1988 FORD ESCORT — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 141 complaints · 2 recalls
Most-reported system: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM (66 complaints · 46.8%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 6
  • Fires 55
  • Injuries 8
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 1987 →
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 66 of 141 owner complaints (46.8%) in this vehicle snapshot. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 66 complaints, 46.8% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 66 · 46.8% · 45 fire reports SEAT BELTS: 17 complaints, 12.1% of reports SEAT BELTS 17 · 12.1% · 3 crash reports ENGINE: 16 complaints, 11.3% of reports ENGINE 16 · 11.3% · 6 fire reports FUEL SYSTEM: 7 complaints, 5.0% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 7 · 5.0% · 3 fire reports STEERING: 7 complaints, 5.0% of reports STEERING 7 · 5.0% EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 6 complaints, 4.3% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 6 · 4.3% SUSPENSION: 4 complaints, 2.8% of reports SUSPENSION 4 · 2.8% POWER TRAIN: 3 complaints, 2.1% of reports POWER TRAIN 3 · 2.1% VISIBILITY: 3 complaints, 2.1% of reports VISIBILITY 3 · 2.1% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 121 complaints, 85.8% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 121 · 85.8% · 6 crash reports 49 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 66 46.8% 0 crashes · 45 fires
SEAT BELTS 17 12.1% 3 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 16 11.3% 0 crashes · 6 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 7 5.0% 0 crashes · 3 fires
STEERING 7 5.0% 0 crashes · 0 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 6 4.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SUSPENSION 4 2.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 3 2.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 3 2.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 121 85.8% 6 crashes · 49 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 Sep 1987. 1995-Q1: 11 owner reports 11 1995-Q2: 8 owner reports 8 1995-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 1995-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 1996-Q1: 7 owner reports 7 1996-Q2: 21 owner reports 21 1996-Q3: 23 owner reports 23 1996-Q4: 9 owner reports 9 1997-Q1: 9 owner reports 9 1997-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 1997-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 1997-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 1998-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 1998-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 1998-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 1998-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 1999-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 1999-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2000-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2000-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2000-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2001-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2001-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2001-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2001-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2002-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2002-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Sep 1987 Oct 2003 Recall campaign 87V139000 ◆ Recall campaign 87V139000 Recall campaign 96V071000 ◆ Recall campaign 96V071000 Investigation DP88007 ● Investigation DP88007 Investigation EA88038 ● Investigation EA88038 Investigation PE89143 ● Investigation PE89143 Investigation EA90008 ● Investigation EA90008 Investigation PE90063 ● Investigation PE90063
  • Campaign 96V071000 was reported 472 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1995-Q1 Owner reports 11
1995-Q2 Owner reports 8
1995-Q3 Owner reports 4
1995-Q4 Owner reports 6
1996-Q1 Owner reports 7
1996-Q2 Owner reports 21
1996-Q3 Owner reports 23
1996-Q4 Owner reports 9
1997-Q1 Owner reports 9
1997-Q2 Owner reports 4
1997-Q3 Owner reports 4
1997-Q4 Owner reports 1
1998-Q1 Owner reports 4
1998-Q2 Owner reports 2
1998-Q3 Owner reports 2
1998-Q4 Owner reports 4
1999-Q1 Owner reports 2
1999-Q2 Owner reports 2
2000-Q1 Owner reports 2
2000-Q3 Owner reports 2
2000-Q4 Owner reports 6
2001-Q1 Owner reports 1
2001-Q2 Owner reports 2
2001-Q3 Owner reports 1
2001-Q4 Owner reports 1
2002-Q1 Owner reports 1
2002-Q2 Owner reports 1
2003-Q4 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 87V139000
Recall campaign 1 96V071000
Defect investigation 1 DP88007
Defect investigation 1 EA88038
Defect investigation 1 PE89143
Defect investigation 1 EA90008
Defect investigation 1 PE90063
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (2)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. 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 →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 96V071000

    Report date
    Component:
    ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
    Consequence:
    THIS CONDITION COULD CAUSE OVERHEATING, SMOKE, AND POSSIBLY FIRE IN THE STEERING COLUMN AREA OF THE VEHICLE.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE IGNITION SWITCH.
    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 141 complaints · page 1 of 6

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