Ford Econoline Problems by Model Year
NHTSA recorded 894 consumer complaints across the 20 model years of the Ford Econoline (1984–2003) that have at least 5 complaints. 1994 has the most, with 124. Across all years, the part named most often is brakes (182 mentions). Pick a model year below to see its parts, mileage, recalls and service bulletins.
Best and worst Econoline years →
All Econoline model years
Years with fewer than 5 complaints are not listed. The score compares years of the same model, allowing for the era and for how long each year has collected complaints: 50 is a typical year, lower means fewer complaints. It is not adjusted for sales volume.
| Year | Complaints | Median mi | Recalls | TSBs | Score (50 = typical) | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 22 | 48,500 | 2 | 5 | — | Stable |
| 2002 | 23 | 97,258 | 2 | 4 | — | Stable |
| 2001 | 28 | 86,000 | 3 | 3 | Not compared (before 2008) | Stable |
| 2000 | 39 | 50,000 | 3 | 3 | Not compared (before 2008) | Stable |
| 1999 | 84 | 75,794 | 5 | 1 | Not compared (before 2008) | Stable |
| 1998 | 46 | 79,500 | 2 | 1 | Not compared (before 2008) | Falling |
| 1997 | 79 | 89,400 | 2 | 1 | Not compared (before 2008) | Stable |
| 1996 | 81 | 98,000 | 3 | 1 | Not compared (before 2008) | Stable |
| 1995 | 73 | 45,000 | 4 | 1 | Not compared (before 2008) | Stable |
| 1994 | 124 | 118,000 | 4 | 1 | Not compared (before 2008) | Rising |
| 1993 | 65 | 103,000 | 3 | 1 | Not compared (before 2008) | Rising |
| 1992 | 83 | 115,000 | 3 | 1 | Not compared (before 2008) | Stable |
| 1991 | 24 | 52,867 | 3 | 0 | — | Stable |
| 1990 | 30 | 44,000 | 4 | 0 | Not compared (before 2008) | Stable |
| 1989 | 32 | — | 2 | 0 | Not compared (before 2008) | Stable |
| 1988 | 22 | — | 0 | 0 | — | Stable |
| 1987 | 15 | 110,000 | 4 | 0 | — | Stable |
| 1986 | 7 | — | 5 | 0 | — | Not enough data |
| 1985 | 10 | — | 5 | 0 | — | Not enough data |
| 1984 | 7 | — | 6 | 0 | — | Not enough data |
Parts named most often, all years
Counts add up complaint mentions across the listed years. A complaint can name several parts.
- Brakes182 23%
- Engine cooling122 16%
- Vehicle speed control120 15%
- Fuel system96 12%
- Electrical system84 11%
- Tires79 10%
- Suspension52 6.6%
- Steering52 6.6%
Example complaints
One per model year, chosen for length and detail. Personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
2003: “Fuel tank delamination. This will be the second time I have to replace the fuel tank, sending unit and fuel pump on my e350 diesel van. Ford has had known issues for several years regarding this problem and refuses to accept any responsibility. The inside coating of the tank peels away and clogs up the fuel system, then they turn around and sell you the same tank so it happens again. Very dangerous vehicle suddenly loses power and will even stall.”
NHTSA complaint #10915055, filed 2016-10, 105,000 miles1994: “Moving to north carolina in a Ford Econoline van, 1994. The van started smoking and when we pulled over on the side of the highway the smoke became so thick that we started to walk away to our second vehicle parked the van. When we turned around we saw an extreme amount of smoke and realized the van had caught fire. The fire department came to extinguish the flames but none of the contents within could be saved.”
NHTSA complaint #10334458, filed 2010-06, 200,000 miles1998: “Was traveling on rt 80 near exit 123 in pennsylvania on straight road, at 65 MPH, temperature of 75 degrees, dry, sunny day. We heard a loud boom. The inside rear tire (driver side) had blown. It appeared that the sidewall (facing out) had failed. The sidewall separated along a straight line from the wheel to the tread. Also, in that area about 10 inches of tread was starting to separate on that side of the tire - the tread separation was 'centered' on that sidewall failure. Fortunately we experienced no other damage.”
NHTSA complaint #10724174, filed 2015-06, 31,000 milesOther Ford models
38,897 complaintsFord Explorer
34,624 complaintsFord Escape
27,530 complaintsFord Fusion
22,441 complaintsFord Focus
22,107 complaintsFord Taurus
18,162 complaintsFord Windstar
14,152 complaintsFord Edge
14,106 complaints
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 27, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate. Methodology