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.
Complaint records
2020 Ford Escape Complaints
1436 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2020 Ford Escape, grouped by component category.
1436 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 188
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
1,436 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 2022 | STRUCTURE | For no apparent reason, driver side door malfunctioned in mid-July 2022. Could not open all the way and power window struggled. Now door creaks and power window stuck in open position. Crest Ford dealer in Warren, MI claimed high winds or over extension. There was no high winds nor over extension. This is a manufacturer's defect. Crest Ford dealer stated I would be responsible for new door -- over $1,000. If I don't repair they are deducting the problem from my trade-in value. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2022 | STRUCTURE | Welds on the driver side door check mechanism broke. Unable to fully open door or use driver window. Vehicle was not in an accident and was for personal use only. 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 37,152 and is less than 3 years old. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | LANE DEPARTURE | Passenger mirror blind spot indicator randomly comes on. Just purchased, so I have not taken the vehicle to the Ford dealership. The driver side functions properly. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | The purge valve went out | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | I was stopped at a red light with my foot on the brake. The vehicle unexpectedly accelerated and crashed into the vehicle in front of me. Collision assistance did not activate, and there was no audible warning. The vehicle accelerated with such force that both cars were damaged. A police report was obtained. no one was injured. Damage to the vehicle includes a broken grill, broken head lamp, bent hood and broken brackets under the hood. The car is currently at Serra Bodyshop Center in Rochester, Michigan. The vehicle was serviced on 6/15/22 at Elder Ford in Romeo. oil change, rotate tires, check alignment and multipoint inspection. | Crash: Yes Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | FIRERELATED | On July 3, 2022 I drove my wife's 2020 Ford Escape 4 DR SEL AWD from Ann Arbor, MI to Jackson, MI. I parked the car, with all for windows down, under a tree in the shade close to 726 N East Ave in Jackson, MI. After approximately 45 minutes after my arrival, I was alerted by a neighbor screaming "Is this your car? There is smoke coming from the windows." I ran to the street to see huge orange flames coming from all four windows. Our car apparently had caught on fire after I had shut the car off. Based on a policeman's opinion the components that had malfunctioned were located behind the dash, primarily the electrica wiring/components. The safety of my wife, myself, and any other individual riding in the car were potentially jeopardized due to the random onset of the fire; should I have been driving I potentially could've suffered burns; should I've parked the car next to a house or another car fire damage to those objects would have resulted. There has been no confirmation by the dealer of this type of fire in similar models. Ford Motor Company is conducting an investigation presently. There was no indication of malfunction at the time I exited the vehicle. | Crash: No Fire: Yes | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The car continually has delayed acceleration. It revs and drives 2.5 mph for several seconds before it lurches into gear. It's extremely unsafe and I'm concerned about it happening on the highway. Ford is refusing to take an appointment with me to assess the safety of the vehicle until 2-3 months out (won't even put my name on a waitlist) and will not offer a loaner vehicle in the interim. The car has 15,000 miles on it and is under warranty. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | STRUCTURE | My vehicle is has the issues mentioned in NHTSA id#10201603. This is an issue where the spot welds have broken on the front left door check arm. Also the issue with the spot welds is causing issues with using my Drivers side window. My vehicle was taken to an authorized Ford Dealership. Was advised by the service department to seek advice from the body shop due to the welds being broken. Attached you will see the invoice I was charged for having my vehicle looked at. Representative from the body shop said my vehicle is the second Escape that has been brought in with the same issue. Provide rep the above mentioned NHTSA number and he said currently it is a service bulletin not a recall. Currently he is waiting to see what the next step will be in order to get my issued resolved. Called Ford to get there assistance with this and they advised me to reach out to NHTSA in regards to this issue. These issues started within the past couple weeks and I have owned the car since December of 2020. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | STRUCTURE | The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the front driver’s side door failed to open after several attempts. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the front driver’s side window failed to operate as needed. The contact called the local dealer and was referred to an authorized Ford body shop for assistance. The contact was informed that several door hinges had fractured inside the front driver’s side door causing the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was referred to the NHTSA for assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 25,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 25,000 |
| Jun 2022 | POWER TRAIN | The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 25 MPH, the transmission shifted earlier than designed to shift and the vehicle started shaking abnormally. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 4,800. | Crash: No Fire: No | 4,800 |
| May 2022 | POWER TRAIN | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 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. | Crash: Yes Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2022 | LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | 46,000 |
| Apr 2022 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING | HEADLIGHTS ARE PLASTIC AND THEY ARE DISCOLORED ON THE INSIDE. I HAD ONE REPLACED 1 YEAR AGO AT "SURPRISE FORD" IN SURPRISE ARIZONA, BUT BOTH ARE DISCOLORED OR FOGGED UP. WHEN DRIVING AT NIGHT THE LIGHTING IS GREATLY DIMINISHED. THE HEADLIGHT HAVE BEEN THIS WAY SINCE I BOUGHT THE VEHICLE. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2022 | SERVICE BRAKES | The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated while reversing at approximately 3 MPH, there was an abnormal sound coming from the rear of the vehicle. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer to be diagnosed; however, the mechanic was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 23,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 23,000 |
| Apr 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | 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 | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2022 | LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | 100,599 |
| Apr 2022 | LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | 71,542 |
| Mar 2022 | STRUCTURE | Left Front Door will not open all the way. Only opens 1/4, and window only goes down half way. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2022 | STRUCTURE | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | STRUCTURE | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | DOOR WELDS BROKEN AT DOOR Check ARM MOUNTING POINT. NEEDS REPLACE DOOR. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | SERVICE BRAKES | 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 . | Crash: No Fire: No | 2,800 |
| Feb 2022 | STRUCTURE | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |