1998 Ford Escort

No clear pattern

21.1% of complaints about the 1998 Ford Escort arrived in its first year of service. That is an unusual figure for a 1998 vehicle, but with only 375 complaints on record the sample is too small to call it a pattern — the margin of error covers the range where ordinary vehicles sit. The figures below are reported without a verdict. The most-reported system is air bags (68 complaints), typically at 2.5 yr or about 90,000 miles.

Complaints: 375
Median age at failure: 3.3 yr
Median mileage: 76,100 n=63
Crash / fire / tow: 30.9% of reports
Safety recalls: 1

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

System

0y2y4y6y8y10y12y14y

Air bags

68 reports · 90,000 mi

2.5 yr

88.2%

Electrical system

50 reports · 51,950 mi

3.5 yr

28%

Engine cooling

47 reports · 81,000 mi

3.5 yr

2.1%

Suspension

42 reports · 55,000 mi

6.2 yr

9.5%

Power train

32 reports · 64,544 mi

2.3 yr

6.2%

Service brakes, hydraulic

22 reports · 65,000 mi

2.1 yr

27.3%

Fuel system

16 reports

3.5 yr

6.2%

Seat belts

15 reports · 81,756 mi

3.7 yr

60%

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

04E048000 2004-07-12

Seat belts:front

CERTAIN TRW DRIVER'S SIDE SEAT BELTS MANUFACTURED ON DECEMBER 6 AND 9, 2002, FOR USE AS REPLACEMENT EQUIPMENT FOR 1997 FORD ESCORT 4-DOOR AND STATION WAGON PLATFORM VEHICLES, FORD'S P/N F7CZ54611B09AAC. THE SEAT BELT ASSEMBLIES EXHIBIT A NO-LOCK CONDITION WHICH DOES NOT COMPLY WITH FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 209, SEAT BELT ASSEMBLIES.

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.

In owners’ own words

Air bags mileage not reported 4 mo in service crash / fire / tow

CONSUMER STATES THAT WHILE DRIVING ABOUT 40 MPH VEHICLE WAS INVOLVED IN A FRONTAL COLLISION AND THE PASSENGER'S SIDE AIRBAG DID NOT DEPLOY. THE DEALER AND MANUFACTURER HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED. *AK

Air bags mileage not reported 7 mo in service crash / fire / tow

WHILE TURNING AT 15 TO 20 MPH VEHICLE WAS STRUCK AT A 45 DEGREE ANGLE ON PASSENGER'S SIDE, THERE WAS NO DEPLOYMENT OF DRIVER'S OR PASSEGERS SIDE AIRBAGS. ALSO DRIVER'S SIDE SEAT BELT FAILED TO RESTRAIN OCCUPANT. *AK

Air bags mileage not reported 8 mo in service

DRIVING ABOUT 25MPH ON THE HIGHWAY AND A TRUCK IN FRONT OF THE VEHICLE MADE A SUDDEN STOP AND THE VEHICLE HIT THE BACK OF THE TRUCK. THE AIRBAG DIDN'T DEPLOY. HEAVY DAMAGE WAS DONE TO THE FRONT OF THE VEHICLE. *AK

Power train mileage not reported 2 mo in service

TRANSMISSION SLIPS IN & OUT OF GEAR WHENEVER VEHICLE IS AT A DEAD STOP OR WHEN VEHICLE'S READY TO TAKE OFF. TOOK TO DEALER TWICE BECAUSE OF PROBLEM, BUT MECHANIC WAS UNABLE TO REPAIR IT. *AK

Other Escort model years

How to read this

This is what owners reported, not a reliability rating. People file with NHTSA about alarming failures, not routine ones, and complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold.
Failure ages come from the incident date on each complaint, populated on about 83% of records. Mileage is shown where reported — NHTSA’s 2021 system change cut mileage capture to roughly 15%, so it thins out sharply after MY2020.
Every rank compares this vehicle only against others of the same model year. A 2025 car has not had time to accumulate five-year failures, so comparing early-failure share across years is meaningless.
Fourteen make-months distorted by media storms and mass recalls — Toyota in February 2010 ran 11× normal volume across 33 models — are excluded.
Recalls are manufacturer actions and authoritative; complaints are not. A recall listed here may already have been performed on any individual car. Check a specific VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.