Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (battery, alternator, wiring, ignition, instrument cluster, infotainment).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 1998 Ford Escort owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
My daughter was on her way to work , when she called me & said "dad my car has loss power & is running very rough". I told her to pull over & I would be there shortly, since she was only about 8 miles down the road. As I was prepairing to leave, my daughter called me back & said there was a fire under the hood. I told her to call 911 and get away from the car. It took me less than 10 minutes to get there & by that time the firemen had put the fire out. The car was totaled. The car had been running great, with no problems at all.
My son was involved in an accident in which another vehicle hit his vehicle on the passenger side while he was making a left turn. My son's car spun 90 degrees and landed on the side of an embankment. The car did not flip and landed right side up. Both airbags deployed. My son noticed smoke coming from the right side of the vehicle. Luckily, he was not knocked unconsious and was able to get out of the car quickly. Within less than 5 minutes, he noticed flames coming from the floorboard on the passenger side. The car was totally engulfed in flames within 10-15 minutes. If this accident had happened on a remote road and my son would of been injured more seriously, and not been able to get out of his car, and would have burned to death. I don't know what caused the car to start on fire. Even the insurance adjuster said the car shouldn't have started on fire.
Car will loose power about 1 to 2 miles after slowing down from high speeds (55-75 MPH) to pass through an automated epass system (35mph). There is no bucking or surging, simply a loss of power. You can put the accelator to the floor to no avail. Once down below 10 MPH the car will stall out. After waiting 1/2 hour the car can be restarted. The first time this occured the car was towed to sun state Ford. The fuel pump was replaced to no avail. The second time the car was allowed to sit and then driven to car max (place of purchase) where the ignition coil and wires where replaced. The 3rd occurence was today. The car will be taken back to car max. All of these occurences have taken place over the last 2 weeks.
After exiting highway from a 20 mile trip, the idle on the vehicle became rough when stopped. The best description was that the idle started to surge and pulse with the brake engaged and the vehicle fully stopped. Just prior to pulling into driveway (less than a mile from highway) the radio and ventilation system began to cut in and out. Upon parking the vehicle, the battery was dead and the vehicle would not start. One hour later, vehicle was started, dashboard battery light was on, idle became rough and pulsed close to a stall.
I own a 1998 Ford Escort with 32,000 miles and recently had the air conditioner control module replaced.when the repair shop attempted to locate a new part, they were told that this part was on national backorder. This leads me to believe that there has been many problems throughout the country and maybe should have been recalled by the manufacturer.
Dt: there was no warning, no lights, no noise before the alternator failed. The vehicle lost all power and was concerned about what would happen while driving along a crowded highway. The consumer contacted Ford and was waiting for a response. This happened Friday July 15th, 2005.
Consumer was turning off the ignition and noticed that there was fire under the steering wheel area, consumer and her daughter tried to put out the fire themselves, however could not, claim 14-1385-223.
Engine vibrates, and has a high idle. Engine runs rough and shakes. Engine surges and hesitates. Car stalls. I have had the vehicle in for this same repair several times since the purchase of it. The mechanics have replaced spark plugs, fuel guage, fuel filter, valve idle air control, vapor management, motor mounts. The dearlership in hillsborough replaced a cable something (the service manger quit and a ticket was not found for this repair.) the vehicle continues to have same problem without being totally fixed. The last time I brought the car in for stalling, the repair was done, but the next morning the car continued to stall. As of this date, I am taking the car in for the same problem again. Please note: in reviewing the information after submittting I noticed that in # of failures passenger air bag deployed 8 times with the date of 7/24/98. …
Vehicle started, engine rattled upon acceleration at all speeds at 2300 miles. After numerous failed repair attempts by dealer,I sent complaint to fords dsb board.working throgh arbitration vehicle looked at by engineer.they replaced PCM.problem got worse,along with new problems,lack of power,hard start,transmission hesitaing.then they replaced fuel pump,didnt help, then ignition switch, didnt help,then mass air flow sensor and air filter, didnt help.finally vehicle started stalling while driving, during acc. Towed back to shop, Ford had it six weeks this time replaced PCM two more times.I have vehicle back,still problem with transmission hesitating.vehicle in shop eight times for same or related problems and totalling almost three months in shop. Still in arbitration, consdering closing case and taking to dsb. Personally.
The battery failed without any warning on the dash. The car was jump started and ran for another 40minutes before the car died again in traffic. I was able to push the car off the three lane highway onto to the shoulder. I received another jump start to the battery with a battery pack connected to the car battery terminals which enabled me to exit the highway. Immediately upon removal of the battery pack ,the car died again. I was towed to a safe location. The following day I installed a new battery and the car started immediately and continued to run after removing the postive cable connedted to the car's battery. A co-worker informed me today he regularly had to replace the battery on his Escort about every two years. He also had no prior warning of imminent battery failure. This is a dangerous condition.
Electrical complaints in other Escort years
Frequently asked questions
How common are electrical problems on the 1998 Ford Escort?
NHTSA has 43 complaints about the electrical system of the 1998 Ford Escort, 11% of the model year's 375 complaints. The component named most often is horn (7 mentions).
Is there a recall for 1998 Ford Escort electrical problems?
No. NHTSA lists no electrical system recall for the 1998 Ford Escort. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 1998 Ford Escort electrical problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 52,000 miles, and 20% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 8 fires and 1 injury to electrical system problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.