Complaint volume
1434 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
1434 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2020 Ford Escape, grouped by component category.
1434 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 79
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 38
STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 34
ENGINE 30
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES 26
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 18
VISIBILITY/WIPER 18
1,434 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 2025 | POWER TRAIN,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | I am smelling gas every time I put gas and it won't start after putting gas there's a strong smell of gas inside my vehicle the recall has not been fixed yet I am a single mother and this is a safety risk issue how do I go forward powertrain is also still coming up I have other things popping up saying recalls were never fixed please help | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2025 | FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | My complaint is regarding the recall Manufacturer # 25S76 and NHTSA # 25V467 this has been going on for 6 months now and Ford keeps telling me there is no fix available. They won't buy back the car for a fair price because they said since it has an open recall they would have to auction it. It has bad missing after every time I put gas in the car. It is a FIRE hazard per the recall and is unsafe and yet I can't get it fixed or sell it as this is public knowledge available to anyone and no one with any sense would buy this car. Ford has had plenty of time to find a solution or fix it and since this is not happening I am stuck. I would like to be covered under the lemon law in Tennessee and I am only asking for what the car would be worth currently without the recall. I need a new vehicle as I travel for work and cover multiple states and it is not safe for me to drive this vehicle and I can't get rid of it. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2025 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Chrome around shifter knob is peeling up causing gashes in drivers fingers. A key function to adjust gears that is causing bodily harm. Chrome tips were addressed on Window nobs due to Sharp Chrome peeling up. Vehicle was inspected by Ford dealership and I was informed it was not included in the recall. | Crash: No Fire: No Injuries: 2 | Unknown |
| Dec 2025 | SEAT BELTS | So I bought this 2020 ford escape at 1100 miles. It was used as a dealership loaner vehicle until I bought it which put its 5 year at 11/19/2025, although I purchased it 12/2+/2020. Which h doesn't make sense. I'm slightly over the 60k/5 yr safety warranty because of it being a loaner vehicle first. I'm over the 60k by 19k, but under my 5 yr warranty. My driver seat belt is malfunctioning, so all my air bags are inactive. I find this very unfair and unsafe as I have 3 children ages [XXX] to [XXX] old. Please tell me there is something we can do thats not going to cost a lot of money. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2025 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The back passenger door is stuck closed and will not open even though the power locks and physical lock, inside and exterior door handles all function as they should. There is currently a customer satisfaction program regarding the front driver side door 23B56 however the local Ford Dealership will not fix the issue because it is not the front door. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2025 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The front driver doors latch has snapped and no longer catches the door. The door clicked every time it opened and shut a few times before a loud pop/crack noise and now it won’t latch properly | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2025 | POWER TRAIN | Since the remedy was completed for the last recall for the fuel injectors cracking my Ford Escape 2020 has had many issues resulting in warning lights on in 5 different modules. My escape will not pass NY state inspection and the dealer wants 600$ just to diagnose these issues. I have a powertrain/AWD fault that results in not AWD and vehicle has no power and does not run smoothly. The RPMs jump constantly between 2 and 3. Others warning lights and errors include traction control, tire pressure sensor failure, ABS, electric park fault, and also issues with the power steering. Got an appraisal down by my dealer and was told the escape is only worth $3,000 now. I owe 16,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2025 | STRUCTURE | Driver door broke off the hinges and is inoperable The door almost slammed on my child’s hand No warnings | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2025 | STRUCTURE | Drivers door check makes loud popping sounds , hard to open door . | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2025 | POWER TRAIN | At about 95,000 miles, I began experiencing transmission issues. On several occasions, the transmission would not go into second gear and left the vehicle unable to move forward unless I let off the accelerator and it shifted back into first gear. At about 96,000 miles, when placing the vehicle into Park, the Park light would flash and a growling/grinding noise is present for about 5-10 seconds. In my experience, the park light flashing is an indication that the vehicle has not shifted into the Park gear yet. On 11/25/2025, my local Ford dealer confirmed these issues, stating the vehicle had “harsh engage, shift flare 1-2 shift”. The fluid sample was dark and contained metal shavings. The Ford dealer has recommended a complete transmission replacement. The dealer stated they have seen numerous Ford Escapes/Broncos/Mavericks with my model years and mileage experience similar failures. Because the transmission lags between 1st and 2nd gear, the vehicle could be at low speeds during a lag, and may roll back during a lag, causing a collision. Additionally, it is possible that the vehicle may not be properly engaging its parking gear due to these issues, which may leave the vehicle in an unsafe condition. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2025 | STRUCTURE | My front driver door started making a loud noise. And every time I would open and close the door I would get resistance. Until it really didn’t want to open or close anymore. It even started to affect my window. It wouldn’t roll down anymore. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2025 | FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE | The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V467000 (Fuel System, Gasoline); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was contacted. The dealer informed the contact that the notice was for information purposes and that the injector was not available; however, there would be a charge for the repair. The manufacturer was contacted; however, the contact was unable to speak with a representative. The contact had not experienced a failure. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2025 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Informed by insurance company that there is a recall that could start a good fire. Still no remedy to fix. Have called a shop, takes months to get it seen, also says no remedy. Also has a problem starting after gas is put in car. Drops rpms and tries to stall randomly. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2025 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,BACK OVER PREVENTION | The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the infotainment system screen had turned off while driving, requiring the contact to pull over to the side of the road. The contact stated that upon turning off and restarting the vehicle, the infotainment system screen became operable. Additionally, the contact stated that the rearview camera was inoperable while reversing. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 100,000 |
| Nov 2025 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | My rear view camera on my ford escape 2020 either is blue color or black out or doesn’t work at all. It has been like this for a few months . The ford dealership has told me that my vehicle is not part of the recall. So what should I do now? Have had a lot of issues and haven’t owned the car for only a year . | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2025 | AIR BAGS | The contact owned a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that, while driving at an undisclosed speed, the driver's seat air bags inadvertently deployed. As a result, the contact's attention was briefly diverted away from the roadway, causing her to collide with the rear of another vehicle. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a storage facility, but had yet to be deemed a total loss by the contact's insurance provider. A police report was filed, and injuries were reported. The contact was transported to an area hospital by and friend and treated for chest pain. Emergency room doctors performed various tests, including a X-ray and an EKG. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 100,000. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Injuries: 1 Towed Medical attention | 100,000 |
| Nov 2025 | ENGINE | Head gasket got damaged and there was coolant leakage to the engine. There was white smoke coming out of the exhaust pipes and we did not want to drive the car. So we towed the car to the Ford dealership and they confirmed the issue. Currently they are repairing the car. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2025 | POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | By dong my own research, I found out it was the AWD Module. It's not grounded correctly. There are multiple, long detailed forum posts on this. Here is one: [XXX] I verified my AWD drive module was indeed not getting enough power do to the grounding issue, which sends a cascade of other faults including the anti lock breaks, collision detection, driving modes, cruise control, auto hold, hill park assist. ALL are non-operational. Now my AWD module does not even show up with a OBD scanner. This should be a recall. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2025 | FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE | The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V467000 (FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE) However, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2025 | FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE | The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V467000 (Fuel System, Gasoline); however, parts were not yet available for the recall repair. The contact was concerned because the family was planning a long trip with the vehicle and was concerned about the unrepaired recall. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue or the concern. The contact had not experienced a failure. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2025 | SEATS | The passenger front seat handle to let the seat recline broke off. There has to be some kind of defect to the way it was put together. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2025 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | When I open my sunroof the headliner sags and it blocks my view of the back window all together. Because of the location it is. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2025 | WHEELS | Tire pressure monitoring system would go out them come back them go out and now not working at all. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2025 | FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE | The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V467000 (Fuel System, Gasoline). The contact stated on several occasions, while driving at various speeds, there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine compartment, which grew louder while accelerating. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was unknown. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2025 | FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE | The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V467000 (Fuel System, Gasoline); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that while decelerating and coming to a stop, the engine sputtered before the vehicle came to a complete stop. The failure had not occurred while the fuel tank was filled with premium fuel. There were no warning lights illuminated. The dealer was contacted, and it was confirmed that parts were not yet available for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and opened a case. The failure mileage was approximately 30,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 30,000 |