One problem related to battery has been reported for the 1999 Ford Contour. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Since 12-15-99 I had cougar in service 3 times for water leak/ 2 times shift lock ,locked down because of brake light failure have complained about rear brake elco noise when backing up/ car hesitating at 50+ miles an hour /pulling to right when passing and giving the car more acceleration/car idling real high and wanting to take off when you first release the brake/ the windows not going up and down / the battery exploded/ the service was terrible at gateway the noise is still in the rear wheels . There is more where this came from the cougar will fall apart/ the engine or transmission is a problem . ( dot number: tire size: p/215/s0r1 ).