1991 FORD ESCORT — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 327 complaints · 0 recalls
Most-reported system: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM (95 complaints · 29.1%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 19
  • Fires 61
  • Injuries 16
  • Deaths 2
Compare with 1990 →
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 95 of 327 owner complaints (29.1%) in this vehicle snapshot. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 95 complaints, 29.1% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 95 · 29.1% · 41 fire reports SEAT BELTS: 65 complaints, 19.9% of reports SEAT BELTS 65 · 19.9% · 8 crash reports 1 fire reports FUEL SYSTEM: 54 complaints, 16.5% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 54 · 16.5% · 12 fire reports POWER TRAIN: 26 complaints, 8.0% of reports POWER TRAIN 26 · 8.0% · 1 fire reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 14 complaints, 4.3% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 14 · 4.3% · 1 fire reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 14 complaints, 4.3% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 14 · 4.3% · 4 crash reports ENGINE: 13 complaints, 4.0% of reports ENGINE 13 · 4.0% · 3 fire reports STEERING: 12 complaints, 3.7% of reports STEERING 12 · 3.7% · 1 crash reports SERVICE BRAKES: 7 complaints, 2.1% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 7 · 2.1% · 3 crash reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 258 complaints, 78.9% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 258 · 78.9% · 12 crash reports 59 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 95 29.1% 0 crashes · 41 fires
SEAT BELTS 65 19.9% 8 crashes · 1 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 54 16.5% 0 crashes · 12 fires
POWER TRAIN 26 8.0% 0 crashes · 1 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 14 4.3% 0 crashes · 1 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 14 4.3% 4 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 13 4.0% 0 crashes · 3 fires
STEERING 12 3.7% 1 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 7 2.1% 3 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 258 78.9% 12 crashes · 59 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. 1995-Q1: 16 owner reports 16 1995-Q2: 15 owner reports 15 1995-Q3: 9 owner reports 9 1995-Q4: 12 owner reports 12 1996-Q1: 9 owner reports 9 1996-Q2: 41 owner reports 41 1996-Q3: 19 owner reports 19 1996-Q4: 20 owner reports 20 1997-Q1: 14 owner reports 14 1997-Q2: 12 owner reports 12 1997-Q3: 9 owner reports 9 1997-Q4: 8 owner reports 8 1998-Q1: 9 owner reports 9 1998-Q2: 8 owner reports 8 1998-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 1998-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 1999-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 1999-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 1999-Q3: 14 owner reports 14 1999-Q4: 13 owner reports 13 2000-Q1: 8 owner reports 8 2000-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2000-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 2000-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2001-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2001-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2001-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2001-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2002-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2002-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2002-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2002-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2003-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2003-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2004-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2004-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2005-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2005-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2005-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2008-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Dec 1991 Jul 2013 Investigation PE91150 ● Investigation PE91150 Investigation EA92012 ● Investigation EA92012 Investigation PE92082 ● Investigation PE92082 Investigation EA93007 ● Investigation EA93007 Investigation PE93076 ● Investigation PE93076 Investigation EA94002 ● Investigation EA94002
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1995-Q1 Owner reports 16
1995-Q2 Owner reports 15
1995-Q3 Owner reports 9
1995-Q4 Owner reports 12
1996-Q1 Owner reports 9
1996-Q2 Owner reports 41
1996-Q3 Owner reports 19
1996-Q4 Owner reports 20
1997-Q1 Owner reports 14
1997-Q2 Owner reports 12
1997-Q3 Owner reports 9
1997-Q4 Owner reports 8
1998-Q1 Owner reports 9
1998-Q2 Owner reports 8
1998-Q3 Owner reports 5
1998-Q4 Owner reports 7
1999-Q1 Owner reports 6
1999-Q2 Owner reports 5
1999-Q3 Owner reports 14
1999-Q4 Owner reports 13
2000-Q1 Owner reports 8
2000-Q2 Owner reports 6
2000-Q3 Owner reports 7
2000-Q4 Owner reports 4
2001-Q1 Owner reports 6
2001-Q2 Owner reports 6
2001-Q3 Owner reports 5
2001-Q4 Owner reports 3
2002-Q1 Owner reports 1
2002-Q2 Owner reports 2
2002-Q3 Owner reports 3
2002-Q4 Owner reports 3
2003-Q1 Owner reports 1
2003-Q2 Owner reports 3
2003-Q3 Owner reports 2
2004-Q1 Owner reports 3
2004-Q2 Owner reports 1
2004-Q3 Owner reports 2
2005-Q1 Owner reports 1
2005-Q2 Owner reports 1
2005-Q4 Owner reports 1
2006-Q2 Owner reports 1
2008-Q2 Owner reports 2
2008-Q3 Owner reports 1
2009-Q4 Owner reports 1
2010-Q1 Owner reports 1
2013-Q3 Owner reports 1
Defect investigation 1 PE91150
Defect investigation 1 EA92012
Defect investigation 1 PE92082
Defect investigation 1 EA93007
Defect investigation 1 PE93076
Defect investigation 1 EA94002
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (0)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

Zero safety recalls recorded for this model year in official NHTSA 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.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot Aug 21, 2026
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 327 complaints · page 1 of 14

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 Aug 21, 2026
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