1996 Ford Escort Problems, Complaints & Recalls
- Compared with other Escort years
- About as many complaints as other years 5th of 9 for complaints
- Safety recalls
- None on file
- NHTSA crash rating
- Not rated
Owners have filed 205 complaints with NHTSA about the 1996 Ford Escort. That ranks 5th out of 9 Escort model years for complaints. The most reported problem area is seat belts (77 complaints, 38%), typically at around 87,768 miles. Complaints mention 24 crashes, 7 fires, 26 injuries. There are no safety recalls on file for this model year.
- 205owner complaints
- 0safety recalls
- 0NHTSA investigations
- 24complaints mentioning a crash
Complaints are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume.
Most common 1996 Ford Escort problems
Complaints grouped by the part of the car owners reported, with the median mileage when the problem happened.
| Problem area | Complaints | Share | Median miles | Owners mention most | Typical repair cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seat Belts problems | 77 | 38% | 87,768 | “seat belt” (42%) | $760 |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 30 | 15% | — | — | — |
| Power Train | 19 | 9% | — | — | — |
| Air Bags | 18 | 9% | 106,359 | — | — |
| Electrical System | 14 | 7% | 51,367 | — | — |
| Suspension | 13 | 6% | — | — | — |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 10 | 5% | — | — | — |
| Steering | 10 | 5% | 105,317 | — | — |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 8 | 4% | — | — | — |
| Unknown or Other | 6 | 3% | 80,000 | — | — |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 5 | 2% | 55,500 | — | — |
| Seats | 4 | 2% | 154,000 | — | — |
| Structure | 4 | 2% | — | — | — |
| Tires | 4 | 2% | 151,600 | — | — |
| Latches/locks/linkages | 3 | 1% | — | — | — |
| Wheels | 3 | 1% | — | — | — |
| Fuel System, Other | 2 | 1% | — | — | — |
| Equipment | 1 | 0% | — | — | — |
| Exterior Lighting | 1 | 0% | 129,400 | — | — |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 1 | 0% | 60,000 | — | — |
| Interior Lighting | 1 | 0% | — | — | — |
| Parking Brake | 1 | 0% | — | — | — |
One complaint can list several problem areas, so shares can add up to more than 100%.
Complaints by year received
1996 Ford Escort recalls (0)
No safety recalls are on file for the 1996 Ford Escort.
To see whether a specific car still has an open recall, enter its VIN on NHTSA's official recall lookup. You can also decode a VIN here.
Recent owner reports
Short excerpts of the latest complaints filed with NHTSA, with personal details removed. Full reports can be searched on NHTSA.gov.
Tl* the contact owns a 1996 ford escort. While driving the vehicle, there was a fuel odor in the cabin. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the fuel filler line failed and would need to be repaired. The failure occurred once previously. The vehicle was not repaired. The…
The driver side motorized seat belt has ceased functioning and is now stuck midway along the top part of the seat belt track. This being the case the seat belt will not protect the driver in the event of a sudden stop. In this position it is likely that in a sudden stop the driver's head would hit…
I am adding another complaint to the vast list of previous complaints regarding my 1996 ford escort and the failure of my passive restraint shoulder belt. It has been giving me problems for probably the last 8-10 years. It would intermittently stop mid-track and "bouncing" the door against the…
1996 ford escort, unit 1 was traveling west bound on the ohio turnpike. Unit 1's hood opened and struck the windshield. Unit 1 continued on to the next emergency pull off to file the report. Bf (ohio traffic crash report # 10-0142-90)*jb updated 04/22/11 *bf
My wife & i have a 1996 ford escort wagon that we purchased used in 2008. At the time of purchase it had a set of 4 bridgestone insignia sl tires that still had reasonable tread depth remaining, so we decided to continue to use the tires until the tread had worn down more and needed replacing. On…
Other Ford Escort years
| Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 Escort | 10 | 0 |
| 2002 Escort | 33 | 0 |
| 2001 Escort | 68 | 0 |
| 2000 Escort | 98 | 1 |
| 1999 Escort | 325 | 1 |
| 1998 Escort | 375 | 0 |
| 1997 Escort | 543 | 1 |
| 1996 | 205 | 0 |
| 1995 Escort | 576 | 4 |
See all Ford Escort problems by year, every Ford model, or the Ford VIN decoder.
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Frequently asked questions
What are the most common problems with the 1996 Ford Escort?
Owners most often report seat belts, engine and engine cooling, power train problems. The top one, seat belts, accounts for 77 complaints.
Was there a recall on the 1996 Ford Escort?
No safety recalls are on file for this model year.
Was the 1996 Ford Escort a good year?
Complaint data can't fully answer that, because counts aren't adjusted for sales. Compared with other Escort model years, the 1996 has about as many complaints as a typical year. Always get a pre-purchase inspection and check the VIN for open recalls.