general problems of the 2020 Ford Escape - part 2

Sunshade sagging, will not retract. This is a safety risk, because with the shade sagging blocks view of the rear.

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.

. After activating the cruise control on the freeway for a few minutes, the cruise control deactivated and displayed the "adaptive cruise not available" message on the dashboard, immediately lowering the speed. Additionally, the sunroof interior stopped working after opening it. The bar that helps retract the sunroof interior came loose, and Ford says the repair is not covered under the extended warranty. There was also a problem with the rear seat belts, which displayed a warning: "rear belt monitor fault. Service required. ".

In August 2025, the plastic cover in between the two pieces of glass on the panoramic sunroof unknowingly fell off when the shade liner was closed due to ineffective glue/sticky tabs that failed to keep the plastic cover on safely. When I went to open the liner, the plastic cover got trapped in the shade/roller housing, broke, and then the shade got completely sucked up into the housing where I can’t get it back out. Quotes to fix this range in the thousands of dollars due to the intensive labor replacing the shade requires. I have seen this happen to multiple owners, especially on the 2020 model. There is a video on youtube describing this issue with over 6,000 views. Many in the comments also describe having their shade roller being completely damaged and spending thousands of dollars to fix it. There was no warning that the plastic cover was failing to hold up and no alert once it has fallen off. There was no safety mechanism in place to prevent the shade from being rolled.

My vehicle has had a recall for awhile and I have been unable to drive because it has a fuel injector recall and no parts have been made and they don’t know when they’re going to be made. I feel that if they can’t make the parts that they need to give me another vehicle so that I am able to drive to work or appointments instead of having to get rides, I have contacted my Ford dealership locally and they still have no idea when parts are going to be made.

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

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.

The exhaust gas cooler (egr) leaked coolant into the intake manifold and mixed with oil causing the engine over-temperature light to come on, a burning smell from the engine bay, loss of power while driving and while smoke to billow from the exhaust. I had my Escape towed to the Ford dealership and their mechanic installed a new k2gz 9f464-b egr cooler, bled and filled the anti-freeze, drained the contaminated oil and installed a new oil filter and oil. Total cost of repairs was $1100. 52.

The trim piece located between the sunroof and moonroof is secured only with double-sided tape, which is inadequate. As a result, the trim becomes detached and falls onto the sunroof shade. This causes the shade to come off its track, leading to sagging or complete detachment. When this occurs, the shade obstructs the driver’s rear visibility, presenting a potential safety hazard.

The sunroof trim fell down while I was driving. This caused the sunshade to retract completely. It is available for inspection upon request. The safety concern is that this was startling to the driver and caused me to swerve. Luckily there were not any other cars around. If I had a passenger in the back seat, they could have been harmed. The problem was reported to the dealer where I bought the car and also to another dealer where I had some recall work done. I also did a live chat with someone from Ford within in the Ford app. I was told this is not covered under warranty and if I needed to have it looked at, I would have to the diagnosis fee. There were no warning lights or other indicators that this piece of plastic trim was going to fall.

In July 2025 recall #25v467 was issued on my vehicle. The safety risk of this recall is that at any point fuel can accumulate near the engine or exhaust components and ignite resulting in an under-hood fire “increasing the risk of injury”. It has been over 3 months now and no remedy yet. Since that recall came out, I am scared for my safety and the safety of my children and anyone else who rides in my vehicle because I never know if/when a fire may start. I rely on my vehicle and so do my kids to get to and from places. I am a single mother with no options to drive a different vehicle until a remedy comes out. In addition to being scared, I feel helpless whenever I drive my vehicle and pray each time that I arrive safely to my destination.

This problem is well documented and many other owners have had the same issue with the Ford Escape for many model years including 2020. When the car is left in the heat which is unavoidable these days and the gear shift knob is in the direct sunlight from the windshield it becomes locked. The knob will not turn out of the park position. So, you are stuck and must wait for it to cool. This last time it was several hours risking life being unable to leave the heat and possibly dangerous location. Once the car/shift knob cool normal operations resume. Obviously a engineering design flaw that the car “can’t stand the heat. ” please issue a recall and have Ford address the issue.

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.

Shade over sun roof folded up and dropped down. Blocks the rear view can't see anything behind out back. Folded up won't go back in keeps falling.

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.

Door on drivers side makes all kinds of noise when opening or closing. Cannot roll window down, cannot use key to open door automatically, at times hard to close sounds like something is catching.

While driving the sunshade cover became detached at the front and fell down. This restricted my view out of the back of the car causing a dangerous situation as I was driving down the highway and the only one in the car. It seems like the adhesive holding it failed.

The sunroof shade rolled all the way back, detaching itself from the motors that move it. The guard plate between the sunroof and the moonroof fell off as it is held in place by double-sided tape tabs, landing on top of the shade which likely caused the issue. Ford will not repair it under my extended warranty even though the vista roof itself is covered they are classifying the sunshade as a trim piece. They are instead, offering to cover 1/2 of the $1800+ dollar repair. There was no warning prior to this happening and had someone been in the rear seat the large panel would have fallen on them potentially injuring them.

Inner shade visor for sun roof has become detached from rail mechanism, causing material to sag and bunch up and get stuck when retracting sunroof. Visibility issues caused could cause safety hazard.

I am the owner of a 2020 Ford Escape experiencing two serious issues: 1. My vehicle is exhibiting the exact symptoms outlined in Ford csp 23b56—specifically, the failure of the driver-side door check-arm welds. The door produces loud popping noises, feels unstable when opening/closing, and has visible signs of structural stress. Despite this, my VIN has been deemed ineligible for the program. Given that the issue matches the failure described in csp 23b56, I am requesting a re-evaluation of my VIN’s coverage and a formal inspection under this program. 2. My vehicle is also subject to NHTSA recall 25v467 / Ford recall 25s76, concerning the potential for a cracked fuel injector leading to fuel accumulation on top of the engine—a serious fire hazard. According to NHTSA, there is currently no remedy available. This adds another layer of safety concern, particularly considering the compounding risks and Ford’s delay in delivering a fix. Between the structural door failure and a pending recall involving potential engine fires, I am deeply concerned about the safety and reliability of my vehicle. I am asking that my concerns be formally investigated and that Ford take appropriate responsibility for repairs, reimbursement (if applicable), or an expanded VIN inclusion under the csp.

The shade on the moonroof dislodged making it difficult to see out of my rear window.

Inside driver door rivets broke preventing door closing and latch is flopping inside door.

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).

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.

Have reported this incident before but we now know what caused the issue. Sunroof on the vehicle malfunctioned causing horrendous loud noise along with inability to retract or open the cover. A large heavy peice was then found sliding around between the cover and the sunroof itself. The peice was in fact the sunrood shade molding design between the front and back sunroof at the top of the car. The peice is quiet weighty so had the cover not been closed could have easily fallen on passengers. From service department that had to basically rebuild my whole sunroof, that peice is only held up by two adhesives, no screws or bolts. Here in the south it gets hot so anything with adhesives will melt and its surprising that there havent been more incidences. Quick google search will show this is alot more common that I even realized. Sunroof has been fixed but at the cost $3600 and now have a complete bear spot where that molding should be. I will not replace it as I cannot risk it falling again and this time falling on someone in my back seats. I have included the diagrams from the manufacturer and can see how its only held by 2 square adhesives. Image of the car isnt my Ford Escape (mines having more seevice done) but can see how it sits right over back seat passengers and again this one is also missing the shade molding due to failed adhesives.

Sunroof on the vehicle has not been used in awhile and is rarely used. Started with a vacation attempted to open it and heard a very unpleasant sound. Promptly shut it didn't think much about it as we were out of state. Over next week or so started to hear a rattling from right hind area, then sounded like something was sliding. On the way to work actually heard something above me from under the shade, felt up and felt a large peice of glass or heavy metal part. Immediately brought to the dealership. On investigation a few pieces had broken causing a panel to come loose, it's still currently at the dealer being fixed but if I hadn't had the sun shade that peice would have hurt. I could just have a lemon car but if this is a faulty parts do not want anyone else to get hurt. As of now they are having to completely rebuild the sunroof.

Transmission selector is poking my fingers.

Check engine light came on and car died at stop sign and wouldn’t restart. This happened multiple times after filling up car with gas. I took it to my dealership and they said it was the purge valve. I think should have been covered under warranty.

While driving my 2020 Ford Escape hybrid, I heard a rattling noise. I was having a hard time figuring out where it was coming from. Then I heard it again and noticed it was coming from above the sunshade for the sunroof. My sunshade is always closed. When I went to open the sunshade, the sunshade hit the spacer that had fallen off and the sunshade popped off the clips and recoiled into the back roller. The spacer is only held on by 4 pieces of double-sided sticky tape. This is a manufacture defect. This has been a known issue to Ford dealerships. They want $2,700. To fix my car for a sunshade that got knocked off by a spacer that was installed with 4 pieces of double-sided sticky tape. Ford should take responsibility for this and do recalls to fix or repair this problem. Most people will never know about this problem until after it happens and Ford already knows its a problem. Someone should hold them accountable for all the customers that are paying over a $1000. Because a 0. 15 part failure.

I was driving to work like normal this morning when an error message popped up that stated my all wheel drive had been turned off. It then gave another error message stating my hill parking assist had been turned off, and my cruise control is no longer functioning. Due to this I feel unsafe driving. This has happened to many other friends and family members that have owned this vehicle.

From the day I purchased the car, it has not been able to connect to the commonwealth of MA's inspection computer system. Ford and the inspection garages I've taken this to said it was a known problem and waived the inspection until Ford remedied their software to make it work. Ford now has a fix, applied via a software update, that remedies the problem but says my car is not part of the list of covered vehicles even though they acknowledge it suffers from the same problem. Ford sent a letter out on Dec 12, 2023 entitled "customer satisfaction program 22n15" which states that they will repair the problem at no cost to the original, or subsequent owners of the car. I've asked Ford to acknowledge that my car should have been included in that program and they refuse to do so, instead, asking me to contact the ntsb. The only way I can have my car inspected now is to use a 'hack' recommended to me by a sympathetic Ford dealership which is to have them turn my car off for an hour after I arrive and then do the inspection. This is clearly a workaround and I want Ford to apply the software fix to my car.

Drivers side front door hinge welds broken.

Door hinge on drivers side door is broken. Making loud popping noises and now cannot roll my window down. Door changes plane when opening or closing and pops loudly. Afraid it is going to fall off.

I recently found out through a Ford dealer that there was a recall on the door on my Ford Escape. I never received anything in the mail. I had the issue fixed by my local mechanic and he used Ford parts. I would like a reimbursement.

The welds on the driver's and passenger door hinges broke and now the broken hinge prevents the windows from rolling down. The welds on the muffler are also broken.