1999 Ford Escort ZX2 4-banger from North America

Summary:

Money pit

Faults:

Don't ever buy one of these pieces of junk!

The serpentine belt blew out, got that fixed.

The pipe that ran the antifreeze rusted out, which resulted in having to have the head re-machined.

The timing belt was replaced twice, and an axle tonge cracked and basically fell off.

The brakes failed less than a year after being completely redone.

The airbag light came on.

When I took it in to have the brakes fixed, the mechanic said it belched out black smoke from the passenger-side of the hood, and that the head had blown (again), the timing belt needed to be replaced (for a third time), that the frame had completely rotted out and that I would be better to junk it.

I paid $2995 for it, kept up all the maintenance, and put over $3,500 worth of work into it... I got less than 12,000 miles out of it before it took a dump. What a waste; I could have leased a car for that much.

This car was off the road more than it was on for the 15 months I owned it.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 8th June, 2008

8th Jun 2008, 08:57

You bought it used with over 120,000 miles. Please, maybe the previous owner had abused it. I take it you didn't get the maintenance reports?

1999 Ford Escort ZX2 from North America

Summary:

It has been a great first car

Faults:

I had to have the tires replaced about a month after I bought the car.

The oil pan had a leak.

The CV joints are going.

The gears grind on occasion, and sometimes will not go into reverse.

General Comments:

It's a 1999 Ford Escort Zx2 (manual). This is a great car. Its my first, and at 16, it's very reliable and decent on gas.

However, if I run anything over about 65 mph, it revs really high (like 3200-3500 rpm), and if I run anywhere between 75 and 83 mph, it's anywhere from 3600 to 3800 rpm. Is this normal?

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 19th May, 2008

1999 Ford Escort ZX2 2.0 liter from North America

Summary:

Good till 135,000

Faults:

Transmission problems at 135,000. Reverse went out and wondering if it will be worth putting in a rebuilt transmission... until this point I only changed out the serpentine, idler, roller bearing, and the alternator... it has been a good car.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 10th February, 2008

11th Feb 2008, 15:19

If it has been a good car, fix it. You won't get the reliability of an Escort from a newer car.

1999 Ford Escort SE 2.0 from North America

Summary:

Good running

Faults:

The idle control has went bad on the car. That's about it.

General Comments:

I think that my Ford Escort is a good running car. It makes a lot of strange sounds, but it never broke down. It needs idle pulley and other little stuff. Other than that, it's good running.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 22nd June, 2007

1999 Ford Escort ZX2 S/R 2.0 DOHC from North America

Summary:

Great performer even stock for the $$$$

Faults:

So far nothing significantly has gone wrong.

General Comments:

This limited edition of the ZX2 has a firmer suspension besides a lowered stance thanks to tuned Tokico struts and Eibach coil springs. With the addition of a larger rear sway bar (21mm) to replace the stock much smaller bar, and a high performance tire setup (I have Goodyear F1 GS-D3's), this front engined car handles exceptionally well with hardly any under-steer or "push" as you'd normally expect on a FWD vehicle.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 11th June, 2007

1999 Ford Escort 1.8 GTi from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Don't buy one

General Comments:

Utter rubbish they not that quick, brakes are rubbish, very tinny too light wind would blow it over and loads of them pull to one side at high speed. Sunroofs always leak utter garbage.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 26th April, 2007

1999 Ford Escort SE sedan 2.0 from North America

Summary:

If you really want an Escort, look for a well maintained 1994-96 but there are better cars out there

Faults:

Lots of things have needed replacing prematurely and/or multiple times. Engine and transmission mounts (car vibrated very badly, fixed then started vibrating again), brakes pads and rotors, tie rods, rear struts and springs, automatic transmission started to slip.

General Comments:

I gave my mother my previous 1994 Escort to use as a trade-in so I could "move up" to a newer car, her 1999 Escort SE. She had a few problems with it every year, so I should have seen the warning signs.

The older (1991 to 1996 Escorts) were the BEST. I had a 1994 Escort LX 4-door hatchback with a 1.9 liter engine and a 5 speed manual transmission. Roomy, comfortable, reliable and good on gas. Nice looking car too. But, mine didn't have air conditioning.

My mother got this 1999 Escort when it was six months old. Maybe it was abused or just a lemon to begin with. Bland looking, not very versatile (sedan vs hatchback) and such a money pit! Both my mother and I both drove this car very gently and I did a lot of highway driving.

When I got this 1999 Escort, it had about half the mileage my 1994 Escort had. The 1994 had hardly anything that every needed replacing. But not the 1999. I went from a good car to a bad car. I was always fixing things. About $2000 per year. And I was still driving an old car (7 years old at the time I traded it in on a new Toyota Matrix). I figured if I'm going to spend that kind of money on a car, might as well be on monthly payments on a nice, new, reliable one!

I briefly considered looking for a low mileage 1994-96 4-door Escort hatchback or wagon. If a new car is not in your budget, that's what I would do. The 1997 and up Escorts were not as good. Several other people have agreed with me on this.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 11th October, 2006

22nd Jun 2007, 23:33

I disagree because my 1999 escort has ran like a pro except for all th noise and vibrating.

10th Nov 2011, 18:36

My girlfriend just wrapped hers around a tree. 1999 Escort SE. The car is totaled. The steering wheel went flying 40 feet out the window, so her airbag never popped. She hit passenger side into a tree doing about 70k. The passenger airbag popped. They had to cut the roof off and use a hydraulic jack to get her feet out. She's alive amazingly... The car spun out in a curve.. tail end was quite light... I don't know what to say.. good.. bad... you tell me.