The 1991 Ford Escort has 6 recalls, the most serious being a stuck accelerator pedal and a steering column that can lock up, either of which can cause a sudden loss of vehicle control.
A bolt securing a fuel line shield can protrude through the dash panel far enough to catch the accelerator pedal at full depression, leaving the throttle stuck wide open. On manual transmission models, the roll pins holding the ignition lock cylinder in the steering column housing can work loose, allowing the cylinder to disengage and the column to lock up while driving. Both of these issues represent significant handling risks, and prior repair attempts for the steering column concern may not have fully resolved it across all affected vehicles. There is also a fuel system concern affecting GT and LXE trims: fatigue cracks can develop where the fuel return tube meets the sending unit on top of the tank, allowing fuel vapors to escape and, when the tank is nearly full, liquid fuel to leak and raise the risk of fire. A compliance recall involving odometers calibrated in miles rather than kilometres on Pony and LX models rounds out the list, though those vehicles were corrected before reaching customers.