Complaint volume
1435 consumer-submitted complaints are matched to this model year. Treat the count as a research signal, then read the actual summaries for repeated symptoms.
Complaint records
2020 Ford Escape Complaints
1435 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2020 Ford Escape, grouped by component category.
1435 Total complaints
19 Crash reports
3 Fire reports
22 Injury reports
Complaint data reflects consumer-submitted reports. A complaint is not proof
of a defect, recall, or manufacturer fault. Enriched severity fields come
from official bulk records when the complaint can be matched by ODI number.
Buyer interpretation
How to use these complaints before buying
Complaint records are most useful when they turn into inspection points, seller questions, and comparison checks against nearby model years.
Pattern to inspect
The most common categories are structure, unknown or other, power train. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Severity flags
Enriched records include 19 crash reports, 3 fire reports, 22 injury reports, and 0 fatality reports. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 305 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 45,215 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to structure, unknown or other, power train?
- Can I see recent maintenance and repair records?
- Has the vehicle ever been towed, involved in a crash, or repaired for the same issue twice?
- Can we also check the recall record for this 2020 Ford Escape?
Used-car checklist
Use these complaints before the test drive.
Build a buyer checklist to turn these issues into questions and inspection points.
2020 Ford Escape
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2020 Ford Escape complaints?
19 Crash
3 Fire
22 Injury
0 Fatality
30 Towed
9 Medical attention
What are the most common 2020 Ford Escape complaint categories?
STRUCTURE 503
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 187
POWER TRAIN 110
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 80
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 38
STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 34
ENGINE 30
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES 26
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 18
VISIBILITY/WIPER 18
1,435 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 2025 | POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the RPM increased, and the check engine and power train warning lights illuminated. In addition, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The contact stated that the failure had occurred several times. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the dealer; however, the failure was not duplicated. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 59,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 59,000 |
| Apr 2025 | POWER TRAIN | On hot days the gear shift gets stuck in park. The car interior has to cool down before the shifter will turn in to gear. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2025 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | While driving my 2020 Ford Escape Hybrid, I heard a rattling noise. I was having a hard time figuring out where it was coming from. Then I heard it again and noticed it was coming from above the sunshade for the sunroof. My sunshade is always closed. When I went to open the sunshade, the sunshade hit the spacer that had fallen off and the sunshade popped off the clips and recoiled into the back roller. The spacer is only held on by 4 pieces of double-sided sticky tape. This is a manufacture defect. This has been a known issue to Ford dealerships. They want $2,700. to fix my car for a sunshade that got knocked off by a spacer that was installed with 4 pieces of double-sided sticky tape. Ford should take responsibility for this and do recalls to fix or repair this problem. Most people will never know about this problem until after it happens and Ford already knows its a problem. Someone should hold them accountable for all the customers that are paying over a $1000. because a 0.15 part failure. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2025 | STRUCTURE,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | Got the car with many problems . Last recent problems purge cvavle, leak in emission, air make loud sounds . Now it’s my door was making popping noises when closing or opening, now the door doesn’t shut at all. No incident happen, just happen by itself | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2025 | ENGINE | The contact’s daughter owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving on several occasions at various speeds, she observed abnormal sounds coming from the engine compartment before the vehicle lost power. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it a diagnosed that the turbo was inoperable and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the check engine warning light illuminated approximately 10 days later. The vehicle was taken back to the same dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that a gasket needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but a week later, the check engine warning light illuminated. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 90,181. | Crash: No Fire: No | 90,181 |
| Apr 2025 | STRUCTURE | The door weld just broke. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2025 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the "All Wheel Drive fault - Service Required", "Hill start not available", and "Pre-Collision assist not available" messages were displayed. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that an undisclosed module needed to be updated and the battery replaced. The vehicle was repaired out-of-pocket; however, the "All Wheel Drive fault - Service Required" message was displayed again. Upon further investigation, the contact related the failure to an unidentified recall; however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 72,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 72,000 |
| Apr 2025 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | From the day I purchased the car, it has not been able to connect to the Commonwealth of MA's inspection computer system. Ford and the inspection garages i've taken this to said it was a known problem and waived the inspection until Ford remedied their software to make it work. Ford now has a fix, applied via a software update, that remedies the problem but says my car is not part of the list of covered vehicles even though they acknowledge it suffers from the same problem. Ford sent a letter out on Dec 12, 2023 entitled "Customer Satisfaction Program 22N15" which states that they will repair the problem at no cost to the original, or subsequent owners of the car. I've asked Ford to acknowledge that my car should have been included in that program and they refuse to do so, instead, asking me to contact the NTSB. The only way I can have my car inspected now is to use a 'hack' recommended to me by a sympathetic Ford dealership which is to have them turn my car off for an hour after I arrive and then do the inspection. This is clearly a workaround and I want Ford to apply the software fix to my car. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2025 | FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | The vehicle has 27,500 miles on it. Based on what the dealership repair group mentioned, there is an issue with Pa. Purge valve. The part # is #FO LX6Z-9D289-SH TUBE ASY - FUEL VAPO. Since the car has such a low mileage, this repair should be covered under the warrantee. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2025 | POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | AWD module failed at 20,000 miles | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2025 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | I was driving to work like normal this morning when an error message popped up that stated my All Wheel Drive had been turned off. It then gave another error message stating my hill parking assist had been turned off, and my cruise control is no longer functioning. Due to this I feel unsafe driving. This has happened to many other friends and family members that have owned this vehicle. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2025 | POWER TRAIN | The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, there was an abnormal knocking sound coming from underneath the rear of the vehicle. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local Pep Boys; however, the cause of the failure was not identified. The contact stated that after the attempted diagnostic test, while driving at undisclosed speeds, the vehicle independently swerved in various directions and hesitated while accelerating with the accelerator pedal depressed. The local dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 78,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 78,000 |
| Apr 2025 | STRUCTURE | My drivers door started 2days ago, April 11, 2025 to make loud cracking noise when opening and closing out of no where. Then on April 12 while out running errands the door became detached. After several attempts to close I was able to close it but I'm having to get in and out from passenger side. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2025 | WHEELS | Lugnuts are swollen and a flat had occurred and I couldn't remove the wheel was almost hit by on coming traffic finally gave up replenished air into tire and drove Home . Took car into Ford dealership they said all of the Lugnuts swell on newer models not just mine I asked for a replacement quote it's 300 for new Lugnuts and then labor too and hopefully they won't break a wheel removing them I said if I agreed would they replace them with the same defective Lugnuts that swell and his answer was yes .Please do something about thease dangerous swelling Lugnuts before someone's life is taken. I told the dealership not to do the replacement and done some research I can get a replacement set for entire car for 40 bucks at Autozone and called my local mechanic and they said 50 bucks to replace all of them and autozone told me thease are standard non swelling steel Lugnuts .My faith in Ford has definitely changed to zero. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2025 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2025 | POWER TRAIN | 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) | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2025 | SUSPENSION | The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact became aware that there was fluid underneath the rear of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the rear shocks were leaking and needed to be replaced. The contact stated that approximately 20,000 miles later, while receiving a routine inspection, the dealer informed the contact that the rear shocks were leaking again and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and confirmed that the failure was not covered under recall. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was 20,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 20,000 |
| Apr 2025 | POWER TRAIN | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | 106,000 |
| Apr 2025 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS | The vehicle has two indicator lamp warnings. One warning for a rear seatbelt monitor fault and one warning for the driver's seatbelt monitor fault. When these seatbelt monitor faults occur the airbags throughout the vehicle are no longer operational. The safety risk of not having operational airbags is extremely high and puts all passengers at risk of serious harm or death. The vehicle is currently at a local Ford dealership undergoing diagnostic testing. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2025 | POWER TRAIN | 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 | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2025 | STRUCTURE | Front Drivers door became hard to open and close. Loud popping noise heard while opening and closing. Window also will not roll down. Inspected door check and discovered spot welds holding internal bracing broke loose. Due to difficulty closing the door, I believe the door may not latch properly. Doing research, I discovered that this is a common problem on 2020 Ford Escape models. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2025 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | When I go to start up my vehicle it stalls before it turns on. And everytime I put gas in my car it shakes as if it wants to cut off. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2025 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the engine continued running after turning off the vehicle. The contact stated that upon opening the hood, the engine turned off as needed. The contact stated that the message "Hood ajar - Stop Safely, Close Hood" while the hood was securely closed, and the message “Charging System - Service Now" was displayed. The contact related to the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V954000 (Electrical System). The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the contact was informed that the VIN was not included in the recall. The dealer diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the failure was related to wires underneath the bumpers. The dealer was in the process of taking the bumpers apart for further diagnostic testing. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not included under recall because of the manufacturing plant the vehicle was built. The failure mileage was 74,880. | Crash: No Fire: No | 74,880 |
| Mar 2025 | LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the driver's side door was making an abnormal popping sound while opening the door. The contact stated that the door hinges had detached from the door frame. Additionally, the contact stated that the driver's side window was no longer functional and would not open or close. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or independent mechanic. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 77,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 77,000 |
| Mar 2025 | STRUCTURE | The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the rear quarter windows' chrome piece had detached. The contact was concerned that the failure could become a road hazard for other drivers. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who attempted to reseal the chrome but was unable to repair the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 40,000 |