Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | |||||
| 03181 | 09/15/2003 | 10004027 | Remote keyless entry (rke) - service tips. *tt | 11/14/2003 | |
| 020901 | 05/17/2004 | 0491 | 637615 | Rough idle, low power and / or stall at idle, a malfunction indicator lamp illuminated and diagnostic trouble codes p0300 through p0304 stored in memory. *tt | 12/03/2002 |
| 11518 | 04/01/1998 | 613779 | Some vehicles may exhibit concerns created by water ingestion into the integrated relay control module (ircm). *tt | 08/02/2000 | |
| 98246 | 12/07/1998 | 604059 | Ford motor company has released a new electrical grease ( f8az - 19g208-aa ) to reduce the possibility of moisture corrosion at the terminals. *yc | 03/16/1999 | |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - BATTERY | |||||
| 0245 | 03/04/2002 | 636065 | Information regarding discharged battery charging service tips and guidelines. *tt | 11/05/2002 | |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - FUSES AND CIRCUIT BREAKERS | |||||
| 5963 | 05/01/1999 | 6091734 | Information on installing fuses at pre-delivery. *tt | 11/14/2000 | |
| 12846 | 06/01/1999 | 606909 | Subject on installing fuses at pdi (pre-delivery inspection). *tt | 09/07/1999 | |
| 12597 | 03/01/1999 | 605320 | Information on installing fuses at pre-delivery. *tt | 06/08/1999 | |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION | |||||
| 9811345 | 02/01/1998 | 607515 | Engineering is investgating vehicles exhibiting a condition in which the ignition key is difficult to turn and / or difficult to remove the from the switch. *tt | 09/24/1999 | |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION - SWITCH | |||||
| 9861 | 03/30/1998 | 601309 | Difficulties removing key from ignition on some vehicles. *yc | 07/21/1998 | |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING | |||||
| 99222 | 10/18/1999 | 6089681 | Subject on a wire harness terminal repair kit available for repairing electrical wiring harnesses. *tt | 02/11/2000 | |
| 982534 | 04/01/1998 | 603554 | Some vehicles may exhibit a customer concern of steady or intermittent miss with dtcs p0300 and p0304. this may be caused by a spread electrical terminal in connectors at injector. repair terminal/connector concern by using a small scre | 02/24/1999 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | |||
| 07/04/2005 | 32400 | 1 | 01/01/1998 |
| 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. | |||
| 06/05/2005 | 10200 | 1 | 04/15/2002 |
| 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. | |||
| 12/01/2003 | 51950 | 3 | 08/01/2001 |
| 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. | |||
| 01/14/2003 | 3 | ||
| Consumer stated the engine light illuminated and the vehicle stalled, due to electrical problems with the vehicle.*jb | |||
| 07/28/2000 | 1 | ||
| Consumer noticed smoke coming from behind the steering column, claim 24-125-333. *slc | |||
| 12/07/2001 | 1 | ||
| While driving, flames started coming from under the dash, claim 13-7568-816. *slc | |||
| 03/29/2001 | 1 | ||
| 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. *slc | |||
| 07/28/2000 | 1 | ||
| Consumer stated there was smoking behind the steering column, claim 24-5125-333. *slc | |||
| 12/07/2001 | 1 | ||
| While driving, flames started coming from underneath the dash, claim 13-7568-816. *slc | |||
| 03/29/2001 | 1 | ||
| While turning off ignition, consumer noticed a fire under the steering wheel area, claim 14-1385-223. *slc | |||
| 08/09/2001 | 1 | ||
| Vehicle suddenly stalled and would not restart, vehicle was towed, and consumer was then informed that the alternator and battery were inoperative and it appeared that they were hit by a surge of electrical power. jb | |||
| 07/28/2000 | 1 | ||
| Consumer noticed smoke coming from behind the steering column, claim 24-125-333. *slc | |||
| 12/07/2001 | 1 | ||
| While driving, flames started coming from under the dash, claim 13-7568-816. *slc | |||
| 03/29/2001 | 1 | ||
| 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. *slc | |||
| 07/28/2000 | 1 | ||
| Consumer stated there was smoking behind the steering column, claim 24-5125-333. *slc | |||
| 12/07/2001 | 1 | ||
| While driving, flames started coming from underneath the dash, claim 13-7568-816. *slc | |||
| 03/29/2001 | 1 | ||
| While turning off ignition, consumer noticed a fire under the steering wheel area, claim 14-1385-223. *slc | |||
| 08/09/2001 | 1 | ||
| Vehicle suddenly stalled and would not restart, vehicle was towed, and consumer was then informed that the alternator and battery were inoperative and it appeared that they were hit by a surge of electrical power. jb | |||
| 1 | 07/29/1998 | ||
| Electrical system failed causing blinkers, horn and head lights not function properly. | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - ALTERNATOR/GENERATOR/REGULATOR | |||
| 09/03/2005 | 67000 | 2 | |
| 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. *jb | |||
| 07/15/2005 | 100000 | 1 | |
| 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. *ak *nm | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - BATTERY - CABLES | |||
| 05/07/2000 | 1 | 02/01/1998 | |
| 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. *ak | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - FUSES AND CIRCUIT BREAKERS | |||
| 08/05/2002 | |||
| While driving hit the horn and it stuck. had to unplug fuse to cut horn off. dealer contacted. targo switch inside steering wheel pad broke.*ak | |||
| 04/09/2002 | 3 | 02/01/2098 | |
| Horn blows continuously with vehicle parked. must remove fuse to turn off horn.*ak | |||
| 08/01/2000 | 0 | ||
| Horn will go off without any one touching it. also, consumer was having a problem with stereo. *ak | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION | |||
| 08/09/2001 | 1 | 01/27/1998 | |
| While in motion, the vehicle suddenly stopped in the middle of the road. the mechanic informed consumer that the ignition module had caused a surge of electrical power that impacted the alternator and caused the vehicle to stop. consumer is requesting reimbursement of monies paid. *jg | |||
| 09/25/2001 | 4 | ||
| Car stalls while accelarating from low speed -0-5mph, car has stalled while on 605 freeway while traveling at low speed, starts after waiting about 20 min. have reported to servic dept. cannot find anything wrong.*ak | |||
| 07/11/2001 | 1 | ||
| The ignition key and lock were extremely hot to touch when consumer went to turn the engine off, vehicle was taken to dealership and they could not explain what may have caused the problem, consumer was informed that there were no recalls.*jb | |||
| 01/10/2001 | 1 | ||
| Vehicle continuosly stalls out at highway speeds. consumer must pull over and wait about 5 minutes to restart vehicle. consumer has taken vehicle to dealer twice, but dealer cannot determine cause. *ak there was a recall on emission and service was done by the dealer prior to the stalling problem. *yh | |||
| 03/23/1999 | 1 | 06/10/1998 | |
| Rough idle in cold weather. spark plugs replaced to eliminate failure. *yc | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION - MODULE | |||
| 03/21/2001 | 1 | ||
| Fax fwd fm fmcsa fm eloise j. quinn (ct) seeking assistance in getting ford to reimburse her for the repair of the ignition module on her 1998 ford escort.*mr the vehicle stopped in the middle of traffic, the consumer was forced to replace the ignition module. ford refuse to reimburse consumer. *ts *jb | |||
| 07/24/1998 | 8 | 05/01/1998 | |
| 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. this is incorrect, car was not in an accident and air bags were not used.*ak | |||
| 09/12/1998 | 4 | 06/01/1998 | |
| 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. *ak | |||
| 06/15/1998 | 2 | ||
| While driving the car just lost power, the engine went to idle and would not respond to throttle. when driver turned off the key it worked fine. about one month later, when starting the vehicle the engine would not accelerate when pushing on the accelerator pedal. the vehicle just idled. consumer experienced a similar problem last week. the vehcle was taken to dealership, and the computer module was reprogrammed. *ak | |||
| 08/01/1998 | 2 | 02/25/1998 | |
| When in a parking lot vehicle hesitated when the accelerator was pressed. also, at a stop sign the vehicle hesitated when the accelerator was pressed. the vehicle is very hard to start on cold mornings dueto electronic control module failure. | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION - SWITCH | |||
| 01/01/2002 | |||
| After turning vehicle off key got stuck in ignition. no matter what consumer did , key would not come out. contacted dealer. *ak | |||
| 09/12/1998 | 4 | 06/01/1998 | |
| 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. *ak | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - STARTER ASSEMBLY | |||
| 07/15/1998 | 6 | ||
| Consumer complained of ongoing problem with vehicle not starting. vehicle been in/out dealer shop on six occasions. vehicle was inspected & parts replacement made, but problem is still occurring. *ak | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING | |||
| 01/10/2001 | 1 | 07/07/1998 | |
| Opening and closing of hatchback door has caused installation on wiring harness to fray off, causing an electrical shortage potential. *ak the rubber covering the wire harness for hatchback door was frayed and three of the top wires were exposed. this has potential for electrical shortage. *yh | |||
| 10/03/1998 | 4 | 09/26/1998 | |
| Wiring assembly failed. | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING - FRONT UNDERHOOD | |||
| 04/06/2001 | 06/01/1997 | ||
| 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.*ak | |||
| 01/01/1999 | 2 | 02/01/1998 | |
| Sensor light comes on and off intermittently. consumer took vehicle to dealership, and mechanic fixed vehicle. dealership mechanic replaced wiring in front of vehicle, and problem came back three months ago.dealer told her to ride with sensor light on. *ak service engine soon light on steady due to powertrain control module (pcm) failure. *yh | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING - INTERIOR/UNDER DASH | |||
| 08/11/2004 | 2 | 03/30/1998 | |
| While driving at 25 mph a computer chip fell from under the dashboard. and then the fuel gas gauge system indicator stopped working. *ak *sc *jb | |||
| 07/13/2004 | 2 | 06/06/1998 | |
| Smoke from dashboard and cannot get car out of park.are there any recalls for this problems?*ak | |||