Electrical System Problems of Ford Contour - part 1

"takara recall" my heater motor in my 98 Ford Contour se just stopped working.

See all problems of the 1998 Ford Contour 🔎.

Was driving down route 322 on day and had to hit the break and all of a sudden they went to the floor. I pulled over and checked my break fluid resivour and it was empty. I think the passenger side drum break is leaking fluid.

My car was recalled in 2001. The past 6 mo my electrical system smells like its burning or something melting. Almost like its going to catch on fire.

See all problems of the 1996 Ford Contour 🔎.

The contact owns a 1996 Ford Contour. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, it would fail to start due to a melted wire in the engine. In addition, the contact stated that the odometer failed to provide the accurate reading. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 100,000.

The contact owns a 1996 Ford Contour. The contact stated that while driving at 65 mph, the taillight and front panel failed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 68,000.

I just traded and got this car, it seems to sway in the back going over wet roads or bumpy roads not sure what it is, but I fear my safety as the previous owner did not tell me about this. I also have noticed that the temperature gauge does not work and the heater blower only works on high. I cannot afford to get things fixed if there is recalls on them.

I am the owner of a 1998 Ford Contour and the engine harness wire overheated over a long period of time and I was unaware until I had to change my radiator due to a leak and the harness wire had to be disconnected. That was when we found the wire melted and cracked and could not be reused. This harness connects to vehicle main supply. Without harness vehicle is not operable. Ford should be responsible to replace defective harness.

My 1998 Ford Contour has three safety recalls. However, I'm having a terrible time getting Ford to provide the parts needed to service the vehicle. The recalls are: (a) 01s22 - heater blower resistor and connector, (b) 99s14 - headlight switch connector, and (c) 99s23 - front crash sensors. Presently my airbags are offline and offer no crash protection. It's been a little over a month since I began trying to get this resolved (basically when I bought the car - the seller didn't disclose the recalls were not fixed to me). The blower stopped working a few days ago and it smelled like electrical wires were perhaps burning. So now I don't have defrost/defog capability. The dealer is trying to get the parts, but Ford hasn't shipped them.

The contact owns a 1996 Ford Contour. While parked, the contact smelled smoke and noticed flames near the rear of the radio and the center column that divided the front and rear driver side doors. The contact was able to extinguish the flames herself. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostics. There was a recall under NHTSA campaign id number: 01v230000 (electrical system) that could possibly have been related to the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised that the VIN was not included in the recall. The contact stated the failure affected the exterior lighting and interior lighting of the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 62,922.

The contact owns a 1998 Ford Contour. The contact stated that the driver was driving at an unknown speed when the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was towed to the contact, who was a certified independent mechanic, where he discovered that all of the wires under the hood were exposed and corroding. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileages were 284,371.

Instrument panel warping, loose bezel - the warping may adversely affect performance of the air bag system and does create loose instrument panel components (such as the defrost bezel) that was a projectile during a quick stop at a red light - for those reading - I do include personal info - my name is [xxx] if you could help with info re this complaint. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

See all problems of the 2000 Ford Contour 🔎.

The contact owns a 1997 Ford Contour. The contact stated that there was a bad ground in the main line harness, which caused the electrical system in the vehicle to fail. The vehicle was not included in the recall. The current mileage was 116,000 and failure mileage was 115,000.

See all problems of the 1997 Ford Contour 🔎.

The contact owns a 1996 Ford Contour. As he started his vehicle, the tail lights or the dashboard did not light up. His mechanic gave him a copy of NHTSA campaign# 01v230000. The dealer and the manufacturer stated that his vehicle was not a part of the recall. The related NHTSA action# is ea01001. The failure mileage was 186,000.

Blower motor failure. The blower controls the defroster and heater. The failure results in fog, frost etc so visibility is greatly limited. If one can see well an accident is possible.

I am the owner of a 1998 Ford Contour. I bought it used, and within a 1 year remainder of a 3 year warranty. I was never officially notified of several defects and NHTSA recalls that are still in effect for this car model year. One of the repairs for the blower resistor was performed twice, however it was never done to my satisfaction and it did not meet the standards of quality as expected for the recall. There are several safety issues with this car, and I am now afraid to keep driving it after what I have read. The Ford motor company is very negligent in following up with consumers on these issues, and they keep an outdated database of former owners which they fail to update with the current owners in cases where the car ownership has changed hands. I am kind of close to hiring a lawyer to sue them over these recall issues. What should I do? are they still obligated to fix the recall issues at their expense? I am certainly not about to put one dime of my own money into that car to fix issues covered by recalls. Again, I do not wish to fight or wrangle with a company that is so awful who puts out a terrible and cheap product like the Ford Contour, then won't stand behind their car. However, if there are formal responsibilities which they are legally bound to, I will reserve my right to pursue this under the fullest extent of the law. Please advise. Sincerely, mr. Mcdonough.

The contact owns a 1996 Ford Contour. After being parked for four hours, the vehicle caught fire without warning. The fire originated on the front driver side. The vehicle was not towed or inspected by a dealer. The fire extinguished on its own. The current and failure mileages were 101,000.

The contact owns a 1998 Ford Contour. Open electrical circuits and melted housing materials were found under the hood of the vehicle. The contact notified Ford who stated that her VIN was not included in recall # 01v230000 (electrical system). Ford stated that nothing could be done. The dealer stated that the repair was never previously performed. The current and failure mileages were 115,000.

I have a 1999 Ford Contour I bought it and 6 months later the timing belt went out this cost me $800. 00 out of pocket after the warranty paid their part. Drove it another 3 months when it stalled out and started sputtering I replaced the plugs, wires, ignition control box, and fuel filter and found a hose that had a hole in it from being melted after replacing all of that found the transmission to be leaking and no way to get to it easily. Still ran crappy took it to a garage and was told they could not figure it out brought it home and it won't run anymore it still does not run not sure what else to do had to buy another vehicle to get to and from work while still paying on this one and can not use it anymore. This is my second Ford and I will not ever get another one. And with all this going on when the mechanic shut the back passenger the glass shattered and it was shut normally. Also the radio has issues.

See all problems of the 1999 Ford Contour 🔎.

The wire harness motor, transmission and fuel injection are bad ,and was stationary 5 year ago like many many many Contours and mistyques in my country , I need a solution please, couse responsability is from Ford company in all the world. Thank you. I am in mexico.

- the contact's vehicle stalled while driving 35 mph and the driver was unable to move the car from the middle of the road. The contact took the car to dealer (maroone Ford) and they told her that the failure was due to a problem with the electrical system and that it was under warranty but she will have to wait for the repairs.

The contact received NHTSA recall 01v230000 . The dealership said that they did not want to fix the recall at this time because there was no problem, and it required them to remove the entire dashboard. She did not start experiencing a problem until 2005. The blower did not work all the time. The new owner of the dealership did not want to do the recall repair. The manufacturer said that the vine was included in the recall, however it expired. They said that the time frame for the recall was either the first six years after the vehicle was manufactured or 72,000 miles. Therefore, the repairs have not been done because of the time limit.

The 1998 Ford Contour have many known problems, the one I am currently having an issue with is a faulty headlight switch that causes the dashboard lights to go out creating a situation where a driver can not see their safe speed and worse the running lights also stop working, preventing people from seeing your car from behind. The brake lights and turning lights work but not the running lights. On a dark road the car is not visible from behind. Both these conditions make it extremely unsafe to operate the vehicle at night. There is a recall from Ford covering this exact problem however for some reason the Ford can not tell me, my car is not included. I have a 1998 Ford Contour. So far no one at the dealer will help me to determine why my car is not included although they agree it is the same problem and calls to Ford have gotten me no where as well. What can I do now? it is an expensive repair and a safety issue as well.

The vehicle caught on fire after being parked for 2 minutes. The local fire department arrived to extinguish the fire. The fire marshall informed the consumer that the cause might have been an electrical short. The dealer was not notified at this time.

The consumer is experiencing problems with the accelerator cable. When the consumer takes his foot off the pedal the engine does not return to it's lower idling speed. The consumer is also experiencing electrical problems. The air bag light stays flashing. Owner has contacted the dealer and because of the VIN, this vehicle is not included in any recalls relating to the defects of this vehicle.

While parked in the driveway vehicle caught on fire.

Smoke then flames came from the engine compartment and within 5 minutes of parking in the garage. The fire department extinguished the fire, and indicated that the fire occurred because of an electrical system failure.

Electrical system was defective. Consumer took vehicle to dealer on several occasions. However, the electrical system was such that the lights went out and flickered. Vehicle locked in to park. Consumer applied a 20 amp fuse to get it out of gear. The dealer was unable to solve the problem.

On 09/09/2004 the wife was driving home in our 2000 Ford Contour 2. 0 liter when the ac and radio shut off, the speedometer quit working and electric windows operated slow. She made it to the driveway when the car shut itself off. It would not restart until it set for a few hours. Next morning she made all but 100 feet of 1 mile to a local garage, who said alt is putting out 12 volts when it should be at 14, but alt may be ok. The idiot lights in the dash will not light up while starting the car. Garage thinks a short to the idiot dash lights is where the missing 2 volts is going, but their not sure. They never seen this problem before. All fuses and connections seem ok. Garage charged up battery to drive 1 mile back home. Electric shop will look at it Monday. Electric shop said there has been problems of connections in back of the fuse box burning open. I looked; no burnt connections, and meter said alt connections are good.

Ford refused to honor recall campaign #01v230000 manufacturer's campaign #01s22 claiming "warranty had expired".

This is a complaint on a 1996 Ford Contour. Within 15-20 after my daughter drove to work on the interstate, the car burst into flames. She had already gotten inside her job. It occurred about 8:25.

The vehicle's blower switch caught fire around the steering column.

While normally driving at 35 mile's per hour, the car suddenly stalled. 10 minutes later started normally. Just in case I took the car to mechanic because 20 minutes later I started to noticed an odor, like burned plastic. This morning the mechanic called me and asked me to stop by the shop, he showed me the fuse box and the electrical cables (harness) that are connected to the box, 75% or more are without insulation (cracked or the insulation is gone). According to him I was just lucky, Ford do not offer a complete electrical harness as a part, and the only solution is to search for one in a junk yard, besides is a costly electrical job replacing the wires. I am going to contact Ford because as a consumer I think that there is a defect with the mentioned vehicle.

Dashboard is curling up from the windshield. Since this has started the vent for the defogging systems has popped completely out, the warning bell for the lights left on and key in ignition have stopped working and the radio cuts in and out. I took it to my auto repair shop who contacted my extended warranty company (who supposedly cover me bumper to bumper according to the dealer I bought the car from) who state if it is not safety related they don't cover it. I then went to a local dealership with the problem as the car is a 1999 with barely 40,000 miles and expressed my concern about the things that have stopped working as well as the fact that as the dash rolls back it will deploy the passenger side air bag. The dealer stated it was not their problem even though they stated that the earlier models had the same problem which apparently was never fixed and gave me Ford customer service. I then contacted Ford who after 5 days informed me that they felt it was not their problem, that I should take it to my local dealer and pay approximately $1800 to $2000 for a new dash to be installed but that I should save my paperwork after the repairs are done in case of any further trouble. Since the dash is in perfect condition aside from the curling, no cracks, discoloration or drying out I don't feel I should pay to have this problem resolved. If you can assist please let me know.

The heater went out in our car, so we decided to fix it at home. After taking out the bad part, we discovered it was melted. I decided to check the web to see if yet another recall had been issued. Indeed it had. We don't remember being notified. I called the dealership to schedule a repair. They fixed it. One month later, our heater blower motor went out. We believe this is in direct correlation to the heater blower resistor that was melted. We ended up paying out of pocket to get a new heater blower motor, but not after trying to contact Ford customer services. When we contacted them, we could not talk to a manager ( they would have to call us back when it was convenient for them). They called back three times. All three times we were out, when we called them back we were told that we would have to wait to be called back at Fords convenience. After the third time they called and we weren't home, they said they couldn't be bothered with our complaint anymore. While we were at the dealership to pick up our car, we insisted someone from Ford talk to us. They lied and said our complaint had nothing to do with the recall and they know this because they talked to the service manager. We know they lied because he was out all day, and we asked him if he talked to Ford and he said no. The service manager did finally say that the part that was melted did contribute greatly to the demise of the heater blower motor, but that Ford would not pay for it. He said other people had this same problem. I am not sure of the exact dates.

1. All engine wire harness insulation is cracking and falling off. Bare wire at most of the engine compartment connectors. Unknown damage under wire wrapping. Existing Ford recall cover 95-97 year models. Subject vehicle is a 98 model year. 2. Still waiting for the first major meltdown. Connector wires are physically pulled apart to prevent electrical shortage. 3. No repair work has been done.