1997 FORD ESCORT — Owner-Reported Problems
Verdict & Safety Summary
- Crashes 65
- Fires 83
- Injuries 61
- Deaths 0
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)
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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| AIR BAGS | 136 | 25.6% | 41 crashes · 20 fires |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 91 | 17.1% | 2 crashes · 51 fires |
| SUSPENSION | 57 | 10.7% | 1 crashes · 0 fires |
| ENGINE | 51 | 9.6% | 0 crashes · 3 fires |
| SERVICE BRAKES | 32 | 6.0% | 6 crashes · 1 fires |
| POWER TRAIN | 28 | 5.3% | 0 crashes · 2 fires |
| VISIBILITY | 21 | 4.0% | 0 crashes · 6 fires |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 20 | 3.8% | 4 crashes · 0 fires |
| STEERING | 15 | 2.8% | 1 crashes · 0 fires |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 392 | 73.7% | 50 crashes · 50 fires |
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
- Campaign 02V323000 was reported 2,212 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
- Campaign 04E048000 was reported 2,609 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
| Date | Record type | Count | Record identifier |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-Q2 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 1996-Q4 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 1997-Q1 | Owner reports | 3 | |
| 1997-Q2 | Owner reports | 8 | |
| 1997-Q3 | Owner reports | 9 | |
| 1997-Q4 | Owner reports | 10 | |
| 1998-Q1 | Owner reports | 8 | |
| 1998-Q2 | Owner reports | 9 | |
| 1998-Q3 | Owner reports | 13 | |
| 1998-Q4 | Owner reports | 11 | |
| 1999-Q1 | Owner reports | 13 | |
| 1999-Q2 | Owner reports | 22 | |
| 1999-Q3 | Owner reports | 32 | |
| 1999-Q4 | Owner reports | 14 | |
| 2000-Q1 | Owner reports | 12 | |
| 2000-Q2 | Owner reports | 10 | |
| 2000-Q3 | Owner reports | 27 | |
| 2000-Q4 | Owner reports | 11 | |
| 2001-Q1 | Owner reports | 15 | |
| 2001-Q2 | Owner reports | 15 | |
| 2001-Q3 | Owner reports | 17 | |
| 2001-Q4 | Owner reports | 7 | |
| 2002-Q1 | Owner reports | 27 | |
| 2002-Q2 | Owner reports | 9 | |
| 2002-Q3 | Owner reports | 29 | |
| 2002-Q4 | Owner reports | 9 | |
| 2003-Q1 | Owner reports | 34 | |
| 2003-Q2 | Owner reports | 33 | |
| 2003-Q3 | Owner reports | 25 | |
| 2003-Q4 | Owner reports | 7 | |
| 2004-Q1 | Owner reports | 10 | |
| 2004-Q2 | Owner reports | 10 | |
| 2004-Q3 | Owner reports | 13 | |
| 2004-Q4 | Owner reports | 10 | |
| 2005-Q1 | Owner reports | 4 | |
| 2005-Q2 | Owner reports | 6 | |
| 2005-Q3 | Owner reports | 6 | |
| 2005-Q4 | Owner reports | 4 | |
| 2006-Q1 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2006-Q3 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2007-Q1 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2007-Q3 | Owner reports | 3 | |
| 2007-Q4 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2008-Q1 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2008-Q2 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2008-Q3 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2009-Q1 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2009-Q3 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2010-Q1 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2010-Q3 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2010-Q4 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2012-Q2 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2012-Q3 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2013-Q3 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2013-Q4 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2014-Q1 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2014-Q2 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2016-Q1 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2016-Q3 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2019-Q1 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2023-Q3 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 02V323000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 04E048000 | |
| Defect investigation | 1 | PE02010 | |
| Defect investigation | 1 | EA02008 |
Safety Recalls (2)
Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA
-
Manufacturer action
Recall campaign 02V323000
- Report date
- Component:
- AIR BAGS
- Consequence:
- THIS MAY, IN TURN, CAUSE THE AIR BAG READINESS LIGHT TO ILLUMINATE AND IN VERY RARE OCCURRENCES, AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT, MELTED WIRING, OR FIRE MAY OCCUR.
- Remedy:
- DEALERS WILL INSTALL THE SHIELD OVER THE IABM AND APPLY NYOGEL GREASE TO THE CONNECTOR. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN FEBRUARY 11, 2003. OWNERS WHO TAKE THEIR VEHICLES TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER ON AN AGREED UPON SERVICE DATE AND DO NOT RECEIVE THE FREE REMEDY WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME SHOULD CONTACT FORD AT 1-866-436-7332.
-
Manufacturer action
Recall campaign 04E048000
- Report date
- Component:
- SEAT BELTS
- Consequence:
- IN THE EVENT OF A CRASH, THE RESTRAINT SYSTEM MAY NOT PROVIDE ADEQUATE PROTECTION TO THE SEAT OCCUPANT, WHICH MAY INCREASE THE RISK OF PERSONAL INJURY.
- Remedy:
- TRW WILL NOTIFY THE CUSTOMERS WHO PURCHASED THE REPLACEMENT SEAT BELT ASSEMBLIES FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON AUGUST 27, 2004.
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
No complaints match the current filters.
Estimated Ownership Cost
EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates
Adjacent Model Years
Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records
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.