2020 Ford Escape Problems, Recalls & Reliability
2,099 owner complaints sit in the federal file for the 2020 Ford Escape, alongside 23 recall campaigns and 2 defect investigations. It scores 52/100 on the trouble index — a below-average year for this model. Body & structure leads the reports, typically around 45,000 miles.
Below average
Where 2020 sits among all Escape years
What owners report
“Front driver door spot welds failed for the restrictor arm. Ability to open drivers door and window affected.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2020 Escape
“Spot welds for driver's side door restrainer broke allowing the door to swing open, not close fully and window to not go down.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2020 Escape
“The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the check engine warning light remained illuminated. The contact stated that after shifting to reverse(R), the vehicle failed to operate as needed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that…”— owner report to NHTSA, 2020 Escape
“The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V859000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall…”— owner report to NHTSA, 2020 Escape
“Front driver door makes popping sound and window won’t work. Car is 2020 and dealership is telling me that it’s not covered.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2020 Escape
“Out of no where I got codes for a AWD system fault, pre collision fault and hill start and traction assist fault.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2020 Escape
Mileage when trouble shows up
Among the 476 reports that include an odometer reading, problems most often appear around 43,000 miles. Half of those reports fall between 23,000 and 68,000 miles — a useful range to weigh against the mileage of the exact car you're looking at.
Recalls (23)
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Explorer, Escape, Lincoln Aviator, and Lincoln Corsair vehicles. The windshield wiper motor may fail and prevent the windshield wipers from operating properly.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and replace the front wiper motors as necessary, free of charge. Interim letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, were mailed April 2, 2026. Additional letters will be sent…
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Escape, Lincoln Corsair, 2020-2024 Lincoln Aviator, and Explorer vehicles. The image on the center display may flip or invert, resulting in an incorrectly displayed rearview image when the vehicle is…
Fix: Dealers will update the accessory protocol interface module (APIM) software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 23, 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at…
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Escape and 2025 Escape vehicles. The liftgate hinge covers may not be properly secured and detach from the vehicle.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and reinstall, or replace any missing liftgate hinge covers as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 3, 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer…
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2016-2019 Lincoln MKC, 2016-2023 Explorer, 2019-2020 Fusion, 2019-2024 Ranger, 2020-2022 Lincoln Corsair, Escape, 2021-2024 Bronco, Bronco Sport, and 2022-2024 Maverick vehicles. The engine block heater may crack…
Fix: Owners are advised not to plug in their block heater until the vehicle is remedied. Dealers will replace the block heater, free of charge. Owners will also have a alternative option to replace engine…
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020 Escape vehicles. The rear brake pads may have been manufactured incorrectly, which can reduce brake function in the event of a brake booster malfunction. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the…
Fix: Dealers will replace the front brake pads, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on November 5, 2025. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for…
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2021-2024 Bronco Sport and 2020-2022 Escape vehicles equipped with 1.5L engines. A fuel injector may crack and leak fuel inside the engine compartment.
Fix: Dealers will update the engine control software. In addition, dealers will replace the high-pressure fuel rail assembly and fuel injectors, free of charge. As an interim repair, dealers will update…
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018-2022 Transit Connect, 2019-2020 MKZ, MKX, Edge, Continental, F-150, Nautilus, Fusion, 2019-2023 Ranger, Mustang, 2020-2021 EcoSport, Expedition, Navigator, 2020-2022 Escape, F-250 SD, Corsair, 2020-2023…
Fix: Dealers will update the rearview camera software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed September 4, 2025. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number…
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2023 Escape, 2021-2023 Corsair, and 2022-2023 Maverick vehicles equipped with 2.5L HEV or PHEV engines that were repaired incorrectly under recall 23V380. In the event of an engine failure, engine oil and…
Fix: Owners are advised to park and shut off the engine as quickly as possible if they hear unexpected engine noises, notice a reduction in vehicle power, or see smoke. Dealers will update the powertrain…
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Escape and 2021-2023 Bronco Sport vehicles previously repaired incorrectly under recall numbers 22V-859 or 24V-187. A fuel injector may crack and leak fuel inside the engine compartment.
Fix: Dealers will update the powertrain control module (PCM) software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 22, 2025. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332.…
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2024 Ford Escape, and 2021-2024 Lincoln Corsair vehicles. A manufacturing defect in one or more of the high voltage battery cells may result in an internal short circuit and battery failure.
Fix: Owners are advised not to charge battery till the remedy has been completed. Dealers will perform a battery energy control module (BECM) software update, and replace the high voltage battery pack,…
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2025 Explorer, Lincoln Aviator, 2020-2024 Escape, Lincoln Corsair, 2018-2024 F-150, Expedition and Lincoln Navigator vehicles. The air bag warning label may be missing from the dashboard. As such, these…
Fix: Ford will mail owners the warning labels, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed December 19, 2024. Owners may call Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this…
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2022-2024 Maverick, 2020-2022 Escape, and 2021-2022 Lincoln Corsair vehicles. The Hybrid Powertrain Control Module (HPCM) software may cause the vehicle to shift into neutral unexpectedly, causing a loss of…
Fix: Dealers will update the HPCM software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 22, 2024. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this…
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2023 Escape, 2022-2023 Maverick, and 2021-2023 Corsair vehicles equipped with 2.5L HEV or PHEV engines. In the event of an engine failure, engine oil and fuel vapor may be released into the engine…
Fix: Owners are advised to park and shut off the engine as quickly as possible if they hear unexpected engine noises, notice a reduction in vehicle power, or see smoke. Dealers will replace the engine…
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2023 Escape and 2021-2023 Bronco Sport vehicles equipped with 1.5L engines. A fuel injector may crack and leak fuel inside the engine compartment.
Fix: Dealers will update the engine control software to include fuel injector leak detection and install a drain tube, free of charge. Interim owner notification letters informing owners of the safety…
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Escape, 2021-2022 Lincoln Corsair, and 2022 Maverick vehicles equipped with 2.5L HEV or PHEV engines. In the event of an engine failure, engine oil and fuel vapor may be released into the engine…
Fix: Owners are advised to park and shut off the engine as quickly as possible if they hear unexpected engine noises, notice a reduction in vehicle power, or see smoke. Dealers will modify the under…
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020 Escape and 2021 Lincoln Corsair vehicles equipped with 2.5L hybrid powertrains. Insufficient welds inside the high voltage battery may fail, resulting in a loss of drive power.
Fix: Dealers will replace the high voltage battery, free of charge. Interim owner notification letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on July 12, 2022. Owner notification letters were…
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Escape and 2021-2022 Bronco Sport vehicles equipped with 1.5L engines. The engine oil separator housing may crack and develop an oil leak.
Fix: Dealers will inspect the oil separator for damage or oil leaks, and replace the oil separator and seals, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 18, 2022. Owners…
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Edge, 2020 Lincoln Nautilus and Ford Escape and 2021 Lincoln Corsair and Ford Bronco Sport vehicles. An inadequate amount of lubricant in the rear drive unit may cause seizure of the rear drive axle.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will check the rear drive unit lubricant level. Axles found to have lubricant at the minimum level will be filled to the full level. Axles found to be below the…
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020 Escape vehicles equipped with a key-start ignition system. The Body Control Module (BCM) intermittently may not pick up the signal from the rear Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) sensors or the Remote…
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the BCM, free of charge. Owners are advised that two key fobs are required for the repair to be completed. The recall began December 1, 2020.…
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020 Ford F-150, F-250, F-350, F-450, F-550, Explorer, Mustang, Transit, Expedition, Escape, Ranger and Edge, and Lincoln Nautilus and Corsair vehicles. Due to a poor electrical connection, the rearview camera…
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the rearview camera, free of charge. The recall began November 17, 2020. Remedy became available on February 1, 2021. Owner notification letters…
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Edge, Transit Connect and Lincoln MKX and 2020 Escape and Lincoln Corsair vehicles. The start/stop accumulator endcap may have missing or loose bolts.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the start/stop accumulator, free of charge. The recall began September 23, 2020. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332.…
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020 Escape and Transit vehicles. The affected vehicles may have an improperly crimped diffuser in the side curtain air bags which may result in the diffuser detaching from the inflator in the event of an air…
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the side curtain air bag modules, free of charge. An interim letter notifying owners of the safety risk was mailed August 3, 2020. The recall began…
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018-2020 F-150 and 2019-2020 F-250, F-350, F-450, and F-550 Super Duty pickup trucks, and 2018-2019 Ford Explorer, 2019-2020 Expedition, and 2020 Escape vehicles equipped with driver and/or passenger's manual…
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and Ford and Lincoln dealers will inspect the seat structure and replace them, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began October 21, 2019. Owners may contact Ford…
Federal defect investigations
Complaint history for this model year
When owners filed their reports — a long tail means problems kept surfacing for years.
Questions buyers ask
Is the 2020 Ford Escape reliable?
The 2020 Ford Escape drew 2,099 complaints in federal safety records — a below-average year for this model. Its trouble index is 52/100, scored against the model's worst year (2013).
What are the most common 2020 Ford Escape problems?
The top reported problems for the 2020 Ford Escape are body & structure (675 complaints), other (310), and transmission & drivetrain (235).
At what mileage do 2020 Ford Escape problems show up?
Owners most often report 2020 Ford Escape problems around 43,000 miles. Half of all reports that include an odometer reading fall between 23,000 and 68,000 miles.
Does the 2020 Ford Escape have recalls?
23 recall campaigns apply to the 2020 Ford Escape. Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer.
Every number on this page is a count of records in the federal complaint, recall, and investigation files published by NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation. Check any specific vehicle's open recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.