10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 1 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 9 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 314 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
« Read the previous 20 complaints
When closing the driver's side front door, an audible clicking sound was heard. When opening the door at my destination, some mechanism inside the door failed. I was unable to close the door all the way. I immediately drove to the Ford dealership service department, holding the door as closed as it would go (about a 12 inch gap). I have been waiting for two weeks for the repair to even be begun.
- Randolph, NJ, USA
Driver's door hinge welds failed (broke loose). This safety hazard may occur while operating vehicle. The hinge was attached to the door with 3 spot welds. The 3 spot welds all failed. The drivers door may open while driving and do not close once the welds have failed.
- Searcy, AR, USA
Driver door welds snapped and window controls no longer functions normally. Door does not open or close properly. Inspection available. safety is at risk because door does not close properly and could fly open when driving causing collision and injury to myself or others. Problem confirmed by dealer as a known problem with 2020 Escapes. Vehicle inspected by dealer. Told not repairable- new door needed. Failure occurred without warning in early January 2024.
- Taunton, MA, USA
Consistent metallic cracking noise heard when opening side door. I cannot completely open the door without the door making this noise and it feels like the door could come off at ant time-??..I have to gingerly open the door on entering or exiting the vehicle. Also, the Driver side window does not completely go up and down when door is closed. Dealer diagnosed issue as: BY001 DOOR HINGE BROKEN/DAMAGED. WILL NEED TO BE REPAIRED BY BODY SHOP. DAMAGE HINGE IS PUSHING INTO DOOR FRAME MESSING WITH WINDOW MECHANICS. The mileage is only at 37,835 and has only been driven for commuting to work/home, grocery shopping and very few leisure trips. It has not been in any accident or abused in any way.
- Marietta, GA, USA
Driver side door check hinge? started making loud popping noises. 2 days later the door wont close at all. Went to Ford Dealer and they were like warranty expired could be between 400 and 1200 dollars to fix. Again door stuck open and they finally get it closed and tell me to be careful and not open it all the way but if the arm breaks off the door could open on its own while the car is moving. After getting the door closed, they said theyd be in touch with options and costs. Unreal that this is not a safety concern for Ford.
- Fort Wayne, IN, USA
The driver side front door is making a popping sound when opening and closing. Rusty Eck for says this is a known issue but are refusing to repair without us paying for it. I see that 346000 autos are potentially affected, why is there not a recall?
- Wichita , KS, USA
All 3 welds that hold the drivers front door check arm failed over the course of a day. When travelling with the car I observed some strange creaking/cracking sounds when opening or closing the door, and within a day I found that the door was difficult to close and latch. I looked at the hinges, and notices 3 holes where the welds were, and the check arm moving inside the door. The safety issue is its difficult/impossible to close and latch the door, and difficult to make sure the door is actually latched and stays latched. The door has opened while driving, and I'm not sure if this is due to not being able to close it all the way or of the loose check arm is breaking other parts inside the door. The power window no longer works because the loose check arm appears to be blocking it or has destroyed those components. The dealer inspected the issue, and claimed that they have seen many cars with the same defective door welds. They claimed the door would have to be replaced and repainted though this work hasn't been completed yet. According to the dealer though this is a safety issue and 100% a manufacturing defect that Ford is well aware of they are forcing customers to pay for the repairs. This has not been inspected by police or insurance since it is a manufacturing defect and not related to an accident. This has only been an issue for a day, but if an accident, injury or death results from the door flying open while driving I will contact the police, insurance, and get legal representation. No warning lamps or symptoms prior to failure. I opened and closed the door less than 5 times after the first odd noise to when all the door welds failed.
- Apple Valley, MN, USA
Shortly after purchasing my 2020 Ford Escape my driver side window stopped working. Soon after my door hinges began to fail. I took this to several dealerships who said that the hinge was sagging leading to the electric within my door to have weight on it. My car is available for inspection, I am concerned my door will stop opening or not close all the way at some point putting my safety at risk. Both independent dealerships that I took my car to said this was a common issue. No warning lamps or messages.
- Columbus, OH, USA
Spot welds on the door check arm bracket have broken on the driver's side front door. The arm is still attached to the pillar, but is no longer attached to the door itself. This is also preventing the window from rolling down fully.
- Dearborn, MI, USA
Initially driver side door began sluggishly opening proceeding to a grinding open which and finally incomplete opening. Power window has also become inoperable. Dealer charged $400 to look at what is obviously a known problem and said needed a brand new door and quoted $3,000+ (10% of a new car!) Refused service and a mechanic explained the situation regarding the welding failure and said he "opted" to not attempt to re-install the door check, meaning the door now will fly wide open if not perfectly controlled (which will obviously result in damage to hinge system. We found our car with several hilarious flyers printed (attached below) showing the full awareness of the issue.Our escape is a fully loaded Titanium model and issue began developing at about 49,000 miles. Car has never been in a crash of any kind and has 50,000 miles the VAST majority being 300 mile round trips on the highway for work.
- Goodview, VA, USA
The driver door is trying to fall off. When I open it, it makes a loud creaking noise and then comes loose. When I try to shut it, it-??s not lined up and won-??t shut correctly and completely. This issue started almost immediately after purchasing it in July 2023. I brought it to the Ford dealership and it sat there for over a month before they looked at it. They never did give me an official diagnosis or estimate although I asked several times. I have been driving around like this for months.
- North Little Rock, AR, USA
I OWN A 2020 FORD ESCAPE. The Driver's Front Door started making a loud popping sound when opened and then it wouldn't close all of the way. It was hard to close but finally did. It kept making the popping noise louder every time it was opened and shut. Then, the Driver's Front Window failed to go down more than an inch and a half to two inches. It wouldn't roll up every time it was rolled down the couple of inches either. I took it to Mike White Ford Dealership in Coeur d'Alene, ID where I was informed that the welds on the control arm of the Driver's Door had failed and broken so the car needed to go to a body shop to be repaired. The dealership said that none of this is covered by my warranties.
- Spirit Lake, ID, USA
The passenger door start making a creaking/popping sound. Within the last week, it started to get louder and louder because the spot weld around the door check arm had completely broken. I took it to the dealership I purchased it from and ford denied assistance with my issue. They recommended I pay a body shop to fix it.
- Ukiah, CA, USA
Ford Escape-??s Door Hinges are Defective: Our 2020 Ford Escape driver door hinges had to be repaired by a non-Ford dealer body shop as the car was out of warranty. The Columbus, Georgia Ford dealer diagnosed the problem as being defective door hinges but they do not do body work. The door's rivets popped out and the hinges made grinding and popping sounds when opened or closed. There were no warning lamps or messages about the failure before it occurred. We would appreciate it if the NHTSA would issue a formal recall for this defect so we could be reimbursed for what we paid. Thank you very much.
- Cataula, GA, USA
my driver side door hinge randomly began making snapping noises and then the door no longer functioned properly. There are times when I cannot close my door fully so I must drive with the door partially opened. The issue also affects the window. I cannot roll my window down.
- Buffalo, NY, USA
Like many others, the spot welds gave way on my drivers door. It affects window operation and the door sounds terrible when opening and closing. I called ford and they told me to have the concern verified at my next service visit. They need to issue a recall for this ASAP.
- Moira, NY, USA
On [xxx] I noticed my wifes front driver door hinge was making noise. At that time I lubed the door hinges. Noise still present door hard to close. Opened and closed door multiple times to make sure door would close and latch. On [xxx] my wife drove the vehicle in the am. Upon arriving home she informed me that the window on the driver door would not open. I opened the door and put the window down.and it wouldn't go back up and the door would not close.at that point I contacted a friend who owns a body shop and he told me to bring the vehicle to the shop. With the door not closing I took the seat belt and put it around the door frame and through the window opening and drove the vehicle 2 miles to his shop with the door open about 8 inches from the latch while holding onto the seat belt. At his shop we were able to get the window up and the door closed.the door opens and closes now but we wont put the window down.he noticed that the door hinge check reinforcement had broken off of the inside of the door. On 12/27/2023 @907am I notified Ford Motor Co of the problem. The gave me a case #([xxx]) and told me to take vehicle to a dealer to verify problem. Itook the vehicle to tunkhannock Ford and problem was verified. Dealer tried to verify case # but was unable to verify. Again on 01/04/2024 8pm. Icalled Ford again give anothercase #([xxx]).dealer again tried with no luck called Ford again on 01/16/24 @6.40pm and told the 1st case # was the correct #. no luck again finally on 01/22/2024 @4pm. The Ford rep called the dealer and had us on a confrence call. After much conversation the rep.informed me that there was no recall or financial assistance for this problem. I repeated to her multiple times that this was a safety issue!!!!!! she informed me that if I got it repaired to save my receipts if any action in the future by Ford to reimburse for repair. Very irritated with answer. Also note that the doors were on hold for a campaign fix. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C.
- Scott Twp, PA, USA
Door hinge on 2020 Ford Escape has failed. The window no longer works, the door is difficult to open and close, sometimes it will not open or close. It makes a loud popping noise when opened or closed.
- Rocky Face, GA, USA
The driver side door began making loud creaking sounds and would not close properly. The power window would not go down all the way. I was terrified that the door would come open when I was driving and it did once! The Ford dealer said it is a known issue with faulty welding, but there is no recall. I had to pay $1,250 for the repair and I was without my vehicle for a week!
- Notasulga , AL, USA
- Lorain, OH, USA