IllustrationWHILE TRAVELING AND WHEN DEPRESSING GAS PEDAL VEHICLE WOULD NOT TRAVEL, VEHICLE HAD STALLED. DEALER WAS NOTIFIED. *AK THE CONSUMER BELIEVES THE DEALER SOLD A LEMON VEHICLE. *YH
1999 Ford Escort
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
More warning signs than most Escort years
Owner complaints for the 1999 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
110–25K
1625–50K
2650–75K
1875–100K
18100–150K
3150K+
92 reports with mileage · 233 unknown
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 66 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Engine And Engine Cooling. Review the 62 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Suspension. Review the 42 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
79 crash reports11 fire reports42 injury reports
What owners actually said
325 reportsWHILE DRIVING ABOUT 40 MPH, VEHICLE STRUCK A PICKUP BUT AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY, RESULTING IN IJURY OF THE DRIVER. *YH
ORIGINAL TIRES ON A FORD, ESCORT, 1999, P185/60R15, EAGLE RSA. CONSUMER TOOK CAR TO WALLMART FOR INSPECTION, AND MECH NOTICED TIRES WHERE SPLITTING. CONSUMER TOOK VEHICLE TO A TIRE SHOP, AND THEY SAID THAT THE TIRES WERE SEPARATING, LIKE THE FIRESTONE TIRES.*AK GOOD YEAR REFUSED TO REPLACE THE WORN OUT TIRES. *YH
WHILE DRIVING VEHICLE HAD FRONTAL IMPACT, AND DRIVER'S /PASSENGER'S AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY, WHICH DID NOT PROTECT THE OCCUPANTS. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION. *AK
CONSUMER WAS TRAVELING ABOUT 35MPH ON HIGHWAY AND HYDROPLANED OFF THE ROAD. THEN, SHE WENT DOWN AN ENBANKMENT. AIRBAGS DIDN'T DEPLOY AT ALL, AND CONSUMER SUSTAINED INTERNAL INJURIES, AND SUFFERED POST TRAUMA.*AK
OCCASIONAL LOSS OF POWER, THEN SURGES FORWARD AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. IN STOP-AND-GO TRAFFIC, SOMETIMES RUNS ROUGH AND STALLS. SOMETIMES IDLES ROUGH AND STALLS AT IDLE.
DEALER AGREES TO REPLACE ENGINE. I BOUGHT A NEW CAR NOT ONE THAT NEEDS A NEW ENGINE AT 12000 MILES
WHEN TRYING TO BRAKE CAR WOULD STALL TRYING TO PUT IN REVERSE WOULDN'T GO TRYING TO PUT IT IN DRIVE WOULDNT GO TRANSMISSION WAS REPLACED AND IT IS DOING THE SAME TING AGAIN INTERMITTENTLY. *AK
HEADLIGHTS ARE VERY POOR NOT ENOUGH ILLUMINATION. *AK
HORN WOULD BLOW BY ITSELF FOR TWENTY MINUTES. TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALER, AND DEALER SAID IT HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE AIRBAG. IN ORDER TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM, THE AIR BAG MUST BE REPLACED AT OWNER'S COST. *AK *ML
Official recalls
199V276000 · Power Train:manual Transmission:shift Pattern Indicator
Oct 12, 1999
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH THE S/R OPTION. THE S/R OPTION INCLUDES, AMONG OTHER FEATURES, A 5-SPEED MANUAL TRANSMISSION. ON THESE VEHICLES, THE TRANSMISSION SHIFT PATTERN IS NOT DISPLAYED IN THE OCCUPANT COMPARTMENT IN VIEW OF THE DRIVER. THIS DOES NOT COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF FMVSS NO. 102, "TRANSMISSION SHIFT LEVER SEQUENCE, STARTER INTERLOCK, AND TRANSMISSION BRAKING EFFECT."
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: THE DRIVER MAY NOT BE AWARE OF THE TRANSMISSION POSITION OF THE VEHICLE.
Remedy: OWNERS WILL BE PROVIDED WITH AN ADHESIVE BACKED PLAQUE CONTAINING THE SHIFT PATTERN, ALONG WITH MATERIALS AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR LOCATING AND AFFIXING THE PLAQUE TO THE VEHICLE CENTER CONSOLE, JUST FORWARD OF THE SHIFT LEVER. OWNERS WILL ALSO BE ADVISED THAT THEIR DEALER CAN AFFIX THE PLAQUE IF THEY PREFER.
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.