1994 Ford Escort LX from UK and Ireland - Comments

Heater matrix went at 71,000 miles.

Car pulls to one side.

Speedometer woefully inaccurate (says 10mph when flying down the motorway)

Cooling fan packed up causing car to overheat and boil over.

Central locking motors malfunctioned causing me to get locked out of my car on a freezing day.

Interior panels falling apart.

Lots of rust on the wheel arches.

Thermostat causing car to overheat.

Oil warning light constantly illuminated when plenty oil is in the car.

Oil leaking all over engine and black oil spurting out of exhaust.

Excessive vibrations at high and low speeds.

Engine idling erratically at 3000rpm, replaced automatic choke.

Engine would sometimes not start, problem never diagnosed.

Almost total loss of power at 100,00 miles.

Loud scraping noises coming from left front wheel.

Gearbox almost impossible to engage, 1st and 2nd finally packed in and gearbox finally broke completely.

Replaced gearbox and clutch at 109,000 miles.

Finally less than 1000 miles later engine engulfed in flames whilst driving on a hot day due to a leaking petrol pipe, (I was lucky to escape with minor burns)

This was my first and last ford.

The quality is woeful.

The handling is atrocious (too much over steer).

The reliablility is nothing short of a cruel joke.

The ride is like being inside a pneumatic drill.

The interior is plastic and cheap.

The seats are misshaped and leave your back aching.

Dump trucks can get better acceleration (although top speed was not too bad).

Massive lack of power, car almost goes back wards when on a steep hill.

All in all I found out one valuable lesson in this car 'never buy or accept a Ford' they make cheap cars that are cheaply made and cheaply built! I'm know going to give my hard earned cash to top quality like Toyota.

It seems that you really bought an extremely bad shape one, that certainly used to belong from a scrap heap.

I Have owned a Ford Escort LX Hatchback 5-Door 1.4 Manual during 2000 until 2001 and it was a total piece of junk too. However it was decent runner apart of all faults, that I had with it.

Anyway, that was my first and last Ford.

My experience with a 1994 Vauxhall Cavalier LS 1.8 Hatchback, have been great since I got rid, from the Escort for this one.

Certainly I will be buying Vauxhalls in the future.

Have a 94 1.4 LX as a second car, which I've owned since 1997 (also have an Elise 111S as a toy). Can't say it's given any real problems.

Agree on your comments about performance, but if you buy a car this size with a 1.4 litre engine, quite frankly what do you expect? The CVH is also very harsh, but in my experience it's a tough and reliable old donkey if it's serviced properly.

The car has been used for a 70 mile round trip commute day in, day out for the past four years and hasn't let me down. Does 38 mpg average, costs peanuts to insure and service, and still cleans up pretty well despite 120,000 miles on the clock. The clutch started slipping at 105,000 miles - to be expected and it's needed a wiper motor and new front discs in the past couple of months. Big deal.

In my experience, the Escort excels at providing cheap, reliable, functional transport.

I agree with the guys above, I have a 1995 ford escort lx and it's a 5 speed, and I'm only a teenager, but this car has been the bomb for me. It has a spoiler and everything just suited for my needs. I get the same gas mileage as the guy above, 28-30 in town, 34-40 on the road. All though the shifting light does get annoying.

I think the review at the top is a bit unfair - the one you had had probably been thrashed and abused from new. I had one from about 60k miles and took it all the way to 140k, and yes I had some inevitable troubles with it - it never let me down - in fact I ended up giving it to my in-laws when they decided to go and live in Spain - they still have it!

Fords are boring and cheap, but I hear that you either get one which is nothing, but trouble and dies quickly, or one which simply refuses to give up. You were obviously unlucky.

I had a 1994 ford escort lx. It was my first car. I bought it almost brand new. I kept it for 11 years. The only reason I got rid of it was because I wanted an SUV, which I got. Someone else in my family needed a car, so I sold it. It had 100,000 miles on it when I sold it. It only left me sitting once, but it was my fault. The timing belt broke on it. (regular maintenance) Now, my son has a 1664 excort lx. He has had it for a year now, and it has not given him any trouble... and he is a teenager. It has 145000 miles on it. They are cheap, but reliable cars.

I bought a 1994 escort with 78,000 miles and about a month later the clutch pedal stuck to the floor and my brake light came on. I had a new master cylinder and clutch adjustment with new fluid. The slave cylinder was bleed and my speedometer stops. I have been driving for 35 years and this ford is the worse car I ever had.

There's no way you could have replaced the automatic choke because all Escorts by 1994 were fuel injected.