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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2025 | ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken for the State Inspection and the vehicle failed the emissions test. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the Powertrain Control Module (PCM); determining that the PCM was not sending the emissions information. The contact was informed that an update was required. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 88,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 88,000 |
| Jan 2025 | POWER TRAIN | On a cross country road trip the vehicle started leaking transmission fluid. Took it to the dealer where they told me the Torque Converter seal has be installed incorrectly at the factory. This has been leaking since the vehicle was new. The splash shield is fabric and absorbs all the leaking fluid until it is saturated leading to possible transmission failures. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2025 | POWER TRAIN,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | There is a courtesy replacement on the main fuel injector. I just recently had to replace my turbo. No my car bogs down won't go and smells like eggs which is the catalytic converter. The injection brakes the converter which brakes the turbo and Ford is not interested in helping very much. How can | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2025 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The driver's side door is broken. Makes an awful creaking noise when opened or closed. Cannot not roll down the window. Took it to a dealership and they confirmed there is an issue with the doors on this model. They have ordered the part (3 months ago) but it has been on back order so obviously there is an issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2025 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | All wheel drive module not working on 2020 Ford Escape with 25,600 miles. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2025 | STRUCTURE,LANE DEPARTURE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | My wife and I bought our 2020 Ford Escape new from a dealer in 2020. We are the first owners of this vehicle. In the time that we have had it, we have experienced the following issues: 1- the forward camera module that provides collision prevention, lane assist, adaptive cruise control, etc has failed. The dealer claims that the unit “overheated”. The module is no longer covered under warranty due to mileage. The result is that our vehicle no longer has the safety features that we paid extra for upon initial purchase. 2- the evaporative canister purge valve failed, causing difficult starts after refueling. This was not covered under warranty, due to mileage. 3- the driver door hinge check arm welds have all broken loose and no longer hold the door when opening, and the loose arm is now preventing the door from closing properly and, when closed, causing the drivers window to not roll down fully. This is not covered under warranty because of mileage AND (while it is a manufacturing defect), it has not been subjected to any recalls, so the dealership will not repair/replace it. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2025 | STRUCTURE | Driver door hinges are loose. Door makes loud cracking noise when opening and closing. It’s very hard to close. My window will not go down either. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2025 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | I have a 2020 Ford Escape and the wrench light came on and I received messages on the dash that said (faulty AWD, faulty hill assist, and faulty collision detection. I took it to Kayser Ford in Madison Wisconsin on January 15,2025 and they replaced the AWD module at a cost of $996. By doing some research, I know find out that there appears to have been a recall on 2020 Ford Escapes for this problem. Kayser Ford says there is no recall and I am questioning this. Thank you. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2025 | TIRES | All 4 TPMS have failed within one week and are not registering the PSI. I have to manually check the tire pressure. Turned vehicle on and came as warning across dash. Began with drivers side rear. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2025 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while his wife pulling into a parking spot, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle unintendedly accelerated and crashed into the wall of a Dollar General Store. The contact stated that his wife sustained injuries and bruises to both legs from the deployment of the air bags underneath the steering wheel. Medical attention was not sought. A Police report was filed; however, the Police report number was not available. The vehicle was towed to a dealer but was not diagnosed. The contact retrieved the vehicle, and the vehicle was taken to an Auto Body Shop to be diagnosed and an estimate for the repair was provided. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was 45,000. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Injuries: 1 Towed | 45,000 |
| Jan 2025 | FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE | The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. The contact later discovered that there was smoke coming from the engine compartment and the A/C unit. The contact stated that after several minutes the vehicle returned to normal operation. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact was notified that the VIN was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V859000 (Fuel System, Gasoline). The vehicle was taken to a dealer to be diagnosed; however, the diagnostic result was unknown. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 90,000 |
| Jan 2025 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | Driving down road and came to stop sign and vehicle engine turned off due to start/stop feature and would not turn back on. Received alert battery was going into deep sleep mode. While stuck at stop sign. Had to put in park, turn vehicle off and back on to proceed to move. This is 3rd time see pic of happened Also separate issue the computers sync 3 software will not take and now the screen doesn't work, remote start won't work, gps doesn't work had you drive around in circles. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2025 | WHEELS | Power Transfer Unit failure. The vehicle is only four years old with solely highway mileage. They cost to replace the PTU is $1990 which is quite a bit to pay for a manufacturer issue. I purchased this car brand new from the dealership. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2025 | LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | 2,000 |
| Jan 2025 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No Injuries: 1 | Unknown |
| Jan 2025 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | Car will stop locking it won’t lock from the door, or automatically, or with the remote. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2025 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE | Went to open the drivers side left front door and heard a loud clunk, now door isn't opening or shutting properly and we can't use the drivers window either. I've heard of peoples doors falling off while driving because of this and we just bought the car at the end of October. We have yet to get it looked at, but it's not a cheap fix. There were no warnings or signs. I opened it normal like every other time. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2025 | STEERING,SERVICE BRAKES | Car experiences delayed start after depressing ignition button and then afterwards the power steering does not work. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2025 | ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | with awd module. tested power ground to the module. isolated to faulty module No hill start, AWD faulty module, new purge valve | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2025 | POWER TRAIN,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | I was driving for uber and I smelled something biting along with my passengers, we had just gone through an area with a lot of smoke, so we figured it was that. After I dropped them off I noticed smoke billowing from my engine. The next day I had noticed my car was low on coolant, so I drove to Ace Hardware to grab some. After I put the coolant in the car I went to Publix to get some groceries and when I got back I smelled the smoke again. I did some research and there was a class action lawsuit against for Ford for the Escape with 1.5L engines and the fuel injectors cracking which caused coolant intrusion damaging the engine and causing them to over heat. I had my car towed to the dealership and the ECT light came on along with a parking brake warning.. This car has been nothing but a headache, nothing but repairs since I’ve had it. There is also a CSP, Customer Satisfaction Protocol for The fuel injectors cracking and I was never told about it all the times I’ve been to the dealership. I’m thinking that’s what caused the overheating.. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2025 | VISIBILITY | The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while the vehicle was stationary, the window made a popping sound and the front passenger’s side window failed to function as designed. The wrench and several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was driven to the dealer to be diagnosed. The vehicle was diagnosed, and the contact was informed that several unstated maintenance repairs were needed. The local dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 123,145. | Crash: No Fire: No | 123,145 |
| Jan 2025 | POWER TRAIN,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | This 2020 Ford Escape-with less than 67k miles on it-is mostly inoperable, as of this date. This car was financed, from a Fort Lauderdale. FL used car dealership, on or around [XXX]. The check engine light was on. I went to Autozone to see what codes this could be attributed to. I was given printouts, reflecting codes P0171 & P2BF1 [air flow ratio and/or fuel injector related issues]. Additionally, the oil life on the car was at 0%. I then checked to see if there were any open recalls. There were and on 12/3/24, 2 recall repairs were done at Grieco Ford (Oil separator Pan: 22V191; Drain Tube replacement: 22S73). The car was fine. An oil change took place on 12/14/24, where the engine coolant was topped off. There were no issues and the car was driven periodically, since its purchase, to Miami, because my Mother suffered a stroke on 10/21/24 and was in her 2nd intensive rehab. As her only child, I am her POA and advocate. However, on [XXX] serious overheating occurred, when I drove less than 1.5 miles away from home, and no engine coolant was in the reservoir. The car was sputtering and losing power. I had to pull over several times just to make it back home. Additionally, a seemingly oily/milky substance was around the radiator. As of [XXX], the motor mounts are worn causing the engine to violently shake and the original radiator is warped due to potential oil/coolant leaks the vehicle could have experienced, well before these recall repairs were executed. Also, there is another recall on this vehicle regarding fuel injector leaks. Ford has failed at any meaningful strides in fixing the litany of engine malfunctions; electrical system failures; and this car's computers disconnect in diagnosing issues adequately. I found out all of these AFTER financing this car due to limited options had due to a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. I already paid $270 for January's-full coverage-insurance payment & have to pay a $410 CAR PAYMENT ON A CAR I CAN'T DRIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2024 | STEERING,SERVICE BRAKES, AIR,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle the ABS and Traction Control warning messages had been displayed and the power steering had failed causing the steering wheel to become difficult to turn in each direction. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed that the steering column was faulty. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failures but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 16,900. | Crash: No Fire: No | 16,900 |
| Dec 2024 | POWER TRAIN,BACK OVER PREVENTION | While driving on the highway, the engine started to sputter when gas pedal was depressed, turned around and drove it straight to a mechanic. At the mechanic, they were unable to shift the car out of park, and noted the transmission had "catastrophic failure, irrepairable" We called Ford, and they said while there is a recall for 2020 Ford Escapes, this one was built in a different factor and was not covered. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2024 | STEERING,WHEELS | ALL WHEEL DRIVE STOPPED FUNCTIONING IN ICY/SNOWY CONDITION. CAUSING UNSAFE DRIVING CONDITIONS. WARNING MESSAGE: Driver display indicates, "ALL wheel drive module faulty, driver assist not available. Service required!" and an orange wrench displayed >>There is already a bulletin on this issue for 2020 Ford Escapes CSB21B19, April 2021, however our VIN was not included in bulletin. >> We took the car back to the dealership for repairs and they said they are having MANY Escapes coming in with this issue whose VINs are also not included in the original bulletin >> No pre warning. The first time we saw the warning the AWD failed on snowy road. >>We contacted FORD customer service and got the run around. FORD NEEDS TO INCREASE THE LIST OF VINS INCLUDED IN THE BULLETIN SO PEOPLE CAN GET THE MODULE REPLACED TO PREVENT THE LOSS OF AWD IN SNOWY/ICY CONDITIONS. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |