1996 Ford Escort: engine stalls while driving

Filed Aug 9, 2010 · Tires · 151,600 miles · MI

My wife & I have a 1996 ford escort wagon that we purchased used in 2008. At the time of purchase it had a set of 4 bridgestone insignia sl tires that still had reasonable tread depth remaining, so we decided to continue to use the tires until the tread had worn down more and needed replacing. On friday, july 30, 2010, my wife was driving down the freeway at approximately 70 MPH when part of the rear passenger-side tire tread separated from the tire and shot against the sheet metal on the inside of the wheel well. It ripped a large hole in the vehicle's sheet metal, shot many small pieces of tire through the hole into the interior cargo area in the rear of the vehicle, and caused the vehicle to stall at the same time. Thankfully my wife was able to handle the car during this catastrophic event and successfully maneuver it onto the shoulder of the freeway. We had the car towed home since it would no longer start, and when it arrived I noticed the large hole that had been made inside the wheel well by the tread separation. The tire still had pressure, but at that time I saw that about half of the tread was completely missing. Since the ford escort has its fuel cutout switch installed against the passenger-side wheel well, I checked to see if that had tripped and it had. Once it was reset the car was able to start and the engine ran normally. As a result of this catastrophic tire failure my wife was placed in an incredibly dangerous situation, stranded on the road, and significant damage was done to our vehicle. It is my understanding as a former automotive engineer that tire failures of this kind are not acceptable and any tire that is susceptible to this failure must not be used. I have replaced all 4 tires with new tires of a different brand and am working on having the car repaired. Approximately 2 weeks prior to this event I had checked the pressure in all 4 tires and had inflated them just under the maximum listed on the side of the tire (44 psi).

Filed Sep 29, 2004 · Seat belts · MI

My 1996 ford escort's driver side shoulder belt won't move to the locked position on the b-pillar. It is stuck toward the rear of the track just past the upper bend in the track. *ak I disconnected the electrical wiring harness following the owner's manual. The shoulder belt would not move manually when I used the emergency handle turning it clockwise. Everything I tried to move this into position has not worked. I went to the dealer. They said it isn't a recall item but the person in the parts department said the should harness is a frequent problem with escorts. He did not have all of the parts in stock. I went to several car repair facilities inclucing suburban ford in waterford, mi. Everyone said this is a very costly repair because the interior body would have to be dismantled to get to the source of the problem. I also spent a good deal of time online tonight researching whether this shoulder belt problem is common. Bingo. Stuck, stalled, sticking driver side shoulder retstraint complaints are common for the 1996 ford escort. I consider this a serious safety issue and escorts should be recalled to repair this as soon as possible. I work for a fire department and a malfunctioning or non-functioning shoulder harness during an accident could be the cause of death or serious disability. Many of the complaints I reviewed complained that the shoulder harness was stuck in the same position mine is. This stinks of a design flaw. How do I get ford motor to accept responsibility and make this repair at their expense?

Filed Jun 6, 2001 · Engine · CA

Vehicle will stall in hot weather and at any speed, this happens on a daily basis.

Filed Nov 4, 2000 · Engine · CO

# 4 piston disentigrated ruining engine block. Stoped for red light and car acted as if it was going to stall. Drove to bank parking lot 1 block away and turned car of. Tried to restart car and made engine noise. Turned car off called western slope ford to speak with service department to see if I could get it towed into garage. No return call from them. Had another shop tow and inspect.

Filed Dec 3, 1999 · Engine · IL

Would have no compression in ford engine cylinders. This causes engine to sputter & finally stall out. Couldn't restart vehicle & took to dealership. Mechanic indicated a problem with the compression to engine. Check engine light also came on before vehicle stalled out.

Filed Mar 24, 1997 · Engine · MA

`vehicle stalls while driving. Ownerand has vehicle at dealer. Owner is concerned for her safety because vehicle can stall frequently and at anytime.

Filed Mar 3, 1997 · Electrical · CA

Electrical short, when driving vehicle lost power/stalled at any speed, cause has not been found by dealership.