Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STEERING - HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM | |||||
| 97050110606 | 05/01/1997 | 52886 | The power steering transducer is now available as a serviceable component. *tw | 10/30/1997 | |
| BC2231970501 | 05/01/1997 | 52772 | The power steering transducer is now released as a serviceable component. *tw | 09/12/1997 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| STEERING | |||
| 05/06/1998 | |||
| Consumer was enterning the expressway when vehicle lost control. took consumer across three lanes before hitting concrete divider. one injury was sustained. dealer was not notified at the time. *ak | |||
| STEERING - COLUMN LOCKING - ANTI-THEFT DEVICE | |||
| 12/02/2000 | 5 | 11/01/2000 | |
| Ignition locks up and will not unlock until the sterring wheel is pulled from left to right several times. the sterring wheel and column is locked up and the ignition will not work. *ak | |||
| 07/03/2000 | 6 | ||
| Gas gauge doesn't show the correct amount of gas once it reaches 1/4 of a tank. *ak the vehicle also stalls on highways. the anti-theft alarm goes on for unknown reason. the horn malrunctions too. *yh | |||
| STEERING - GEAR BOX (OTHER THAN RACK AND PINION) | |||
| 1 | |||
| Steering gear noise is present, however no remedy to solve noise problem. mjs | |||
| STEERING - HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM | |||
| 07/24/2002 | 1 | 02/01/1998 | |
| While driving at 10mph on flat surface power steering went out, and consumer lost control of vehicle. dealer notified.*akthere was a loud grinding noise and burning smell and smoke from the belts. *jg | |||
| 06/27/2001 | 1 | 09/01/1997 | |
| Crankshaft pully separated from engine block, causing sudden loss of power steering. vehicle only had 30m miles.*ak | |||
| STEERING - LINKAGES | |||
| 05/26/2002 | 1 | ||
| While getting an oil change technician informed consumer that both rear springs were broken. dealer and manufacturer were not notified at this time. *ak the rear spring and top mount failed and was replaced. the rear coil springs failed and was replaced. both tie rods failed and was replaced. *yh | |||
| 01/07/2002 | 5 | 03/01/1997 | |
| Went in for repair to bad spot on tire. mechanic found that all 4 gas struts and both sets of coil springs were broken, and had to be replaced, along with a tie rod, and all 4 tires. i had not struck anything at all to cause this, and all of these defective parts would cause a major accident if they failed at highway speed. $ 1136.48 in repairs after only 30k miles is completely unconscionable!! | |||
| STEERING - LINKAGES - TIE ROD ASSEMBLY | |||
| 04/30/2008 | 115000 | 1 | 01/29/2008 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 1997 ford escort. when making a right turn at various speeds, the contact heard a clunking sound coming from the front end ball joints. the dealer stated that the brake pads, rotors, drums, and front wheel bearing on the passenger side needed to be replaced. the contact stated that the odometer and speedometer have both been replaced three times, but she does not trust that the speedometer is currently working properly. the failure mileage was 115,000. updated 06-03/08. *lj the tie rod end, rear spring, windshield, upper ball joint, odometer knob, real passenger seal were all replaced. updated 05/30/08 | |||
| 09/16/2004 | 32000 | 1 | 03/10/1997 |
| While driving , the steering wheel felt loose and made a loud noise. the dealer replaced the tie rod at owner's expense. *jb consumer feels that she should be reimbursed for the cost of repairs. the vehicle's rear coil springs broke at 16219 miles. the front coil spring broke at 16279 miles and was replaced under warranty. catalytic converter failed causing noise. *bf *nm | |||
| 09/10/2004 | 2 | ||
| Consumer's daughter was driving and vehicle shook when in reverse. took vehicle to dealer, and they told her tie rods were defective. another dealer told her it was the motor mounts. *ak | |||
| 05/21/2003 | 30123 | 11/28/1997 | |
| I bought a 1997 ford escort wagon new and love it and has only 30000 miles on it. recently i had a problem with steering the vehicle so i had it checked out at an auto repair shop. the mechanic told me i needed new tie rod ends and both rear coil springs were broken. as i do not drive this vehicle hard and do not haul anything except my puppy and groceries, i had a hard time believing this. so i took it to another garage and another mechanic told me the same thing and showed it to me. i am no longer driving this vehicle as it is unsafe and this vehicle should be placed on a recall list and fixed by ford free of charge. neither me or my husband have ever had this happen and we feel that definitely this has to be a factory defect. please advise me as soon as possible what to do about this defective vehicle so that i can know which direction to pursue this matter, a.e., newspapers, tv stations, etc. thanks for your help. *jb | |||
| 04/15/2003 | 60000 | 3 | 09/10/1997 |
| Rear coil springs are cracked - both sides. vehicle only 5 years old. used in primarily in city, running errands - for retired couple. also: left outer tie rod end is worn out and has to be replaced. this causes a vibration at highway speeds and also rattles when going over small bumps (<1) at low speeds (<10 mph). *jb | |||
| 05/26/2002 | 1 | ||
| While getting an oil change technician informed consumer that both rear springs were broken. dealer and manufacturer were not notified at this time. *ak the rear spring and top mount failed and was replaced. the rear coil springs failed and was replaced. both tie rods failed and was replaced. *yh | |||
| 02/03/2002 | |||
| While pulling out of a parking space vehicle lost control due to failure of tie rod end. dealer and manufacturer were not notified at this time. feel free to provide any further information.*ak | |||
| 06/15/2001 | 1 | 01/01/1997 | |
| Front left tie rod was replaced by dealership because component was experiencing excessive wear, and were very noisy while the vehicle was in operation. *ak left outer tie rod end assembly was replaced. *slc | |||
| 06/01/2000 | 1 | 10/01/1997 | |
| Both rear springs & right rear outer tie rod broke. *ak | |||
| 2 | 07/17/1997 | ||
| Two broken rear spring and a right side outer tie rod end, in addition to front brake pads, possible springs were of poor quality | |||
| While driving the vehicle made a clunking noise, and the vehicle got stuck in an intersection. both front tires were facing inward due to inner tie rod failure. *ak | |||
| STEERING - WHEEL AND HANDLE BAR | |||
| 12/19/1996 | 1 | 04/01/1997 | |
| Steering wheel locked up,brakes failed to operate properly resulting in an accident, no deployment of air bags during collision. | |||
| 1 | |||
| Steering column makes noise. | |||
| 12/19/1997 | 2 | 04/01/1997 | |
| Owner's son was driving the car and the steering wheel and column locked up, forcing him to go off the road. also brakes failed to operate properly. *ak | |||
| 01/11/1997 | 1 | 08/01/1996 | |
| Steering wheel assembly replaced. | |||