Owners have filed 922 complaints on the Ford Probe, covering 1989–1997. The system named most often is Seat Belts (389 reports). Worst years by volume: 1990, 1993, 1994; cleanest: 1997, 1996, 1989. 59 reports describe a crash, 24 a fire, 3 a death. On average the car was 5.7 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Ford Probe
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 922 Probe complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Seat Belts 389 Read
Power steering failed, causing accident
Drivers air bag did not deploy during head on collision, also shoulder lap seatbelt did not restrain driver. Tt
While driving 50 mph at night on dry roads consumer was involved in a side collision that resulted in drivers side lap and shoulder belt not engaging, consumer died as a result.*ak (chief deputy coroner, arden hughes on behalf of deceased)
Service Brakes 97 Read
While driving the vehicle consumer applied the brakes and the vehicle did not stop. The brakes locked up, causing driver to hit the garage door. *ak dealer removed all four wheels to check the brakes, however found no problems
When applying the ABS brakes on wet pavement the ABS system locks up, causing extended stopping distance which caused a collision. Please give any further details
Left rear caliper locked up on a cold morning. Was not able to tell, drove for 1 mile, rotor heated up enough to turn cherry red, smoking very badly. This is very common problem, every '93 & '94 ford probe gt has this problem. I now have no parking brake which I should have. I am always hearing of problems from others…
Engine And Engine Cooling 89 Read
Vehicle was driven less than 2 miles and caught on fire in the engine compartment. The vehicle was totalled. Recall NHTSA 98V-206/ manufacturer's recall 98s30. Dealer inspected timing belt tensioner, and stated that it was ok
While driving on highway car lost power. Smoke started coming out from under hood. Pulled over to side and engine area was on fire. Car destroyed
Owner was driving 70 mph on the highway and smoke started to fill the vehicle through the vents. Driver was able to pull the vehicle to the side of the road safely. A fire started in the engine compartment, and caused the whole vehicle to burn. The vehicle has been totalled
Power Train 69 Read
While driving expressway; front driver's side axle broke; vehicle spun around, hit by another oncoming vehicle. Tt
Man-tran: transmission grinds between 1st and 2nd gear causing difficulty going into 2nd gear; distraction caused driver to rear end another vehicle
Fuel ignited when releasing gas tank cap, resulting in a fire/injury. *ak
Electrical System 60 Read
Consumer was pumping gas when she experienced an electrical shock. During the process the vehicle caught on fire
Vehicle caught fire for no reason.owner notes possible wiring harness failure. Also, vehicle started to smoke
Battery losing charge frequently. Vehicle idled 15 minutes before jumpers were placed on it. Smoke was coming from fuse box underneath. Flames shot out quickly. Put it out w/fire extinquisher. Turned vehicle off
Air Bags 33 Read
Traveling 20mph & rearended another vehicle. Air bag deployed. Driver's pants caught on fire due to chemicals in air bag. Driver not injured
While driving on highway traveling 50mph, vehicle in front stopped suddenly to avoid hitting the car in front of it. There was a five car pileup. Consumer hit vehicle in front, and neither airbag deployed. Also, seat belt didn't lock up
While driving about 2 mph consumer's vehicle was hit by another vehicle going about 45 mph, impact was on the driver side near front of vehicle. Neither airbag deployed. Consumer hit her head on windshield
Steering 33 Read
Traveling on icy roads vehicle slid, hit curb and steering assembly broke
While driving down hwy 288 at 70 miles per hour my power steering belt broke and caused the wheel to lock. I was about to exit on to hwy 6 and luckily I was slowing down the belt and all kinds of smoke came from under the hood, blinding me and making me think that there was a fire under the hood. Also the wheel locked…
I had my car checked by goodyear because I was hearing a clicking noise when I turned the steering wheel left or right. Initially itwas though to be the cv joint, but was definately confirmed as the rack and pinon assembly. It seems highly unlikely that I did anything to cause this problem. The car is not even 3 years…
Visibility 29 Read
Consumer started the vehicle, smoke came from panel of the power window on passenger's side, wiring in the panel burned, causing the windows to become inoperable
Heater malfunctioned
Strong odor from ventilation system
Probe years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Air Bags | 4 | 1 | |
| 1996 | Air Bags | 2 | 1 | |
| 1995 | Air Bags | 9 | — | |
| 1994 | Air Bags | 15 | 6 | |
| 1993 | Air Bags | 15 | 7 | |
| 1992 | Electrical System | 3 | — | |
| 1991 | Electrical System | 3 | 3 | |
| 1990 | Electrical System | 6 | 4 | |
| 1989 | Child Seat | 2 | 2 |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 339 |
| Average complaints per series | 2.7 |
| Worst single series | 16 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 5.7 years |
A model average of 2.7 hides a worst series at 16. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
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- No ads, no tracking — and much more
How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Probe?
By complaint volume, 1990, 1993, 1994 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Probe years are the cleanest?
1997, 1996, 1989 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Ford Probe have?
922 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1989–1997. Of those, 59 describe a crash and 24 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.