complaint with NHTSA. The failure mileage was 71,542.
The contact's company owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the driver's side front door latch was fractured, causing the door to not close properly. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and diagnosed that the driver's side front door latch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a complaint with NHTSA. The failure mileage was 100,599.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the front driver’s side door latch had malfunctioned and the door swung open when unlocked. Additionally, the front driver’s side window was stuck in the closed position and could no longer be lowered. The cause of the failure was not determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 46,000.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V859000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, there was an abnormal gasoline odor inside the vehicle. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was approximately 20,000. Parts distribution disconnect.
The contact's friend owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the driver's side front door failed to fully open, causing the contact's friend to slide sideways to enter the vehicle. Additionally, the driver's side front window failed to roll down. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was determined that the driver's side front door needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 86,000.
Left Front Door will not open all the way. Only opens 1/4, and window only goes down half way.
Heard a popping sound and when opened the door it will not close. The tack welding broke off the door causing it not to close. Not under warranty.
The passenger side door has become unusable. When opening it seems to fall of some sort of hinge and is hard to close so we aren’t able to use the driver side door. We took it to Ford BEFORE our warranty expired and they said it wasn’t covered. Now we see that hundreds of people has also had this happen so we know for a fact it was a “lemon” but they refuse to fix it and will cost us thousands to repair even though it’s a factory malfunction. The door is dangerous because it can fall open at any time.
The vehicle has a safety system called hill assist start and auto hold braking. When activated the driver can take their foot off the brake pedal when fully stopped and the car should stay stopped until the accelerator is engaged. The first incident occurred about 5 months ago. I had started the vehicle and put it in drive. A warning then appeared on the dashboard saying hill assist start fault and then immediately switched to auto hold fault and the car started moving on its own. After stopping the car and resetting the transmission the fault message went away and the car held in place. About 2 weeks later this same fault happened but I was unable to stop the car in time before hitting a pole on the left front quarter panel. This caused a large dent. I was able to take a picture of the fault message on the dashboard. I had to take the car in for another issue and told the service advisor about the auto hold faults. The dealer ran a diagnostic and found no issues. The issue did continue after this visit. About 2 months ago the fault occurred when the car was next to a wall and the front left side was heavily damaged when it hit the wall. I was able to take another picture of the fault message. At the same time, we had issues with getting the car into reverse on the transmission dial Returned to the dealership and informed them of the continued issues. I also opened a case with Ford over the issue. The dealer again ran a diagnostic, drove the car but could not reproduce any of the issues or faults. I showed them the pictures of the fault message and they did not take it seriously. A Ford engineer also inspected the car and could find no issue. We reluctantly took the car back. Now the auto hold will turn on and off by itself when the car is stopped. The car will start to roll forward until the brake pedal is engaged. I informed Ford of this, and they said there is nothing else they can do for us. All of these issues happen at random. The car is unsafe.
Front windshield failed sporadically under mild thermal shock. Outside temperature was in the range of 10°F and inside cabin had been warming up for about 30 minutes. Heat was not set to defroster. While stopped at an intersection, the windshield suddenly cracked across about 70% bottom edge emanating from a wiper contact point. Vehicle is available for inspection upon request. Has not been reproduced. I’ve received anecdotes that this exact same break type and location has occurred under very similar circumstances in other Ford Escapes.
My driver side front door started making this popping noise when I opened or closed the door and then within a week the black arm bracket/spot weld broke off the door. There is no damage to the door to cause this issue. It just happened randomly and the vehicle is under two years old. This shouldn’t be happening. I don’t feel safe driving this vehicle as I cannot even open it all the way for fear it will fall off or further damage whatever is going on inside the door. It’s affecting my window as well. It doesn’t roll down due to this hinge being broken. I do not know if it has affected any other safety features on the door.
DOOR WELDS BROKEN AT DOOR Check ARM MOUNTING POINT. NEEDS REPLACE DOOR.
the auto start stop engine feature stops functioning intermittently no set pattern it randomly doesn't work. Never know if the engine will shut down when its supposed to or not
Driving down the road the car kicked off an error that said vehicle network communication error. We lost all lights, all controls, and started loosing power to the engine. The car died when we stopped it. It would not allow us to shut the head lights off so we did this manually. The car doesn’t respond in any way for anything
The vehicle started, but the dashboard was black and the wheels were locked. The radio, heat, etc. were working. I could put it into drive and reverse, but the wheels would not move. The salesman I bought the car from drove out and loosened, then tightened the battery cables. He said that it would re-boot the computer. Either that worked OR the 20 minute wait time that I've been reading about worked. Before this problem occurred, there were a few times that I got a message on my middle screen, (Navigation, etc) saying "System Off To Save Battery...Please turn ignition off and start engine" The dealership could not find a problem other than a low voltage issue with the battery. The service advisor told me they had the battery on a testing device for a "really long time" and the low voltage issue never resolved. The service advisor also told me that I need to drive the car more and to watch for error lights in the cluster. About a month later, after running some errands , I turned the car off and a mild thud noise came from the engine area. I knew the vehicle did not shut down properly. When I came out from one of my errands and started my vehicle, a message came up on the middle screen, (n Navigation, etc.) It read " System Off To Save Battery....Please turn ignition off and start engine" There is also a burning smell when I drive the car now, this is new. From what I've read on this site there is no doubt in my mind that this particular make and model of the Ford Escape has some serious and dangerous issues. Please look into this. I DO NOT feel safe driving this vehicle.
Blind spot light goes off while driving with no car next to me
I was involved in a collision with a pick-up truck in Gallup, NM on 12/3/21. We hit the truck mid-section. Front of my Escape was pretty much destroyed. Our airbags did NOT deploy. Mine and my husbands safety was at risk due to the failure of the airbags to deploy in the crash. Vehicle is at the Ford Dealer in Gallup, NM waiting for State Farm to determine the next steps. I had no prior warnings or indications that the airbags were not functional.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that upon entering a drive-thru line at a slow speed, the home screen went blank as the "network configuration error" warning message illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact then stated that the vehicle then shut off and could not be restarted after multiple attempts. The contact was unable to place the vehicle into neutral and had the vehicle towed to a dealer where it remained in their possession. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 17,000.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated while reversing there was an abnormal noise detected. The contact stated that the brakes were sticking. The brake warning light was illuminated. The contact called the local dealer and an appointment was scheduled however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 4,000.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of the NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V859000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The local dealer was notified of the issue and confirmed that the parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was not notified of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
2020 FORD ESCAPE. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO DEFECTIVE BRAKES. THE CONSUMER STATED WHILE DEPRESSING THE BREAK IN PARKING LOT, THE VEHICLE FAILED TO COME TO A STOP. THE VEHICLE STRUCK A POLE AND A CAR BEFORE STOPPING. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A DEALER WHERE THEY COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE FAILURE.
Spot welds broke off of the door limiter. Took it to ford while under warranty at 34,000mi and they could not fix due to mechanics strike. Came back after the strike and was told that since the vehicle is at 36,800 miles they would not cover it, even though they had info that I was there before the warranty ran out. They did remove the part so it would not break the glass but it left the door sagging and out of alignment.
Blind spot monitor going off with no car next to me
Shaking when driving under 40 mph from when I got the car. They have not been able to fix. Causes a distraction
Light turns on when there is no car next to me. Took it in to Ford. They ran diagnostic but where not able to find an issue and returned the car. It is still turning on when there is no car next to me
The liftgate has a mind of its own. It closes without warning and crashes on my head! I can't load anything without holding one hand over my head to catch the door as it closes unexpectedly on my head. Even a shadow causes the liftgate to close - if a child or an animal walks by. If you turn off the automatic liftgate feature you manually have to lift the gate and close it. It is very heavy to lift and close and not practical. It is way too sensitive and needs to be addressed before someone is seriously hurt.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the driver’s side door failed to close securely. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the door latch was replaced; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was unknown. The VIN was not available.
Parking brake came on by itself when parking on a dolly
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while entering the vehicle, the driver's side door squeaked with an abnormal popping and metallic sound while opening and closing the door. The contact stated that while the vehicle was idling or stopped, the engine made abnormal sounds while the vehicle surged forward, and the vehicle turned off before the contact continued driving. The window failed to lower and raised upwards intermittently. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the door had a hairline-sized fracture and needed to be replaced. The door was replaced 3 times under warranty; however, the failure persisted. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was 26,342.
Despite it being turned on, the Check rear seats for occupants alert stopped working. I no longer get that warning when car is turned off. The problem has not yet been reported to a dealer.
After driving for 45 min on freeway,exit off and approaching a light to turn , went to accelerated and car wouldn’t go. It took a few seconds then it jumped and spontaneously accelerated.
The front radar that enables collision avoidance, adaptive cruise control, etc. has failed. It first started as an intermittent problem that quickly progressed to a total failure. The vehicle was not involved in an accident or any misuse that would cause this problem.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while reversing and turning the steering wheel, the vehicle would make grinding noises. Additionally, the front driver’s side door latch had detached, and there was an electrical failure. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and diagnosed that the failure was related to the vehicle being involved in a rear-end collision, where the liftgate was damaged and replaced by an auto body shop. The dealer informed the contact that the frame was bent from the collision and the warranty was voided so they could not assist in repairing the door latch. The dealer did perform an alignment. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and sent the contact a gift card but did not provide any assistance. Paid Drained and Flush rear end assembly and Refill. The failure mileage was approximately 18,000.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 25-35 MPH, the steering wheel shuddered significantly between 1200 and 1500 rpms. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the failure was diagnosed as a transmission shudder; however, the dealer informed the contact that the vehicle was operating as designed. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring while driving. Additionally, the contact received a recall notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V859000 ( Fuel System, Gasoline), however, the parts to do the recall repair were not yet available. The stated that there was a strong gasoline odor inside the vehicle. The local dealer was contacted. The vehicle was diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 4,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
When at a stop light upon acceleration the car is very sluggish. I have noticed if I turn the air off there seems to be slightly more power. I feel the safety in this comes when a vehicle is moving excessively slow that it causes a potential threat to being involved in an accident.
The driver's side door hinge/arm broke and now swings wide open. I'm worried that the door will fly open while driving and don't think this should be happening on a 1 year old vehicle.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that upon the depression of the brake pedal, an abnormal grinding noise would intermittently emit from the vehicle without warning. The contact also stated that the vehicle would intermittently hesitate upon depression of the accelerator pedal also with no warning. The contact had taken the vehicle to the dealer for repairs on two separate occasions; however, the failure persisted. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 2,800. The consumer stated the vehicle pauses when accelerating, brakes squeak while driving, fluid leakage, carpet damage. Also, consumer hit a pothole and tires were totally destroyed .
Interior lights are not working. Took the car to the dealership under the manufacturer warranty and they are unable to solve the problem. The dealership replaced the body control module and this did not fix the problem. Service tech stated they need to contact Ford Engineering to resolve the problem.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 MPH with the driver assist cruise control activated, the vehicle was slowing down for traffic ahead. The contact stated that the driver assists automatically engaged the brakes but as the vehicle neared the rear end of the vehicle ahead the vehicle independently accelerated. The contact manually depressed the brake pedal which disengaged the driver assist cruise control function. The contact stated that the failure was a recurring failure. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that sensors for the driver assist function needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that the failure of the driver assists function reoccurred. Additionally, the contact stated that her Forward Collision Avoidance feature was intermittently being activated without another vehicle nearby. The contact had taken the vehicle several times to the same dealer and was informed that the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 46,358.
Wrench light came on less than 1 week after purchase. Car was bogging down terribly. Took it to shop they said it was no big deal. Told me to drive it until they could get appointment. Next day it completely shut off on hwy. Air bag malfunction as well.
In the early summer of 2021, I started to hear a snapping noise in the driver’s door. I thought it might be the hinge, but it appeared to be coming from the middle of the door. It got continually worse. When I put the window down it would come back up and catch my arm and then go back down. Eventually I was only opening the door a short distance so it would not snap. It made it very difficult to get in and out. So, for over 3 months I squeezed in and out of the car. I am concerned about the other 3 doors. In early September I contacted the dealer and was to take it on September 7th. But the door became worse suddenly and I could barely get out and at one point I was stuck in the car. I called the dealer immediately and asked to bring it to them that day. After some hesitation and my explaining if I was trapped in the car during an accident, they would be hearing from me. She said to bring it over immediately. The service manager, after inspecting the door, came out and asked me if I had been in an accident! I suggested he look at the car and check it thoroughly. It was obvious I had not been in an accident. He stated they had never seen anything like that before. They were taking pictures and I stated I wanted my own pictures. When I went into the shop and viewed the door, I was upset to find that all the welds on the bracket that holds the door check had failed. The bracket was down inside the door panel. Because it was catching it was making the snapping sound. When the window hit it, it would automatically go back up. They told me it would be necessary to contact Ford for more information and it would be a week or so before I heard anything. At 8:08am the following day, not one week, they called back and said they needed to order a new door, have it painted and replaced. That is the last I heard about the door. I have been in touch with Ford Corporate and discovered this is not the first time this has happened. I do have a case# with Ford.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the driver-side door popped when opened. In addition, the contact stated an abnormal sound could be heard coming from the door hinges. The window would not go up or down. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed that the chrome switch tip on the door detached. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V859000 (FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE) and NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V191000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING) notices were received later. The contact had not experienced a failure regarding the campaign numbers. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 2,000.
The contact owns a 2020 FORD Escape. The contact stated while using the liftgate, the liftgate failed to remain open. The liftgate inadvertently closed while loading and unloading the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to be diagnosed but, was not repaired repaired. The dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was contacted and notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not under recall. The failure mileage was approximately 3,000.
When it's hot outside, the car will not shift out of park.