IllustrationWHILE DRIVING, FLAMES STARTED COMING FROM UNDERNEATH THE DASH, CLAIM 13-7568-816. *SLC
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
Electrical System complaints
43 reportsCAR STALLS WHILE ACCELARATING FROM LOW SPEED -0-5MPH, CAR HAS STALLED WHILE ON 605 FREEWAY WHILE TRAVELING AT LOW SPEED, STARTS AFTER WAITING ABOUT 20 MIN. HAVE REPORTED TO SERVIC DEPT. CANNOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG.*AK
VEHICLE SUDDENLY STALLED AND WOULD NOT RESTART, VEHICLE WAS TOWED, AND CONSUMER WAS THEN INFORMED THAT THE ALTERNATOR AND BATTERY WERE INOPERATIVE AND IT APPEARED THAT THEY WERE HIT BY A SURGE OF ELECTRICAL POWER. JB
THE IGNITION KEY AND LOCK WERE EXTREMELY HOT TO TOUCH WHEN CONSUMER WENT TO TURN THE ENGINE OFF, VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO DEALERSHIP AND THEY COULD NOT EXPLAIN WHAT MAY HAVE CAUSED THE PROBLEM, CONSUMER WAS INFORMED THAT THERE WERE NO RECALLS.*JB
MY SON WAS INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT IN WHICH ANOTHER VEHICLE HIT HIS VEHICLE ON THE PASSENGER SIDE WHILE HE WAS MAKING A LEFT TURN. MY SON'S CAR SPUN 90 DEGREES AND LANDED ON THE SIDE OF AN EMBANKMENT. THE CAR DID NOT FLIP AND LANDED RIGHT SIDE UP. BOTH AIRBAGS DEPLOYED. MY SON NOTICED SMOKE COMING FROM THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE …
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MY SON WAS INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT IN WHICH ANOTHER VEHICLE HIT HIS VEHICLE ON THE PASSENGER SIDE WHILE HE WAS MAKING A LEFT TURN. MY SON'S CAR SPUN 90 DEGREES AND LANDED ON THE SIDE OF AN EMBANKMENT. THE CAR DID NOT FLIP AND LANDED RIGHT SIDE UP. BOTH AIRBAGS DEPLOYED. MY SON NOTICED SMOKE COMING FROM THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE VEHICLE. LUCKILY, HE WAS NOT KNOCKED UNCONSIOUS AND WAS ABLE TO GET OUT OF THE CAR QUICKLY. WITHIN LESS THAN 5 MINUTES, HE NOTICED FLAMES COMING FROM THE FLOORBOARD ON THE PASSENGER SIDE. THE CAR WAS TOTALLY ENGULFED IN FLAMES WITHIN 10-15 MINUTES. IF THIS ACCIDENT HAD HAPPENED ON A REMOTE ROAD AND MY SON WOULD OF BEEN INJURED MORE SERIOUSLY, AND NOT BEEN ABLE TO GET OUT OF HIS CAR, AND WOULD HAVE BURNED TO DEATH. I DON'T KNOW WHAT CAUSED THE CAR TO START ON FIRE. EVEN THE INSURANCE ADJUSTER SAID THE CAR SHOULDN'T HAVE STARTED ON FIRE.*AK
WHILE TURNING OFF IGNITION, CONSUMER NOTICED A FIRE UNDER THE STEERING WHEEL AREA, CLAIM 14-1385-223. *SLC
WHILE DRIVING HORN KEPT GOING OFF WHICH MIGHT STARTLE OCCUPANT AND CAUSE A CRASH. DEALER SAID IT WAS DUE TO AIRBAG SYSTEM WHICH NEEDED TO BE REPLACED AT 59,000 MILES. AIRBAG LIGHT DID NOT COME ON. COMMON PROBLEM. *AK
VEHICLE CONTINUOSLY STALLS OUT AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. CONSUMER MUST PULL OVER AND WAIT ABOUT 5 MINUTES TO RESTART VEHICLE. CONSUMER HAS TAKEN VEHICLE TO DEALER TWICE, BUT DEALER CANNOT DETERMINE CAUSE. *AK THERE WAS A RECALL ON EMISSION AND SERVICE WAS DONE BY THE DEALER PRIOR TO THE STALLING PROBLEM. *YH
OPENING AND CLOSING OF HATCHBACK DOOR HAS CAUSED INSTALLATION ON WIRING HARNESS TO FRAY OFF, CAUSING AN ELECTRICAL SHORTAGE POTENTIAL. *AK THE RUBBER COVERING THE WIRE HARNESS FOR HATCHBACK DOOR WAS FRAYED AND THREE OF THE TOP WIRES WERE EXPOSED. THIS HAS POTENTIAL FOR ELECTRICAL SHORTAGE. *YH
ENGINE VIBRATES, AND HAS A HIGH IDLE. ENGINE RUNS ROUGH AND SHAKES. ENGINE SURGES AND HESITATES. CAR STALLS. I HAVE HAD THE VEHICLE IN FOR THIS SAME REPAIR SEVERAL TIMES SINCE THE PURCHASE OF IT. THE MECHANICS HAVE REPLACED SPARK PLUGS, FUEL GUAGE, FUEL FILTER, VALVE IDLE AIR CONTROL, VAPOR MANAGEMENT, MOTOR MOUNTS. THE D…
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ENGINE VIBRATES, AND HAS A HIGH IDLE. ENGINE RUNS ROUGH AND SHAKES. ENGINE SURGES AND HESITATES. CAR STALLS. I HAVE HAD THE VEHICLE IN FOR THIS SAME REPAIR SEVERAL TIMES SINCE THE PURCHASE OF IT. THE MECHANICS HAVE REPLACED SPARK PLUGS, FUEL GUAGE, FUEL FILTER, VALVE IDLE AIR CONTROL, VAPOR MANAGEMENT, MOTOR MOUNTS. THE DEARLERSHIP IN HILLSBOROUGH REPLACED A CABLE SOMETHING (THE SERVICE MANGER QUIT AND A TICKET WAS NOT FOUND FOR THIS REPAIR.) THE VEHICLE CONTINUES TO HAVE SAME PROBLEM WITHOUT BEING TOTALLY FIXED. THE LAST TIME I BROUGHT THE CAR IN FOR STALLING, THE REPAIR WAS DONE, BUT THE NEXT MORNING THE CAR CONTINUED TO STALL. AS OF THIS DATE, I AM TAKING THE CAR IN FOR THE SAME PROBLEM AGAIN. PLEASE NOTE: IN REVIEWING THE INFORMATION AFTER SUBMITTTING I NOTICED THAT IN # OF FAILURES PASSENGER AIR BAG DEPLOYED 8 TIMES WITH THE DATE OF 7/24/98. THIS IS INCORRECT, CAR WAS NOT IN AN ACCIDENT AND AIR BAGS WERE NOT USED.*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.