1987 FORD ESCORT — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 56 complaints · 3 recalls
Most-reported system: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM (27 complaints · 48.2%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 1
  • Fires 26
  • Injuries 6
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 1986 →
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 27 of 56 owner complaints (48.2%) in this vehicle snapshot. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 27 complaints, 48.2% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 27 · 48.2% · 19 fire reports ENGINE: 12 complaints, 21.4% of reports ENGINE 12 · 21.4% · 5 fire reports SEAT BELTS: 3 complaints, 5.4% of reports SEAT BELTS 3 · 5.4% SUSPENSION: 3 complaints, 5.4% of reports SUSPENSION 3 · 5.4% FUEL SYSTEM: 2 complaints, 3.6% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 2 · 3.6% · 1 fire reports STEERING: 2 complaints, 3.6% of reports STEERING 2 · 3.6% WHEELS: 2 complaints, 3.6% of reports WHEELS 2 · 3.6% POWER TRAIN: 1 complaints, 1.8% of reports POWER TRAIN 1 · 1.8% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 48 complaints, 85.7% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 48 · 85.7% · 1 crash reports 23 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 27 48.2% 0 crashes · 19 fires
ENGINE 12 21.4% 0 crashes · 5 fires
SEAT BELTS 3 5.4% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SUSPENSION 3 5.4% 0 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 2 3.6% 0 crashes · 1 fires
STEERING 2 3.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
WHEELS 2 3.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 1 1.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 48 85.7% 1 crashes · 23 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 Apr 1987. 1995-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 1995-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 1995-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 1996-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 1996-Q2: 18 owner reports 18 1996-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 1996-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 1997-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 1997-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 1998-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 1999-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 1999-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 1999-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2000-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2000-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2001-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2001-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2001-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2001-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2002-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Apr 1987 Apr 2009 Recall campaign 87V060000 ◆ Recall campaign 87V060000 Recall campaign 87V139000 ◆ Recall campaign 87V139000 Recall campaign 89V170000 ◆ Recall campaign 89V170000 Investigation DP88007 ● Investigation DP88007 Investigation PE88046 ● Investigation PE88046 Investigation EA88038 ● Investigation EA88038 Investigation PE89143 ● Investigation PE89143 Investigation EA90008 ● Investigation EA90008 Investigation PE90063 ● Investigation PE90063 Investigation PE91025 ● Investigation PE91025
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 1
1996-Q2 Owner reports 18
1996-Q3 Owner reports 5
1996-Q4 Owner reports 5
1997-Q1 Owner reports 1
1997-Q2 Owner reports 3
1998-Q3 Owner reports 2
1999-Q1 Owner reports 1
1999-Q2 Owner reports 1
1999-Q3 Owner reports 1
2000-Q3 Owner reports 1
2000-Q4 Owner reports 1
2001-Q1 Owner reports 1
2001-Q2 Owner reports 3
2001-Q3 Owner reports 2
2001-Q4 Owner reports 2
2002-Q1 Owner reports 1
2003-Q1 Owner reports 1
2009-Q2 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 87V060000
Recall campaign 1 87V139000
Recall campaign 1 89V170000
Defect investigation 1 DP88007
Defect investigation 1 PE88046
Defect investigation 1 EA88038
Defect investigation 1 PE89143
Defect investigation 1 EA90008
Defect investigation 1 PE90063
Defect investigation 1 PE91025
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 87V060000

    Report date
    Component:
    WHEELS
    Consequence:
    WHEEL STUDS COULD FRACTURE CREATING A RISK OF A WHEELSEPARATING WITH LITTLE FOREWARNING.
    Remedy:
    REPLACE WHEEL LUG NUTS AND IF NECESSARY, REPLACE WHEELS AND WHEEL STUDS.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 87V139000

    Report date
    Component:
    FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
    Consequence:
    COUPLING COULD DISENGAGE DUE TO FUEL PRESSURE,VIBRATION, AND ENGINE MOVEMENTS; THIS WOULD CAUSE LOSS OF FUEL WHICH, INPRESENCE OF AN IGNITION SOURCE, CREATES A FIRE RISK.
    Remedy:
    INSTALL RETAINER CLIPS OVER THE COUPLINGS TO PREVENT COUPLING SEPARATION AND FUEL LEAKAGE.
    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 56 complaints · page 1 of 3

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