Ford Escort: recalls and complaints by model year

NHTSA lists 35 recall campaigns for the Ford Escort, model years 1981 to 2003. NHTSA has 3,932 complaints on file for this model line. 22 of the 23 model years have a page on this register.

Select a model year NHTSA VIN lookup

Complaint information entered into NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation vehicle owner's complaint database is used with other data sources to identify safety issues that warrant investigation and to determine if a safety-related defect trend exists.
NHTSA publishes these words. Source: NHTSA Datasets and APIs, section Complaints, read on 1 Oct 2026. Complaint file through 15 May 2019. Recall file through 29 Sep 2026.

Model years

The number under each year is the number of recall campaigns.

Ford Escort: recall campaigns and complaints for each model year, newest first
Model year	Recall campaigns	Complaints	Share of the line average	Units in the campaigns
2003 Ford Escort NHTSA page	0	10	6%
2002 Ford Escort	0	33	19%
2001 Ford Escort	0	68	40%
2000 Ford Escort	1	98	57%	144,435
1999 Ford Escort	1	324	190%	106
1998 Ford Escort	0	374	219%
1997 Ford Escort	1	542	317%	396,217
1996 Ford Escort	0	205	120%
1995 Ford Escort	4	576	337%	93,840
1994 Ford Escort	1	279	163%	240
1993 Ford Escort	1	379	222%	3,500
1992 Ford Escort	2	161	94%	65,000
1991 Ford Escort	3	327	191%	119,000
1990 Ford Escort	2	101	59%	7,903,300
1989 Ford Escort	1	152	89%	7,900,000
1988 Ford Escort	2	143	84%	11,500,000
1987 Ford Escort	3	56	33%	4,975,850
1986 Ford Escort	2	45	26%	4,975,500
1985 Ford Escort	3	26	15%	1,866,549
1984 Ford Escort	3	21	12%	1,026,047
1983 Ford Escort	5	7	4%	1,389,750
1982 Ford Escort	5	4	2%	1,744,400
1981 Ford Escort	10	1	1%	1,379,272

The share is the complaints of the model year divided by the average of the line for one model year. A campaign that names 3 model years is in the count of each of the 3.

A model year with fewer than 2 campaigns and fewer than 25 complaints has no page here. The link in its row opens its NHTSA page.

Recall campaign: One recall in the NHTSA recall file, with one campaign number. A campaign can name many makes, models and model years.

Complaint: A report about a possible safety problem that a person sends to NHTSA. This site shows the number of complaints and not their text.

Units: The number of vehicles or products that a recall can include. The manufacturer or the firm reports the number to the agency.

Components in the complaints

5,044 component mentions.

A complaint can name more than one component. Each component that a complaint names is one component mention. The figure per 1,000 component mentions shows how many of each 1,000 mentions name the component.

Ford Escort: complaints by component, per 1,000 component mentions
Component	Per 1,000	Mentions
Electrical System	172.9	872
Seat Belts	130.8	660
Engine and Engine Cooling	109.4	552
Air Bags	97.7	493
Fuel System, Gasoline	78.1	394
Power Train	64	323
Suspension	61.3	309
Service Brakes, Hydraulic	53.3	269
Vehicle Speed Control	42.8	216
Steering	33.9	171

Counts by year

Recall campaigns that name the Ford Escort, by the year NHTSA received the report. The largest year is 1994, with 3 campaigns.

Complaints about the Ford Escort, by the year NHTSA received them. The largest year is 1999, with 529 complaints.

Other model lines of the make

Explorer142 campaigns
F-150169 campaigns
Taurus69 campaigns
Focus36 campaigns
Windstar33 campaigns
Escape95 campaigns
Fusion46 campaigns
Ranger102 campaigns
Mustang105 campaigns
Edge43 campaigns
Expedition77 campaigns
F-25054 campaigns
Freestyle2 campaigns
Contour22 campaigns
F-250 SD68 campaigns
Crown Victoria47 campaigns
F-35050 campaigns
Freestar5 campaigns
Thunderbird50 campaigns
Aerostar23 campaigns
Fiesta15 campaigns
F-350 SD78 campaigns
Tempo11 campaigns
Probe8 campaigns
Escape Hybrid2 campaigns
Excursion11 campaigns
Five Hundred3 campaigns
E-350101 campaigns
E-15048 campaigns
Flex14 campaigns
Econoline58 campaigns
Fusion Hybrid2 campaigns
F15046 campaigns
Explorer Sport5 campaigns
Mustang GT1 campaign
Explorer Sport Trac7 campaigns
Bronco83 campaigns
F Super Duty12 campaigns
F-550 SD71 campaigns
F-450 SD87 campaigns
F25073 campaigns
E-45050 campaigns
Ford23 campaigns
F Series10 campaigns
Ford Truck8 campaigns
E-25073 campaigns
Bronco II10 campaigns
Aspire2 campaigns
5001 campaign
Transit Connect31 campaigns
Festiva2 campaigns
Club Wagon24 campaigns
Focus Electric4 campaigns
Taurus X1 campaign
Transit65 campaigns
F35062 campaigns
Mustang Convertible0 campaigns
CVPI3 campaigns
C-Max12 campaigns
Taurus SHO2 campaigns

Ford: all 201 model lines

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Official channels

NHTSA VIN lookupNHTSA shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle from its VIN or its license plate.
NHTSA: report a safety problemThe NHTSA form for a complaint about a vehicle, a tire, a child seat or equipment.

Cite this page

Recall Register. Ford Escort: recalls and complaints by model year. https://recallregister.com/vehicle/ford/escort/. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, recall, complaint and investigation files. Data through 29 Sep 2026.

Sources

Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Licence: US government work, public domain
Recall file through: 29 Sep 2026
Complaint file through: 15 May 2019
Manufacturer in the recall file: FORD MOTOR COMPANY

The model name is the name in the NHTSA files. NHTSA keeps a variant of a model as a different line. How the register is made. Report an error.

Questions

Which Ford Escort model years have the most recall campaigns?: 1981 with 10, 1983 with 5, 1982 with 5. A campaign that names 3 model years is in the count of each of the 3.
Which Ford Escort model year has the most complaints?: The 1995 model year, with 576 of the 3,932 complaints for the line. A newer model year has had less time to get complaints.
Which components do the complaints about the Ford Escort name?: Electrical System: 172.9 per 1,000 component mentions. Seat Belts: 130.8 per 1,000 component mentions. Engine and Engine Cooling: 109.4 per 1,000 component mentions.
How many NHTSA investigations name the Ford Escort?: 34 investigations name one or more model years of the line. The page of each model year lists its investigations.