Summary
The Ford Escort has 32 recalls spanning the 1981–1999 production run, with the most serious being a 1997 model year airbag monitor that can absorb moisture, short internally, and in rare cases trigger an unintended airbag deployment, melt wiring, or start a fire.
The 1995 and 1996 model years also carry significant safety concerns. On 1995 vehicles, the driver-side airbag inflator canister can have a weak weld seam that causes the bag to fail to deploy in a crash while venting hot gases rearward through the steering wheel. Separately, on some 1995 models, the passenger-side airbag module can be missing its two mounting bolts, allowing it to come loose from the instrument panel during a collision instead of restraining the occupant. The 1995 model year also had fuel tank cracking near the heat shield attachment that allows fuel to leak and potentially ignite.
The early 1990s carry a dense cluster of recalls. On 1993 models, the driver-side seat track adjuster can fail to fully engage near its midpoint, allowing the seat to shift in a crash. The 1992 model year has fuel vapor leaking from a cracked solder joint on the fuel pump sending unit when the tank is nearly full, a rear deck spoiler on Montreal 350 Anniversary Edition vehicles that can break loose and become a road hazard, and a brake light switch that can intermittently fail, leaving following drivers without a braking signal. The 1991 model year has an accelerator pedal that can stick wide open due to a bolt protruding from the firewall, ignition lock roll pins that can dislodge and cause the steering column to lock up on manual-transmission vehicles, and a fuel return tube solder crack on GT and LXE trims that allows fuel leakage. On 1990 models, windshields were installed without bonding primer and can separate from the body in a crash.
Going further back, the 1984 model year has a brake line that can chafe against an engine bracket and lose fluid, lengthening stopping distances. The 1983 model year has cooling fan motor bushings that can seize in salt-belt regions, drawing excess current and creating an overheating risk. The 1981 model year has three issues: a power brake booster that can separate completely and eliminate braking, brake backing plate bolts that can loosen and fatigue the brake tubes until fluid leaks, and front seatbelt webbing that can be cut by contact with the seat-back reinforcement plate in a frontal impact. Several emissions compliance recalls affect 1981–1983, 1988, and 1989 models, along with an odometer calibration issue on certain 1991 Pony and LX trims and a missing shift pattern indicator on 1999 S/R option vehicles.
