1997 Ford Escort: recalls and complaints

NHTSA lists 1 recall campaign for the 1997 Ford Escort. The campaign is 02V323000. NHTSA received the report on 9 Dec 2002. The NHTSA record gives the component Air Bags / Frontal / Sensor/Control Module-Inactive. NHTSA has 542 complaints on file for this model year. 2 NHTSA investigations name this model year.

The NHTSA recall file shows no do-not-drive advisory and no park-outside advisory on this campaign.

This page cannot show if a recall applies to one vehicle. The NHTSA VIN lookup shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle.

Remedy of campaign 02V323000, in the NHTSA record

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.

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.

Since the last update

No tracked figure of this page changed in a data update. What the log tracks

All updates to the register

Recall campaigns

1 campaign. 396,217 units in total.

02V323000Received 9 Dec 2002. 396,217 units.
Air Bags / Frontal / Sensor/Control Module-Inactive
Defect, in the NHTSA record
On certain passenger vehicles, the integrated air bag monitor (iabm) can be contaminated with water or other liquids and could experience internal electrical shorting.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
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, in the NHTSA record
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.
Report filed by FORD MOTOR COMPANY. Manufacturer campaign number 02S44. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 11 Feb 2003.

The campaign number opens the NHTSA record. Each quotation is the text of the NHTSA recall file.

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

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

Complaints by component

542 complaints, 728 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.

1997 Ford Escort
All 1997 vehicles

1997 Ford Escort: complaints by component, per 1,000 component mentions
Component	1997 Escort	All 1997 vehicles	Escort, all years	Mentions
Air Bags	208.8	60.4	97.7	152
Electrical System	207.4	81.5	172.9	151
Engine and Engine Cooling	101.6	129.3	109.4	74
Suspension	97.5	64	61.3	71
Service Brakes, Hydraulic	57.7	101.4	53.3	42
Visibility	49.5	56.1	27.8	36
Vehicle Speed Control	42.6	43.7	42.8	31
Power Train	42.6	87.7	64	31
Steering	34.3	70	33.9	25
Unknown or Other	28.8	21.3	16.5	21

The table shows the 10 components with the most mentions, of 26.

Complaints that report a crash: 67
Complaints that report a fire: 83
Injuries in the complaints: 65
Deaths in the complaints: 0
Date of the newest complaint: 24 Jan 2019

These figures are the entries of the persons who sent the complaints.

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.

Complaints about the 1997 Ford Escort, by the year NHTSA received them. The largest year is 2003, with 102 complaints.

Investigations

NHTSA investigations that name the 1997 Ford Escort
Number	Type	Subject	Component	Opened	Closed	Campaign
EA02008	Engineering analysis	WATER INTRUSION INTO AIRBAG MONITOR	Air Bags	10 Jun 2002	11 Dec 2002	02V323000
PE02010	Preliminary evaluation	INTEGRATED AIR BAG MONITOR WATER	Air Bags	30 Jan 2002	10 Jun 2002

Investigation: A study of a possible safety defect by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. An investigation with no closing date in the NHTSA file is open.

Other model years

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

A year without a link has fewer than 2 campaigns and fewer than 25 complaints. It has no page.

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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.
NHTSA page of the 1997 Ford EscortThe recalls, the complaints and the investigations that NHTSA shows for this model year.

Cite this page

Recall Register. 1997 Ford Escort: recalls and complaints. https://recallregister.com/vehicle/ford/escort/1997/. 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
First complaint in the file: 1 Jan 1995
Manufacturer in the recall file: FORD MOTOR COMPANY

The NHTSA record is the authority. A complaint count is the number of different complaint numbers for the make, the model and the model year. How the register is made. Report an error.

Questions

How many units are in the recall campaigns for the 1997 Ford Escort?: 396,217 units in 1 campaign. A campaign can name other models and model years, and its units include them.
How many recall campaigns does the Ford Escort have for all model years?: NHTSA lists 35 recall campaigns for the Ford Escort, model years 1981 to 2003. 1 of them names the 1997 model year.
Which component do the complaints about the 1997 Ford Escort name most often?: Air Bags: 152 of 728 component mentions, or 208.8 per 1,000. For all 1997 vehicles the figure is 60.4 per 1,000.
Is an NHTSA investigation of the 1997 Ford Escort open?: No. Each of the 2 investigations that name this model year has a closing date in the NHTSA file.