1985 FORD ESCORT — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 26 complaints · 3 recalls
Most-reported system: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM (9 complaints · 34.6%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 1
  • Fires 9
  • Injuries 4
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 1984 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution ELECTRICAL SYSTEM appears in 9 of 26 owner complaints (34.6%) in this vehicle snapshot. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 9 complaints, 34.6% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 9 · 34.6% · 5 fire reports ENGINE: 5 complaints, 19.2% of reports ENGINE 5 · 19.2% · 2 fire reports FUEL SYSTEM: 4 complaints, 15.4% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 4 · 15.4% · 2 fire reports POWER TRAIN: 2 complaints, 7.7% of reports POWER TRAIN 2 · 7.7% SEAT BELTS: 2 complaints, 7.7% of reports SEAT BELTS 2 · 7.7% AIR BAGS: 1 complaints, 3.9% of reports AIR BAGS 1 · 3.9% · 1 crash reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 1 complaints, 3.9% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 · 3.9% VISIBILITY: 1 complaints, 3.9% of reports VISIBILITY 1 · 3.9% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 25 complaints, 96.2% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 25 · 96.2% · 1 crash reports 9 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 9 34.6% 0 crashes · 5 fires
ENGINE 5 19.2% 0 crashes · 2 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 4 15.4% 0 crashes · 2 fires
POWER TRAIN 2 7.7% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SEAT BELTS 2 7.7% 0 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 1 3.9% 1 crashes · 0 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 3.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 1 3.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 25 96.2% 1 crashes · 9 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Jan 1995; the first recall shown was reported in May 1985. 1995-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 1995-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 1995-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 1996-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 1996-Q2: 7 owner reports 7 1996-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 1996-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 1997-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 1998-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 1999-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2000-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2001-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2001-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2002-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 Owner reports May 1985 Jul 2002 Recall campaign 85V054000 ◆ Recall campaign 85V054000 Recall campaign 89V095000 ◆ Recall campaign 89V095000 Recall campaign 89V170000 ◆ Recall campaign 89V170000 Investigation EA86010 ● Investigation EA86010 Investigation PE86048 ● Investigation PE86048 Investigation EA87005 ● Investigation EA87005 Investigation PE87026 ● Investigation PE87026 Investigation PE87028 ● Investigation PE87028 Investigation DP87032 ● Investigation DP87032 Investigation EA87023 ● Investigation EA87023 Investigation DP88007 ● Investigation DP88007 Investigation EA88038 ● Investigation EA88038
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1995-Q1 Owner reports 3
1995-Q3 Owner reports 1
1995-Q4 Owner reports 1
1996-Q1 Owner reports 3
1996-Q2 Owner reports 7
1996-Q3 Owner reports 2
1996-Q4 Owner reports 1
1997-Q1 Owner reports 1
1998-Q4 Owner reports 1
1999-Q4 Owner reports 1
2000-Q2 Owner reports 1
2001-Q1 Owner reports 1
2001-Q2 Owner reports 1
2002-Q3 Owner reports 2
Recall campaign 1 85V054000
Recall campaign 1 89V095000
Recall campaign 1 89V170000
Defect investigation 1 EA86010
Defect investigation 1 PE86048
Defect investigation 1 EA87005
Defect investigation 1 PE87026
Defect investigation 1 PE87028
Defect investigation 1 DP87032
Defect investigation 1 EA87023
Defect investigation 1 DP88007
Defect investigation 1 EA88038
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (3)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 85V054000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    Not available in the source record
    Remedy:
    ADJUST SHUTOFF SWITCH AND ASSURE PROPER ALIGNMENT TO THROTTLE LEVER PIN.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 89V095000

    Report date
    Component:
    ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
    Consequence:
    ENGINE OIL LEAKING ONTO A HOT EXHAUST MANIFOLD COULDRESULT IN AN ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRE.
    Remedy:
    REPLACE CRACKED CYLINDER HEADS (1984 MODELS); REPLACE ROCKER ARM COVER GASKETS (1985 MODELS).
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 89V170000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    THIS COULD RESULT IN A LIMITED DEGREE OF ROCKING MOTIONOF THE DRIVERS SEAT ASSEMBLY UPON ACCELERATION OR DECELERATION, WHICH COULDCAUSE AN ACCIDENT.
    Remedy:
    INSTALL A REINFORCEMENT ON ALL MODELS AND A NEW SEAT TRACK AS NECESSARY
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 26 complaints · page 1 of 2

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources