1994 FORD ESCORT — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 278 complaints · 0 recalls
Most-reported system: SEAT BELTS (73 complaints · 26.3%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 50
  • Fires 16
  • Injuries 44
  • Deaths 5
Compare with 1993 →
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 SEAT BELTS appears in 73 of 278 owner complaints (26.3%) in this vehicle snapshot. SEAT BELTS: 73 complaints, 26.3% of reports SEAT BELTS 73 · 26.3% · 5 crash reports AIR BAGS: 42 complaints, 15.1% of reports AIR BAGS 42 · 15.1% · 29 crash reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 27 complaints, 9.7% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 27 · 9.7% · 1 crash reports 8 fire reports ENGINE: 27 complaints, 9.7% of reports ENGINE 27 · 9.7% · 4 fire reports SERVICE BRAKES: 19 complaints, 6.8% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 19 · 6.8% · 3 crash reports POWER TRAIN: 17 complaints, 6.1% of reports POWER TRAIN 17 · 6.1% · 3 crash reports 1 fire reports SUSPENSION: 16 complaints, 5.8% of reports SUSPENSION 16 · 5.8% · 1 crash reports VISIBILITY: 12 complaints, 4.3% of reports VISIBILITY 12 · 4.3% STEERING: 8 complaints, 2.9% of reports STEERING 8 · 2.9% · 2 crash reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 199 complaints, 71.6% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 199 · 71.6% · 40 crash reports 15 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)
SEAT BELTS 73 26.3% 5 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 42 15.1% 29 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 27 9.7% 1 crashes · 8 fires
ENGINE 27 9.7% 0 crashes · 4 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 19 6.8% 3 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 17 6.1% 3 crashes · 1 fires
SUSPENSION 16 5.8% 1 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 12 4.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 8 2.9% 2 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 199 71.6% 40 crashes · 15 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: 17 owner reports 17 1995-Q2: 8 owner reports 8 1995-Q3: 9 owner reports 9 1995-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 1996-Q1: 12 owner reports 12 1996-Q2: 10 owner reports 10 1996-Q3: 10 owner reports 10 1996-Q4: 10 owner reports 10 1997-Q1: 9 owner reports 9 1997-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 1997-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 1997-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 1998-Q1: 9 owner reports 9 1998-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 1998-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 1998-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 1999-Q1: 12 owner reports 12 1999-Q2: 9 owner reports 9 1999-Q3: 12 owner reports 12 1999-Q4: 10 owner reports 10 2000-Q1: 13 owner reports 13 2000-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2000-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 2000-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 2001-Q1: 9 owner reports 9 2001-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2001-Q3: 9 owner reports 9 2001-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 2002-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2002-Q2: 10 owner reports 10 2002-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2002-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2003-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2003-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2004-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2004-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2004-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2005-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2005-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2005-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2006-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2007-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2007-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2007-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2012-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Jan 1995 Oct 2018
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1995-Q1 Owner reports 17
1995-Q2 Owner reports 8
1995-Q3 Owner reports 9
1995-Q4 Owner reports 7
1996-Q1 Owner reports 12
1996-Q2 Owner reports 10
1996-Q3 Owner reports 10
1996-Q4 Owner reports 10
1997-Q1 Owner reports 9
1997-Q2 Owner reports 5
1997-Q3 Owner reports 4
1997-Q4 Owner reports 6
1998-Q1 Owner reports 9
1998-Q2 Owner reports 3
1998-Q3 Owner reports 5
1998-Q4 Owner reports 7
1999-Q1 Owner reports 12
1999-Q2 Owner reports 9
1999-Q3 Owner reports 12
1999-Q4 Owner reports 10
2000-Q1 Owner reports 13
2000-Q2 Owner reports 5
2000-Q3 Owner reports 7
2000-Q4 Owner reports 7
2001-Q1 Owner reports 9
2001-Q2 Owner reports 5
2001-Q3 Owner reports 9
2001-Q4 Owner reports 7
2002-Q1 Owner reports 1
2002-Q2 Owner reports 10
2002-Q3 Owner reports 2
2002-Q4 Owner reports 3
2003-Q1 Owner reports 1
2003-Q2 Owner reports 2
2003-Q3 Owner reports 2
2004-Q1 Owner reports 2
2004-Q2 Owner reports 2
2004-Q4 Owner reports 2
2005-Q1 Owner reports 2
2005-Q2 Owner reports 1
2005-Q3 Owner reports 1
2006-Q2 Owner reports 3
2006-Q4 Owner reports 2
2007-Q1 Owner reports 1
2007-Q2 Owner reports 1
2007-Q4 Owner reports 1
2011-Q2 Owner reports 1
2012-Q3 Owner reports 1
2018-Q4 Owner reports 1
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 278 complaints · page 1 of 12

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