1998 Ford Escort
Family: Escort · filed with NHTSA as ESCORT
Summary
- In its first three years the 1998 Escort drew 182 complaints — 1.1× the median of its generation (1997–2003). It does not stand out from the other years of this generation.
- These are complaint counts, not failure rates: they are not divided by how many cars were sold, because no public source reports U.S. sales by model year.
- Complaints are spread across systems: the largest, Airbags, holds 20% of the 368 that name a component.
- 1 recall filed for this model year.
- 1 federal defect investigation covers this model year.
At a glance
- Owner complaints
- 375
- Recalls
- 1
- Investigations
- 1
- NCAP overall
- Not rated
- Combined MPG
- 25–28
- Annual fuel cost
- $2,250–$2,500
- Median mileage at complaint
- 75,000 mi (n = 57)
- Crashes / fires / injuries / deaths
- 84 / 11 / 78 / 1
What owners report
Airbags
75 complaints · 20% of complaints that name a component · median 90,000 mi (n = 6)
Owner report DT: THE CONSUMER'S VEHICLE WAS INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT, AND THE DRIVER'S SIDE AIR BAG DEPLOYED. WHEN THE AIRBAG DEPLOYED IT CAUSED THE CONSUMER TO BE SEVERALLY BURNED. THE PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG DID NOT DEPLOY COMPLETELY. THIS OCCURRED ON AUGUST 3, 2004. THE CONSUMER'S VEHICLE HIT A POST. THE VEHICLE WAS TOTAL…
Owner report DT: THE CONSUMER STATES THAT THE 1998 FORD ESCORT CRASHED INTO A LIGHT POLE. THE DRIVER HIT THE POLE AND THE AIR BAG DEPLOYED AND BROKE. THE INSIDE OF THE AIR BAG SPRAYED THE CHEMICALS ON THE DRIVER, THE CHEMICALS BURNT HER HANDS AND ARM. SHE SAID THAT SHE COULD NOT FIND A LAWYER IN HER TOWN TO TAKE CASE. THE LAWYERS…
Engine
50 complaints · 14% of complaints that name a component · median 85,000 mi (n = 8)
Owner report TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1998 FORD ESCORT. WHILE DRIVING 20 MPH, THE VEHICLE CAUGHT FIRE UNDER THE HOOD WITHOUT WARNING. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT ARRIVED AND EXTINGUISHED THE FIRE. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE CONTACT'S RESIDENCE. THERE WERE NO INJURIES. THE LOCAL DEALER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REP…
Owner report DT*: THE CONTACT STATED THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED HOWEVER THE VEHICLE EXHIBITED NO PROBLEMS. THE MANUFACTURER WAS ALERTED.
Suspension
50 complaints · 14% of complaints that name a component · median 55,000 mi (n = 21)
Owner report TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1998 FORD ESCORT. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE REAR COIL SPRINGS BROKE IN 2003 AND WERE REPAIRED. THE VEHICLE WAS AT A REPAIR SHOP GETTING AN OIL CHANGE WHEN THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE REAR COIL SPRINGS HAD BROKEN AGAIN. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN INSPECTED OR REPAIRED. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE…
Owner report FAILURE OF THE REAR SPRINGS ON 1998 FORD ESCORT FIRST IN 2003 AT 12,195MILES AND THE REPLACEMENTS BOTH FAILED AGAIN IN 2009 AT 36, 000 MILES. FAILURE APPEARS DUE TO SALT CORROSION ENHANCEMENT DUE TO COVERED SPRING SURFACE. FORD WAS CONTACTED AND EVEN THOUGH THERE IS A TSB ON THIS ISSUE THEY WOULD OFFER NO ASSISTANCE.…
2% of complaints name no specific component and are left out of the shares above.
Across the generation (1997–2003)
To compare years fairly, each year is counted over the same span: complaints received up to two calendar years after its model year. A year is compared only when that span is over and it holds at least 50 complaints. Median of the comparable years: 167.
| Model year | All complaints | First three years | Note |
|---|
| 1997 | 543 | 155 | |
| 1998 | 375 | 182 | |
| 1999 | 325 | 167 | |
| 2000 | 98 | 49 | not compared |
| 2001 | 68 | 40 | not compared |
| 2002 | 33 | 16 | not compared |
| 2003 | 10 | 4 | not compared |
Recalls
Whether a recall has been fixed on a specific car depends on its VIN; check it at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
04E048000 · SEAT BELTS:FRONT
Filed 2004-07-12 · 388 vehicles
Defect: 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.
Risk: 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.
Federal investigations
| Action | Component | Opened | Closed | Recall |
|---|
| DP01001 | AIR BAGS | 2001-04-19 | 2001-11-01 | |
DP01001: AIR BAG NON-DEPLOYMENT
Engines and fuel economy
| Version | Engine | Transmission | Drive | City | Hwy | Combined | Fuel cost / yr |
|---|
| Escort | 2.0L 4cyl | Automatic 4-spd | Front-Wheel Drive | 22 | 31 | 25 | $2500 |
| Escort | 2.0L 4cyl | Manual 5-spd | Front-Wheel Drive | 24 | 34 | 28 | $2250 |
| Escort Wagon | 2.0L 4cyl | Automatic 4-spd | Front-Wheel Drive | 22 | 31 | 25 | $2500 |
| Escort Wagon | 2.0L 4cyl | Manual 5-spd | Front-Wheel Drive | 24 | 34 | 28 | $2250 |
| Escort ZX2 | 2.0L 4cyl | Automatic 4-spd | Front-Wheel Drive | 22 | 30 | 25 | $2500 |
| Escort ZX2 | 2.0L 4cyl | Manual 5-spd | Front-Wheel Drive | 22 | 30 | 25 | $2500 |
Fuel cost is EPA's estimate at the fuel prices of its last update, not today's.
Crash test ratings (NCAP)
| Variant | Overall | Frontal | Side | Rollover |
|---|
| 1998 Ford Escort 4-DR. | Not Rated | Not Rated | Not Rated | Not Rated |
| 1998 Ford Escort ZX2 2-DR. | Not Rated | Not Rated | Not Rated | Not Rated |
Service bulletins
Ford issued 125 service bulletins listed against this model year, most often about engine and engine cooling.
A bulletin tells dealers how to fix a known condition. It is not a recall and not a defect finding. Most bulletins cover several model years at once, so one listed here may not be specific to this year. The number of bulletins tracks how long and how widely a model was sold, so it is not a measure of reliability.
| Date | Component | Summary |
|---|
| 2004-12-13 | POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:CONTROL MODULE (TCM/PCM/TECM) | GENERAL (PCM) POWER TRAIN CONTROL MODULE PROGRAMMING PROCEDURES. *TT |
| 2004-08-12 | SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR | TRW VEHICLE SAFETY SYSTEMS, INC. IS RECALLING CERTAIN SERVICE REPLACEMENT SEATBELT RETRACTORS (DRIVER'S SIDE FRONT RETRACTOR IN GRAY) MANUFACTURED IN DECEMBER 2002 AND SOLD AS A SERVICE REPLACEMENT PART BETWEEN DECEMBER 2002 AND JULY 2004. … |
| 2004-05-17 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | ROUGH IDLE, LOW POWER AND / OR STALL AT IDLE, A MALFUNCTION INDICATOR LAMP ILLUMINATED AND DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODES P0300 THROUGH P0304 STORED IN MEMORY. *TT |
| 2003-09-15 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | REMOTE KEYLESS ENTRY (RKE) - SERVICE TIPS. *TT |
| 2003-08-04 | ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE | IDLE VIBRATION ON VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH 2.0L SPI OR ZETEC ENGINE ONLY. *TT |
| 2003-05-12 | FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER | MALFUNCTION INDICATOR LAMP (MIL) ILLUMINATION WITH DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODES P0442, P0455, P0456, P0457, P1442 OR CHECK FUEL CAP LAMP ILLUMINATED WITH DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODE P0457. *TT |
| 2002-10-14 | EQUIPMENT:APPLIANCE:AIR CONDITIONER | CLIMATE CONTROL A/C SERVICE TECH TIPS. *EH |
| 2002-09-02 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING:BRAKE LIGHTS:SWITCH | LAMP-BRAKE-INVADVERTENT DISABLING OF BRAKE SHIFT INTERLOCK. *MJ |
| 2002-05-13 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | SOME VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH THE 2.0L SPI ENGINE MAY EXHIBIT A MALFUNCTION INDICATOR LAMP (MIL) ILLUMINATED AND DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODES (DTC) P0300 THROUGH P0304 STORED. *TT |
| 2002-03-04 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:12V/24V/48V BATTERY | INFORMATION REGARDING DISCHARGED BATTERY CHARGING SERVICE TIPS AND GUIDELINES. *TT |
How to read this page
Complaint counts are not failure rates. A model that sells more cars draws more complaints, and owners file more often after news coverage or a recall. That is why this page compares a model year only with other years of the same generation, never with other models.
Each complaint is counted once, even when it names several components; a complaint that names several systems appears under each of them. Owner reports are quoted as filed and have not been verified by NHTSA or by us.
Every model year of this Escort, including the ones without a page of their own, is listed on the Ford Escort model page.
Sources
- NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation: complaints, recalls and investigations (bulk files, data as of 2026-10-28).
- NHTSA New Car Assessment Program: crash test ratings.
- U.S. EPA / DOE fueleconomy.gov: engines, transmissions and fuel economy.
MotorAlmanac is independent and not affiliated with NHTSA, EPA or any manufacturer. This page summarises public records; it is not a mechanical inspection. Before buying a used car, check its VIN for open recalls and have it inspected.