Faults:

The climate control lever does not move past floor selection. It feels like its path is being obstructed or the cable isn't long enough... know what I mean?

General Comments:

I had a new 1989 Ford Escort GT and loved it in my college days. I purchased this 1995 GT from the original owner who was 80 years old and had been running synthetic oil on the motor since it was new.

For a small car it's great. Not a vette by any means - the 5 speed manual and 1.8 L combo is surprisingly peppy - and at 2500 or so she moves along pretty good. I have taken her to 90 MPH and the car still wants to go - it feels most comfortable (and safe) below the 80 MPH range. Overall it's a cheap to buy, cheap to operate, cute litte car.

Faults:

No malfunctions have occurred, but there is a very slight leak from the oil pan which I noticed prior to purchasing the car, it has not become significantly worse during the past year.

The radiator developed a minor leak at 85,000 which was quickly remedied with some powdered sealant lubricant.

General Comments:

This vehicle is in showroom condition and rides better than our 1999 Mercury Villager van, an attribute which may be attributable to these Pep Boys house brand radials which are made by Cooper.

I remain perplexed as to why these struts have not required replacement, maybe it has something to do with the car's light weight.

Ford should have dumped these automatic seat shoulder restraints long ago, but that feature is a carry over from the Mazda heritage.

Faults:

Alternator failed at about 40,000 miles.

Gear shift lock broke at about 54,000 miles. had to use the manual override every time I wanted to drive.

The engine TOTALLY BROKE at 58,000 miles. It had regular maintenance, oil changes, tune-ups, etc. But at 58,000 miles, it died while I was on the freeway. Crank shaft or piston _broke_, and I was faced with replacing the engine or the car. I chose to replace the CAR.

General Comments:

I think this car sucks. I had it nearly 6 years, 58,000 miles and it died on me. Cars these days really ought to last longer than that!

Faults:

Nothing so far, but it's fairly new (to me)...

General Comments:

All things considered, this car is great. It has a good amount of pep (especially after 4K RPM), high-torque, quick response engine (for beating those Honda's!), great styling (with the exception of the orange reflectors on the back), almost perfect comfort, and a relatively low running cost. Also, there is a lot more cargo space than you would think from looking at the car.

Unfortunately, the fuel economy is a bit higher that what I would expect for the car(about 10L/100km). I think I need to take it in for a tune-up, perhaps they can pinpoint something that's causing this.

Also, when travelling at high speeds (and accelerating, but this is a good thing!), the car tends to be very noisy.

The seats are a bit hard, as well.

There is a flat spot between first and second gear because of the automatic (yuck) transmission.

Faults:

Water pump went out at 100,000 miles, timing chain acted bad at 110,000 miles, wipers malfunctioned after a winter storm at 70,000 miles.

General Comments:

The car has been a good car and is quite excellent on mileage at 30mpg.

Faults:

-Ignition Switch failed @ 60,000 miles

-Seat Belt (motorized) intermittent failure

-Premature tire wear @ 30,000 miles

-RR window defroster switch failed @ 55,000 miles

-Nasty vibration in front end that dealer cannot identify

-Oil pan leaking @ 85,000 miles

-Finish on aluminum wheels peeling @45,000 miles

General Comments:

You might get the impression from the list of things that went wrong that this is a bad car. Quite the opposite, except for that vibration, it has been dead reliable. The Ford dealer body leaves a lot to be desired. The product is great but when entering the dealership is only slightly more desirable than having a root canal, Ford has a real problem. I wish that the car was smoother, quieter, and a little quicker. I love the gas mileage and the manueverability.