2001 Ford Escort: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 85 complaints
85
Total Complaints
40,300mi
Median Mileage
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Top Issue
17
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

27,000 25th Percentile
40,300 Median Mileage
70,250 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
9
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
7
SUSPENSION
5
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
5
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
4
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
4
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:ACCELERATOR PEDAL
3
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
3
POWER TRAIN:MANUAL TRANSMISSION
2
STEERING
2

Severity Assessment

17
Crashes
4
Fires
7
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"THE ELECTRONIC DOOR LOCKS WERE JAMMED. I COULD NOT USE THE REMOTE TO UNLOCK THE DOORS OR MANUALLY WITH THE KEY EITHER. TOOK MY ESCAPE TO THE DEALERSHIP, AND IT HAS TAKEN 4 WEEKS TO FIX. IT STILL IS NOT FIXED. WHILE MY ESCAPE IS STILL IN SERVICE, I RECEIV"
"CONSUMER HAS TO ADD 1 QUART OF OIL EVERY 500 MILES BECAUSE ENGINE (2.0) RUNS HOT AND SMOKES. VEHICLE AT THE TIME HAD 1,285 MILES ON IT. DEALER REPLACED THE HGO VALVE, BUT THE PROBLEM HASN'T BEEN CORRECTED. CONSUMER DROVE 5 MILES, AND IT OVERHEATED SINCE HGO VALVE WAS PUT IN. DEALER HAS NO REME..."
"CONSUMER HAS TO ADD 1 QUART OF OIL EVERY 500 MILES BECAUSE ENGINE (2.0) RUNS HOT AND SMOKES. VEHICLE AT THE TIME HAD 1,285 MILES ON IT. DEALER REPLACED THE HGO VALVE, BUT THE PROBLEM HASN'T BEEN CORRECTED. CONSUMER DROVE 5 MILES, AND IT OVERHEATED SINCE HGO VALVE WAS PUT IN. DEALER HAS NO REME..."

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