"How reliable is the 1999 Ford Escort?"

"Based on 413 NHTSA complaints, the 1999 Ford Escort has a median complaint mileage of 70000 miles. The most common issue is AIR BAGS:FRONTAL."

"What are common problems with the 1999 Ford Escort?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 1999 Ford Escort is AIR BAGS:FRONTAL, accounting for a significant portion of the 413 total complaints filed."

1999 Ford Escort: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 413 complaints

413

Total Complaints

70,000mi

Median Mileage

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

40,500 25th Percentile

70,000 Median Mileage

99,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE

AIR BAGS

TIRES

SUSPENSION:REAR:SPRINGS

SUSPENSION:REAR:SPRINGS:COIL SPRINGS

EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"CONSUMER HAS BEEN EXPERIENCING PROBLEMS WITH HORN. WHEN CONSUMER THEY APPLIES HORN, IT'S HARD TO MAKE IT MAKE A SOUND. BECAUSE OF THIS, THE CONSUMER WAS ALMOST INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT. COULD NOT LET OTHER DRIVERS BE AWARE OF VEHICLE'S PRESENCE. THE MANUFACTURER HAS YET TO BE CONTACTED. *AK"

"WHENEVER THE HORN HAS TO BE USED IT FAILS TO OPERATE PROPERLY AFTER BEING HIT. THERE IS NO NOISE. JUST SILENCE. WILL BE TAKEN VEHICLE TO DEALER TO HAVE IT CHECKED OUT, DESIGN OF THE HORN IS HAMPERED BY THE INSTALLATION OF THE AIR BAG. *AK"

"THE CAR WILL INCONSISTENTLY NOT START. I HAVE BEEN HAVING THIS PROBLEM SINCE JULY OF 1998 (IT BEGAN MILDLY AND CONTINUED TO GET WORSE), AND THE DEALER HAS BEEN CONTACTED. THEY HAVE REPLACED ONE PART, BUT AFTER SEVERAL WEEKS AFTER THE PROBLEM BEGAN AGAIN. NOW I AM WAITING FOR FORD TO COME OUT WITH..."

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28