IllustrationWHEN TRYING TO USE THE HORN IT WON'T WORK, BUT SOMETIMES IT WOULD WORK BY ITSELF. *AK
1998 Ford Escort
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
More warning signs than most Escort years
Owner complaints for the 1998 Ford Escort are substantially higher than the model-year median of 101.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Escort years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
Limited mileage data: 57 of 375 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Air Bags. Review the 75 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Suspension. Review the 50 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Engine And Engine Cooling. Review the 49 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
84 crash reports11 fire reports63 injury reports
What owners actually said
375 reportsWHILE DRIVING ABOUT 65 MPH VEHICLE STARTED WANDERING FROM SIDE TO SIDE ON THE ROAD AND VIBRATE FROM REAR TO FRONT. *AK
TRUNK DID NOT STAY OPEN. IT HAS FALLEN ON CONSUMER, CAUSING HEAD INJURIES. DEALER HAS NOT SEEN VEHICLE. *AK
POOR PICKUP, POOR INTERSTATE ONRAMP SPEED, ROUGH IDLE. *AK
ON HIGHWAY UNDER SNOWY AND ICY CONDITIONS CONSUMER TRIED TO TURN ON THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS, AND THEY WOULD NOT TURN ON. CONSUMER FELT THIS WAS VERY UNSAFE. *AK
VEHICLE STARTED, ENGINE RATTLED UPON ACCELERATION AT ALL SPEEDS AT 2300 MILES. AFTER NUMEROUS FAILED REPAIR ATTEMPTS BY DEALER,I SENT COMPLAINT TO FORDS DSB BOARD.WORKING THROGH ARBITRATION VEHICLE LOOKED AT BY ENGINEER.THEY REPLACED PCM.PROBLEM GOT WORSE,ALONG WITH NEW PROBLEMS,LACK OF POWER,HARD START,TRANSMISSION HESITAING.TH…
Read full complaint
VEHICLE STARTED, ENGINE RATTLED UPON ACCELERATION AT ALL SPEEDS AT 2300 MILES. AFTER NUMEROUS FAILED REPAIR ATTEMPTS BY DEALER,I SENT COMPLAINT TO FORDS DSB BOARD.WORKING THROGH ARBITRATION VEHICLE LOOKED AT BY ENGINEER.THEY REPLACED PCM.PROBLEM GOT WORSE,ALONG WITH NEW PROBLEMS,LACK OF POWER,HARD START,TRANSMISSION HESITAING.THEN THEY REPLACED FUEL PUMP,DIDNT HELP, THEN IGNITION SWITCH, DIDNT HELP,THEN MASS AIR FLOW SENSOR AND AIR FILTER, DIDNT HELP.FINALLY VEHICLE STARTED STALLING WHILE DRIVING, DURING ACC. TOWED BACK TO SHOP, FORD HAD IT SIX WEEKS THIS TIME REPLACED PCM TWO MORE TIMES.I HAVE VEHICLE BACK,STILL PROBLEM WITH TRANSMISSION HESITATING.VEHICLE IN SHOP EIGHT TIMES FOR SAME OR RELATED PROBLEMS AND TOTALLING ALMOST THREE MONTHS IN SHOP. STILL IN ARBITRATION, CONSDERING CLOSING CASE AND TAKING TO DSB. PERSONALLY. *AK
WHILE DRIVING & THEN APPLYING BRAKES, WOULD HEAR A KNOCKING NOISE. BEEN TO DEALERSHIP & MECHANIC REPLACED CALIPERS. CURRENTLY WHEN APPLYING BRAKES THEY WOULD STICK & MAKE GRINDING NOISES WHEN TRAVELING BETWEEN 30-55MPH. THEN AFTER A WHILE NOISE WOULD STOP. TAKING VEHICLE BACK AGAIN TO DEALERSHIP TO HAVE MECHANIC CHECK. *AK
WHILE TRAVELING 35 MPH CONSUMER HIT A HALL, AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY, IT BECAME HOT, CAUSING UNJURIES. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION. *AK
WHEN APPLYING THE BRAKES IN WET CONDITIONS VEHICLE SLIDES INTO THE LANE BESIDE IT, LEFT OR RIGHT. DEALER HAS NOT SEEN VEHICLE. *AK
WHEN THE AIRBAGS DEPLOYED THE SENSOR FLEW OUT, HITTING AND INJURING THE DRIVER. THE MANUFACTURER WILL BE NOTIFIED. *AK
Official recalls
0No recalls in this snapshot.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
1DP01001 · Air Bag NON-DEPLOYMENT
Opened Apr 19, 2001 · Closed Nov 1, 2001
Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Air Bags
No summary supplied.