NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
Electrical System complaints
42 reportsClear category filter34,500 miles · May 14, 2024
Electrical System
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while trying to turn the inside vehicle lights, she accidently pushed the sunroof button. The sunroof cover broke. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with the entire sunroof needing replacement. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact states …
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The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while trying to turn the inside vehicle lights, she accidently pushed the sunroof button. The sunroof cover broke. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with the entire sunroof needing replacement. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact states that is a safety hazard because the vehicle gets extremely hot without the sunroof cover. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to call the dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 34,500.
NHTSA ODI #11588769
Mileage unknown · Apr 18, 2024
Electrical System
A software update to the SYNC 3 system was sent out to my vehicle after the update took place the radio system as well as navigation, backup camera, and self parking all failed to work. And the system never turned back on again. After diagnosis from Ford dealership it was declared that the APIM needs to be replaced. I tried to v…
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A software update to the SYNC 3 system was sent out to my vehicle after the update took place the radio system as well as navigation, backup camera, and self parking all failed to work. And the system never turned back on again. After diagnosis from Ford dealership it was declared that the APIM needs to be replaced. I tried to voice my problem to ford corporate via phone calls, emails, and letter and they did not acknowledge that the problem was from the update.
NHTSA ODI #11583904
Mileage unknown · Mar 25, 2024
Electrical System
entertainment system needs to be reset multiple times a day. bluetooth does not connect to the same cell phone i have been using and needs to be re-connected manually every time I start the car. stereo and gps are non-responsive and require restart to properly operate. Bluetooth needs to connect automatically to my phone.
NHTSA ODI #11579272
Mileage unknown · Mar 3, 2024
Electrical SystemEngineSteering
Driving the 2020 Ford Escape it completely shut down during a rain storm requiring us to pull off the main road coasting to a stop. Very concerned with the fact that The emergency flashers did not function and the rest of the dash and LCD panel went black. After 20 minutes I was able to get the vehicle started but the check engi…
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Driving the 2020 Ford Escape it completely shut down during a rain storm requiring us to pull off the main road coasting to a stop. Very concerned with the fact that The emergency flashers did not function and the rest of the dash and LCD panel went black. After 20 minutes I was able to get the vehicle started but the check engine light was illuminated and I was able to drive the 1/2 mile home. The car is in our driveway and I have a service appointment on 3/6. With this potential problem in place I do not want to drive it if it will shut down in the middle of the interstate highway.
NHTSA ODI #11575191
21,500 miles · Feb 12, 2024
Electrical SystemStructure
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. That contact stated that upon entering the vehicle, the driver's side door opened abnormally wide, after which the driver's side door became jammed. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed failures with the high-low voltage converter and the door…
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The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. That contact stated that upon entering the vehicle, the driver's side door opened abnormally wide, after which the driver's side door became jammed. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed failures with the high-low voltage converter and the door check arm attachment point. The voltage converter was repaired, but the door check arm attachment point 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, and a case was opened. The failure mileage was 21,500.
NHTSA ODI #11571462
Mileage unknown · Jan 19, 2024
Electrical System
I was driving home in my 2020 Escape Hybrid, a 2 1/2 hour trip. All of a sudden, 40 miles from home and as I was driving on a busy expressway just before nightfall, my info screen and the main screen went black. The info screen said there was a connectivity error. I had no idea what was going on, but I was terrified that my head…
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I was driving home in my 2020 Escape Hybrid, a 2 1/2 hour trip. All of a sudden, 40 miles from home and as I was driving on a busy expressway just before nightfall, my info screen and the main screen went black. The info screen said there was a connectivity error. I had no idea what was going on, but I was terrified that my headlights would go out. Luckily, there was an exit coming up, and I took it and parked at the gas station right off the exit. I called AAA for a tow. They had to put the car on a flatbed truck, as once I had turned the car off it wouldn’t start again, so I couldn’t put it into neutral. I got towed home, as the dealership was closed; and the next morning I got towed to the dealership. I was told by the service advisor that the battery had a bad cell. Since this was the second battery that died within a year, the dealership replaced it for free. I’m on a Ford Escape Hybrid forum, and there are many people who have had the same problem with the 12 volt battery. It was suggested to replace the battery with a larger AGM battery. I was lucky there was an exit right there. If I had driven the car any longer, I probably would have lost my headlights and the whole car would have died. And I could have been killed. This is a life-threatening issue that Ford should fix by replacing the battery with a larger one that has enough power to run the car and thus won’t fail prematurely. I’m scared to drive my car now.
NHTSA ODI #11566606
Mileage unknown · Jan 12, 2024
Electrical SystemEngineForward Collision Avoidance
This recall is very serious, I do not feel safe driving my car as it could explode and kill me, and or others. No eta on a serious recall, even though I am being forced to pay for repairs, and possibly cause more damage to my engine for this serious recall.
NHTSA ODI #11565127
Mileage unknown · Jan 8, 2024
Electrical SystemEngineSteering
I purchased the vehicle brand new in February 2020 and it has had persistent battery/electrical issues. In May 2022 the battery was malfunctioning and I was driving it to the dealership to be examined and it completely died while I was driving. The electrical system failed while I was driving. I have had the battery replaced at …
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I purchased the vehicle brand new in February 2020 and it has had persistent battery/electrical issues. In May 2022 the battery was malfunctioning and I was driving it to the dealership to be examined and it completely died while I was driving. The electrical system failed while I was driving. I have had the battery replaced at least 3 times in less than 4 years and, despite the battery being replaced less than a year ago, it needs to be replaced again. Ford is not willing to cover the replacement battery despite it being less than 1 year ago. Ford is not standing by their vehicle and refusing to accommodate the repeated battery issues, including catastrophic failure while driving.
NHTSA ODI #11564186
Mileage unknown · Nov 15, 2023
Electrical SystemVehicle Speed Control
There is an issue with the instrument gauge cluster upon ignition start-up. The digital gauge cluster screen suddenly turns off and restarts after a full minute of turning on the car's ignition. After an automatic software restart of the gauge cluster and driving on the highway through Northbound Mopac Loop 1 in Austin, the clus…
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There is an issue with the instrument gauge cluster upon ignition start-up. The digital gauge cluster screen suddenly turns off and restarts after a full minute of turning on the car's ignition. After an automatic software restart of the gauge cluster and driving on the highway through Northbound Mopac Loop 1 in Austin, the cluster shows a frozen black background with the blue normal drive mode. The gauge cluster works fine but intermittently goes blank after starting the car.
NHTSA ODI #11555283
Mileage unknown · Nov 11, 2023
Electrical SystemEngine
2020 Ford Escape hybrid titanium: Complete electrical shut down of every electrical component, all interior/exterior systems inoperable, including inability to start engine. Manual key required to open door. Initial attempts to jump start do not work - takes numerous attempts to jump start until car by chance ‘wakes up’. Batte…
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2020 Ford Escape hybrid titanium: Complete electrical shut down of every electrical component, all interior/exterior systems inoperable, including inability to start engine. Manual key required to open door. Initial attempts to jump start do not work - takes numerous attempts to jump start until car by chance ‘wakes up’. Battery charging will not help and low charge on starter batter is not the issue. Parking brake release not possible for towing since no electrical to release parking brake. Car is not equipped to manually disengage parking brake - contrary to what is written in manual. Therefore is a problem for towing company if they do not have dolly's to place on flat bed. Software update is required at dealership to solve issue. In the meantime, you can get seriously stranded with a dead car. Also far too many recalls placing ever going time consuming burden on owners to deals with problems after shipping from the manufacturer.
NHTSA ODI #11554635
NHTSA investigations
2PE23013 · Failed Door Check Arm Attachment Point
Opened Jul 7, 2023 · Closed Jan 24, 2024
Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Structure:body:door ; Structure:body:door:hinge And Attachments
On July 7, 2023, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE23-013 to investigate instances of check arm bracket failure in the front doors in model year (MY) 2020-2021 Ford Escape vehicles. At the time of opening, ODI received 118 Vehicle Owner Questionnaires (VOQs) alleging this failure. To date, ODI has received 593 VOQs alleging this failure, with a variety of reported failure conditions. The most common reported failure condition was reduced door functionality (e.g. door was more difficult to open or close) and the least common was inadvertent door opening. Other reported failure conditions include inability to latch and inability to open. Three VOQs reported injuries, one of which requiring medical attention. ODI conducted a consumer survey which yielded an additional 44 injuries (although the VOQs did not indicate any injury), none of which requiring medical attention. All these injuries were bumps/bruises from the door closing on occupants’ arms and legs while entering and exiting the vehicle. The function of the check arm system is to provide hold-open assist at specific angles and to assist with door closing energy. It does not provide vertical support of the door and is independent of the latching mechanism. This failure is progressive and detectable by vehicle occupants. Consumers commonly report hearing a popping or snapping noise when opening and closing the door. This noise is caused by some of the welds between the bracket and door structure failing and detaching. There may also be visible damage present to the welds in the door structure. Continued use of the door may result in all welds separating and the bracket fully detaching from the door structure, which could lead to increased resistance in closing and opening the door, restrained window operation, and the door freely rotating when open. ODI inspected 3 consumer vehicles in the field, and 2 test vehicles at Ford’s testing facility. The test vehicles were retrofitted with the failed component. ODI observed an increased door closing resistance, however, was unable to reproduce an inadvertent open while parked or driving, or a failure to latch or open condition. Testing also verified this failure did not affect the door ajar warning system. This system provides an audible and visual warning in the event a door did not achieve primary latch position. Ford has provided details on a one-time-repair customer satisfaction program (23B56), stating that they will provide customers with a letter, currently targeted for March 2024, to bring their vehicle to a Ford dealership for a proactive repair. Dealers will inspect the door check arm welds for damage and will either provide a rivet plate to reinforce the existing door check arm or will provide a replacement door, depending on the level of damage present. Customers will be eligible for reimbursement if they previously paid to repair this issue. In view of the high detectability of failure, low potential hazard to drivers, and Ford’s customer satisfaction program to provide a proactive repair, this Preliminary Evaluation (PE) is closed. The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that a safety-related defect does not exist. The Agency reserves the right to take additional action if warranted by future circumstances. To review the ODI reports cited in the Closing Resume ODI Report Identification Number document, go to NHTSA.gov.
Additional source detail variants (2)
Structure:body:door
On July 7, 2023, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE23-013 to investigate instances of check arm bracket failure in the front doors in model year (MY) 2020-2021 Ford Escape vehicles. At the time of opening, ODI received 118 Vehicle Owner Questionnaires (VOQs) alleging this failure. To date, ODI has received 593 VOQs alleging this failure, with a variety of reported failure conditions. The most common reported failure condition was reduced door functionality (e.g. door was more difficult to open or close) and the least common was inadvertent door opening. Other reported failure conditions include inability to latch and inability to open. Three VOQs reported injuries, one of which requiring medical attention. ODI conducted a consumer survey which yielded an additional 44 injuries (although the VOQs did not indicate any injury), none of which requiring medical attention. All these injuries were bumps/bruises from the door closing on occupants’ arms and legs while entering and exiting the vehicle. The function of the check arm system is to provide hold-open assist at specific angles and to assist with door closing energy. It does not provide vertical support of the door and is independent of the latching mechanism. This failure is progressive and detectable by vehicle occupants. Consumers commonly report hearing a popping or snapping noise when opening and closing the door. This noise is caused by some of the welds between the bracket and door structure failing and detaching. There may also be visible damage present to the welds in the door structure. Continued use of the door may result in all welds separating and the bracket fully detaching from the door structure, which could lead to increased resistance in closing and opening the door, restrained window operation, and the door freely rotating when open. ODI inspected 3 consumer vehicles in the field, and 2 test vehicles at Ford’s testing facility. The test vehicles were retrofitted with the failed component. ODI observed an increased door closing resistance, however, was unable to reproduce an inadvertent open while parked or driving, or a failure to latch or open condition. Testing also verified this failure did not affect the door ajar warning system. This system provides an audible and visual warning in the event a door did not achieve primary latch position. Ford has provided details on a one-time-repair customer satisfaction program (23B56), stating that they will provide customers with a letter, currently targeted for March 2024, to bring their vehicle to a Ford dealership for a proactive repair. Dealers will inspect the door check arm welds for damage and will either provide a rivet plate to reinforce the existing door check arm or will provide a replacement door, depending on the level of damage present. Customers will be eligible for reimbursement if they previously paid to repair this issue. In view of the high detectability of failure, low potential hazard to drivers, and Ford’s customer satisfaction program to provide a proactive repair, this Preliminary Evaluation (PE) is closed. The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that a safety-related defect does not exist. The Agency reserves the right to take additional action if warranted by future circumstances. To review the ODI reports cited in the Closing Resume ODI Report Identification Number document, go to NHTSA.gov.
Structure:body:door:hinge And Attachments
On July 7, 2023, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE23-013 to investigate instances of check arm bracket failure in the front doors in model year (MY) 2020-2021 Ford Escape vehicles. At the time of opening, ODI received 118 Vehicle Owner Questionnaires (VOQs) alleging this failure. To date, ODI has received 593 VOQs alleging this failure, with a variety of reported failure conditions. The most common reported failure condition was reduced door functionality (e.g. door was more difficult to open or close) and the least common was inadvertent door opening. Other reported failure conditions include inability to latch and inability to open. Three VOQs reported injuries, one of which requiring medical attention. ODI conducted a consumer survey which yielded an additional 44 injuries (although the VOQs did not indicate any injury), none of which requiring medical attention. All these injuries were bumps/bruises from the door closing on occupants’ arms and legs while entering and exiting the vehicle. The function of the check arm system is to provide hold-open assist at specific angles and to assist with door closing energy. It does not provide vertical support of the door and is independent of the latching mechanism. This failure is progressive and detectable by vehicle occupants. Consumers commonly report hearing a popping or snapping noise when opening and closing the door. This noise is caused by some of the welds between the bracket and door structure failing and detaching. There may also be visible damage present to the welds in the door structure. Continued use of the door may result in all welds separating and the bracket fully detaching from the door structure, which could lead to increased resistance in closing and opening the door, restrained window operation, and the door freely rotating when open. ODI inspected 3 consumer vehicles in the field, and 2 test vehicles at Ford’s testing facility. The test vehicles were retrofitted with the failed component. ODI observed an increased door closing resistance, however, was unable to reproduce an inadvertent open while parked or driving, or a failure to latch or open condition. Testing also verified this failure did not affect the door ajar warning system. This system provides an audible and visual warning in the event a door did not achieve primary latch position. Ford has provided details on a one-time-repair customer satisfaction program (23B56), stating that they will provide customers with a letter, currently targeted for March 2024, to bring their vehicle to a Ford dealership for a proactive repair. Dealers will inspect the door check arm welds for damage and will either provide a rivet plate to reinforce the existing door check arm or will provide a replacement door, depending on the level of damage present. Customers will be eligible for reimbursement if they previously paid to repair this issue. In view of the high detectability of failure, low potential hazard to drivers, and Ford’s customer satisfaction program to provide a proactive repair, this Preliminary Evaluation (PE) is closed. The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that a safety-related defect does not exist. The Agency reserves the right to take additional action if warranted by future circumstances. To review the ODI reports cited in the Closing Resume ODI Report Identification Number document, go to NHTSA.gov.
DP22005 · Pedestrian Alert Sounds
Opened Jan 27, 2023 · Closed Aug 7, 2023
Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Electrical System:propulsion System
NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 KG or less or are defined as low-speed vehicles. The standard became fully applicable to all such vehicles manufactured on or after March 1, 2021.On January 27, 2023, NHTSA opened Defect Petition (DP) 22-005 to evaluate the subject matter described in the petition. On June 24, 2023 and as supplemented on June 25, 2023, the petitioner notified NHTSA he was withdrawing his petition. The petitioner indicated that, based on his review of data, there is no justification for asserting potential benefits that could be derived from actions sought by my petition. Based on the petitioner's withdrawal, DP22-005 is closed. Closure of this DP does not represent a determination by NHTSA regarding the subject matter of the petition.
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