Engine Problems of Ford Escort - part 1

I have a 2001 Ford Escort zx2. Ive had it a little over a year now. This reoccurring problem is getting very frustrating. When I start my car it sounds like its getting ready to die. It just struggles at very low rpm. I don't know if there is a way to adjust the idle but is there a fix?.

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Ok, so I just bought my 1999 Ford Escort zx2 on December 1, 2008 at 82,000 miles. 2 months later I needed to replace my alternator in February 2009. In may 2009 my engine blew, apparently the #1 rod separated and went through the oil pan. I replaced the engine since I still have a loan on the car. It is now July 2009 and my transmission is slipping. I only have owned this car for less than 8 months and repair costs are more than what I paid for this. Unfortunately I can't get rid of it because I don't have enough money for a better car and now I am in this endless cycle of repairs.

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Burn out motor.

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I own a 1999 Ford Escort se, 4 door. About a week ago I took it into the local Ford dealer and was told all four motor mounts were bad. A counter person looked up vehicle notices and (I think) found a service bulletin on motor mounts for 2001-2003 Escorts. My question is, how can all four motor mounts go bad at one time unless it is shoddy equipment to begin with. I have never heard of all four going bad. In all the vehicles I have owned I do not think I have ever had any motor mount replaced. Have any other similar problems like this been reported?.

Camshaft crack in half don't know what cause that too happen.

See all problems of the 1997 Ford Escort 🔎.

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.

I've had my Ford Escort zx2 for a year now. I bought it used from a dealership. Recently I've noticed a major decline in performance. It idles low, the horsepower is gone, and when sitting for periods of time it has problems starting. Last weekend I had a Ford certified mechanic perform a computer and mechanical diagnostic on it to pinpoint the problem. He could not find anything. So, he checked service bulletins for it and found that there was a bulletin on its variable cam timing dtc. He felt that this was what was wrong with my vehicle.

The vehicle was very noisy while driving. The dealer stated there was a problem in the engine, however it could not be fixed. Plastic was used instead of metal.

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.

Nhtsa#10003194/612956/606433/6092008/615400/615476/615381 engine vibration felt thru steering wheel while in gear.

We are having a vibration problem with our Ford Escort. I took the car in for service with the description "it's idling rough". The service center came back to me with a "technical service bulletin" from Ford outlining a procedure to limit vibration. Apparently, the vibration stems from inadequate/improper engine mounts in this model Escort. The service outlined requires changing the type of parts used in mounting the engine, and the TSB contains instructions for modifications to be done by the repair center prior to installation. Ford is obviously aware of this situation, as the TSB also states this affects Escorts from 1997-2002, Escort zx2 from 1998-2003, and the tracer from 1997-1999. We were told the repair bill to fix this would be $380. 00! I don't feel I should have to pay to have this defect fixed. I contacted Ford, and was basically told "sorry , we're not going to fix this, it is your responsibility. " the problem came to my attention because everythiung in the passenger compartment not screwed down rattles like a one-man-band. This has gotten progressively worse over the last year, and has been attributed to problems in the engine tuning. Thanks to a well-informed service technician, I now know the real cause of the problem. I feel that left unchecked, the vibrations could cause more serious problems in the future on the car, and I would like to see some action taken to see that Ford corrects this defective part on my car.

While the vehicle is sitting idling, there is a severe vibration in the steering wheel. The dealer examined the vehicle and replaced the throw out and main bearing on the crank shaft. The dealer did not have more options to correct the problem.

Vehicle engine light stays on. Parts has been repaired three times but problem still exist. Please provide additional information.

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Consumer noticed after traveling through eight inches of water the engine blew out at 14000 miles.

Engine is failing prematurely. Dealer notified.

Consumer states conecting rod to the crankshaft broke, caussing the engine to fail. Dealer notified.

I have a 1998 Ford Escort I only have 19. 099 miles. I purchase this card on November of1998, therefore the driving time will be 4 years on this November. My engine went dead. The dealer is telling me that my car no longer has any warranty. I have explained that I have expended $14. 000 for the use of this new car for 4 years. An as far I cold see. The engine was already defective from the manufacturer. Because if I have driven this car 20. 000 miles on the first two years the defective engine would had gone long before that. And you would have recognized that this engines a lemon and I would have a replacement then. I have this car service by them. They have all service records of my vehicle engine checks. So my question is what went wrong when there were servicing my car all this time? I do not have a car now when I most need it. You see the reason I bought a new car was because my wife became disable and I need it a dependable car. My wife has ms.

Engine check light is on all the time. Dealer notified. Please provide further information.

The vehicle caught on fire under the hood.

Noticed that engine warning light was coming up on and off, changed spark plugs,wires, light would go off for a period and than come back on. I was driving down the freeway between 65-70 miles/hour when I hured a loud bang , pulled off the freeway, I had the car taking to a local Ford dealership, service writer told me that the valve seat in the head had seperated and fell into the motor. He also told me that the 1. 9 motor had a flaw in the head and Ford motor company new about this problem for many years. Than he showed me another Escort that6 had the same exact problem and that this was not the first car he seened with this problem. Second problem: I have had to replace 3 transmitions with in a year, which was covered by Ford motor company and possibly a 4th. I don't know because the motor went. Third problem: while at a stop sign a was rear ended an about 30-35 miles/hour, my seat bellt did not hold me and my seat collepsed on top of my child who was in a car seat behind me. The car was in the shope about the week before the motor went and they told me that the problem had to do with the transmition but I believe that the computer in the car new that the valve was prepering to fail. I was also told that the Ford motor company had redesigned the head, so this problem could not happen again.

A fire erupted under the hood, when the vehicle was started.

Shaking in steering wheel. Most noticable during acceleration and deceleration. Was mentioned to salesperson at time of test drive. He stated he would have the tires balanced and an alignment done. At no time prior to purchase did anyone state it was a built in defect. When we met the service people they were told the type of vehicle being purchased and the fact we would be bringing it in for the shaking. This was intentionally dishonest. We attempted to trade in on another vehicle and the same dealership offered us $7500. This is after 3 months and 3 thousand miles for a defect they knew about. The TSB did not correct the problem.

See all problems of the 2002 Ford Escort 🔎.

When talking to a machine shop there is a tech bulletin stating that Ford on 94-97 when they baked the powder metal for their intake seats something went wrong and that all seats in head should be replaced. The people at the machine shop said they had to even replace all the pistons in the motors due to the damage caused by the defective seats. And it is all a Ford error and they know it.

See all problems of the 1996 Ford Escort 🔎.

The steering wheel/column shakes and vibrates. This happens usually when the vehicle is idling. This happens every time I drive it. I have been told that it is normal, it is because the vehicle has rubber motor mounts, there is nothing wrong with it. I have had it back to the dealership 5 times and nothing has been fixed. I feel that I was mislead at the time of purchase. When I mentioned the shaking steering wheel to the salesman, he didn't say it is a characteristic of car, he said we will fix it. I would not have bought the car for $17720. 00 if I had known that it would do that all the time. I would have taken that money and bought a better car or kept the one I traded in.

There is a knocking in engine, when car is driven, louder the knocking gets. Consumer has contacted an outside mechanic and was informed that source of the problem was underneath hood where the bearings were. Also, deal has been contacted for a replacement of engine block/ head and cyclinder, but that still has not remedied the problem. Please provide further details.

At approx. 30000 miles the car had the first incident of not starting (Aug. 2001). Took it to auto shop and was told that this might be a one-time incident. About 1/2 year later the same thing happened. Had it towed to auto shop, they could not find the problem and told me to call them if it happened again. Then it happened again late 2002 and I took the car to another auto shop. They could not explain the reason either - everything seemed fine and after a while it started again and was running normally. It happened again late January 2003 and the car was towed to the latter auto shop. They replaced fuel pump and told me everything should be fine. Late February 2003 the same thing happened again. The car is at the auto shop - they are trying to locate the problem. On and off it will start. All check dates - every 5000 miles - have been followed and the car has been well taken care of at all times. Now, I am afraid of driving it - because I don't know when it is happening again. This is not acceptable, that at such low mileage I have to face this problem.

Crankshaft pully separated from engine block, causing sudden loss of power steering. Vehicle only had 30m miles.

While traveling at 10 mph and going through traffic light car died. Took to dealer, and they said valve seals let loose. Seal runs everything to the point that it's not repairable.

Harmonic balancer crankshaft came off without prior warning. Part was defective from manufacturer dealership was aware of problem.

At stop light #4 cylinder dropped valve seat destroying head and all 4 pistons. Also engine check light comes on intermittently giving code 1433. Replaced solenoid as recommended by TSB and it still fails at random intervals.

At 40000 miles bolt that held the crankshaft became loose without a warning. A technician indicated there was a recall on this problem.

Valve guide separated from head. Got into the cylinder and scored the cylinder walls and the valve droppped. Ruined the engine.

The engine was replaced due to broken valve seats inside the cylinder which damaged the pistons, the consumer feels that Ford should pay for this expense due to the low mileage of the vehicle and because the vehicle is very well maintenanced.

1 week after driving the vehicle it ran rough when the heater or air wass on. The steering wheel shakes and the tachometer continually moves up and down from less then 1rmp to 2 rmp. Runs really rough doesn't want to drive. Feels like a very old car. The clutch is funny. The car is a lemon!!!! I took the vehicle to the dealer approx. 4 times. Last time they told me that the arrow setting on the heater takes more of a draw on the engine how stupid was this answer. The other scenario they gave me was the gas I was using. What year are we in?.

The engine mounts were apparently weakened and allowed the engine to vibrate excessively, beginning at the time of vehicle purchase and continuing, growing worse, through April 2000, when I had the parts replaced under warranty; I was told that there is a TSB involving them but no recall and no public notice. . . This could potentially be dangerous if the weakened mounts break! my problem has been solved but I would like to have had some warning from Ford or NHTSA that this might occur.