NHTSA Owner Complaint Log
This page lists owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2020 Ford Escape. Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA and do not by themselves prove a defect or defect rate.
Data synced from NHTSA on May 4, 2026
Driver side door is literally falling off. The hinge is broken and the dealer says although it is a known issue Ford will not cover it. I cannot open the door or else will not be able to close it again. It took two men to close it once it broke and I've been using the passenger side door to enter and exit. I have 2 small children. All electronics inside of door are now non-functioning. Dealer wants $3,000 to repair. Not sure how a non-functioning door is not a safety issue. There are times when you may have to exit a vehicle in an emergency situation (like when it's on fire, in an accident, etc.) not to mention when you're driving down the highway and the door flies off.
I began to smell exhaust fumes inside the vehicle. This persisted for several days and I brought it in to the Ford Dealer. They found that there’s an exhaust leak down at the oxygen sensor that doesn’t seal against the catalytic converter. This is a very dangerous issue with this vehicle as it can kill the occupants of the vehicle while the car is being driven.
I was driving home and all error lights came on. When I got home, my ford app said transmission failure, awd failure, hill start failure and pre collision failure. All of these are necessary to not get in an accident. I called the ford dealer and brought the car in for diagnosis ($200). Ford called a few hours later and said the AWD module is bad and needs to be replaced ($1k).My ford only has 36k miles over 4 years and I’m the original owner. The vehicle has never been off road or abused in anyway. I see hundreds of people online complaining about this module going bad at such a short time. This should be a recall since ford knew about it with the 2020 vehicles but won’t replace with their 5year 60k mile power train warranty. It’s actually affecting my cars performance as I cannot use AWD and car runs sluggish.
The welded part in the door broke. Door quit staying open, would shut on your leg. Horrible noise before it broke completely. Window would not roll down after the weld broke. Front driver side door.
The driver’s side front door mades a creaking/popping sound when opening, hard to open drivers door due to an issue with the welding First noticed when getting into the car where car was parked
All wheel drive control module controls the powertrain but is apparently not covered under powertrain warranty. Very expensive repair on a relatively new vehicle.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the gear shifter was stuck in park(P). The contact stated that the failure occurred while the temperature was hot. The contact stated after parking the vehicle, the gear shifter remained stuck in park(P). The contact waited for 30 minutes before the gear shifter was able to be shifted to the desired gear. The vehicle was taken to several independent mechanics and to the local dealer; however, no cause for the failure was found. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure persisted. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHSTA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was unknown.
There has been a cracking noise when opening my passenger front door. Heard a POP and notice three small holes on the side of door. I can barely open my door and can’t let down the window. Called ford and of course the famous line, “Since your car is not under warranty, we cannot fix the problem.” Shouldn’t this problem be a recall? I’ve been researching and noticed many Ford Escapes are dealing with the same issue. I feel like I’m driving a Build-A-Car. Come on Ford you have to do better.
My driver side door started creaking the other day now I can barely open it and then it just opens on me when I least expect it.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the front driver’s side door opened unintendedly. The local dealer was contacted, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 62,000.
Door hinge on front driver's side door is broken and door swings open hard (especially in wind). It has knocked people (myself, my wife) over and has hit vehicles parked next to it. Took it in to Ford and they said things like this break. Now the same thing happened to the passenger side front door. This seems to be a manufacturing issue.
My 2020 SEL Ford Escape has faulty spot welds on the drivers side door hinge. All three spot welds have broken and has caused the door to make metal scraping noise and is hard to shut. Also, I can not longer roll down my drivers side window because the hinge is blocking the window from rolling down.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle began to hesitate and jerk. The contact was able to pull to the shoulder of the roadway, where the failure persisted. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the transmission, requiring the transmission to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 118,000. The VIN was not available.
The drivers side door made a popping and cracking sound like the hinge broke off when I went to open it, it sounds like the door is going to fall off,the car has 37000 miles on it bought it from a certified ford dealer in watertown, NY and less than 90 days later it is broke. The drivers window will not go down and the arm bracket/ hinge is broke . I took the car to the ford dealer where I purchased it less then 90 days ago and bought and extended warranty was told that it does not cover the door. Now the door is still broke and window cant be used. This is the first Ford I have purchased I should have stuck with Nissan. very unhappy especially since I bought an extended 5 year warranty.
I bought the car from Davidson Ford dealer in watertown, Ny on [XXX] less then 3 months later the drivers side door bracket has broke/ snapped and now the window cannot be rolled down. It sounds like the door is going to fall off. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Driver's door safety check arm spot welds broke
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the driver's side front door was making an abnormally loud squeaking noise. The door was difficult to close. The driver had to jiggle the door for the door to close completely. The driver's side front window was also difficult to roll down. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the door hinge weld needed to be repaired. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 65,667.
Door makes a loud clanging noise when open and does not stay open
The driver's side door hinge has broken. I can't open the door wide or it won't shut. The gentleman at the dealership said it may need welding. Whatever has happened is affecting the operation of that door's window as well. I have read that there have been complaints/concerns of this from others yet no recall has been considered.
The car door on the drivers side opened and then refused to shut. It is a safety risk because it is unable to be operated and caused bruises when it swung shut. The dealer confirmed this is an ongoing issue but refused to cover costs to fix it because I am 473 miles out of the 36,000 mileage. No warnings were issued on the car or the ford app. No prior information was provided to me about this issue before it occurred.
Driver's door when opening would make a clunking sound. After opening it a couple times door would not shut. Finally getting it to shut, the door now will not open all the way. Also since this happening the window on that door will not roll down. Safety issue is that I'm afraid the door won't stay closed or it may fall off. Also the gas cap light is on, always been a problem even when the cap door is completely closed.
2020 Ford Escape has an failure of spot welds in the vehicle's doors, causing the door check arm to break off. Unable to open window all the way or open door all the way. Having repaired before I'm unable to close door or it falls off.
Weld spots on inside of driver's door are broken.
Drivers door check bracket welds have broken. Door will not shut properly. Window will not function properly.
78,000 miles second vehicles of this make/model that our business had the head gasket destroyed by - Coolant leaks into the engine -causing a need for an engine replacement that ford will not cover.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that on several occasions while exiting and entering the driver's door, there was an abnormally loud popping sound coming from the door. Additionally, while the vehicle was parked, the contact attempted to roll down the driver's window, but the window would not roll down. The vehicle was taken to two body shops where it was diagnosed that the pressure and or friction caused an unknown part to fracture, and the window motor failed. The contact was informed that the driver's door needed to be repaired. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was determined that the driver's side door needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while entering the vehicle, there was an abnormal popping sound emanating from the door hinge, after which the door was not flush with the body of the vehicle while closed. The door ajar warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to Technical Service Bulletin: SSM 50150. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 31,000.
I have a failure of the spot welds of the door check arm in my vehicles driver-side door (3-days ago on Monday, 03/18/24). It has broken off. This arm ensures the door safely closes. I sometimes have trouble closing / securing the door. And now the window will not roll down as of yesterday. I have contacted my Ford dealership & Ford customer service and both tell me cannot fix the problem because the do not know how to fix it yet & do not have the parts to fix it. They tell me that this is an "Advance Recall" notice (#23B56) that has not been publicly sent out yet and that I'll have to either pay some else to fix it or wait until the end of the 2nd quarter of 2024. If Ford does not know how to fix it OR have the parts to fix it, how is anyone else going to fix it? This is a safety & liability issue.
Front driver door spot welds failed for the restrictor arm. Ability to open drivers door and window affected.
the driver door it makes noice and gets stuck when try to opening it up.
Vehicle 4 years old under 100,000 miles now having transmission issues, vehicle took into for dealership for review (check engine light on)car owner informed service member that specializes in transmission repair not in for 3 weeks as of March 2024. Vehicle now experiencing slipping when acceleration/ deceleration, slipping to stop. Vehicle showing signs of issues as reported with current Ford Lawsuit Accusing Automaker of Concealing Fusion, Escape 6F35 Transmission Problems.
TSB found 22-2433. TSB says vehicle needs fuel filler tube replacement. This item should be a recall fix not paid by vehicle owner. This article supersedes TSB 22-2176 to increase the labor operation allowance and update the part list. Some 2020-2022 Escape/Corsair vehicles built on or before 3-Jan-2022, 2020-2022 Explorer vehicles built on or before 14-Feb-2022, 2020-2022 Aviator vehicles built on or before 07-Feb-2022 and 2021-2022 Bronco Sport vehicles built on or before 3-Dec-2021 may exhibit a slow fuel fill and/or spit back condition during refueling. This may be due to the design of the fuel tank filler pipe. To correct the condition, follow the Service Procedure to replace the fuel tank filler pipe.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the navigator's computer screen froze, blacked out, and was inoperable. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact called the local dealer but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 34,000
2020 Ford Escape. Front driver door made a lot of creaking noise, hard to open and close, couldn't roll window down because hinge had broken was loose in door. Discussed with Mel Hamilton Ford, Wichita KS, while it was there getting another issue addressed. Said it was not covered under warranty. Just a couple thousand over 36,000. Door popping and creaking began before the 36,000 mile warranty had expired. It was in and out of shop to get another issued figured out. Took to Lubber Ford in Cheney KS and they said the weld was broken took hinge out of door. I took to a body shop, said it can't be fixed needs entire door replaced for $3000.00. Ford knows it's a problem, they offered to pay $1200 of a $3,000 fix. Ford needs to replace door at full cost since they issued a Technical Service Bulletin in Sept. 2021. My Escape was still under warranty and had been at the dealership many many times for other issues and no one mentioned the door problem until I had it at Lubbers.
Spot weld on driver's door has failed. Numerous complaints about this. Adding my vehicle to the list. Difficult to open and close and window does not operate. Crunching sounds
The door welds and arm on the driver side door is breaking. Loud creaking, popping noise. Now door is not wanting to shut. We see this is a common problem with this type of vehicle.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while opening and closing the front driver's side door, the contact found a fractured piece of weld on the floor and noticed that the front driver's side door check arm welds were fractured. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who took pictures of the failure and informed the contact that the pictures would be sent to the manufacturer. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 83,260.
The driver side of door just started being hard to open, makes loud noise like the hinges are catching…. Along with that the day after that began, the window won’t go down. This was in March.a- since then the passenger door behind the driver won’t unlock and since yesterday, May 10th, I CAN’T LOCK MY CAR!!!!! Whatever is going on with the door is having a domino effect of other functions!!!!
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while entering the vehicle, she heard an abnormal popping sound. After a visual inspection, the contact observed that the door check arm had detached. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the door check arm and attachment points for both the front driver’s and passenger’s side doors. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Action Number: PE23013 (Structure). The manufacturer was notified of the failure but referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 75,000.
Drivers front door began popping when opening and now will not close and window is now not operational. While traveling down highway the door wouldn't latch fully as well. Window now will not go down and door is making a heck of a popping noise
Cracked or Broken Spot Welds in the Left Front Door At the Check Arm Attachment Points in the Door Assembly - [XXX] - Available for inspection upon request. The door will not open without creating a loud crunching sound, requiring the passenger to squeeze out before the check point. Check points are inoperative. The window often malfunctions. There was no warning. I found the problem by searching online. This is a common issue with the 2020-2022 Ford Escape. See [XXX] The repair is not covered by the warranty. NHTSA should issue a recall. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
While driving home from work the car stopped reacting to the gas pedal and I was going fast enough to coast into a parking lot. Had I been on the bridge or turnpike it could have been a disaster.
Front driver door has a loud pop when opening and not opening and closing correctly. Per body shop appears to be a defect with the door's check arm which from our research is a known issue by Ford but no recalls have been issued.
Drivers door won’t close the spot welds are broken on check link mounting bracket
Ford C.S.P. #23B56. The three spot welds on the drivers side door check arm broke out. We have problems opening and closing the door as the check arm sometimes gets stuck inside the panel.
AWD control module needs to be replaced at nearly $1000. Just replaced the emissions sensor for $500. Both are known issues and one was a recall but not for my VIN.
Drivers door started popping very loud spoke to ford about it they said to report the safety issue on the welds breaking in the door
after dealing with the loud popping of my door for one day, now my window will not roll down and when i open and close my door there is no tension at all. making me believe that the entire inside of my door panel fell apart. it’s scary because i’m worried i may not be able to open or close my door soon, or that it will stop latching.
A message appears that reads" Falla en system. de control de cinturones de sguridad traseros. Require servicio"
The door hinge limiter bracket on the drivers front door has a broken weld and has becomes detached. This also interferes with the window being able to open and close.