IllustrationHORN WILL GO OFF WITHOUT ANY ONE TOUCHING IT. ALSO, CONSUMER WAS HAVING A PROBLEM WITH STEREO. *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
Electrical System complaints
43 reportsSENSOR LIGHT COMES ON AND OFF INTERMITTENTLY. CONSUMER TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALERSHIP, AND MECHANIC FIXED VEHICLE. DEALERSHIP MECHANIC REPLACED WIRING IN FRONT OF VEHICLE, AND PROBLEM CAME BACK THREE MONTHS AGO.DEALER TOLD HER TO RIDE WITH SENSOR LIGHT ON. *AK SERVICE ENGINE SOON LIGHT ON STEADY DUE TO POWERTRAIN CONTROL…
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SENSOR LIGHT COMES ON AND OFF INTERMITTENTLY. CONSUMER TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALERSHIP, AND MECHANIC FIXED VEHICLE. DEALERSHIP MECHANIC REPLACED WIRING IN FRONT OF VEHICLE, AND PROBLEM CAME BACK THREE MONTHS AGO.DEALER TOLD HER TO RIDE WITH SENSOR LIGHT ON. *AK SERVICE ENGINE SOON LIGHT ON STEADY DUE TO POWERTRAIN CONTROL MODULE (PCM) FAILURE. *YH
CONSUMER STATED THERE WAS SMOKING BEHIND THE STEERING COLUMN, CLAIM 24-5125-333. *SLC
THE BATTERY FAILED WITHOUT ANY WARNING ON THE DASH. THE CAR WAS JUMP STARTED AND RAN FOR ANOTHER 40MINUTES BEFORE THE CAR DIED AGAIN IN TRAFFIC. I WAS ABLE TO PUSH THE CAR OFF THE THREE LANE HIGHWAY ONTO TO THE SHOULDER. I RECEIVED ANOTHER JUMP START TO THE BATTERY WITH A BATTERY PACK CONNECTED TO THE CAR BATTERY TERMINALS WHIC…
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THE BATTERY FAILED WITHOUT ANY WARNING ON THE DASH. THE CAR WAS JUMP STARTED AND RAN FOR ANOTHER 40MINUTES BEFORE THE CAR DIED AGAIN IN TRAFFIC. I WAS ABLE TO PUSH THE CAR OFF THE THREE LANE HIGHWAY ONTO TO THE SHOULDER. I RECEIVED ANOTHER JUMP START TO THE BATTERY WITH A BATTERY PACK CONNECTED TO THE CAR BATTERY TERMINALS WHICH ENABLED ME TO EXIT THE HIGHWAY. IMMEDIATELY UPON REMOVAL OF THE BATTERY PACK ,THE CAR DIED AGAIN. I WAS TOWED TO A SAFE LOCATION. THE FOLLOWING DAY I INSTALLED A NEW BATTERY AND THE CAR STARTED IMMEDIATELY AND CONTINUED TO RUN AFTER REMOVING THE POSTIVE CABLE CONNEDTED TO THE CAR'S BATTERY. A CO-WORKER INFORMED ME TODAY HE REGULARLY HAD TO REPLACE THE BATTERY ON HIS ESCORT ABOUT EVERY TWO YEARS. HE ALSO HAD NO PRIOR WARNING OF IMMINENT BATTERY FAILURE. THIS IS A DANGEROUS CONDITION. *AK
WHEN TRYING TO USE THE HORN IT WON'T WORK, BUT SOMETIMES IT WOULD WORK BY ITSELF. *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…
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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
RADIO DOES NOT WORK.
HORN FAILED. *TT
CONSUMER COMPLAINED OF ONGOING PROBLEM WITH VEHICLE NOT STARTING. VEHICLE BEEN IN/OUT DEALER SHOP ON SIX OCCASIONS. VEHICLE WAS INSPECTED & PARTS REPLACEMENT MADE, BUT PROBLEM IS STILL OCCURRING. *AK
WIRING ASSEMBLY FAILED.
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.