Ford Excursion Reliability by Year
Based on 2M+ real complaints filed with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
1,385 NHTSA complaints (1997–2010).Complaint rate: 744.2 per 1,000 vehicles.
Compare Ford Excursion vs:
Should I buy a Ford Excursion?
Quick answer from 1,385 NHTSA complaints · 1997–2010
Ford Excursion shows elevated crash or fire rates — buy with caution. 7.0% of reported complaints involved a crash — above the ~4% mainstream average. Most complaints relate to tire defects. Inspect carefully or consider a different model in the same class.
- 2000 Ford Excursion· 635 complaints
Keep scrolling for year-by-year complaint trends, recall campaigns, and component breakdowns — or click any year above for a full report.
Why these years are worse
The most common issues driving the complaint spikes:
- tire defects — 161 complaints (7.5% involved a crash)
- electrical faults — 107 complaints (1.9% involved a crash)
- tires:tread/belt — 80 complaints (10.0% involved a crash)
- engine & cooling — 67 complaints (0.0% involved a crash)
- engine and engine cooling:engine — 57 complaints (1.8% involved a crash)
Which Years to Buy & Avoid
Years auto-clustered by complaint volume relative to this model's median.
Rankings based on raw NHTSA complaint counts. Sales volume data not yet available for this model.
Bottom line: Avoid the 2000–2001 Ford Excursion (62 crash-related complaints). The 1999 models had significantly fewer reported issues. Most common issue across all years: Tires.
Avoid These Years
Average
Better Years
A model's reputation is just the start.
Even within the “good” years, individual cars can have hidden accidents, title issues, or odometer rollbacks. Check the actual VIN before you buy — full history report for $4.99 (vs. Carfax $44.99).
Complaints by Model Year
NHTSA complaint count per model year
Common Ford Excursion Problems
Most reported component complaints to NHTSA. Bar length = volume; color = crash-involvement rate.
Show full table
| Component | Complaints | Crash % |
|---|---|---|
| Tire Defects | 161 | 7.5% |
| Electrical Faults | 107 | 1.9% |
| Tires:Tread/Belt | 80 | 10.0% |
| Engine & Cooling | 67 | 0.0% |
| Engine And Engine Cooling:Engine | 57 | 1.8% |
| Unintended Acceleration | 50 | 18.0% |
| Tires:Sidewall | 48 | 2.1% |
| Engine Problems | 44 | 0.0% |
| Engine And Engine Cooling:Engine:Diesel | 42 | 0.0% |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic:Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip | 36 | 8.3% |
When Each Problem Spiked
Year × component heatmap. Darker cells = more complaints that year. Reveals which model years a specific defect concentrated in — useful for spotting redesign-cycle quality dips.
Year-by-Year Breakdown
NHTSA complaint count per model year — click any year for full problems & recalls breakdown.
Year-by-Year Breakdown
Tap any year for full problems & recalls breakdown.
Data Sources & Methodology
Complaints: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation consumer complaint database (1,385 records for this model). Public domain data, updated monthly.
Sales data: Not yet available for this model. Complaint counts are shown as raw numbers.
Rate calculation: Complaints per 10,000 vehicles sold = (complaint count / US annual sales) x 10,000. This normalizes for sales volume so high-volume models like Civic or Camry aren't unfairly penalized.
Year classifications: AVOID = 1.5x+ the model's median complaint count. GOOD = 0.6x or below. Years less than 3 years old are marked TOO NEW (insufficient data).
See also: Ford Excursionaccident & safety statistics from our vehicle history database.
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