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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 AT 45 MPH HIT ANOTHER VEHICLE HEAD-ON,AND DRIVER'S SIDE AND PASSENGER'S SIDE AIR BAGS DIDN'T DEPLOY. DRIVER SUSTAINED INJURIES. *AK
WHILE DRIVING VEHICLE AT VARIOUS SPEEDS OR TURNING, THE STEERING WHEEL WOULD LOCK UP WITHOUT ANY WARNING. WOULD HAVE NO CONTROL OF VEHICLE. WHEN STEERING WHEEL LOCKS UP, VEHICLE WOULD GO INTO A SLIDE. CAN TURN VEHICLE OFF & RESTART IT & STEERING WHEEL WOULD WORK JUST FINE. HAS TAKEN TO DEALER & WAS INFORMED THAT THE RACK & PINIO…
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WHILE DRIVING VEHICLE AT VARIOUS SPEEDS OR TURNING, THE STEERING WHEEL WOULD LOCK UP WITHOUT ANY WARNING. WOULD HAVE NO CONTROL OF VEHICLE. WHEN STEERING WHEEL LOCKS UP, VEHICLE WOULD GO INTO A SLIDE. CAN TURN VEHICLE OFF & RESTART IT & STEERING WHEEL WOULD WORK JUST FINE. HAS TAKEN TO DEALER & WAS INFORMED THAT THE RACK & PINION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. CALLED THE MANUFACTURER & NOTHING WAS DONE. CLAIMS IMAGINATION. THIS HAS HAPPENED AT LEAST 4 DIFFERENT TIMES SO FAR. A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION. *AK
ABS BRAKE FAILURE. DEALER NOTIFIED , AND INFORMED CONSUMER THAT VEHICLE WAS NOT COVERED UNDER BUMPER TO BUMPER WARRANTY. CONSUMER BELIEVES THAT IT IS NOT NORMAL FOR BRAKES TO WEAR OUT AT 25000 MILES OF WEAR. CONSUMER NEEDS HELP IN THIS MATTER. *AK
BRAKES GRINDING AND GLAZING CONSTANTLY , TAKING LONGER TO GET STOPPED, OTHER TIMES IT GRIPS TO HARD, WHEN I TAKE IT IN THEY DELAZE THEM, AND TELL ME IT IS NORMAL, I'VE TAKEN IT IN TWICE IN DEC FOR PROBLEM SO FAR, TAKING BACK AGAIN FRIDAY. I'M AFRAID IT'S GOING TO CAUSE AN ACCIDENT IF I HAVE TO MAKE A QUICK STOP. WAS FINE FOR T…
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BRAKES GRINDING AND GLAZING CONSTANTLY , TAKING LONGER TO GET STOPPED, OTHER TIMES IT GRIPS TO HARD, WHEN I TAKE IT IN THEY DELAZE THEM, AND TELL ME IT IS NORMAL, I'VE TAKEN IT IN TWICE IN DEC FOR PROBLEM SO FAR, TAKING BACK AGAIN FRIDAY. I'M AFRAID IT'S GOING TO CAUSE AN ACCIDENT IF I HAVE TO MAKE A QUICK STOP. WAS FINE FOR THE FIRST 5 MONTHS, BUT THEY INSIT IT IS NORMAL.
WHEN I TOOK CAR IN WAS FIRST TOLD IT WAS THE CALIPERS AND THAT IT WAS NORMAL, TOOK IT BACK AND I WAS TOLD THEY WERE TO BUSY TO LOOK AT IT BUT IT WAS SAFE TO DRIVE, THE STARTER HAD TO GO OUT BEFORE THEY WOULD CHECK IT OUT, TURNED OUT TO BE A LOOSE AXEL BOLT AND THEY HAD TO REPLACE THE WHOLE FRONT AXEL.
THE DRIVER AND PASSNEGER SIDE WINDOWS VIBRATE, AS WELL AS THE GLOVE COMPARTMENT. TO STOP RATTLING YOU MUST GENTLY PUSH ON ONE OF THESE 3 THINGS. OTHER UNDISTINGUISHABLE VIBRATIONS ARE HEARD FROM WITHIN THE CAR. *AK
I WAS DRIVING THE CAR ON JULY 15TH AND STOPPED AT THE RED LIGHT BEFORE CROSSING THE TRACKS AND WHEN THE LIGHT TURNED GREEN I ATTEMPTED TO GO FORWARD AND THE CAR WOULD NOT GO FORWARD. I FLAGGED THE PEOPLE BEHIND ME TO BACK UP AND I COULDN'T GO BACKWARDS. I PANICKED BECAUSE IT WAS EARLY MORNING RUSH HOUR AND MY 5 YEAR OLD DAUGH…
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I WAS DRIVING THE CAR ON JULY 15TH AND STOPPED AT THE RED LIGHT BEFORE CROSSING THE TRACKS AND WHEN THE LIGHT TURNED GREEN I ATTEMPTED TO GO FORWARD AND THE CAR WOULD NOT GO FORWARD. I FLAGGED THE PEOPLE BEHIND ME TO BACK UP AND I COULDN'T GO BACKWARDS. I PANICKED BECAUSE IT WAS EARLY MORNING RUSH HOUR AND MY 5 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER WAS WITH ME BUT AFTER A COUPLE OF MINUTES THE CAR SLOWLY WENT FORWARD. I CALLED SERVICE AND MADE THE APPOINTMENT TO TAKE THE CAR IN ON JULY 22 WHICH WAS THE EARLIEST THEY COULD GET ME IN. ON THE MORNING I WENT TO TAKE THE CAR IN I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE STREET AT 30 MILES PER HOUR AND THE CAR STARTED TO SLOW DOWN AND I LOOKED AT THE DASHBOARD AND REALIZED THAT THE INDICATOR LIGHTS WERE ALL ON. FORTUNATELY I WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER AND HAD MY FIANCE' WITH ME. I TOOK THE CAR IN AND NEEDLESS TO SAY IT TOOK TWO WEEKS TO GET A REPLACEMENT TRANSMISSION WHICH THEY SAID WOULD BE BRAND NEW AND ON THE RECEIPT IT SAYS REMAN TRANSMISSION AND THAT THERE WAS ALSO A LEAK AT THE EMV VALVE WHICH THE
CONSUMER EXPERIENCING ON GOING PROBLEM WITH VEHICLE VIBRATION. WHENEVER VEHICLE IS RUNNING IT WOULD VIBRATE. BEEN IN/OUT DEALER SHOP AND CONDITION STILL UNRESOLVED. *AK
CAR DID NOT STOP WHEN BRAKES WERE APPLIED. BRAKE PEDAL TRAVELED VERY CLOSE TO FLOOR BEFORE FEELING SLOWING WAS FIRST FELT.
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.