2020 Ford Escape: adaptive cruise control problems

Filed Sep 25, 2026 · Transmission · OR

I am noticing an obvious lurching while accelerating at low speeds after being stopped. It also happens when slowing down. It is happening with and without adaptive cruise control engaged. This may cause someone to rear end me if my brake lights are not activated because I am not braking. Inversely it may cause me to rear end someone in front of me

Filed Aug 7, 2026 · Driver assistance · MD

While I was driving on a highway the ADAS (IPMA) suddenly stopped working creating a dangerous situation as I was using adaptive cruise control at the time. It has never worked since. Ford has told me that there is no software fix and the hardware needs to be replaced at a cost of $1500. Unless I pay that amount I will lack key safety features like forward collision warning and automatic emergency braking.

Filed Aug 6, 2026 · Driver assistance, Electrical · OR

My husband I originally purchased this vehicle around October 2020. We are the only owners and when we purchased it, it had 78 miles on it. Since I purchased it I have had to pay out of pocket for all the tire sensors to be replaced, I have had to purchase a new heater fan, and a sensor for a seat belt that prevented my adaptive cruise control from working. A while back, a warning light came on saying my adaptive cruise control was no longer working. I took it to Ford and was told it would cost $1600 to fix it. Surprisingly, it started working on it's own a few days later. Currently I took the car in because my rear passenger window wouldn't go up. I was told that it would cost almost $1800 to fix it. I have taken it to Ford to have 2 of the 3 recalls fixed. They do not show that it was fixed and I was told they weren't able to fix it. I pushed the button one day to send the cloth covering on the moon roof back. It snapped and no longer works, their is a crack in my dash, and I frankly don't have the money to fix a window motor that should have not quit after six years. I take excellent care of my car. I have all the maintenance taken care of. I expect to have the brakes fixed, new tires, new battery. What I don't expect is for the sensors and motors to go out. I have been driving for over 40 years, owned multiple vehicles and I have to say I am so disappointed with Ford. I understand that the problems I am having is not just me, that many Ford Escape owners are having similar issues. I would just like some assistance.

Filed Nov 9, 2025 · Acceleration, Electrical · CO

By dong my own research, I found out it was the AWD Module. It's not grounded correctly. There are multiple, long detailed forum posts on this. Here is one: [XXX] I verified my AWD drive module was indeed not getting enough power do to the grounding issue, which sends a cascade of other faults including the anti lock breaks, collision detection, driving modes, cruise control, auto hold, hill park assist. ALL are non-operational. Now my AWD module does not even show up with a OBD scanner. This should be a recall. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Sep 18, 2025 · Driver assistance, Seat belts · NV

.After activating the cruise control on the freeway for a few minutes, the cruise control deactivated and displayed the "Adaptive Cruise Not Available" message on the dashboard, immediately lowering the speed. Additionally, the sunroof interior stopped working after opening it. The bar that helps retract the sunroof interior came loose, and Ford says the repair is not covered under the extended warranty. There was also a problem with the rear seat belts, which displayed a warning: "REAR BELT MONITOR FAULT. SERVICE REQUIRED."

Filed Sep 1, 2025 · Driver assistance, Electrical · LA

My Adaptive Cruise Control, Blind Spot Warning, Rear Cross Traffic Warning, Pre Collision warning all quit working and just flash across the screen, my light indicators for blind spot on my side mirrors quit working, my back up camera just has a bluescreen, there is no audio so no alerts can be heard and my sync doesnt work it has the screen but wont let you hear anything so yes I drive a bit away to work not having these features has been a major safety concern I have almost backed into someone because they were in my blind spot and no warning lights or warning sounds I have perviously went to a dealership for four active recalls they only look at the powertrain one there was one about spot welds nothing was done about either they broke like within the first few months of me having the car I have never received anything on extending my warrenty partly because I moved I guess but they basically told me when I was there for the recalls I would have to come back and pay for them to look at the rest which I said I wasn't aware that I had to pay for something that was a safety concern so then I contacted the place where I purchased the car that was 2 weeks ago they still have not contacted me back after several attempt and no response I then got on chat with Ford gave them a list of what was going on and they have yet to respond either but it was read just being ignored at this point and I'm at the end of my patience these are major safety issues I haven't even had this car a maybe a year if that and no one care to help I was told there was nothing wrong with anything basically I would have to wait for something to happen when I went for the recalls

Filed Jun 23, 2025 · Driver assistance · 43,000 miles · FL

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 25-30 MPH with the Adaptive Cruise Control activated, the automatic emergency braking system failed to engage while another vehicle had pulled in front of the vehicle from the passenger's side of the vehicle. The contact stated that the failure only occurred while another vehicle was pulling in front of the vehicle from the passenger's side of the vehicle, but the vehicle responded as needed while another vehicle was pulling in front of the vehicle from the driver's side of the vehicle. The contact stated that the failure started occurring after an unknown software update was performed on the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the failure could not be duplicated because the dealer declined to test-drive the vehicle by driving 25-30 MPH on the road. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the dealer for assistance. Additionally, the manufacturer referred the contact to the federal safety agency Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 43,000.

Filed Apr 30, 2025 · Acceleration, Brakes · AZ

the front camera/ adaptive cruise control, pre collision assist, seems to have spontanteoulsy cut out while driving- a large bump in the road seems to have shook less the coaxial cable connections for the front camera in this car. This caused a fast and immediate deceleration that almost got me rear ended by the truck that was behind me. the car is at the dealership for a faulty cable/ IPMA module. this seems to be a very common issue for these cars. there were no messages PRIOR to the failure but the messages i am getting now are the front camera fault, and pre collision assist is no longer working. Adaptive cruise and even regular cruise control are no longer working either. additionally, i am getting a system off to save battery message, even though i just installed a new battery. This faulty camera/ connection to the camera seems to be creating a parasitic draw. This car is not even 5 years old and only has 40,000 miles. Cruise control and pre collsion are massive safety features that are no longer functioning.

Filed Apr 29, 2025 · Driver assistance · MO

Start vehicle an error start popping up, I have to cook OK to clear them. Lots of features that are not available, including hill assist, awd, cruise control. AWD module failure Is it available for inspection upon request? Yes How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? Yes awd and pre-collision assist are not available. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Yes Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? No Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? Yes several errors start cycling through allowing the driver to click OK. Hill Start assist not available Pre-collision assist, not available Service advance trac AWD fault service required See Manual

Filed Apr 15, 2025 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · SC

I was driving to work like normal this morning when an error message popped up that stated my All Wheel Drive had been turned off. It then gave another error message stating my hill parking assist had been turned off, and my cruise control is no longer functioning. Due to this I feel unsafe driving. This has happened to many other friends and family members that have owned this vehicle.

Filed Feb 19, 2025 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · NY

AWD module not working was on screen after starting vehicle plus other codes about adaptive cruise control

Filed Jan 20, 2025 · Body, Driver assistance · MS

My wife and I bought our 2020 Ford Escape new from a dealer in 2020. We are the first owners of this vehicle. In the time that we have had it, we have experienced the following issues: 1- the forward camera module that provides collision prevention, lane assist, adaptive cruise control, etc has failed. The dealer claims that the unit “overheated”. The module is no longer covered under warranty due to mileage. The result is that our vehicle no longer has the safety features that we paid extra for upon initial purchase. 2- the evaporative canister purge valve failed, causing difficult starts after refueling. This was not covered under warranty, due to mileage. 3- the driver door hinge check arm welds have all broken loose and no longer hold the door when opening, and the loose arm is now preventing the door from closing properly and, when closed, causing the drivers window to not roll down fully. This is not covered under warranty because of mileage AND (while it is a manufacturing defect), it has not been subjected to any recalls, so the dealership will not repair/replace it.