Selling an old Ford Escort or ZX2

The Escort ran from the 1981 model year to 2003: three generations, plus the ZX2 coupe. Our coverage starts with 1984. NHTSA's file on it comes back again and again to fire, motorized belts and air bags. Find your years below.

Which Escort do you have?

1984-1990, first generation. Three- and five-door hatchbacks, built in Edison, N.J., Milpitas, Calif., Wayne, Mich., and Oakville, Ontario. The 1.6-liter four grew to 1.9 liters in mid-1985, and fuel injection replaced the carburetor for 1987. A 52 hp Mazda diesel was sold from 1984 until it was dropped for 1987, and it made up less than 1.2 percent of Escort and Lynx sales. Automatic shoulder belts came with the mid-1988 facelift. These seven years have 544 complaints and 9 recall campaigns.

1991-1996, second generation. Ford released it in April 1990 as an early 1991, using the chassis of the Mazda 323, and built it at Wayne and Hermosillo, Mexico. Most have the 88 hp 1.9; the GT and LX-E got a 127 hp Mazda 1.8 twin-cam. A sedan joined for 1992. A driver air bag became standard for 1994 and dual bags for 1995, yet US cars kept motorized shoulder belts through 1996. Complaints: 1,928. Recall campaigns: 9.

1997-2003, third generation and the ZX2. A sedan and wagon with a 110 hp 2.0 four. The wagon ended after 1999, and the sedan was sold to fleets only for 2001 and 2002, with the last one built in June 2002. The ZX2 coupe arrived for 1998 with a 130 hp Zetec and lasted until June 2003, which ended the Escort in North America. Complaints: 1,518. Recall campaigns: 3.

What NHTSA's file shows

The Escort has 3,990 complaints filed with NHTSA, and 470 of them report a fire, close to one in eight.

1984-1992: electrical faults and the ignition switch

The electrical system is the top complaint area on every model year from 1984 through 1992. The largest recall behind it is 96V071, filed in 1996 for 1988-1990 Escorts and 7.9 million Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles in all. NHTSA's summary says the ignition switch "could experience an internal short circuit," which could lead to "overheating, smoke, and possibly fire in the steering column area." Dealers swapped the switch. NHTSA holds 56 fire complaints on 1988-1991 Escorts that mention the ignition.

The 1991 had a second column problem. Recall 93V057 dealt with roll pins holding the ignition lock that could work loose and let the steering column lock up.

Two 1980s campaigns were about fire as well. Recall 87V139 added clips to spring-lock fuel line couplings on 1986-1988 cars that might not have been fully engaged. Recall 89V095 covered 1984 engines that could crack above the third cylinder and 1985 engines whose rocker cover gaskets split, both of which could drip oil onto the hot exhaust manifold.

1993-1996: the motorized belts

Seat belts top the complaint list on each of these four years. Count every complaint with a seat-belt record, not just the first part listed, and the four years hold 417. Of those, 146 mention the automatic or motorized belts, and 168 describe a belt that sticks, jams or won't retract. No Escort recall covers the motorized track itself.

1995: cracked fuel tanks

On the 1995, 121 of 140 fuel-system complaints mention the tank, and 74 mention a recall. Recall 97V144 covered 64,000 cars with the 1.9, 1995 Escorts and Mercury Tracers built at Hermosillo or Wayne and sold in hot-climate states. Their tanks could crack near the heat shield attachment and leak. A smaller campaign, 97V145, added 600 Hermosillo-built cars registered in Arizona; dealers removed the heat shield attachments.

1997: air bags and dashboard fires

Air bags lead the 1997 with 130 complaints, and across 1997-1999, 213 of 296 air bag complaints mention a deployment. Fire is the 1997's other pattern: 83 of its 543 complaints report one, 55 of those name the electrical system and 39 mention the dash.

Recall 02V323 covers 396,217 vehicles, the 1997 Escort among them. Its notice says the integrated air bag monitor "can be contaminated with water or other liquids" and short out. In rare cases that can mean a deployment, melted wiring or a fire.

Escort complaints and recalls by model year

Grouped rows count each recall campaign once. A campaign that spans two rows shows up in both. The component column leaves out NHTSA's "unknown or other" bucket. It tallies the parts on each complaint's first record only, so it runs below the counts in the text, which take in every record.

Repair it or let it go?

Start with what is actually wrong, then get a written estimate. Set it beside what a running Escort of your year and condition sells for near you. If the estimate is the bigger number, the repair costs more than a running Escort would be worth.

• Smoke or heat near the steering column on a 1988-1990? That is what the ignition switch recall, 96V071, warned about. Its remedy was a new switch from the dealer.
• Fuel smell under a 1995? Recall 97V144 dealt with cracked tanks on these cars. NHTSA warns that leaking fuel near an ignition source "can result in a vehicle fire."
• Hasn't run in years? Our guide on a car sitting for years covers flat tires, a dead battery and a lapsed registration.

Selling the Escort as it sits

1. Find the title. If it has gone missing over the years, the no-title guide explains the usual routes.
2. Request an offer here, or call (877) 421-6008.
3. Describe the car honestly: whether it starts, whether the tires hold air, whether you have keys, and where it sits, whether that's a carport, a backyard or a storage lot.
4. Leave the parts on. Don't sell off the battery, wheels or catalytic converter first. We buy the whole car as it sits, so say what is already gone.
5. On pickup day, have the signed title ready and hand over any keys you have.

Looking at other Fords from the same years? See the Tempo, the EXP, the Escort's successor, the Focus, or every Ford we cover.