1993 Ford Escort problems
NHTSA has received 480 complaints about the 1993 Ford Escort, and 23% of them involve seat belts. After that come fuel system (11%) and cruise control (11%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 480 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Seat belts 23% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 37 and 17
- Injuries and deaths
- 36 and 7
- Typical mileage
- 48,000 miles 36 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 9 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 7 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 4 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 3 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 3 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 2 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 1 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 1 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 1 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 5 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Among the 36 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 48,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 37 complaints mention a crash; 17 complaints mention a fire; 36 injuries reported; 7 deaths reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1993 ranks 5th most-complained-about out of 13 model years of the Ford Escort with enough data (243 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 1 safety recall campaign.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
This was not my vehicle. I am an attorney representing someone injured in the accident caused by the tire failure. (tiresize: p175/70r13)( DOT number: tire size: p175/70r13 )
As briefly and succintly as I can; my father was driving a 1993 ford escort station wagon on one of the last days of winter when he apparently hit a patch of black ice. He did go left of center and was hit by an oncoming vehicle (each vehicle @ 35MPH). My question involves the side impact capability of this model - the impact was as close to being right on the "b'" pillar as possible and this thing just folded in half. The roof folded, the floor buckled and the passenger side was touching the steering wheel.
Driver had lost control of vehicle, possibly fell asleep and ran off the road , car went over enbankment and hit head-on against rocks. Driver was thrown from vehicle through windshield about 30-35 feet due failure of automatic seatbelt. Automatic seat belt was in forward postion on the automatic rail, and both doors were completely closed. Also battery was thrown from the vehicle . Defect resulted in death of driver.
Brakes weak since car was new. Pedal goes almost completely to floor before braking and even then poorly. Have replaced brake pads, discs, drums, hoses, master cylinder and booster (every component), bled and adjusted several times to no effect. Calling to ford to report the problem and get them to fix it was a waste of time. Appears manufacturer was known of a problem and released a t.s.b. Only after all vehicles covered were out of warranty. Checked with dealer and parts not available.
Dt: purchased this vehicle at a used lot. After 90 days the transmission pump went out. Bought it with 48,000 miles. Went to two different mechanic shops, and they said it had too much wear for that amount of mileage. The exhaust system came off, the shocks were bad, the tires were al defective, and the brakes failed. The dealer from who the vehicle was purchased was out business.