1436 Total complaints
19 Crash reports
3 Fire reports
22 Injury reports
Quick answer: The 2020 Ford Escape has 1436 consumer-submitted complaints in our database. The most common complaint categories are structure, unknown or other, power train. Enriched records show 19 crash reports, 3 fire reports, and 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.

Complaint volume

1436 consumer-submitted complaints are matched to this model year. Treat the count as a research signal, then read the actual summaries for repeated symptoms.

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?

Enriched complaint indicators from official bulk records.

19 Crash
3 Fire
22 Injury
0 Fatality
30 Towed
9 Medical attention

Mileage at failure is available on 305 complaints ; average reported mileage is 45,215 miles.

Most common incident states: NY (5), CA (4), IL (4), PA (4), GA (3), IN (2), KS (2), MO (2).

What are the most common 2020 Ford Escape complaint categories?

1,436 total complaints on record

Latest complaints

Showing 1301-1325 of 1436 complaints.

Date Component Summary Severity Mileage
Dec 2022 STRUCTURE,ENGINE The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the driver's side front door failed to close. No warning lights were illuminated. Additionally, there was an abnormal odor detected while starting the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 30,416.
Incident: Dec 2022
Crash: No Fire: No 30,416
Dec 2022 ENGINE 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.
Incident: May 2022
Crash: No Fire: No 10,000
Dec 2022 STRUCTURE The driver door was stuck open. Upon closing, the door limiter broke off and pushed against the window track making it impossible to roll the window down. I have contacted Ford twice about this, with no resolution yet. The Ford body shop says that the only "fix" is replacing the entire door for a price tag of nearly $2K. They have not acknowledged a manufacturers error or defect to correct this problem. My dealer is aware of other similar occurrences to 2020 Ford Escapes
Incident: Nov 2022
Crash: No Fire: No Unknown
Dec 2022 STRUCTURE The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the front driver’s side door hinges had malfunctioned, and the door swung very wide whenever the door was opened. Due to the failure, the front driver’s side window failed to roll down properly. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who indicated that the door hinges needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 75,000.
Incident: Dec 2022
Crash: No Fire: No 75,000
Dec 2022 VISIBILITY,STRUCTURE The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while opening the front driver's door, there was an abnormally loud sound heard. The contact noticed three holes and that the weld was missing. The driver’s side window also failed to roll down as needed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the spot weld had detached from the check arm. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000.
Incident: Dec 2022
Crash: No Fire: No 40,000
Nov 2022 STRUCTURE NHTSA ID Number: 10201603/ SSM 50150 - 2020-2021 Ford Escape My vehicle is having this EXACT issue and there are many other Ford Escape owners that are having this issue and even with the manufacturer extended warranty it is not covered. This issue has obviously been reported with the reference number above and NHTSA PDF attached. fordescape.org/threads/door-limiting-rod.116354/page-2 has so many other Ford escape owners with the EXACT same problem. This IS a safety issue as the door can fail to open or close at any given time with the arm tack weld falling off and rendering the door not useable. Currently they are just tack welding the door back together which is also not acceptable. No warning just one day the door started popping and you could see that the (3) places the limiter arm was tack welded on were now open holes in the door. This also effected the use of my window, it would not go down more that 1/2 inch. They are also having to fix that issue as well. Not being able to enter or exit my vehicle from my drivers side door is not acceptable and the faulty construction of this car should not have to be paid for by the customers. The Ford 2020 Escape I own has already had recalls, caliper falling off the passenger side after 1 year, seals around windows and lights failing allowing water inside the door, and electrical issues. This car should be taken off the market and the road for safety issues. There is currently another recall pending for this specific vin manufacturer recall number 22S73 about the fuel injector developing a crack posing a fire issue. Please rush this into a recall for the owners of this car that are paying to own the car and now paying for faulty design and build issues.
Incident: Nov 2022
Crash: No Fire: No Unknown
Nov 2022 SERVICE BRAKES, AIR The contact owned a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of Ford Campaign Number: 20E03 and requested to be removed from the recall distribution list because he no longer owns the vehicle. The local dealer and manufacturer were contacted.
Incident: Nov 2022
Crash: No Fire: No Unknown
Nov 2022 STRUCTURE The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the driver’s and passenger’s side doors were slightly detached from the door frame. The doors showed resistance while attempting to open the doors, making the doors difficult to completely open from the door frame. The contact had taken the vehicle to the dealer and the contact was informed that repair would be out-of-pocket. The contact stated that only one door was repaired by a certified mechanic and the other was yet to be repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 61,123.
Incident: Aug 2022
Crash: No Fire: No 61,123
Nov 2022 VISIBILITY,LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated the front driver’s side door striker that was used to prevent the door from overextending while opened had failed. Additionally, the front driver’s side window could not completely be opened due to the failure. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who informed the contact that the part needed to be replaced; however, the vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 47,865.
Incident: Nov 2022
Crash: No Fire: No 47,865
Nov 2022 STRUCTURE The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that interior of the door frame had a fracture spot weld on the inside of the door, causing the window to fail to move up or down as needed. The failure caused the door to make a lot of grinding and cranking sound while being opened out wide. The contact had taken the vehicle to the dealer who diagnosed that the door either needed to be replaced or just the inner portion of the door needed to be repaired. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed there was no warranty coverage or recall coverage on the vehicle. The contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline. The approximate failure mileage was 39,000.
Incident: Sep 2022
Crash: No Fire: No 39,000
Nov 2022 STRUCTURE,VISIBILITY/WIPER In late September, my rear driver's side window was being opened. It fell halfway and would not move up or down. I took it to the dealership for repair and they informed me that the regulator for that window had snapped and needed to be replaced. It took them roughly a month to find a replacement part. I finally picked up the repaired vehicle today. While talking to the service agent at the Ford dealership, he told me that in the past month, three other 2020 or newer Ford Escapes have come into this one small dealership with the exact same problem. For this reason, I think that this should be looked into. Four identical and newer cars needing the same repair from the same small dealership in a month is suspicious.
Incident: Sep 2022
Crash: No Fire: No Unknown
Oct 2022 STRUCTURE what component: drivers side door and door check; yes it can be inspected safety impact: the door check has been disabled and is inoperable reproduced: yes; by 2 dealerships and 2 collision shops inspected: by 2 dealerships and 2 collision shops warnings: no warning lamps, only a clicking noise The driver's side door started experiencing popping noises after a recent detail appointment. After hearing the sound for about a week I visited a local Ford dealer for guidance on where and how to address the noise. The dealership referred me to a collision shop after discovering (and breaking) the door. They acknowledged that the "door check" was inappropriately manufactured as they could see the "rivets" when the door was open; and it appears that the paneling had shifted. Their review of the issue left my door inoperable/and unable to close. They managed to get it to close but now the door check is completely inoperable and my door does not open safely - as the door check is no longer controlling the door opening and closing. Following this visit to a local dealership, I visited 2 collision centers and the dealership where I purchased my vehicle and all 3 locations indicated this is a "known mechanical issues" with 2020 Ford Escapes. The 2 collision centers had multiple Ford Escapes on their lot with the same issue. My car has 50K miles and I was told that Ford considers this part of the bumper to bumper warranty. That seems inappropriate and inaccurate (not to mention convenient for Ford). I am concerned that Ford is building cars with doors that only last 2 years.
Incident: Oct 2022
Crash: No Fire: No Unknown
Oct 2022 STRUCTURE Heard a large popping noise when open door driver side tack weld to hinge popped off holes in door
Incident: Oct 2022
Crash: No Fire: No Unknown
Oct 2022 STRUCTURE I came home from work last evening and when I opened my car door it sounded like it was falling off. I got my husband we looked at it and could see nothing. I call 5 Ford Dealerships because I have the premium warranty with 100,000 miles coverage. I was told what was wrong with my car the welds inside the door was broken and that it wasn't covered under the warranty and its about $3000 to fix the car. I was told not to roll my window down because it would likely break. I was also told that this is a problem with the Ford Escapes. All 5 dealerships know of this issue. I was told that the only thing my warranty covers is mechanical I told them that since I cannot use my window that makes it mechanical. It is also a safety issue because my window could break and I or someone in the back seat could be cut. I spoke with [XXX] a customer rep for Ford she told me she is working with others and that Ford would cover maybe 60% of the cost. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
Incident: Oct 2022
Crash: No Fire: No Unknown
Oct 2022 STRUCTURE Front Drivers Side Door makes a popping noise when opening and closing. Cannot open door all the way. Also, window will not roll up or down unless door is open. Took car to body shop place to find out the cause. According to them, spot welds on the door broke off. Concerned about damage to door and would not be able to get out of car through window if window is not able to be rolled down. Additionally, my research of the problem online has shown that this problem appears to be a common issue with the 2020 Ford Escape.
Incident: Oct 2022
Crash: No Fire: No Unknown
Oct 2022 STEERING pscm loss of power steering pulling into drive way minor damage to right fronty fender and bumper if this happened at highway speed on a curve it could been fatal took to dealer they replaced the steering column so far denied repair to bumper and fender there was no warring light came on after it happened
Incident: Sep 2022
Crash: Yes Fire: No Unknown
Sep 2022 STRUCTURE On/or about 8/23/22 the vehicle door jammed while trying to close the door and would not close. After several attempts to close the door it closed. Upon closer inspection of the door it was found that metal had fatigued and cracked around multiple welds on the door frame allowing the weld to separate that hold the door check and intrusion beam in place. In addition the door pops open when a rough section of roadway is encountered such as a railroad crossing. Ford is aware of the problem as they have issued a special service message covering the issue. Ford however refuses to repair this serious safety issue as the vehicle in question has more than 60,000 miles on it and is not eligible for standard warranty repair. Per Ford Motor company documents the entire door and check assemblies must be replaced to correct the problem. Ford's documents also indicate that all 2020 and 2021 Ford Escapes are effected by this defect which they are refusing to repair. As this defect could result in someone falling out of an effected vehicle or being injured as a result of the intrusion beam not being properly secured during a side collision the effected vehicles need to be taken off the road until Ford Motor Company replaces all of the doors that are made from steel that is subject to this fatigue failure problem.
Incident: Aug 2022
Crash: No Fire: No Unknown
Sep 2022 STRUCTURE The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated when she opened the driver’s side door, the door made an abnormal sound as if the door was going to detach. The contact stated that she was then unable to lower the driver’s side window. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer and the contact was informed that the driver’s side door assembly and door check arm needed to be replaced. The dealer informed the contact that the repair would be at her own expense. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that the repair would be at her own expense. The contact was then referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 51,663.
Incident: Aug 2022
Crash: No Fire: No 51,663
Sep 2022 LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that upon opening the front driver's side door, the door emitted abnormal popping sounds and would not open completely. The contact also noticed that the front driver's side door hinge had loosened. The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the front driver's side door needed to be replaced. The dealer also informed the contact that it was a known failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that they could not assist as the vehicle had exceeded the 36,000-mileage warranty coverage. The failure mileage was approximately 58,850.
Incident: Sep 2022
Crash: No Fire: No 58,850
Aug 2022 STRUCTURE Bought this brand new in April of 2021. Original owner. My problem is with the drivers side door. Every time I open it it makes a popping sound. No accidents or incidents. Seems like something is seriously wrong with the middle component. Now I have to barely open it just to squeeze through as I'm worried that it'll fall off. What's the deal? Overpriced vehicle . Many other problems but this one takes the cake 86000 highway miles mainly commute. But this isn't about the engine it's about the quality. Also vibration coming from the transmission, poor carpeting that receded right after I bought it, connectivity issues with my phone, and is a very uncomfortable drive. Ford has officially lost business.
Incident: Aug 2022
Crash: No Fire: No Unknown
Aug 2022 FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM Lo que pasa es que se prende la luz del check engine por unas horas y se apaga pero la falla siguen en el vehículo y el código que marca cuando lo cheque P04F0 es una válvula de emisión evaporisantes en una FORD ESCAPE 2020, si tiene la falla por que se apago el check engine cuantos automóviles estén pasando por lo mismo y estén contaminado el medio ambiente gracias( Ford me va a cambiar la válvula que esta cubierta por garantía)
Incident: Aug 2022
Crash: No Fire: No Unknown
Aug 2022 Other/I am not sure The car seat is stuck in the most elevated front facing position when we were rotating the seat. It is stuck over the seat belt path so the car seat cannot be safety used or removed from the vehicle. The car seat is stuck in the seatbelt. I have reached out to the manufacturer and their “tips” to fix the issue are not working. This car seat was purchased in 2021 and used for an 18m old who cannot legally front face especially not at the incline the seat is stuck at. Looking across social media this is a common complaint The contact had the child seat removed by the local fire department since they were unable to do it themselves.
Incident: Aug 2022
Crash: No Fire: No Unknown
Aug 2022 STRUCTURE Driver side door will not open from the inside and window will not go up or down. Also, doesn't seem to be locking properly. Took vehicle to the dealership and they said there is no recall on this issue and it needs to be taken to a Bodyshop to be corrected. This vehicle is a daily driver with very low milage. It hasn't been involved in any accidents or vandalism so insurance will not cover the fix and no recall. This need to be addressed ASAP.
Incident: Aug 2022
Crash: No Fire: No Unknown
Aug 2022 STRUCTURE 1 - The spot weld in the door broke. Which is not allowing the window to go down which is also not allowing the car doors to lock. 2 - What if in an accident the window can not go down and that is my only option? What if we cant lock the door going through cities and stopping at lights? Secruiting of doors not locking is a issue. What if door does not hold and falls off? 3 - Yes to Ford Garage in the area 4 - Zero other issues. Like everyone else is reporting the same issue. Im not the only one. NHTSA is even putting a notice out about it. Why is this not covered by Ford? What other issues are wrong with the car if a spot weld broke? Faulty mechanics being used to build a car.
Incident: Jul 2022
Crash: No Fire: No Unknown
Aug 2022 UNKNOWN OR OTHER The door makes a cranky noise that makes it hard to open and close. The windows are also possibly going down now. the dealership is not trying to take responsible.
Incident: Aug 2022
Crash: No Fire: No Unknown

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