1996 Ford Escort Engine Problems

1996 FORD ESCORT HAS HAD CYLINDER HEAD AND GASKET REPLACED FOUR TIMES. THE VEHICLE HAS LOW MILEAGE AND NOW IT'S JUST SITTING. **CC *NM

NHTSA ID

10181595

Incident

Jan 1, 1901

TIMING BELT BROKE WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE ON HIGHWAY. ALTHOUGH LUCKILY THERE WAS NO INJURY, I WAS SURPRISED TO FIND SIMILAR REPORT FROM THE INTERNET WHOSE VEHICLE WAS MANUFACTURED DURING THE SAME PERIOD. I THINK SOMEONE HAS TO INFORMED THE OWNER TO CHECK THE TIMING BELT OR RECCOMEND A REPLACEMENT BEFORE ANYONE GET HURT. THE VEHICLE IS FORD ESCORT LX 96, MANUFACTURE ON 12/95.*AK

NHTSA ID

10068335

Incident

May 4, 2004

VALVE GUIDE SEPARATED FROM HEAD. GOT INTO THE CYLINDER AND SCORED THE CYLINDER WALLS AND THE VALVE DROPPPED. RUINED THE ENGINE. *AK

NHTSA ID

763641

Incident

May 15, 2000

WHEN TALKING TO A MACHINE SHOP THERE IS A TECH BULLETIN STATING THAT FORD ON 94-97 WHEN THEY BAKED THE POWDER METAL FOR THEIR INTAKE SEATS SOMETHING WENT WRONG AND THAT ALL SEATS IN HEAD SHOULD BE REPLACED. THE PEOPLE AT THE MACHINE SHOP SAID THEY HAD TO EVEN REPLACE ALL THE PISTONS IN THE MOTORS DUE TO THE DAMAGE CAUSED BY THE DEFECTIVE SEATS. AND IT IS ALL A FORD ERROR AND THEY KNOW IT

NHTSA ID

763259

Incident

Jun 14, 2002

CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, MECHANIC DIAGNOSED IT AS A MISFIRE ON ONE OF THE CYLINDERS. REPLACED PLUGS AND WIRES, AND TWO DAYS LATER THE ENGINE "DROPPED A VALVE" DESTROYING ENGINE. THIS HAS HAPPENED A NUMBER OF TIME ON THIS ENGINE ACCORDING TO THE NHTSA WEBSITE. WENT TO FORD AND STATED IT WAS A DEFECT IN THE ENGINE, THEY REFUSED ALL HELP OR COMPENSATION. COST WAS OVER $4,000. TO REPAIR. THIS DEFINITELY A FACTORY DEFECT, AND SHOULD BE PICKED UP BY FORD. NO LINE OF ENGINES SHOULD BE FAILING AT 60-70,000 MILES, LIKE THESE ARE. $4,000. TO REPAIR. *AK

NHTSA ID

756796

Incident

Dec 14, 2001

VEHICLE WILL STALL IN HOT WEATHER AND AT ANY SPEED, THIS HAPPENS ON A DAILY BASIS.*AK

NHTSA ID

889899

Incident

May 1, 2001

WHILE DRIVING ENGINE WILL OVERHEAT. ALSO, RADIATOR AND FAN HAD TO BE REPLACED.DEALER DID NOT STATE WHAT WAS CAUSE OF REPLACEMENT.*AK

NHTSA ID

883867

Incident

Mar 12, 2001

WHILE DRIVING ENGINE LOST POWER. HAD TAKEN VEHICLE TO DEALER WHERE THEY SAID THAT PROBLEM WAS HEAD GASKET THAT BLEWOUT. *AK

NHTSA ID

883857

Incident

Mar 12, 2001

WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGH WAY ENGINE BLEWOUT WITHOUT A PRIOR WARNING, LEAVING VEHICLE WITHOUT POWER ON ROAD.*AK

NHTSA ID

883855

Incident

Mar 12, 2001

WHILE TRAVELING AT 10 MPH AND GOING THROUGH TRAFFIC LIGHT CAR DIED. TOOK TO DEALER, AND THEY SAID VALVE SEALS LET LOOSE. SEAL RUNS EVERYTHING TO THE POINT THAT IT'S NOT REPAIRABLE.*AK

NHTSA ID

882219

Incident

Feb 22, 2001

I WAS DRIVING UP A HILL ON MY WAY TO WORK. I HEARD A BANG AND THEN A CLATTERING SOUND. I WAS ABLE TO GET THE CAR TO WORK AND THEN TO MCLEAN FORD A TOTAL OF ABOUT 35 MILES. THEY LOOKED AT THE CAR THAT FRIDAY AND SAID THEY'D HAVE TO LOOK FUTHER ON MONDAY. THEY ALSO TOLD ME IT DIDN'T LOOK GOOD. THEY SAID SOMETHING ABOUT A PISTON. ON MONDAY AFTERNOON THEY CALLED ME AND SAID THAT THE ENGINE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. HOWEVER, THEY SAID THEY HAD GOOD NEWS - FORD WOULD PAY FOR $2,000 OF THE REPAIR. MY QUESTION IS WHY WOULD FORD PAY $2,000. WAS IT BECAUSE OF A "HIDDEN" WARRENTY. IF SO THEN WHY SHOULD I HAVE TO PAY THE REMAINDER $698.39. S THERE SUCH A THING A "HIDDEN WARRENTIES". IF IT WAS A DEFECT IN THE ENGINE WHY SHOULD THE CONSUMER HAVE TO PAY?*AK

NHTSA ID

740051

Incident

Jan 19, 2001

# 4 PISTON DISENTIGRATED RUINING ENGINE BLOCK. STOPED FOR RED LIGHT AND CAR ACTED AS IF IT WAS GOING TO STALL. DROVE TO BANK PARKING LOT 1 BLOCK AWAY AND TURNED CAR OF. TRIED TO RESTART CAR AND MADE ENGINE NOISE. TURNED CAR OFF CALLED WESTERN SLOPE FORD TO SPEAK WITH SERVICE DEPARTMENT TO SEE IF I COULD GET IT TOWED INTO GARAGE. NO RETURN CALL FROM THEM. HAD ANOTHER SHOP TOW AND INSPECT. *AK

NHTSA ID

735732

Incident

Jul 14, 2000

THE ENGINE WAS REPLACED DUE TO BROKEN VALVE SEATS INSIDE THE CYLINDER WHICH DAMAGED THE PISTONS, THE CONSUMER FEELS THAT FORD SHOULD PAY FOR THIS EXPENSE DUE TO THE LOW MILEAGE OF THE VEHICLE AND BECAUSE THE VEHICLE IS VERY WELL MAINTENANCED. *SLC

NHTSA ID

557153

Incident

May 11, 2000

AT STOP LIGHT #4 CYLINDER DROPPED VALVE SEAT DESTROYING HEAD AND ALL 4 PISTONS. ALSO ENGINE CHECK LIGHT COMES ON INTERMITTENTLY GIVING CODE 1433. REPLACED SOLENOID AS RECOMMENDED BY TSB AND IT STILL FAILS AT RANDOM INTERVALS. *AK

NHTSA ID

731094

Incident

Aug 1, 2000

CONSUMER HAS MULTIPLE PROBLEMS WITH VEHICLE. ENGINE LIGHT STAYS ON & THE VEHICLE WON'T PASS INSPECTION IF THE DEALER CAN'T FIND OUT WHAT WAS WRONG WITH IT. THERE WERE GAS SMELLS COMING FROM HATCHBACK. HOWEVER, DEALER COULDN'T DETERMINE WERE IT WAS COMING FROM. *AK AS OF THIS DATE 9-13-00 ENGINE LIGHT STILL ON, CONSUMER REPLACED OXYGEN SENSOR, TIMING BELT AND WATER PUMP. KINK WAS FOUND IN GAS LINE CAUSED SMELL COMING FROM FRONT OF THE CAR. BRACKET OFF OF MOTOR MOUNT. *YH

NHTSA ID

868747

Incident

Feb 1, 2000

ENGINE LIGHT HAS CAME ON REPEATEDLY, DEALER NEVER FOUND MAJOR PROBLEM, THE LIGHT STARTED COMING ON AGAIN AND VEHICLE WOULD CUT OFF WHEN PUT IN TO GEAR, AT 73000 MILES ENGINE FAILED. *SLC

NHTSA ID

553562

SEAT BELT BECAME STUCK MIDWAY ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS, FINALLY IT CAME OFF THE TRACK. I DO NOT HAVE A SEAT BELT TO WEAR NOW. ENGINE CHECK LIGHT PROBLEM BEGAN AT UNDER 10,OOO MI VEHICLE WAS BROUGHT INTO DEALER WAS REPAIRED (MAYBE? OR WAS IT ONLY RESET?) OXYGEN SENSOR' S (2 )HAD TO BE REPLACED TO PASS EMISSION TEST. NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. PASSENGER DOOR HAD PROBLEM TOOK TO DEALER WHO SORT OF FIXED IT. AT LEAST ONE COULD OPEN IT FROM THE INSIDE. BUT IT WAS DIFFICULT. EVENTUALLY PROBLEM RESURFACED. I HAVE NOTICED THAT MANY OF THE PROBLEMS I HAVE HAD WITH THE SEAT BELTS AND WITH THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ARE NOT AN UNCOMMON OCCURENCE. I AM A CHICAGO POLICE OFFICER AND I NOTICE THAT THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT IS ALWAYS ON IN THE FORD SQUAD CARS. THERE ARE PROBLEMS WHICH NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED. THE SEAT BELT ISSUE NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED IMMEDIATELY. UNTIL I SAW YOUR WEB INFO IN A MAGAZINE, I WAS NOT AWARE THERE WAS ANY RECOURSE OTHER THAN TO COMPLAIN TO THE MANUFACTURER WHICH IS FRUITLESS. PERHAPS YOUR NUMBER AND INFORMATION NEED TO BE LISTED ON THE VEHICLE INFORMATION BOOKS THAT ARE SUPPLIED TO NEW CAR BUYERS. I ONLY WONDER HOW MANY OTHER CONSUMERS HAVE HAD SIMILAR PROBLEMS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN REPORTED OTHER THAN TO FORD'S CUSTOMER SERVICE. *AK .

NHTSA ID

724888

Incident

Nov 15, 1999

THERE WAS AN EXPLOSION IN THE ENGINE, ROUGHLY WORK OF THE ENGINE 5 TO 10 SECONDS WITH METAL SOUNDS IN THE ENGINE, THEN THE ENGINE COMPLETELY SHUT DOWN. FOUND THE 3RD CODE, 2ND CODE (A/C HI-PRESSURE SWITCH INTERMITENT-DIRTY CONNECTOR). *AK

NHTSA ID

718240

Incident

Dec 10, 1999

FIRST HEARD A EXPLOSION IN THE ENGINE, AFTER THET THE ENGINE RAN ROUGH 5-10 SEC AND SHUTDOWN. PERFORMED THE COMPRESSION TEST AND FOUND CYLENDER 4 COMPRESSION AT 0(ZERO) AND 30% LEAKED. REPLACED THE ENGINE WITH A NEW ONE. PROBLEMS REPETED WITH THE NEW ENGINE TWO TIMES( ONE TIME IN THE TOWN ROAD AND ANATHER TIME ON THE HIGHWAY). BOTH TIMES THE ENGINE WAS SHUTDOWN. *AK

NHTSA ID

717699

Incident

Dec 10, 1999

WOULD HAVE NO COMPRESSION IN FORD ENGINE CYLINDERS. THIS CAUSES ENGINE TO SPUTTER & FINALLY STALL OUT. COULDN'T RESTART VEHICLE & TOOK TO DEALERSHIP. MECHANIC INDICATED A PROBLEM WITH THE COMPRESSION TO ENGINE. CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ALSO CAME ON BEFORE VEHICLE STALLED OUT. *AK

NHTSA ID

853649

Incident

Nov 15, 1998

NO SUMMARY.

NHTSA ID

712605

Incident

Jun 23, 1999

SPEEDOMETER MALFUNCTIONED, CAUSING AN INCORRECT READING WHICH IS HIGHER THAN IT SHOULD BE. DEALER REPLACE SPEEDOMETER 3 TIMES. ALSO ENGINE PROBLEMS. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION. *AK

NHTSA ID

847853

Incident

Jan 1, 1997

ENGINE BLEW OUT RESULTING IN VEHICLE SMOKING. NLM

NHTSA ID

547864

Incident

Jul 1, 1999

THE VEHICLE HAD THE TOP OF THE PISTON BRAKE OFF ON THE NO# 4 CYCLINDER, CAUSING A HOLE TO GO THROUGH THE ENGINE WHILE IN THE START UP MODE. THE FORD SERVISE MANAGER SAID IT WAS A MANUFACTER'S DEFECT IN THE ENGINE AND THAT HE SAID HE NEVER SAW ANYTHING LIKE IT. I CALLED FORD TO SEE ASSISSTANCE IN PAYING FOR THIS AND THEY SAID NO SINCE THERE HAS NOT BEEN A RECALL. *AK

NHTSA ID

707481

Incident

Jun 6, 1999

ENGINE FAILED.

NHTSA ID

780683

Incident

Sep 27, 1998