Ford FestivaYears to avoid, problems & recalls

NHTSA has 168 owner complaints and 2 safety recalls on record for the Ford Festiva.

Years to avoidNoneBased on weighted complaints Best years—Fewest complaints for their age Owner complaints168Top: Seat belts Safety recalls21988–1994 model years

Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls, investigations and manufacturer recall reports. Updated daily. How we score years.

Best & worst years

Ford Festiva years to avoid

Complaints by model year, colored by the CarFlaw verdict: complaints weighted for crashes, fires and injuries, adjusted for years on the road and compared with the Festiva median. Tap a year for its full report.

44 47 21 21 14 20 1

'88'89'90'91'92'93'94

Avoid
Caution
Solid
Best
Not rated

1994Not rated–/1001 complaint · 0 recalls 1993Not rated–/10020 complaints · 0 recalls 1992Not rated–/10014 complaints · 0 recalls 1991Not rated–/10021 complaints · 1 recall 1990Not rated–/10021 complaints · 2 recalls 1989Not rated–/10047 complaints · 1 recall 1988Not rated–/10044 complaints · 1 recall

Complaints by system

Most common Ford Festiva problems

All model years combined: 168 complaints grouped by the system owners reported.

95Seat belts8 crash/fire/injury

21Electrical system10 crash/fire/injury

11Suspension1 crash/fire/injury

9Engine and engine cooling

8Power train

6Wheels

5Service brakes, hydraulic

5Tires

4Seats

189 other systems4 crash/fire/injury

Box size = number of complaints naming that system. Darker = larger share. One complaint can name more than one system.

Complaints by system
System	Complaints	Crash, fire or injury
Seat belts	95	8
Electrical system	21	10
Suspension	11	1
Engine and engine cooling	9	3
Power train	8	1
Wheels	6	1
Service brakes, hydraulic	5	0
Tires	5	0
Seats	4	1
9 other systems	18	4

2 recalls

Ford Festiva recalls

Newest first. The ring shows the share of affected vehicles repaired, from the manufacturer's latest report to NHTSA.

Front: buckle assembly95V-103 · 1988–1991 · Jun 27, 1995 · 265,000 vehicles Front: warning light/devices90V-045 · 1990 · Mar 8, 1990 · 268 vehicles

3 investigations

NHTSA investigations of the Festiva

Feb 23, 1995
SEAT BELT FAILURE OR MALFUNCTIONPE95013 · 1988–1991 · closed Jul 28, 1995
Led to recall 95V-103
May 25, 1990
SEAT SEPARATIONPE90083 · 1989 · closed Sep 27, 1990
No recall
Jul 6, 1989
REAR SAFETY BELTPE89139 · 1989 · closed Oct 31, 1989
No recall