1993 Ford Escort problems
Owners have filed 480 complaints about the 1993 Ford Escort with NHTSA. Seat belts account for 23.3% of them — the clear leader, ahead of vehicle speed control at 11%.
Complaints480
Crashes37
Fires17
Injuries36
Deaths7
What owners report breaking
Seat belts 23.3% · 112
Vehicle speed control 11.0% · 53
Fuel system, gasoline 10.2% · 49
Electrical system 8.3% · 40
Engine and engine cooling 7.7% · 37
Service brakes, hydraulic 7.5% · 36
Power train 6.5% · 31
Visibility 4.8% · 23
Severity
Of those complaints, 37 describe a crash, 17 describe a fire, 36 report an injury and 7 report a death.
Reading the numbers
Across the 11 model years of the Ford Escort in this data, 1993 ranks 3rd by complaint volume — 1997 draws the most.
Filing volume has held steady, 14 in the last three years against 15 in the three before.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 48,000 miles.
In owners' own words
Seatbelt failure investigated by officer mike sedam #14760, california highway patrol central division multidisciplinary accident investigation team. Case number: cl-007-00. Contact number: (559)277-7250. Lap portion of passive restrain system was not being worn. Forces involved in the rollover collision caused sufficient stress to the passive restraint latch to break the internal latching mechanism. Seat belts
Electric seatbelts do not retract to locked position when door is closed. They stay "jammed" in the open position, forward by the dashboard. Therefore, front 3-point safety belts non-functional. American honda replaced my father's when the same thing happened. Chrysler replaced my neighbor's when hers quit working. Does Ford have some responsibility, here?. Seat belts
Fuel tank leaking at hose fitting. Crack in plastic tank. No replacement available due to many failures. Bought car new and it has never been in a wreck. Seat belts fail to retract in rear seat compartment. Dealer fixed twice for the same problem. Car is now out of warranty. *Mr *nlm **dimsii ivoq entry posted after 12/12/02 cut-over to artemis*768008 Seat belts · reported at 35,000 miles
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…