1998 Ford Escort problems & reliability
375 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 1998 Ford Escort. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
63 complaints report injuries (78 injured, 1 deaths reported).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 1998 Ford Escort vehicles were involved in 14 fatal crashes with 10 occupant deaths. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Air Bags | 75 | 20% |
| Suspension | 50 | 13% |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 49 | 13% |
| Electrical System | 43 | 11% |
| Power Train | 43 | 11% |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 32 | 9% |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 19 | 5% |
| Seat Belts | 17 | 5% |
| Steering | 17 | 5% |
| Visibility | 16 | 4% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Half of the failures with a reported odometer reading occurred by 75,000 miles (middle 50% between 47,983 and 95,000 miles), based on 57 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners 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…”
Engine · filed Sep 19, 2019
“I am concerned regarding rear bumper cover. This very important paft on tbis vehicle is made totally of fiberglass or a similar product which becomes more cracked with time and the main issue is that it has no hard metal bar for protection in the event of a rear impact . This bumper which I had removed to rplaced what…”
Structure · filed Jan 26, 2019
“Tl* the contact owns a 1998 ford escort. The vehicle was equipped with kelly springfield tire size 185/65/14. The contact was driving approximately 5 mph and he heard a loud, abnormal noise coming from the rear tires. The contact detected that both rear tires had a defect within the inner liner and the cords were…”
Tires · filed Sep 6, 2013
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- AIR BAG NON-DEPLOYMENT
Defect Petition DP01001 · opened Apr 19, 2001 · closed Nov 1, 2001
Technical service bulletins
125 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 1998 Ford Escort. The 10 most recent:
General (pcm) power train control module programming procedures. *tt
042107 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Dec 13, 2004
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…
04V09 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 12, 2004
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
020901 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 17, 2004
Remote keyless entry (rke) - service tips. *tt
03181 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 15, 2003
Idle vibration on vehicles equipped with 2.0l spi or zetec engine only. *tt
031515 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 4, 2003
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
0398 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 12, 2003
Climate control a/c service tech tips. *eh
02208 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Oct 14, 2002
Lamp-brake-invadvertent disabling of brake shift interlock. *mj
02176 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 2, 2002
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
0291 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 13, 2002
Information regarding discharged battery charging service tips and guidelines. *tt
0245 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 4, 2002
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
No NHTSA recall campaigns name the 1998 Ford Escort in our current data. Recalls may apply only to certain VIN ranges — always confirm with a VIN check.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 1998 Ford Escort?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.
- · Owners most often reported problems around 75,000 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.