For the fifth time in a little over a year, Ford Motor Co. told its dealers either to prohibit sales or test-drives of its new Escape sport utility vehicles while they’re checked for safety-related problems.

THE LATEST NOTICE to dealers was sent Nov. 18, affecting 51,022 Escapes and about 24,000 Mazda Tributes, which share basic parts with the Escape and are built in the same plant in Claycomo, Mo. Of those, 27,516 Escapes and about 12,500 Tributes have already been sold. Ford spokesman Mike Vaughn said dealers were told to check for damaged windshield wiper link ball sockets and replace them if necessary. If the sockets were improperly built, the wipers could stop working. Parts to fix the problem “are in the pipeline” to dealers, Vaughn said. Previous warnings to dealers on the Escape and Tribute, both of which only went on the market in August,have included warnings about the steering wheel coming off,leaky fuel lines, incorrect wheel hubs and a problem with the cruise control that could cause the throttle to stick.Although sales of the Escape began in August,some dealers had small numbers of the vehicle in their lots since October 1999 which were used for test-drives. One industry expert said Ford doesn’t appear to have been penalized by customers for the recalls so far — but could be if more come soon. Ford has seen its share of high-profile recalls this year, with the recall of 6.5 million Firestone tires on Ford trucks leading the list. Ford executives have said recalls are acceptable to the company as a way of improving relations with customers, a prime directive of Ford CEO Jac Nasser.