Wiper problems of the 2020 Ford Escape - part 1

Subject: request for buyback or trade assistance – 2020 Ford Escape se to whom it may concern, I am writing regarding my 2020 Ford Escape equipped with the 1. 5l engine, which is currently subject to multiple open safety recalls. Of particular concern is the active fuel injector recall involving a risk of engine compartment fire. I understand that the current remedy does not fully address the underlying defect and that additional actions may still be pending. In addition, my vehicle is affected by other safety-related recalls, compounding concerns about reliability and safe operation. Given the nature of these issues—specifically the fire risk and the lack of a complete and permanent repair— as well as a history of over 15 recalls on this vehicle, I am increasingly concerned about the safety, usability, and value of my vehicle. This situation has significantly impacted my confidence in operating the vehicle. Based on these circumstances, I am formally requesting that Ford motor company review my case for: • a manufacturer buyback, or • substantial trade assistance toward a new Ford vehicle, or • appropriate goodwill compensation reflecting the ongoing safety concerns and diminished value I would appreciate prompt review by a case manager and a written response outlining Ford’s proposed resolution. Please contact me at your earliest convenience to discuss next steps. Thank you.

The component that has failed is my front windshield wiper motor causing visibility issues. It has been confirmed by a service technician. No it has not been inspected by the police only by an auto shop. No it was not any warning. It was raining I turned on wipers and it malfunction. Got stuck in the middle of windshield and I had to pull over and keep turning on wipers for it to go back into normal position.

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

I purchased this vehicle brand new from dunphy Ford in philadelphia, PA, along with a premium extended warranty, with the expectation that Ford would stand behind both its product and coverage commitments. This past weekend, while traveling at highway speeds 75+mph, the sun/panoramic roof began emitting a loud rumbling noise. When I attempted to open it to address the issue, the sunroof liner bunched up in the rear of the vehicle, blocking my rearview visibility and creating an immediate safety hazard. I was forced to quickly close the sunroof while driving to avoid a potentially dangerous situation. Although the fabric returned to position, the interior cover failed to re-seat properly and remains dislodged creating a situation that causes me not to be able to use the sunroof safely due to visibility concerns. This is a safety defect. There are many documented cases of this issue out on the internet with Ford Escapes and other Ford models having this issue. The dealership wants $2,000 just to diagnose the issue. This situation—and the lack of meaningful support by Ford—has been extremely disappointing. Independent research suggests this issue is well-documented and recurring across Ford vehicles, and given that it compromises rear visibility, it constitutes a legitimate safety risk. I find it unacceptable that customers are expected to absorb substantial repair costs for a well known defect that directly affects driver safety. This should be a safety recall. This issue should not be dismissed or minimized, particularly given the safety implications. I was truly panicking while driving above 75mph and I am an experienced driver. If this had been a newer driver, this could have been horrible. I could not see at all out of my back window. I would greatly appreciate the NHTSA look into this safety risk. Please see attached pictures for reference. Tons of customer complaints out on the internet. Thank you kindly for looking into this matter. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information ac.

Liftgate hinge cover loose on car but not under the recall. Caused back glass to shatter while driving.

Wiper started going at a regular pace even when the speed was set to max or slow now the wiper won't go up. Looks like the wiper motor has gone bad and this seems to be the same issue with the recall put in place recall number 26s14.

The fabric covering for the sunroof detached and is now sagging down so that you can not see out the rearview mirror.

Sunroof shade blocking rear visibility when open, when open it’s not rolling up into cavity.

The windshield wipers will slow to an intermittent-type speed while working in either low or high on a wet windshield. Ford had recall 23b35 on the bronco for this exact issue; the fix was a reflash of the vehicle's windshiel wiper motor.

In my Ford 2020 Escape hybrid titanium awd car, sunroof shade got misaligned and not closing anymore, resulting in more heat flowing into the car creating impacts inside. Also, as per others comments and online forums, there is a chance that this shade would fall on the passengers during the drive if not taken care quickly, resulting in injuries in adults and deaths in infants. Reached to a Ford dealership to fix this issue and its costing me close to $3000. As its a design flaw from Ford, I request Ford to do a fix for free of charge or recall and fix it for their customers and address their safety concerns immediately. Appreciate your looking into this matter.

Driving from michigan to missouri [xxx] and the wipers stopped working once we got to missouri. Called Ford dealership in springfield and they could not fit us in their schedule, so we took it to a goodyear certified service center and they said it was the wiper motor. We fixed and eventually drove back to michigan. About1 week later, the windshield wipers again, stopped working, I called the shop in springfield and they told me to take it to a shop in westland michigan (redford auto/goodyear certified) because the part was under warranty. I did that, they replaced the part (motor). Now a year later and my wipers are not working again. They stop midstream and get stuck. They are inoperable again. Never in my lifetime of driving (I am [xxx] ) have I ever repaired a wiper motor, let alone 2 x and the problem is still not fixed. I do believe this is faulty by manufacturer and needs to be looked into. Thank you, [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

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.

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.

The panoramic sunroof shade separates from the track and sags down to the back seat, blocking the view from the rearview mirror. This happens while driving.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving approximately 70 mph in the rain, the front windshield wipers failed to operate as needed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the windshield wiper motors had failed and needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA campaign numbers: 22v142000 (visibility); however, the VIN was not included in either recall. The vehicle was scheduled for the repair and parts were ordered. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and opened a case. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

My recall was dated last March 2025. Its almost 1 year and they havents fixed the car yet. It has a recall on fuel injectors.

A rattle developed in the panoramic sunroof. When the shade was retracted it popped loose from the retainers and retracted to the full open position. The piece that covers the joint of the roof glass came out. Due to the inability to close the shade, there is a constant glare while driving in the day light. This issue appears to be common according to my research and quiet expensive for dealership repair.

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 .

The car has a panoramic roof with automatic open/close sunshade that cover the interior of the glass. I was opening the sunshade to open the moon roof and the shade all of the suden came down and did not roll as intended and my visibility while I was driving was gone for a second until my wife helped out quickly so we do not crash. The problem is common for this car in the Ford forums online and the dealerships are not concerend or applying any responsbility of the problem and the safety of it. There was no message or warning but it put myself and my family in danger. I went and got it inspected by the dealership but they did not take responsibilty.

Panoramic headliner fabric is sagging causing an obstruction to drivers rear view while also creating a hazard for rear passengers in the event of an accident.

The sunroof cover came down and blocked my rear visibility. It took a few attempts to get the cover back up because I need to see what is behind me for safety purposes. Then, when I was sesrching online for the solution, I realized a lot of people with 2020 - 2022 Ford Escapes were also having issues with the sunroof cover. It is quite dangerous for it to fall.

I was trying to crack my panoramic sunroof to move some air and the sunroof shade jumped its track and sagged down into my back window view while driving. It blocked my field of view and would not retract. Once I was safely able to pull to the side of the road and after several attempts I was able to somewhat close the cover and lift it out of my field of view. Now it’s just flapping in the wind. I looked up this issue and it seems that the many others are having this problem as well. For a car that is 4 years old with a sunroof that I have maybe used 5 times this seems like there might be a problem with the integrity of the clips that hold the shade in place. Apparently, Ford is making a killing off of the repair ($2k-4k) which is highway robbery for a car that many of us already paid an arm and a leg for and are still in the early stages of paying on. This was not a wear and tear issue…. This was a failure of a part with weak integrity.

The windshield wipers locked up and would not function.

The shade retraction on the moonroof is malfunctioning, causing the fabric to not retract completely, the sagging fabric is causing visibility obstruction. My Ford dealership have inspected the issue and have quoted me an approximate price of $1700 to fix the issue, which is currently cost prohibitive for me ($400 for the replacement part + approx 6 hours of labor), unfortunately this will not be covered by my warranty. There were no warning messages prior to failure, I pressed the button to open my moonroof one day and this happened, if I was driving this would have caused an accident because my visibility of rear view is blocked, luckily I was parked when I discovered this issue. This issue first appeared in June 2024. I went to the dealership in July 2024, because it was cost prohibitive to fix I have not used the moonroof since then because it affects visibility.

The sunshade of the panoramic sunroof came loose a year ago and has continued to sag lower from the glass and closer to our heads over time. When opened, the shade hangs completely blocking the back window and hangs into the back seat. I have been told the clips may need to be replaced, but have not received a definite diagnosis.

1. ) my backup camera has failed, and it is static and then continues today will not display and shows black. I can no longer use it or see out of it for backup purposes. 2. ) I use my back up camera everyday as I live in a busy city and use it when parking and to assist me when there is a lot happening with parking on the side of the road and entering and exiting parking spots. 3. ) yes, I had it checked by a Ford dealer, and they stated other vehicles were having this issue and it was odd mine had not been recalled. 4. ) no my vehicle has not been inspected by anyone other than the warranty holder I have as well as the Ford dealership. 5. ) no everything was working fine and then the next time I turned my vehicle on the backup camera was no longer of use.

The window tent is bubbling and warping down my windows impairing my view of the road, unsure of cause and it is available for inspection. Bubbles are visible the warping is harder to see in a photo, but it runs all the way down the window. It is impairing visibility through passenger and driver windows, causing depth perception issues and a risk to myself and other drivers. The Ford dealership I recently went to to have other recalls fixed confirmed the issue and told me to file a complaint here. No warning lamps or other symptoms of the problem.

While attempting to fuel the vehicle, thinking the hood latch was the fuel door release, the hood latch was pulled (twice). After completing fueling we re-entered the roadway and at about 45 mph, the hood flew up and backwards over the windscreen. We were able to stop the vehicle and close the hood without further incident although there is damage to body panels and the windscreen. Although an operator error was made by confusing the hood latch with the fuel door release, it seems like a poor and dangerous design to be able to completely unlatch the hood (no manual safety under the hood as is customary) allowing it to fly up while underway. Upon further investigation, we determined that the newest generation of these vehicles simply require two pulls of the hood latch to completely release it. The more typical method of one pull of the latch followed by manual release of the safety by reaching under the hood has been abandoned in this design.

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.

Front windshield failed sporadically under mild thermal shock. Outside temperature was in the range of 10°f and inside cabin had been warming up for about 30 minutes. Heat was not set to defroster. While stopped at an intersection, the windshield suddenly cracked across about 70% bottom edge emanating from a wiper contact point. Vehicle is available for inspection upon request. Has not been reproduced. I’ve received anecdotes that this exact same break type and location has occurred under very similar circumstances in other Ford Escapes.

The top of dash board in its entirety but specifically the trim piece around the heads-up display on specific trim/modes creates a reflection upon the windshield, particularly directly in the drivers main sight line, with such low opacity it makes driving visibility difficult. Additionally the trim piece is smooth plastic, whereas the dash itself is textured. This occurs primarily during the day during any lighting condition outside and is increased with direct sunshine upon the vehicle.

The car camera goes black with squiggly lines when putting car in reverse. The car has less than 2000 miles. The dealership states Ford is aware of the issue and there is a huge back order on getting a replacement. Now I have a whirling sound when speed is between 25 mph - 39 mph. Once you let up on acceleration it stops or once the speed has gone beyond 39 mph. While driving on groves highways you can feel backend of the car moving around. I had this issue with a fusion and had to replace the tires with a different brand due to no control of the vehicle in the winter. My 2017 Escape does not do this. Also, the drivers side trim does not fit snug, and has to be replaced and the dealership said Ford is aware of this issue as well. Lastly, the brakes make a loud squealing noice with a heavy morning dew or when raining.

The rear safety camera does not work get wavy lines similar to a bad tv picture. Problem is by some reports due to hot weather (+ 70 farenheight) this is bs I have had 3 other vehicles same location same weather no problems. Runing ac does not solve problem. Went to dealer tech found loose connection. But problem continues this is a definite safety failure that is not fixed by Ford. Problem occurs when moved to reverse from park . Hasoccured every day since delivery.

The rear view/backup camera has not worked since the day we drove it home. It will work intermittently but most of the time it shows wavy lines across the screen. Occasionally after shifting from reverse to drive, the camera will start working but the rear view picture will remain on the screen even while in drive! there is also a strange hump in the dash on the passenger side as if something is pushing up from underneath. The dealer was contacted the day after purchase and we were told to bring the vehicle back for inspection. Now we are told that parts are not available and they don't know when they will be. Ford has been contacted and we are getting no help from them either. We have a brand new, expensive, defective, and potentially dangerous vehicle. It also has the strange lump in the driver's seat that others have mentioned.

My 2020 Ford Escape's automatic transmission makes odd whirring sounds and shifts hard often while driving. Automatic transmission still has a hard time shifting smoothly even when the vehicles been warmed up and driven for at least 10 minutes. The rear view camera has a mind of its own and doesn't always work. Even when it is working the feed is usually terrible quality. When it doesn't work you can't see anything out of the rear view camera, the image quality turns greyish and images lag. ## #vpic# 1 - check digit (9th position) does not calculate properly #vpic#.