This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
The contact owns a 1999 Ford Escort. During a vehicle safety inspection, it was discovered that the driver side rear coil spring failed and needed to be replaced. Approximately two years later, the rear driver and passenger side coil springs failed and were replaced. The current mileage was 59,000 and failure mileage was 38,350. Updated 06/09/08 updated 06/09/08
Rear coil spring failure. 2 separate rear coil spring failures within 2 months. 1 of which punctured the tire at highway speeds. The car lost control and went into the median. Luckily nobody was injured and there were no other vehicles involved. Repair shop noted this is a common problem with Escorts.
The contact owns a 1999 Ford Escort. The contact heard an unfamiliar noise coming from the rear of the vehicle. At the repair shop, it was discovered that the rear passenger side coil springs failed. The shop stated that the failure was due to the coils spring rusting. The contact has not notified the manufacturer or the local Ford dealer. The current and failure mileages were 52,000.
: the contact stated while the vehicle was inspected it was determined the rear coil springs were fractured. The vehicle was driven to the dealer and new coil springs have been ordered. The manufacturer has been alerted.
I had my 99 Escort in for A/C work and a inspection was done and found both rear springs broken, I have noted several complaints in your files on this. The car has 28K miles no repairs were done yet.
- Littleton, CO, USA
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1-courtesy check by a local tire & auto service center during a tire rotation. Suggest replace rear coil springs. 2-we were told one of the rear coil springs is broken, these have to be replaced in pairs. 3-this is a design flaw and should not be a regular item that needs to be maintained. We should not have to pay for a pair of coils and a suspension alignment. We are looking for a recall instead of paying money out of our pocket for an item that should not need to be replaced. Apparently this is true because of other complaints for the same reason for years of 1997-2001 for Ford Escorts/sedans and Mercury tracer/sedans.
I took my 99 Ford Escort to a auto repair shop to fix one front tie rod (another frequent problem on Escort) and the mechanic told me that one of the spings in the rear suspension was broken. I did not notice anything different when driving and I don't know for how long it has been broken. The mechanic also said that this is a frequent problem with Escort, and advised me to check the existance of a recall with a Ford dealer. To this date (Jan 2006) there is no recall. He also advised me to keep the receipt of the repair ($ 750 to replace the springs and struts on both sides) in case a recall will be made in the future.
The vehicle was a 1999 Ford Escort. Both of the back coil springs were broken. Consumer found this out when getting the brakes inspected. The front brake rotors, tie rods and the rear struts including the coil springs needed to be replaced. The inspection took place on 7-8-05. Consumer took the vehicle to a Ford dealer to have all the parts replaced. They were replaced on 7-20/22-05. Vehicle was shaking before hand. Consumer knew that Ford company issued a recall issue concerning this problem with some of their other models. Updated 11/02/2005.
When I took my car (1999 Ford Escort stationwagon VIN.#[xxx]) in for its oil change & inspection. It failed inspection because a rear coil spring was completely cracked in half. The car is 5 years old, but only had 8,953 miles on it. I am a senior citizen and only drive the car on a limited basis, usually for shopping or to a doctor's office. I was told the the spring was not covered under any warranty and was charged a total of $412.99 (plus tax) for this repair. I was told to contact Ford directly to see if anything could be done to compensate me. My son called Ford's customer relations # and was told to see the service manager at the dealer, who would then submit the claim for me. After 2 seperate visits to the dealer, my son was told: 1) the manager had gone home early that day & that only the manager could deal with the problem. On the next day 2) the manager was in a meeting (Friday afternoon @ 4:00 pm) & could not be disturbed. My son returned home & called Ford customer relations #. he was told that the dealers service manager had called and said that they would not offer any compenstaion. As for the broken coil spring, my son had told me to request the broken parts and I do have them. When the spring broke, I do not no because the ride of the car was always the same as when I purchased the car new. Now with the new springs, the rear of the car rides higher. Updated 07/26/2012 information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Took vehicle for safety inspection and was told one back spring had cracked and other had moved off mounting which could cause it to further move and puncture tire. Ford Corp. Said no recall issued but it was a safety issue and should be addressed immediately. My local Ford dealer did not have parts, were on back order, didn't know when available.
Both rear coil springs broke at same time, and car has only 43,000 miles and is only 4 years old. No excessive weight ever used in this car. Mechanic said he has fixed at least a dozen other Ford Escorts with the same problem.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- York, PA, USA