Took car (1997 Ford Escort) to shop for routine state inspection and was informed that the right rear coil spring was broken and would need to be replaced to pass inspection. I was very surprised since the car only has 30,000 miles on it and has been driven very conservatively. Mechanic stated that premature failure of rear suspension coil springs was a common problem with Ford Escorts. Request government intervention to make Ford co. Reimburse consumer expense caused by faulty coil springs.

- West Chester, PA, USA

1997 Ford Escort sw rear spring breakage.

- Milton, PA, USA

1997 Ford Escort rear coil springs broken after 60K miles.

- Basking Ridge, NJ, USA

We heard a clunking sound in the rear end. Took to the mechanic and the rear springs are completely shattered.

- Roseville, MN, USA

Rear springs on my Escort I believe to be cheaply made. Both have busted. I have found that my Escort is not the only one. There are many other Escorts with the same problem.

- O'fallon, MO, USA

I had taken my 1997 Ford Escort in for its annual state inspection, where my rear springs were replaced at my cost. The mechanic working on my car had found that both of the original factory rear springs were broken directly below their plastic covering about one-fifth from the top of the spring. He had said that there were several Escorts that he had worked on that had the same breakage at the same section of each of the rear springs. He had advised me to check to see if there were any recalls or service bulletins posted on this problem. I was also told to buy a new set of rear tires as soon as possible, as my present ones have irregular wear. I would like to know if there was or will be a recall on this problem.

- Pittsburgh, PA, USA

I bought a 1997 Ford Escort wagon new and love it and has only 30000 miles on it. Recently I had a problem with steering the vehicle so I had it checked out at an auto repair shop. The mechanic told me I needed new tie rod ends and both rear coil springs were broken. As I do not drive this vehicle hard and do not haul anything except my puppy and groceries, I had a hard time believing this. So I took it to another garage and another mechanic told me the same thing and showed it to me. I am no longer driving this vehicle as it is unsafe and this vehicle should be placed on a recall list and fixed by Ford free of charge. Neither me or my husband have ever had this happen and we feel that definitely this has to be a factory defect. Please advise me as soon as possible what to do about this defective vehicle so that I can know which direction to pursue this matter, a.E., newspapers, tv stations, etc. Thanks for your help.

- Columbus, OH, USA

Both rear springs found broken at state inspection. I was informed that this was a very common problem and it is the first thing that the inspectors look at because of this. Evidently very well known in the trade. What can I do about it. Evidently this occurred "quite awhile ago". I now have to spend $250 to fix it. If this is that common why has Ford evidently chosen to ignore this problem?

- St. Louis, MO, USA

The rear coil springs were cracked.

- Willimantic, CT, USA