1995 FORD ESCORT — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 567 complaints · 5 recalls
Most-reported system: SEAT BELTS (137 complaints · 24.2%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 75
  • Fires 18
  • Injuries 70
  • Deaths 1
Compare with 1994 →
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 137 of 567 owner complaints (24.2%) in this vehicle snapshot. SEAT BELTS: 137 complaints, 24.2% of reports SEAT BELTS 137 · 24.2% · 13 crash reports FUEL SYSTEM: 131 complaints, 23.1% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 131 · 23.1% · 3 fire reports AIR BAGS: 62 complaints, 10.9% of reports AIR BAGS 62 · 10.9% · 48 crash reports ENGINE: 44 complaints, 7.8% of reports ENGINE 44 · 7.8% · 3 fire reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 32 complaints, 5.6% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 32 · 5.6% · 1 crash reports 9 fire reports SUSPENSION: 32 complaints, 5.6% of reports SUSPENSION 32 · 5.6% POWER TRAIN: 28 complaints, 4.9% of reports POWER TRAIN 28 · 4.9% · 1 crash reports 1 fire reports SERVICE BRAKES: 20 complaints, 3.5% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 20 · 3.5% · 5 crash reports STEERING: 17 complaints, 3.0% of reports STEERING 17 · 3.0% · 1 crash reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 421 complaints, 74.3% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 421 · 74.3% · 60 crash reports 17 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 137 24.2% 13 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 131 23.1% 0 crashes · 3 fires
AIR BAGS 62 10.9% 48 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 44 7.8% 0 crashes · 3 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 32 5.6% 1 crashes · 9 fires
SUSPENSION 32 5.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 28 4.9% 1 crashes · 1 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 20 3.5% 5 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 17 3.0% 1 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 421 74.3% 60 crashes · 17 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 Oct 1994. 1995-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 1995-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 1995-Q3: 22 owner reports 22 1995-Q4: 13 owner reports 13 1996-Q1: 10 owner reports 10 1996-Q2: 12 owner reports 12 1996-Q3: 12 owner reports 12 1996-Q4: 17 owner reports 17 1997-Q1: 7 owner reports 7 1997-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 1997-Q3: 10 owner reports 10 1997-Q4: 10 owner reports 10 1998-Q1: 8 owner reports 8 1998-Q2: 12 owner reports 12 1998-Q3: 15 owner reports 15 1998-Q4: 15 owner reports 15 1999-Q1: 14 owner reports 14 1999-Q2: 26 owner reports 26 1999-Q3: 34 owner reports 34 1999-Q4: 23 owner reports 23 2000-Q1: 11 owner reports 11 2000-Q2: 11 owner reports 11 2000-Q3: 26 owner reports 26 2000-Q4: 18 owner reports 18 2001-Q1: 20 owner reports 20 2001-Q2: 17 owner reports 17 2001-Q3: 16 owner reports 16 2001-Q4: 10 owner reports 10 2002-Q1: 12 owner reports 12 2002-Q2: 7 owner reports 7 2002-Q3: 13 owner reports 13 2002-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 2003-Q1: 8 owner reports 8 2003-Q2: 8 owner reports 8 2003-Q3: 9 owner reports 9 2003-Q4: 9 owner reports 9 2004-Q1: 9 owner reports 9 2004-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2004-Q3: 9 owner reports 9 2004-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2005-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2005-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2005-Q3: 9 owner reports 9 2005-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2006-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2006-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2007-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2007-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2007-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2008-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2008-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2009-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2010-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2012-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2012-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2013-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2014-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Oct 1994 Jan 2018 Recall campaign 94V197000 ◆ Recall campaign 94V197000 Recall campaign 94V218000 ◆ Recall campaign 94V218000 Recall campaign 97V144000 ◆ Recall campaign 97V144000 Recall campaign 97V145000 ◆ Recall campaign 97V145000 Recall campaign 06E026000 ◆ Recall campaign 06E026000 Investigation RQ97010 ● Investigation RQ97010
  • Campaign 97V144000 was reported 932 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
  • Campaign 97V145000 was reported 932 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 6
1995-Q2 Owner reports 6
1995-Q3 Owner reports 22
1995-Q4 Owner reports 13
1996-Q1 Owner reports 10
1996-Q2 Owner reports 12
1996-Q3 Owner reports 12
1996-Q4 Owner reports 17
1997-Q1 Owner reports 7
1997-Q2 Owner reports 4
1997-Q3 Owner reports 10
1997-Q4 Owner reports 10
1998-Q1 Owner reports 8
1998-Q2 Owner reports 12
1998-Q3 Owner reports 15
1998-Q4 Owner reports 15
1999-Q1 Owner reports 14
1999-Q2 Owner reports 26
1999-Q3 Owner reports 34
1999-Q4 Owner reports 23
2000-Q1 Owner reports 11
2000-Q2 Owner reports 11
2000-Q3 Owner reports 26
2000-Q4 Owner reports 18
2001-Q1 Owner reports 20
2001-Q2 Owner reports 17
2001-Q3 Owner reports 16
2001-Q4 Owner reports 10
2002-Q1 Owner reports 12
2002-Q2 Owner reports 7
2002-Q3 Owner reports 13
2002-Q4 Owner reports 7
2003-Q1 Owner reports 8
2003-Q2 Owner reports 8
2003-Q3 Owner reports 9
2003-Q4 Owner reports 9
2004-Q1 Owner reports 9
2004-Q2 Owner reports 5
2004-Q3 Owner reports 9
2004-Q4 Owner reports 4
2005-Q1 Owner reports 5
2005-Q2 Owner reports 4
2005-Q3 Owner reports 9
2005-Q4 Owner reports 1
2006-Q1 Owner reports 2
2006-Q2 Owner reports 2
2006-Q3 Owner reports 2
2007-Q2 Owner reports 3
2007-Q3 Owner reports 4
2007-Q4 Owner reports 2
2008-Q1 Owner reports 1
2008-Q2 Owner reports 2
2008-Q3 Owner reports 4
2009-Q1 Owner reports 1
2010-Q3 Owner reports 2
2010-Q4 Owner reports 1
2011-Q1 Owner reports 1
2011-Q2 Owner reports 1
2011-Q3 Owner reports 2
2012-Q3 Owner reports 2
2012-Q4 Owner reports 1
2013-Q1 Owner reports 1
2013-Q2 Owner reports 2
2013-Q3 Owner reports 1
2014-Q2 Owner reports 2
2014-Q4 Owner reports 1
2015-Q3 Owner reports 1
2016-Q2 Owner reports 1
2018-Q1 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 94V197000
Recall campaign 1 94V218000
Recall campaign 1 97V144000
Recall campaign 1 97V145000
Recall campaign 1 06E026000
Defect investigation 1 RQ97010
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (5)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 06E026000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    WITHOUT THE AMBER REFLECTORS, THE VEHICLE WILL BE POORLY ILLUMINATED, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN A VEHICLE CRASH WITHOUT WARNING.
    Remedy:
    PRO-A MOTORS WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND OFFER TO REPURCHASE THE LAMPS. THE RECALL BEGAN ON APRIL 3, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT PRO-A MOTORS AT 323-838-2988.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 94V197000

    Report date
    Component:
    AIR BAGS
    Consequence:
    THIS WOULD NOT RESTRAIN THE PASSENGER AND WOULD RESULT IN AN INCREASED RISK OF INJURY.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL INSPECT AND, IF NECESSARY, INSTALL AND TORQUE TO SPECIFICATION THE MOUNTING BOLTS FOR THE PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 94V218000

    Report date
    Component:
    AIR BAGS
    Consequence:
    IN THE EVENT OF A COLLISION, THE WELD SEAM CAN SEPARATE, CAUSING THE AIR BAG TO FAIL TO DEPLOY PROPERLY AND HOT GASES TO BE EXPELLED FROM THE BACK OF THE STEERING WHEEL. THIS CAN RESULT IN AN INCREASED RISK OF PERSONAL INJURY FROM THE HOT GASES AND THE AIR BAG FAILURE.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL INSTALL A NEW AIR BAG MODULE.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  4. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 97V144000

    Report date
    Component:
    FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
    Consequence:
    FUEL LEAKAGE IN THE PRESENCE OF AN IGNITION SOURCE CAN RESULT IN A VEHICLE FIRE.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL REMOVE THE HEAT SHIELD ATTACHMENTS. THIS WILL NOT AFFECT HEAT SHIELD LOCATION OR FUNCTION, AS THE ATTACHMENTS ARE INTENDED TO KEEP THE SHIELD IN PLACE UNTIL THE FUEL TANK IS INSTALLED IN THE VEHICLE. AFTER INSTALLATION, THE FUEL TANK STRAPS RETAIN THE HEAT SHIELD.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  5. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 97V145000

    Report date
    Component:
    FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
    Consequence:
    FUEL LEAKAGE IN THE PRESENCE OF AN IGNITION SOURCE CAN RESULT IN A VEHICLE FIRE.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL REMOVE THE HEAT SHIELD ATTACHMENTS. THIS WILL NOT AFFECT HEAT SHIELD LOCATION OR FUNCTION, AS THE ATTACHMENTS ARE INTENDED TO KEEP THE SHIELD IN PLACE UNTIL THE FUEL TANK IS INSTALLED IN THE VEHICLE. AFTER INSTALLATION, THE FUEL TANK STRAPS RETAIN THE HEAT SHIELD.
    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 567 complaints · page 1 of 23

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