general problems of the 2020 Ford Escape - part 1

The manufacturer is unable to remedy the safety recall 26v123 & 26v117 for my vehicle in a timely manner.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the front passenger’s door failed to remain open and the driver's side window was malfunctioning. The contact stated that the driver’s side window automatically rolled up while the window was being lowered. Additionally, the liftgate failed to latch or lock properly. The contact stated that while driving 65 mph, the vehicle suddenly came to a complete stop on two separate occasions. The vehicle was taken to a dealer; however, the dealer informed the contact that there were no failures found. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 87,000.

The vehicle is subject to an open federal safety recall involving a fuel injector that may crack and leak fuel onto the top of the engine. According to NHTSA, liquid fuel or fuel vapor may accumulate near hot engine or exhaust components, creating a risk of an under-hood fire and injury. I purchased this vehicle after the recall had already been issued. The recall was not disclosed to me at the time of sale, and the vehicle was presented for service multiple times after purchase without any disclosure of the recall or safety warnings. When I contacted an authorized dealer to ask whether there were any open recalls, I was initially told there were none. After I specifically referenced the recall, I was told that parts were not available and that no repair had been completed. The safety risk is that the vehicle may leak fuel near hot components without warning, creating a fire hazard while driving or after the engine is shut off. I have not been provided interim safety guidance or a timeline for repair. Nhtsa records currently show the recall remains open, unrepaired, and without an available remedy.

The transmission shifting got increasingly rough over time, and then suddenly refused to shift into gear/reverse. The Ford shop told us it was the reverse solenoid, but it ended up requiring a full transmission rebuild. Safety of the car refusing to shift gears led to loss of power several times, unable to accelerate in traffic, until total failure occurred. Problem was inspected by Ford dealership, then repaired by independent service center due to cost. Not inspected by insurance, as it did not result in a collision. Warning lamps did not turn on until total failure occurred. Then lights on gear shift dial blinked, refused to allow us to put the car in gear. Dash lights also indicated "check engine" at that time, but no earlier.

For months, I have had restraints indicator lamp warning, specifically for the driver seatbelt buckle sensor circuit, as well as one notification for a fault with the occupant classification system which includes air bags and safety belt buckle pretensioners. It is going to cost over $600 to fix the driver belt alone. As this is part of the safety features of a car, I do not feel as though the consumer should be responsible for this. It seems as though it should fall on that of the manufacturer.

The awd module failed with less than 60,000 miles on the vehicle. I live in the northeast and we get some brutal weather, especially snowstorms. I believe this part should be under a broader recall as it was the same grounding issue as reported in the other current recall for a certain production date Escape for its awd module this year. I have always owned a four-wheel drive or all-wheel drive vehicle, and we love to take scenic trips especially in winter for something to do. The only inspection of the module was the tunkhannock Ford dealer that replaced it. The system did warn me after filling up with gas that there was an issue. I feel that this could have gone really bad if we had been in lake seneca, killington or driving up to bangor. It is the whole idea of it not working because of a single bad grounding wield that shuts all the traction control off to get stuck out in very little snow. . . I don't even know if the abs would react the same under this condition.

Summary of problem: following the mandatory software update for NHTSA recall 22v859 (Ford 22s73) on my 2020 Ford Escape 1. 5l, the vehicle experienced a catastrophic electrical failure. The vehicle is now subject to the expanded NHTSA recall 25v467 (Ford 25s76) with a status of 'remedy not available'. Safety failures: continuous overcharging: a multimeter test confirms the alternator is overcharging at 15. 5v or higher, posing a severe risk of battery explosion or vehicle fire. Safety system collapse: the overvoltage has forced multiple safety modules into 'fail-safe' mode, disabling the anti-lock braking system (abs), traction control, and awd powertrain. Network communication failure: diagnostic reports confirm a u3000 critical control module fault and 'lost communication' with the battery energy control module, indicating a software-induced network collapse. Undriveable status: the vehicle has been unusable for over 30 days and cannot pass NY state inspection due to persistent evap and module communication codes triggered by the recall update. Dealer negligence: [xxx] (dealer #xxx) confirmed that all physical communication lines are functional but refused a free recall-related diagnosis, demanding a $600 fee instead of honoring the federal safety recall mandate. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

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).

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the local dealer for an unstated recall repair. Upon retrieval of the vehicle, the pre-collision, driver assist, and cross traffic systems were inoperable. The vehicle was taken back to the local dealer, where the modules were updated, but the failure persisted. The tire pressure fault message was displayed, and the rear bumper sensors were inside the vehicle. The manufacturer was contacted and informed the contact about diagnostic testing, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 65,188.

When the interior of the car gets hot, the gear select dial will not rotate out of park. This has occurred on 5 separate occasions. Eventually the interior of the car cools down enough to shift, but that can take anywhere from minutes to hours, leaving the vehicle and its passengers stranded until the selector shifts. This same problem has been reported by several others on the Ford Escape forum.

I turned in a safety problem on my 2020 Ford Escape yesterday (tracking number 11688297), and now, with the same door (driver door), the electrical window is not working. I received a letter on 9/11 stating that this issue was known. Is there a recall to fix the door and repair, if any, electrical issues within the door?.

Car has self started in my garage 3 times in the last two weeks, just now it did it again. This is very dangerous, could hurd someone or burn my house down. This needs to be looked into.

On 9/15/2025, my 2020 Ford Escape se began experiencing serious electrical and shift system issues: hard downshifting, “shift system fault” warning, inability to go into park, and failure to shut off without disconnecting the battery. I confirmed a related pcm recall was active and had the vehicle towed to art hill Ford for diagnostic and recall service. The dealership refused to perform the pcm recall, claiming my issue “didn’t match” the symptoms — despite clear electrical failure. Instead, they diagnosed a park pawl solenoid issue without scanning or physically inspecting the vehicle. I was told the issue was resolved, paid ~$1,400, and picked up the vehicle. Within 24 hours, new and dangerous transmission issues arose: harsh downshifting, loss of power, sudden high rpms, and dashboard warnings. I became stranded in the middle of the road and had to have the car towed again. After this second visit, the dealer claimed there were metal shavings in the transmission and now says I need a full transmission replacement (~$10,000). These shavings were not reported during their first transmission disassembly — which is highly suspicious and may indicate the damage was caused during or after their service. Replacing transmission fluid on high-mileage vehicles (mine has ~132,000 miles) is known to be risky and can cause internal failure if not done carefully. My transmission had no mechanical problems prior to this visit. I now believe the dealership’s misdiagnosis, failure to perform the pcm safety recall 1st, and service caused a safety-critical failure that they are refusing to take responsibility for. I am a veteran with a pregnant wife — we depend on this vehicle. Ford corporate has not provided assistance. This situation has left me without transportation and potentially with catastrophic repair costs due to service-related damage.

Summary: failure of awd/transfer case control module causing loss of multiple safety and driveline functions. Vehicle is currently being repaired at Ford dealership so will have already been corrected. While driving, multiple dash warnings appeared: “service advancetrac,” “awd not available,” “hill start assist not available,” and “drive mode not available. ” the vehicle lost all all-wheel-drive functionality as well as traction/stability features. Dealer diagnosed an internal failure of the awd/transfer case control module. Safety impact: this failure disables critical safety systems (advancetrac stability control, hill start assist, awd traction). In poor weather or emergency maneuvers, loss of these systems could increase the risk of crash. Repair estimate: dealer quoted ~$1,070 for replacement of awd control module (parts, labor, and programming). Concern: this is a major driveline and safety system failure at only 40,000 miles. Ford previously acknowledged awd module defects in 2020 Escapes under customer satisfaction program 21b19, which suggests this may be a broader issue that warrants investigation or recall.

My Ford currently has 80k miles on it with no accidents and all recalls fixed by the dealer. This morning when I was driving my kids to school, a light I've never seen appeared on the bottom right hand side of the drivers screen. The light was a red triangle with an exclamation point inside of it. Not long after I noticed the light, we started to smell something burning and our car began loosing power. I pulled over immediately and turned the car off. I googled the meaning of the light. Apparently, it was a "stop safely now" light. The various reasons online could not pinpoint any reason I could come up with. I popped the hood, checked the oil, coolant, and I checked that the hybrid battery located in the trunk had a good connection. Everything was fine, as far as I could tell. When I restarted the car, after about 15 mins of investigations and online research, the light was gone and so was the smell. However, now I am super nervous to drive this car on the highway. What if that light comes on again and I loose power when all the cars around me are driving 70 mph? the chances of getting rear ended and seriously hurt are a very real possibility. What if my kids are in the car? I'm scared.

Vehicle has active alerts for powertrain control module, and low boost pressure with the turbocharge along with emissions codes p0299, p0496 and p0456. The vehicle is constantly going into deep sleep mode. While driving the vehicle started to enter safe mode. And displayed an alert that said please turn ignition on. The dash and screen went black like vehicle was off but it was still running. This happened multiple times. My vehicle also will not start after pumping gas so I have to leave vehicle running every time I pump gas. My vehicle will not pass NY state inspection because of the recalls.

My adaptive cruise control, blind spot warning, rear cross traffic warning, pre collision warning all quit working and just flash across the screen, my light indicators for blind spot on my side mirrors quit working, my back up camera just has a bluescreen, there is no audio so no alerts can be heard and my sync doesnt work it has the screen but wont let you hear anything so yes I drive a bit away to work not having these features has been a major safety concern I have almost backed into someone because they were in my blind spot and no warning lights or warning sounds I have perviously went to a dealership for four active recalls they only look at the powertrain one there was one about spot welds nothing was done about either they broke like within the first few months of me having the car I have never received anything on extending my warrenty partly because I moved I guess but they basically told me when I was there for the recalls I would have to come back and pay for them to look at the rest which I said I wasn't aware that I had to pay for something that was a safety concern so then I contacted the place where I purchased the car that was 2 weeks ago they still have not contacted me back after several attempt and no response I then got on chat with Ford gave them a list of what was going on and they have yet to respond either but it was read just being ignored at this point and I'm at the end of my patience these are major safety issues I haven't even had this car a maybe a year if that and no one care to help I was told there was nothing wrong with anything basically I would have to wait for something to happen when I went for the recalls.

Around the 38,000 mile mark on our 2020 Ford Escape we received many different errors (awd fault, abs, advancetrac service, hill assist, etc). I found out via NHTSA and other forums that this is a common issue in the vehicle from the awd module, and although it is awd related, it is not eligible for the powertrain warranty per Ford because it is an electrical component. I declined the $1200 repair at the dealership so I could first call Ford customer service, at the recommendation of the dealership, though the service tech did mention it is a safety concern because the abs is apparently also controlled by the awd. After a couple different calls to Ford, they have refused to acknowledge that it is a manufacturer defect, or pay for the repair. With no help from Ford, I have no other option than to file a complaint here. Based on other resources online, the issue seems to stem from improper grounding of the wiring on the awd module.

All the tpms sensors have had to be replaced on the Escape with under 51k miles on them. The Ford dealer admitted this is a serious safety issue and have had numerous complaints.

My 2020 Ford Escape hybrid experiences complete electrical failure - battery saving mode followed by total power loss. Ford has published technical service bulletins ssm 49990 (NHTSA mc-10199655-0001) and ssm 49574 (NHTSA mc-10187983-0001) addressing this exact issue through abs module programming. However, both my local Ford dealership and Ford customer service claim these documented tsbs do not exist in their systems. This appears to be systematic denial of safety-related warranty repairs for a known defect. According to my research, some of Ford owners could receive a 8 year hybrid component warranty through these tsbs. It seems to be a typical pattern for Ford to avoid warranty procedures by denying tsbs. I have records of the calls. I cannnot upload it from this page.

Obd communication with emissions and state safety inspection. Ford knows -- will not fix under recall.

2020 Ford Escape sunroof shade repair in my case, the curtain sags, obscuring the rear view. This is a design flaw that Ford should correct. The sunroof shade fails to operate correctly. It becomes detached, jammed, or cannot slide properly. Many owners have reported the same issue online, including in discussions such as this one: reddit discussion]. This poses a potential safety issue if the glass or shade breaks or obstructs visibility. ”.

Warning lights coming on and staying on unless I press ok on steering wheel. Warning lights are: pre-collision assist not available, and fault service required, and off, and traction light comes on and stays on.

I am the owner of a 2020 Ford Escape. My vehicle falls under the recall dealing with defective fuel injectors. The dealership preformed the suggested service or installing the drain tube and updating the software. I’ve been noticing that my vehicle has a slight hesitation while accelerating in speed and I would periodically smell the strong scent of gasoline, but no check engine or warning lights ever come on. Here recently while driving, my car started slowing down unexpectedly by itself and started idling extremely rough, almost like a tractor and the check engine light came on. I pulled over in the nearest parking lot, turned the car off and looked under the hood but didn’t see anything out of the norm except a small wet spot on the engine cover and there was the slight smell of gasoline. I didn’t think anything of it because I had recently had my oil changed and thought it was probably just a slight spill from there they and refilled the engine oil. I was able to restart my car and everything seemed to have went back to normal. I was able to drive my car to the nearest auto part store where they were able to run a diagnostic scan to see why my check engine light was on. The scan pulled two error codes: the first one being p0302 which is a cylinder 2 misfire, and the second one being p3402 which is a cylinder 1 deactivation/intake valve control circuit performance. I called Ford to see what could be done and they informed me that there was currently no fix for my vehicle. And when asked what I should do the person on the phone told me to “drive the car until it was inoperable”. Which is absolutely crazy to me!.

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.

When I push the driver window down and when I want to roll it up. The driver window don't go up I have to play with button by pushing it up and down for about 5 to 10 minutes. I have to keep pushing the button up-and-down or turn my car off, open my door it takes a minute for it to go back up. The passenger window goes up and on its on like for example I want to let the window up it comes down by itself. Ford has fixed the driver door panel for the window, but it's doing the same thing. My tire system, it doesn't give me the tire pressure. And when I put gas in my SUV, my engine is revving up-and-down, and it cuts off. And when I'm driving, he doesn't want to go I have to push on the gas to make it go. But as far as the window, I have issues with that every single day ever since Ford fixed my SUV. And the gas, every time I put gas in my SUV make like it wanna shut off, and it do shut off. Sometimes when I put my foot on the gas after pumping gas. This is a ongoing procedure for me. This happens every single day, and every time that I put gas in my SUV. This has been going on for about six months or more.

All kinds of warning lights come in and stay on, which a lot of people are having the same issue which is due to a faulty sensor module. . I almost hit a truck who pulled out of a parking lot once I was on top of him ( was trucks fault) and no warning lights were functioning properly. There's also a recall for a fuel injector issue that Ford is taking their sweet time to remedy, but technically I'm driving a time bomb that st any moment this fuel injection issue could crack and leak and cause a fire. And I'm not about to lose my life because of it. I've contacted Ford for a lemon law buyback and they are taking their sweet time in that. No warning lights are functioning properly causing a danger for me to drive it. But I have to have a reliable care to get to dr appts and to shop for groceries. Something has got to be done about this. And further more when I purchased this car used I questioned the salesperson at the used car lot about this recall paper that was in the glove compartment about the recall on the fuel injection. He told me it was nothing. Bull!!! why have that paper in the car if there wasn't a recall for the fuel injection when I bought it back in July 2023. No dealership should have the right to sell any car with a recall already in place. I want to sue the used car dealership for selling me this lemon. The car dealership was key auto of somersworth nh but now they have a new place in rochester nh. . . They should be held accountable for selling me the vehicle with a recall already in place. Ford said recall didn't go into effect till 2025, but why have a document in the car about it when I purchased car in 2023. Makes no sense.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the message "tire pressure sensor fault" was displayed for the rear passenger's side tire; however, the tire air pressure appeared to be normal upon inspection. The dealer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or 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: 20v635000 (electrical system, tires). The failure mileage was 78,000.

Subject: safety complaint – tpms & trunk system failure on 2020 Ford Escape hybrid I’m reporting two ongoing issues with my 2020 Ford Escape hybrid that I believe are connected to a recall I’ve seen issued for other vehicles of the same make and model year. 1. Tire pressure monitoring system (tpms): my dashboard only displays pressure readings for two of the four tires. The other two do not register at all, which makes it difficult to monitor tire safety. 2. Trunk release button failure: the button to electronically open my trunk no longer works. I have to manually open the liftgate each time, which is not how the vehicle was designed to function. The last time I took my vehicle in for a recall-related service, I was told I would need to return to complete additional recall work. I never received follow-up communication, and my VIN currently does not show any active recalls, despite these ongoing issues and my earlier service visit. I have since discovered that other 2020 Ford Escape models have been recalled for failures related to the body control module or related systems—which seem directly tied to my problems. I’m requesting a review of my case, as these failures could compromise vehicle safety. I’d also appreciate consideration for repair assistance or further investigation into whether my VIN should be included in the relevant recalls. Thank you for your time and attention.

Underneath the transmission is a part that once damaged could emit steel into the transmission which causes damage to the transmission. Small pieces of steel. My technician said it happens to all the Ford vehicles mainly the Ford Escape and Ford has not provided a recall for this and it cost $3,500. 00 to be replaced. I am disgusted that this damaged part that puts pieces of steel into the transmission could not be noted by Ford as a legitimate recall. Please see what you can do. It's been reported constantly. Thank you.

A module is causing communication issues in the car between its and the key fob causing the car not to be able to start at all. It has been at the Ford dealer [xxx] for over a month now and they are unable to remedy the situation. They claim they can’t update the software or can’t find out what’s wrong with the car. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

My key fob stopped working due to bcm not being able to communicate.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at approximately 40 mph, the message "low tire pressure fault" was displayed. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the tpms sensor needed to be replaced. The contact related the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 20v635000(electrical system, tires); however, the dealer informed the contact that the VIN was not included in the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and provided the same information. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 41,000.

My vehicle had been driving great up till about three or four months ago. It started losing speed, stalling and would not accelerate unless I pressed the pedal to the floor which I had to do in order to avoid an accident. All while this was happening the service light with the ?? would comes on, but once I cut the car off and started it up again the next day or after running multiple errands the service light would be gone and my car would drive normal so I thought it was just a fluke and I didn’t worry about it again. Until now!!! just today my car would not start and at the same time I would also get a warning saying, start the car or cut the engine off as I was trying to start the car so that was crazy. And in order to get it started I had to get the battery jumped, after that it would start right up. But later if I tried starting the car up again it would barley start up without multiple attempts of me pressing the push start, and pressing down hard on the brake pedal and to top it all off my car is losing speed and stalling again. . So because of this I had the battery, terminals, starter, and alternator tested and they said everything is fine so none of that is causing my car not to start up. While trying to find a solution and get a estimate on repairs, I found out my car model has three recalls on it but from what I can see non of these recalls should cause any of these issues. Still I made a appointment to drop it off tomorrow so they can fix the recalls and hopefully figure out what the problem is and fix these other issues. Any who, I thought I should share this just in case others are having these problems and maybe Ford will correct these hazards. Thank you.

May 2025 the following fault codes illuminated on vehicle start up. * awd fault service required * hill start assist not available * service advance trac * pre-collision assist not available. Wrench light illuminated on dash board. Awd and safety features disabled intermittently. Obd codes: - c0090:18-6c power transfer unit actuator - circuit current below threshold - c0095:18-64 rear diff unit actuator ‘a’ - circuit current below threshold - c00a2:01-6c drive-in control module power transfer unit control circuit driver. - c00a3:01-6c driveline control module rear diff unit ‘a’ control circuit driver - p0562:00-af - system voltage low on awd module. Appears to be awd module failure.