1997 FORD PROBE — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 26 complaints · 4 recalls
Most-reported system: ENGINE (10 complaints · 38.5%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 5
  • Fires 1
  • Injuries 3
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 1996 →
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 ENGINE appears in 10 of 26 owner complaints (38.5%) in this vehicle snapshot. ENGINE: 10 complaints, 38.5% of reports ENGINE 10 · 38.5% · 1 fire reports AIR BAGS: 3 complaints, 11.5% of reports AIR BAGS 3 · 11.5% · 3 crash reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 3 complaints, 11.5% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 3 · 11.5% POWER TRAIN: 3 complaints, 11.5% of reports POWER TRAIN 3 · 11.5% SEAT BELTS: 1 complaints, 3.9% of reports SEAT BELTS 1 · 3.9% · 1 crash reports SERVICE BRAKES: 1 complaints, 3.9% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 1 · 3.9% · 1 crash reports SUSPENSION: 1 complaints, 3.9% of reports SUSPENSION 1 · 3.9% TIRES: 1 complaints, 3.9% of reports TIRES 1 · 3.9% VISIBILITY: 1 complaints, 3.9% of reports VISIBILITY 1 · 3.9% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 18 complaints, 69.2% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 18 · 69.2% · 3 crash 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)
ENGINE 10 38.5% 0 crashes · 1 fires
AIR BAGS 3 11.5% 3 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 3 11.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 3 11.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SEAT BELTS 1 3.9% 1 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 1 3.9% 1 crashes · 0 fires
SUSPENSION 1 3.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
TIRES 1 3.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 1 3.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 18 69.2% 3 crashes · 0 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 Oct 1997; the first recall shown was reported in Nov 1998. 1997-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 1998-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 1999-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 1999-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 1999-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2000-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2000-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2000-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2001-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2001-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2002-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Oct 1997 Jul 2006 Recall campaign 98V206002 ◆ Recall campaign 98V206002 Recall campaign 05E065000 ◆ Recall campaign 05E065000 Recall campaign 06E026000 ◆ Recall campaign 06E026000 Recall campaign 06E065000 ◆ Recall campaign 06E065000
  • Campaign 98V206002 was reported 378 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1997-Q4 Owner reports 4
1998-Q4 Owner reports 1
1999-Q1 Owner reports 2
1999-Q2 Owner reports 2
1999-Q3 Owner reports 1
2000-Q2 Owner reports 1
2000-Q3 Owner reports 2
2000-Q4 Owner reports 2
2001-Q2 Owner reports 1
2001-Q3 Owner reports 2
2002-Q2 Owner reports 1
2003-Q1 Owner reports 1
2003-Q2 Owner reports 1
2003-Q3 Owner reports 1
2003-Q4 Owner reports 1
2004-Q2 Owner reports 1
2004-Q3 Owner reports 1
2006-Q3 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 98V206002
Recall campaign 1 05E065000
Recall campaign 1 06E026000
Recall campaign 1 06E065000
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (4)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 05E065000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    IN THE PRESENCE OF AN IGNITION SOURCE, A VEHICLE FIRE CAN OCCUR.
    Remedy:
    SPX WILL NOTIFY ITS CUSTOMERS AND PROVIDE A FULL REFUND. THE RECALL BEGAN SEPTEMBER 27, 2005. OWNERS MAY CONTACT MR. CHRIS GREESON AT 704-869-3733 OR CONTACT THE WIX INFORMATION HOTLINE AT 800-949-6698.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. 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 →

  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 06E065000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    LACK OF AMBER SIDE REFLECTORS IN THE LAMPS WILL DECREASE LIGHTING VISIBILITY TO OTHER DRIVERS AND MAY POSSIBLY RESULT IN A VEHICLE CRASH.
    Remedy:
    AJ MOTORSPORT WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND OFFER REIMBURSEMENT FOR THE LAMPS. THE RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 31, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT AJ MOTORSPORT AT 626-618-2026.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  4. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 98V206002

    Report date
    Component:
    ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
    Consequence:
    THIS CONDITION CAN RESULT IN POSSIBLE ENGINE STALLING.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE TENSIONER AND REPLACE IT IF NECESSARY.
    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 26 complaints · page 1 of 2

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