1998 Ford Escort: sudden loss of power

6 of the 374 complaints about the 1998 Ford Escort describe sudden loss of power.

owner complaints: 6
of this car's complaints: 2%
recalls: 0

Is there a fix? 25 service bulletins cover this area of the car. See below

Sudden loss of power by model year

2002
2
2000
2
1999
6
1998
6
1997
6
1996
2
1995
3
1994
1
1993
1
1992
2
1990
1

What owners say

Filed Aug 12, 2005 · Electrical · 100,000 miles · IN

Dt: there was no warning, no lights, no noise before the alternator failed. The vehicle lost all power and was concerned about what would happen while driving along a crowded highway. The consumer contacted ford and was waiting for a response. This happened friday july 15th, 2005. *ak

Filed Jul 6, 2005 · Electrical · 10,200 miles · TX · fire

My daughter was on her way to work , when she called me & said "dad my car has loss power & is running very rough". I told her to pull over & I would be there shortly, since she was only about 8 miles down the road. As I was prepairing to leave, my daughter called me back & said there was a fire under the hood. I told her to call 911 and get away from the car. It took me less than 10 minutes to get there & by that time the firemen had put the fire out. The car was totaled. The car had been running great, with no problems at all.

Filed Dec 4, 2003 · Electrical · 51,950 miles · FL

Car will loose power about 1 to 2 miles after slowing down from high speeds (55-75 MPH) to pass through an automated epass system (35mph). There is no bucking or surging, simply a loss of power. You can put the accelator to the floor to no avail. Once down below 10 MPH the car will stall out. After waiting 1/2 hour the car can be restarted. The first time this occured the car was towed to sun state ford. The fuel pump was replaced to no avail. The second time the car was allowed to sit and then driven to car max (place of purchase) where the ignition coil and wires where replaced. The 3rd occurence was today. The car will be taken back to car max. All of these occurences have taken place over the last 2 weeks.

Filed Aug 16, 2001 · Engine · NY

Crankshaft/ pulley came loose from mounting and shifting over, causing vehicle to lose all power. Piece that broke off jammed gear, and timing belt was changed and reset. Manufacturer and dealer did not know of a problem ,and didn't offer to do anything. Warranty was expired. Part number and name is damper part# f7cz-6316-ba. *ak the pulley was loose and shifted half inch causing the belt to shred. *yh

Filed Jul 4, 1999 · Airbags · CT · crash

In a crash, I was hit by a car going approx. 40 MPH, the airbags did not deploy. However, for 4 days following the accident there was an overwhelming odor of propellant in the car. This odor brought on a severe asthma attack for me. Also, the car hesitates and loses power when the air conditioning compressor kicks in. The car loses power enough so that it slows itself down when traveling on the highway. Also it is very alarming when it kicks on when accelerating from a stop sign or stoplight. The hesitency and power loss causes great concern for the welfare of the car.

Filed Oct 15, 1998 · Electrical · TX

While driving the car just lost power, the engine went to idle and would not respond to throttle. When driver turned off the key it worked fine. About one month later, when starting the vehicle the engine would not accelerate when pushing on the accelerator pedal. The vehicle just idled. Consumer experienced a similar problem last week. The vehcle was taken to dealership, and the computer module was reprogrammed.