Owner-reported complaints naming the steering system, filed with NHTSA
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Reports naming the steering system — racks, columns, power-steering assist and steering linkage. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2020 Ford Escape submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 18 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
The recall 25v467 was filed july 2025. Since then there has been no fix and my car has no steering due to this recall. Ford will not fix it or do anything. The escape has 106,000 miles. I am still paying payments and have no way to drive my vechile for the last year.
when driving I was approaching a curve and lost all steering for several seconds. I could turn the wheel completely all the way around and there was no control. After about 8 seconds steering was available again. This was not caused by hydroplaning as the roads are dry. speed was about 30 mph.
Upon starting our vehicle, we received several warning lights relating to collision control and that the AWD system had failed. This happened on a Saturday so we had to wait until Monday to bring the car in to the dealer for service. The service department told us that the diagnostic testing indicated that the AWD module and the PTU actuator motor needed to be replaced. Our vehicle is under six years and under 29,000 miles, along with being garage kept and having regular maintenance.
Out of nowhere, my vehicle had an AWD module failure. This has led to several other subsystems being triggered and warning lights going off. It also disables AWD. After consulting with a vendor, it appears that this is a problem that happens regularly with this vehicle around 55,000 miles. It is not a cheap fix, and results in a vehicle not being able to drive in AWD. This is a safety concern in inclement weather, as the vehicle clearly has a shoddy component that is designed to fail early in a vehicle‘s life. It is also my understanding that Ford has now discontinued this vehicle, and I bet that this is one of the reasons for it. Please issue a recall immediately so that Ford has to pay for its own mistakes and not the customer.
EVERY TIME I TRIED TO PUT GAS IN THE CAR IT WILL NOT START AND THE STEERING WHEEL LOCKS
4WD module was failing. It affected hill braking, AWD and collision alert and other components. These messages popped up on my driver screen repeatedly. Safety was compromised in winter driving in snow with no AWD. Also, safety impaired with no collision assist available and all the other safety features related to the module . I took it in for repair eventually and dealer confirmed error(s) and replaced the AWD module. I got error messages for at least 2 months before I took it in. The car had less than 30000 miles and was only 4 years old when this started. It was repaired in December 2024.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel was difficult to steer in the intended direction, with several unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed with metal debris on the rear brake magnet on the rear brakes. The contact was informed that the debris needed to be removed from the magnet of the rear brakes. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 19,185.
Car experiences delayed start after depressing ignition button and then afterwards the power steering does not work.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle the ABS and Traction Control warning messages had been displayed and the power steering had failed causing the steering wheel to become difficult to turn in each direction. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed that the steering column was faulty. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failures but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 16,900.
ALL WHEEL DRIVE STOPPED FUNCTIONING IN ICY/SNOWY CONDITION. CAUSING UNSAFE DRIVING CONDITIONS. WARNING MESSAGE: Driver display indicates, "ALL wheel drive module faulty, driver assist not available. Service required!" and an orange wrench displayed >>There is already a bulletin on this issue for 2020 Ford Escapes CSB21B19, April 2021, however our VIN was not included in bulletin. >> We took the car back to the dealership for repairs and they said they are having MANY Escapes coming in with this issue whose VINs are also not included in the original bulletin >> No pre warning. The first time we saw the warning the AWD failed on snowy road. >>We contacted FORD customer service and got the run around. FORD NEEDS TO INCREASE THE LIST OF VINS INCLUDED IN THE BULLETIN SO PEOPLE CAN GET THE MODULE REPLACED TO PREVENT THE LOSS OF AWD IN SNOWY/ICY CONDITIONS.
I brought my vehicle into its manufacturer service center after noticing several issues. The vehicle was not maneuvering as smoothly as it used to and when it hit bumps I would feel a slight loss of control. This is extremely dangerous, especially in the coming winter months where it snows heavily where I live in the midwest. I also hear like a cracking sound underneath the vehicle. I saw several service light illuminate to include: AWD Fault Service Required, Hill Start Not Available, and Pre Collision Assist Not Available. I brought in my vehicle into the Ford Service Center and they advised me that I needed to replace the AWD module and that this has been a common trend among the Ford Escape vehicles. I conducted research online and observed that several people have also had complaints about the same if not similar issues with the same year, make, and model of my vehicle. I strongly believe that this issue should be addressed in recall, especially given the numerous amounts of complaints and known issues.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel seized. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle became difficult to control. The vehicle was towed to the dealer to be diagnosed and it was determined that the electronic power steering control module had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.
The spot welds on the interior door assembly for the check arm broke off. Causing damage to my power window motor. And many other components. Car is at 50,000 miles. Not high wear. The welds are poorly done and ford is making me buy a new door as a result of their error.
I lost my ability to steer my vehicle. I attempted to step on the brakes and nothing happened. I hit a box truck in front of me going at least 30mph and only my shin airbag deployed.
pscm loss of power steering pulling into drive way minor damage to right fronty fender and bumper if this happened at highway speed on a curve it could been fatal took to dealer they replaced the steering column so far denied repair to bumper and fender there was no warring light came on after it happened
CAR JERKS OFF TO THE SIDE OF THERE IS A TURN LANE, ALMOST PULLED STEERING WHEEL OUT OF MY HANDS. DOES THIS EVERY TIME I GO BY A TURN LANE AT ANY SPEED
WHILE DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY, VEHICLES LANE KEEP ASSIST DETECTED THAT I WAS OUT OF MY LANE AND STEERED ME ONTO THE SHOULDER. I WAS CRUISING IN THE FAR RIGHT LANE AT ABOUT 75MPH WHEN THE LANE KEEP SWERVED ME ABRUPTLY ONTO THE SHOULDER AND I HAD TO RECOVER AGAINST THE SYSTEM.
ON THE 1.5L ENGINE WHEN YOU ARE ACCELERATING IN THE NORMAL DRIVING MODE YOU EXPERIENCE A VIBRATION IN THE STEERING WHEEL SIMILAR TO A FLAT TIRE. THE 2.0L ENGINE WITH THE SAME TRANSMISSION DOES NOT EXPERIENCE THE SAME PROBLEM.
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
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