1998 Ford Escort Recalls
No NHTSA recalls on record for the 1998 Ford Escort. That means NHTSA has no open safety campaign for this vehicle — it does not guarantee the absence of problems. Owners have filed 470 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the air bags. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Complaints by component
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal information removed.
“Tl* the contact owns a 1998 ford escort. While driving 20 mph, the vehicle caught fire under the hood without warning. The fire department arrived and extinguished the fire. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. There were no injuries. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle…”
“I am concerned regarding rear bumper cover. This very important paft on tbis vehicle is made totally of fiberglass or a similar product which becomes more cracked with time and the main issue is that it has no hard metal bar for protection in the event of a rear impact . This bumper which I had…”
“Tl* the contact owns a 1998 ford escort. The vehicle was equipped with kelly springfield tire size 185/65/14. The contact was driving approximately 5 mph and he heard a loud, abnormal noise coming from the rear tires. The contact detected that both rear tires had a defect within the inner liner…”
“Tl*the contact owns a 1998 ford escort. The tire brand was bridge stone insignia sl, tire size was p175/65r14. The dot was unknown. While driving approximately 67 mph, the contact stated that the front right passenger tire blew out without warning. The tires were on the vehicle when it was…”
“Tl*the contact owns a 1998 ford escort. The contact stated that the rear coil springs broke in 2003 and were repaired. The vehicle was at a repair shop getting an oil change when the contact was informed that the rear coil springs had broken again. The vehicle had not been inspected or repaired.…”
“Tl* the contact owns a 1998 ford escort. The contact stated while sitting idle at a traffic stop with the brakes depressed, the vehicle abnormally accelerated to 80 mph. The contact was able to avoid a crash by weaving in and out of traffic and attempted to shift into park but to no avail. The…”
“During a state required inspection found both rear coil springs broken. Ford will not take responsibility. This is the second time this has occurred. *tr”
“Failure of the rear springs on 1998 ford escort first in 2003 at 12,195miles and the replacements both failed again in 2009 at 36, 000 miles. Failure appears due to salt corrosion enhancement due to covered spring surface. Ford was contacted and even though there is a tsb on this issue they would…”
Defect investigations
AIR BAG NON-DEPLOYMENT
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL, FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1998 Ford Escort as of July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.