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 |
| 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 - WIRING | |||||
| 99222 | 10/18/1999 | 6089681 | Subject on a wire harness terminal repair kit available for repairing electrical wiring harnesses. *tt | 02/11/2000 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | |||
| 06/14/2010 | |||
| Tl- the contact owns a 1999 ford escort. the contact stated that the driver's side head light burned out several times and would recur sporadically. the contact did not take the vehicle to the dealer for repairs or inspection. the failure mileage was unknown, but the current mileage was 143,000. kmj | |||
| 06/14/2010 | |||
| Tl- the contact owns a 1999 ford escort. the contact stated that the driver side head light had burned out several times. the contact stated that the light burns out every few months. the contact had not had the vehicle looked at by the dealer or a mechanic to determine what caused the failure. the failure mileage was unknown, but the current mileage was 143,000.rl | |||
| 09/20/2006 | 67100 | 1 | |
| Right front headlight was going on and off for a couple days. got a replacement bulb to change light. found the harness that connects into the back of the light to be melted and partially burnt. had to replace harness. *tr | |||
| 11/23/2004 | 70000 | 10 | 05/20/2001 |
| I purchased a 1999 ford escort from carmax in may of 2001. about 2-3 wks later i constantly had problems with the headlight going out. i got ticketed by the police several times because i was unaware of the problems. then one day driving from work my engine died. without any warning at all. i took it to carmax and they then took it to another repair shop. whenever i put the ac on there is a rumbling coming from the front end of the vehicle. frankly the car is a lemon and i had no idea because there was no reports on the car and i remembered asking the sales rep. if there was anything about the car that i needed to know and i was told no. please let me know if there is anything that i can do because i am spending money on this car for manufacturer problems. thank you. *nm | |||
| 04/22/2005 | 76000 | 1 | |
| Consumer was driving when suddenly smoke came from the steering wheel. he pulled to the side of the road and saw flames. the fire department responded to put the fire out.*ak | |||
| 03/18/2003 | 128239 | 1 | |
| The vehicle caught on fire, possible electrical problems. *jb | |||
| 10/28/2001 | |||
| Consumer states that prior to the incident fuses will just blow out. under the dash the wire harness from the back of the turning switch, it melted and caught on fire.replace the harness. problem reaccured. ts | |||
| 08/23/1999 | 1 | ||
| Vehicle experienced complete shut down due to a defective starter, repairs were done, however vehicle still experience failure causing difficulty in shifting and electrical component failure which resulted in smoke. *yc | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - ALTERNATOR/GENERATOR/REGULATOR | |||
| 02/10/2007 | 85000 | 4 | 11/09/2006 |
| I purchased my se in november of 2006 with less than 83k miles on it. three months after purchasing it, one of the head gaskets cracked. i had the head repaired, and less than two months after that the head cracked again. i had the engine replaced. i have now had new heads, new engine, new fuel pump and a new alternator installed and now am having a new problem. when i pulled out from a stop, the brake light would come on until the brakes were applied. the engine is now emitting a grinding noise when stopped, and i feel it is unsafe to drive. this is all in addition to the violent shaking, faulty front headlight, transmission that needs flushed and loud engine noise. i have spent more on repairs than i paid for the vehicle, and now have to put more money in to it, and it still has less than 94k miles on it. this is my first ford, and will be my last. *tr | |||
| 04/03/2006 | 109240 | 5 | 03/13/2006 |
| I was out of town, drove for 2 1/2 hrs then parked for shopping. was on way back home..10 min into drive, when my ford escort zx2 just lost all power while driving on the highway. i had little warning..a minute before it was running rough then nothing..no gauges or steering etc. i had the alternator replaced (did not think to keep the old part) and have replaced several fuses just because since it keeps doing this and the scary part is i bought it for my son who is a new driver and he had it happen to him twice in one day and twice to myself the next day. we were able to get it back home after jumping it twice in 8 miles the last two times it quit. it is now parked fearing we will be stranded or worse lose control and end up in an accident due to loss of headlights, steering etc. *nm | |||
| 05/30/2004 | 1 | ||
| I had to put an engine and transmission in my car last year. now my ac doesn't work and i recently had to replace the battery and put a new alternator in it too. i have had issue after issue with my zx2. *jb | |||
| 09/04/2000 | 5 | ||
| Vehicle has stalled 5 times, at any speed. dealer has replaced alternator 4 times/ starter, and battery once. cannot remedy. consumer is afraid to drive vehicle.*ak | |||
| 09/04/2000 | 0 | ||
| Motor died at a traffic light. consumer had car towed to dealer. dealer stated that it was alternator. consumer indicated that dealer has replaced 4 alternators/ one starter, and a battery. consumer is afraid to drive vehcle in fear that it may stall again. *ak | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - BATTERY | |||
| 05/30/2004 | 1 | ||
| I had to put an engine and transmission in my car last year. now my ac doesn't work and i recently had to replace the battery and put a new alternator in it too. i have had issue after issue with my zx2. *jb | |||
| 09/04/2000 | 5 | ||
| Vehicle has stalled 5 times, at any speed. dealer has replaced alternator 4 times/ starter, and battery once. cannot remedy. consumer is afraid to drive vehicle.*ak | |||
| 09/04/2000 | 0 | ||
| Motor died at a traffic light. consumer had car towed to dealer. dealer stated that it was alternator. consumer indicated that dealer has replaced 4 alternators/ one starter, and a battery. consumer is afraid to drive vehcle in fear that it may stall again. *ak | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - FUSES AND CIRCUIT BREAKERS | |||
| 2 | 06/19/1999 | ||
| Wiring harness that is connected to headlight bulb overheats and short circuits, causing headlights to become inoperable. *ak consumer stated the front headlights failed at different times.*slc | |||
| 03/25/1999 | |||
| While the vehicle was parked for a while it caught on fire. fire department claimed it was the fuse box that caused the fire. please provide further information. *ak | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION | |||
| 03/01/2000 | |||
| Ignition will only work intermittently. been to dealer who cannot remedy problem. *ak | |||
| 09/01/1999 | |||
| Air conditioner doesn't get cold--car also idles very low to the point where it stalls out. *ak | |||
| 01/11/2001 | 0 | ||
| Consumer was traveling about 25mph on a side street making a left turn and vehicle just shut off without prior warning. dealership wasn't aware of problem. but consumer will be notified. *ak | |||
| Problem is intermittent; when driving at any speed and without prior warning vehicle will cut off. also, noticed shimmying coming from front end. consumer has contacted dealer, dealer unable to determine the cause. please provide any further details. *ak | |||
| 07/22/2000 | 4 | 10/01/1999 | |
| Vehicle stalls intermittently and fails to start intermittently. dealership said the first time that it was a fuel pump failure, second time it was a defective fuel pump, third time it was the fuel sensor and fuel module. now doing it again. reported to the dealership awaiting report on this fourth incident. | |||
| 08/01/2000 | 0 | ||
| While traveling at 50 mph engine check light came on. engine stalled, and steering locked up. consumer felt that this was very unsafe because driver was unable to steer properly.*ak | |||
| 10/24/2000 | 10 | ||
| While driving and getting close to a light vehicle will stall, and steering wheel will lock up.. same problem had happen more then ten times.*ak | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION - MODULE | |||
| 10/25/2004 | 54000 | 1 | 10/04/2002 |
| My car has 55000 miles and its a 1999 escort.y transmission needs to be replaced. i have replaced the timing belt, this at less than 55000 miles? i was driving on a very busy street and the car died and would not restart. the shop replaced the timing belt and the pully's. now i have gone to work monday morning and came out to go home, the car would not start again, just tried to turn over. i had it towed to the shop again, now its the fuel pump. there is no way that any of these problems should have started to happen yet on this car. there are major problems with it, i need some resolution on the problems that are happening.*ak | |||
| 01/02/2002 | 1 | 12/13/2001 | |
| Consumer got a recall to upgrade computer on vehicle, but ford refused to do recall because vehicle's title was branded. *jg *ak | |||
| 04/10/1999 | 2 | 03/28/1999 | |
| Leased. vehicle stalls when braking and starting again, it stalls and dies out. the problem occurred two times. dealer contacted contacted and stated computer chip defective. problem still exists. *ak | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION - SWITCH | |||
| Ignition switch is too close to engine block which causes vehicle to completley shutdown while driving. please give any further details.*ak | |||
| 06/20/2000 | 1 | ||
| In the process of starting vehicle ignition switch caught on fire. as a result, both airbags deployed, and interrior of dashboard was ruined.*ak | |||
| 15 | 05/01/1998 | ||
| 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 some computer configuration. when you turn the key sometimes it will be totally dead, sometimes it will begin to idle, as long as you keep pumping the accelerator (recommended by my dealer), however, the second you remove your foot from the accelerator the car shuts off.once the car does start (usually after trying 10 times) it runs very rough. when i have brought the car into the dealer they have attempted to duplicate the problem, but are unable to do so. about 10 days before christams, i brought the car into my dealer and they again, for the third time or so attempted to duplicate the problem. they returned my car to me the following day when i learned of a possible computer configuration that ford was coming out with. it is important to not that the problem was duplicated when they first changed the initial part. they have run various tests and feel that the part replaced (fuel injection censoring)is not causing the problem after all. this is where i currently stand with my car. some mornings it starts and some it does not. i have had occurrences where the car will start in the morning, i will drive 20 min. to work. park the car and attmept to start it 4 hours later and it will not start. there have been times that it will not even start after 20 minutes of resting times. *ak | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - STARTER ASSEMBLY | |||
| 09/04/2000 | 5 | ||
| Vehicle has stalled 5 times, at any speed. dealer has replaced alternator 4 times/ starter, and battery once. cannot remedy. consumer is afraid to drive vehicle.*ak | |||
| 09/04/2000 | 0 | ||
| Motor died at a traffic light. consumer had car towed to dealer. dealer stated that it was alternator. consumer indicated that dealer has replaced 4 alternators/ one starter, and a battery. consumer is afraid to drive vehcle in fear that it may stall again. *ak | |||
| 08/23/1999 | 1 | ||
| Vehicle experienced complete shut down due to a defective starter, repairs were done, however vehicle still experience failure causing difficulty in shifting and electrical component failure which resulted in smoke. *yc | |||
| 15 | 05/01/1998 | ||
| 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 some computer configuration. when you turn the key sometimes it will be totally dead, sometimes it will begin to idle, as long as you keep pumping the accelerator (recommended by my dealer), however, the second you remove your foot from the accelerator the car shuts off.once the car does start (usually after trying 10 times) it runs very rough. when i have brought the car into the dealer they have attempted to duplicate the problem, but are unable to do so. about 10 days before christams, i brought the car into my dealer and they again, for the third time or so attempted to duplicate the problem. they returned my car to me the following day when i learned of a possible computer configuration that ford was coming out with. it is important to not that the problem was duplicated when they first changed the initial part. they have run various tests and feel that the part replaced (fuel injection censoring)is not causing the problem after all. this is where i currently stand with my car. some mornings it starts and some it does not. i have had occurrences where the car will start in the morning, i will drive 20 min. to work. park the car and attmept to start it 4 hours later and it will not start. there have been times that it will not even start after 20 minutes of resting times. *ak | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING - FRONT UNDERHOOD | |||
| 01/09/2001 | 1 | 09/01/1999 | |
| With wiring i could smell burning and did not know what it was. with tire it was under warranty . had tire replaced, i have receipt. *ak (dot number: 7jjk7u17p9 tiresize: p185/65r14) | |||
| 10/07/2000 | 3 | 04/01/1999 | |
| Vehicle has continuously stalled. dealer was contacted and vehicle was brought in due to vehicle would turn off while idle, vehicle would not go when the gas pedal was pushed and then finally the vehicle just would not start. dealer informed that the wiring harnest as well as the computer needed to be replaced. this was able to be figured out after the third time due to the fact that the check engine light did not come on until the third time, in which the dealer informed that they could now find what was wrong, unlike previous times when the car would not stall for them. | |||
| 11/11/1999 | |||
| When vehicle was involved in a minor front end crash, a fire started behind the left headlamp, and engulfed the engine compartment. vehicle was totalled from the fire. please give any further information. report given by julie good, insurance claim representative. *ak | |||
| 06/30/1999 | 1 | ||
| On 06/30/99 at 02:10 hours the crystal fire department responded to a vehicle fire in the back lot of elk county ford. the deparment found a new, 1999 ford escort se (vin #1fafp13p0xw288037) burning in the area of the left front tire and wheel well area. the cause of the fire was determined to be a short in the wiring in the vicinity of a block of relays and fuses in the left side of the engine compartment. this caused the wiring to burn and ignited nearby plastic items and the left front tire. the vehicle was just manufactured (june 1999) and had only been sitting on the lot for about 5 days. the vehicle had not been operated recently (2:00 am in a small community car dealership). although the vehicle did not belong to any consumer, this report is being filed in order to document a potential problem. robert m. bauer ii, fire chief, crystal fire department. *ak | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING - INTERIOR/UNDER DASH | |||
| 12/01/1998 | |||
| Since the car was first bought the engine has been extremely loud as well as shaking occasionally when stopping at a traffic light. i spoke with my salesperson, who was friendly and took it on a test drive again, and he found nothing wrong. he said it was probably due to the cold weather, but told me to take it to my local dealer to have it looked at as a precaution. i went to the local dealer and they would not see me then so i asked to make an appointment for a better time. i was told that no appointments could be made and they accepted cars on a first come first served basis. since neither dealer is located close to me, i decided to wait a while to see if it was just the weather. in february, the air bag light came on and would not go off for 2 days and since then it will come on and stay on for a while, and sometimes it will turn off after a few days. this is a major concern because i don't want it to come out unexpectedly or to fail when needed. i went to the same local dealer 2 days ago and they would not see me. at first, the man tried to make me think it was all in my head, but after insisting on having it checked out anyway, he told me they could not see me and that i would have to make an appointment. i explained that i had tried to before, but was told i couldn't and he basically told me to call later to set up an appointment. since a failure could cause a tragic accident i don't know where else to turn to have ford check the car. it is only 3 months old and this is the 4th time i have had to see about it which makes me leary of either the quality of fords or that my car is not up to the same safety standards as it should be. please help. i also saw on the news last night that several ford cars are being recalled now due to safety concerns so i would like to make sure my car is safe before me or someone else gets hurt. i would appreciate any assistance you can give me, and please let me know what steps to take. *ak | |||