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.

- Haverhill, MA, USA

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.

- Barton, MD, USA

I own a 1999 Ford Escort SE. It has less than 32,000 original miles. I was driving the car when it started making a loud vibrating noise from under the hood. As I had previously had to have the motor mounts replaced, when the car was still under warranty, I thought that was the problem. I took the car to my mechanic, not the dealership. On investigation, he discovered that my 4th piston is cracked. When he called jasper engines for the price on a replacement engine, they told him that they had received service bulletins that this was a problem in the 1999 Escort engines. I have contacted Ford about helping in the cost of replacing the engine and have been told that because the car is more than 5 yrs old they will not help. If they knew there was a problem, the should have to repair it. I don't know what other steps to take and wish to keep the car.

- Canton, NC, USA

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?

- Cuyahoga Falls, OH, USA

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.

- Beaumont, CA, USA

On 12-11-04 while returning home from work, I heard a loud noise coming from the engine and the car stalled. At first I though it was the timing belt. I took the car to a local shop who said that the timing belt had been stretched and had actually skipped gears. They replaced the timing belt and upon starting the vehicle, they heard a loud noise from the engine. They removed the spark plugs to find that the #4 plug had been broken due to an impact from the engine. After contacting the spark plug manufactuer, they said that this was a known problem with Ford 2.0 engines manufacturered between 1991 and 2000. Ford used a powdered metal valve seal instead of a stainless steel one which over time breaks apart and falls into the engine damaging the engine. As a result, the engine must be replaced.

- Nevada, TX, USA

In 1999 we purchased a Ford Escort. Within the first 6 months, the check engine light came on. We took it in and they said there was nothing wrong with the car, that sometimes a new car would do that just by going over a bump. Within the next two years the car developed some really weird problems. Diagnostics were done, parts changed and money paid. No change. The car will stall after being driven for a while, especially in the summer. Now it stalls constantly. We have taken it to five different mechanics plus the Ford dealership again, and no one can tell us what the problem is. Diagnostics are constantly being done. Parts changed "just to see" and more and more money has been spent and nothing has changed except it is getting worse. My daughter is now expecting her first child and the car is hers. We are afraid to let her drive it anymore because of its instability. Ford keeps telling us to bring it back to them and they'll diagnose the problem...they haven't been able to yet and now they won't even respond anymore. So Ford is ultimately the problem...along with their car. We don't know what to do now. We can't sell the car this way. We can't afford to buy another one without selling this one first. Do we have any recourse at this point?

- Lawrenceville, GA, USA

1999 Ford Escort, 5 speed manual transmission, station wagon: Oil leaked through the camshaft bolts into the manual clutch assembly, causing it to gum up and eventually fail to disengage the transmission. Symptoms included the car lurching forward when starting the engine with the clutch fully depressed, and a thumping sound when the clutch was depressed while driving. The clutch was replaced at owner's expense by kayser Ford in madison wi; unclear what was done with the old parts.

- Madison, WI, USA

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.

- Charlotte, NC, USA

My 1999 Ford Escort excessively stalls, idles low and acts like it is choking when I have come to a stop or I am starting the car. The car stalls when coming to a stop at stop lights. It seems like when these cars reach a certain temperature they shutdown. I have taken my car to the dealer and they were unable to fix the problem. They had me change the mass airflow sensor, throttle body, replace engine mounts, repaired the transmission twice and the car still stalls and the transmission continues to go bad. I have done research on other consumers complaints about this vehicle type and have noticed that they are experiencing this same problem. There needs to be a recall of this vehicle type and consumers need to be reimbursed for money spent on repairs. Please have this investigated because the cars are unusable and dangerous. This sudden stalls when driving can cause a major accident.

- St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, FL, USA

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

- Shrewsbury, PA, USA

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! 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.

- Marion, NC, USA

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.

- Bethlehem, PA, USA

The engine stalled without warning.

- Collegeville, PA, USA

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

- Pleasantville, NY, USA

Since the purchase of my car at 12,000 miles, it has shaken and vibrated violently. When I run my defrost or A/C the problem gets worse and my car stalls out. I have replaced the transmission at 30,000 miles and replaced everything the dealership instructed. On July, 18, 2003 I made my final attempt to correct the problem. I took the car to the Ford dealer and again specified the problem and showed them exactly what I was experiencing. I picked it up later that afternoon they had replaced the valve again that I had just replaced in January 2003. I turned on my car and ran the A/C and I saw no improvement. So I asked to speak with a manager who told me that this is a common problem that my car shouldn't stall anymore but they have done everything they can do to correct this problem. Basically, we purchased a $13,000 dollar car that never ran right and can not be remedied. No one has a solution and I'm expected to be satisfied with a car that shakes non-stop. If Ford knows this is occuring they need to notify customers before they purchase the vehicle, instead of letting them drive away in a car that can never be fixed. I have lost all respect for Ford and will never purchase a vehicle from them again.

- Pickerington, OH, USA

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.

- Mclean, VA, USA

The check engine light appears on the dashboard the mechanic fix it three months ago and the problem is still there the dealership is aware of the problem.

- Allenton, WI, USA

Vehicle vibrates violently because engine motor mounts broke. Dealer has inspected vehicle, and counld not fix the problem.

- Indianola, IA, USA

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.

- Charlotte, NC, USA