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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2024 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | WHEN THE SUN/MOON ROOF WAS OPENED A METAL PIECE HOLDING IT TOGETHER FELL OFF.IT WEIGHS A COUPLE POUNDS AND CAN COME FORWARD AND HIT SOMEONE, DRIVER INCLUDED.. IT WAS HELD ON BY DOUBLE SIDED TAPE. WE CHECKED YOU TUBE AND SAW OTHERS FROM 2020 TO 2023 ARE ALSO HAVING THIS HAPPEN IT CANNOT BE REPAIRED BY THE OWNER. FORD SAID IT CAN BE FIXED FOR $1300-1500. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2024 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The vehicle is a 2020 Ford Escape SE with 53,000 miles. Recently, The message screen began flashing messages AMD OFF, Hill Start OFF, Collision Warning OFF. Based on social media, this appears to be a common problem with the 2020 Escapes. According the Escape owners, dealers first check software and if not the issue a electronic module is replaced at a cost of up to $1100. Some of the failures reported were on vehicles with 20,000 miles or less. Aside from cost , there is a safety concern that module overheating may cause engine fires. The vehicles should be recalled for this concern. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2024 | POWER TRAIN | The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 20 MPH, the vehicle was vibrating and shaking abnormally. The contact pulled over to the side of the roadway and turned off and restarted the vehicle and the shaking ceased. The contact stated that the failure had become a persistent failure. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the vehicle had experienced an All-Wheel drive (AWD) failure; however, the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 46,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 46,000 |
| Sep 2024 | STRUCTURE | The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that during inclement weather, moisture would enter the vehicle through the liftgate. Due to the failure, there was water pouring out of the vehicle upon opening the liftgate. The failure persisted and the contact stated that moisture had started to accumulate inside the spare tire wheel compartment leading to mold developing inside the vehicle. Additionally, rust had started to form around the liftgate latch due to the moisture failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The contact was transferred to the NHTSA Hotline to file a complaint. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 50,000 |
| Sep 2024 | STRUCTURE,ENGINE | The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact was informed by a Ford mechanic that the front driver’s side window could possibly shatter while rolled down. The contact was informed that the door needed to be replaced; however, the replacement door remained on backorder. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle hesitated while depressing the accelerator pedal. The check engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle was taken to the dealer. The contact was informed that the engine valve was defective and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 80,000 |
| Sep 2024 | POWER TRAIN | The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle was jerking. The contact stated that the failure occurred increasingly while driving from a complete stop. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the torque converter and the main control assembly needed to be replaced. 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 87,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 87,000 |
| Sep 2024 | POWER TRAIN | The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, several unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with AWD module failure. The contact was informed that the AWD module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The contact researched and discovered the Customer Satisfaction Program: 21B19; however, the contact was informed that the VIN was not associated with the program. The contact was advised to contact the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 51,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 51,000 |
| Sep 2024 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Internal malfunction in all wheel drive module AWD Fault Service Maintenance required | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2024 | POWER TRAIN | While driving car at highway speeds and RPMs at or below 2500 and either driving uphill or into a strong headwind car seems to get a flat spot in acceleration and does not downshift to compensate. Powertrain malfunction light illuminates and vehicle enters reduced power mode. After turning off ignition and waiting a few minutes the light clears and car drives normally until the next time. Rarely does a DTC pop up on code reader to identify issue. Has happened multiple times and been in mechanic and dealer at least 4 times with no resolution. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2024 | STRUCTURE,LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the contact became aware that the driver’s side front door had detached, and the hinge on the door was inoperable. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the door had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 92,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 92,000 |
| Aug 2024 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Received customer satisfaction bulletin 23B56. Door reinforcement can crack and door pulls away from car Salinas Valley Ford had my car for 6 weeks. Claims they have no ETA on door arrival Won’t pay for rental car any longer. Wants me to drive unsafe car until they get new door whenever that may be This is a safety issue. I can hardly get in or out of car. They know it’s a bad door otherwise they would not have ordered a new door and would have just replaced the welds Can this agency help | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2024 | ENGINE | The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that upon visual inspection of the engine compartment, he observed that the coolant reservoir was abnormally low, though it had recently been serviced. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was unable to diagnose a failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 59,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2024 | STRUCTURE | The front door check-arm spot welds failed on the driver's side. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2024 | STRUCTURE | Heard load popping sound opening door. Driver side door stop spot welds broke. Door stop broken and door swings freely out; window can't roll down. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2024 | FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | My car is making a severely loud noise when I start it up, and sometimes when I’m driving or stop driving. When I try to accelerate sometimes, it feels like nothing is happening and then all of a sudden my car will pickup fast and jump RPMs. When going slowly through parking lots it will kind of putter through and jerk. I took it to does to get diagnosed and they said that it’s the flapper in the exhaust that prevents all cylinders from running at the same time. I was going research before they told me what it was and I saw other people have had this problem as well. The car is only 4 years old with 34,000 miles on it. My bumper to bumper warranty ended at 3 years or 36,000 miles and they’re saying it’s not covered under warranty and the whole muffler/exhaust system needs to be replaced for $1200. I believe this is a safety issue with the way the car drives on the expressway and not being able to accelerate and merge properly along with the fact that the exhaust effects the performance of the engine which feels like it’s going to give out at any moment. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2024 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The entire advanced track system quit working. Sometimes if you turn the vehicle off and on a bunch of times it will work until you turn off the vehicle. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2024 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The car has AWD FAULT along with multiple safety fault pre collision assist ,power steering stops working. Going down the road. Ford has been zero help taken car in multiple times charged 100’s off dollars only for issues to return | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2024 | ENGINE | Casting of the turbocharger failed, leaking coolant into the wastegate and exhaust. the turbo coolant passages cracked. I thought I blew a head gasket at first. Pulled plugs and changed oil, all looked good. Cooling system held pressure. No warnings except a small coolant leak over months and months. not even on the ground. Large white smoke clouds coming out of the exhaust. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2024 | POWER TRAIN | The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle unexpectedly downshifted with the transmission warning light illuminated. The vehicle was restarted; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 34,000. The VIN was not available. | Crash: No Fire: No | 34,000 |
| Aug 2024 | POWER TRAIN | What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? The AWD module failed after 35000 miles. Dealership said it needed to be replaced. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? The failure shut off my collision assist, traction control, AWD, and hill assist. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Unknown, it seems to be a fairly common issue with 2020 Ford Escapes from what I've seen online. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? Just the dealership Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? Unknown, I had warnings on my dash stating AWD fault service required and soon after began reporting the other errors. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2024 | ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the engine temperature gauge indicated that the engine had overheated. While inspecting under the hood the contact discovered that the coolant reservoir was empty. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the engine coolant had leaked into cylinders #1 and #4, causing severe damage to the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 85,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 85,000 |
| Aug 2024 | POWER TRAIN | The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that on several occasions after shifting into reverse, the vehicle erroneously drove forward. The contact stated that on another occasion while driving at highway speeds, the vehicle erroneously shifted into neutral. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the transmission was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The contact stated that while the vehicle was in for routine maintenance, it was discovered that there was hydraulic fluid leaking from the rear shock absorbers. The shock absorbers were replaced, and the vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 60,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 60,000 |
| Aug 2024 | SERVICE BRAKES, AIR,FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE,TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM | The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and making a right turn, the vehicle failed to exceed 18 MPH. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who replaced the fuel pump, fuel rail, and the battery; however, the failure reoccurred. Additionally, while operating the vehicle, the ABS and traction control warning lights illuminated. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 12,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 12,000 |
| Aug 2024 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | This is a safety issue that can occur without warning and a repeated failure, Ford repairs were not effective. The trim piece that goes in between the big and small parts of the glass on the sunroof keeps falling off and has caused over $500 in repairs because it jammed and broke the $15 rail clips that are not covered under the warranty. The cover is the width of the roof and is a cosmetic cap that is insufficiently attached with six double sided sticky squares that do not withstand heat/cold variations. This failure is not related to abuse or wear and tear. It is a cap that once it fails can fall on the driver or passenger if the roof is open or it will jam the sunroof cover and destroy the $15 guide clips attaching the cover to parallel rails. This failure occured at around 30,000 before it was repaired at 32,000 miles in May 2024 and has failed again in July 2024. This is a design failure that is not covered under warranty and owners are subject to expensive repairs for a known and predictable failure due to the insufficient attachment method for something that should never have to be removed. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2024 | POWER TRAIN | The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the "All Wheel Drive" warning light remained illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who determined that the rear differential was faulty and needed be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The contact was informed that the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V011000 (Power Train). The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in the recall. The failure mileage was 41,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 41,000 |