11th Feb 2008, 17:17

I thought I let you know: when you have trouble go to the CEG group (Contour Enthusiast Group) on the Internet and do some research. Give the results to your mechanic and he will be able to get to the causes much quicker and could fix it possibly much less costly.

5th Apr 2008, 15:25

I have a 1998 Ford Contour LX,4 door. I bought it with 102,000 miles. I've had to replace the fuses for heating/cooling, alternator, back strut, oil leaks, some other kind of leak, front springs and now it looks like a front wheel bearing is going bad. All kinds of weird noises have come from underneath during the last couple of weeks. All of this is seemingly due to one wheel bearing being on the way to its graveyard. The Contour is a great-looking car, but this car has become one expensive vehicle because of repairs. And, to make things weirder, the Contour also sounds pretty rough when it idles at a stop light. I didn't pay much to get it, but the repairs have made me actually pay double what the original price was. Even still, if it lasts up till 190,000 miles, it'll be a good buy. But, I can't help but wonder about more repairs considering its history.

5th Apr 2010, 18:56

Well don't think Toyota is any more innocent than Ford when it comes to dealing with defects. Looking at other sites, I've heard of plenty of people getting it fixed under recall by Ford using a $85 kit, not unreasonable at all.

16th May 2010, 18:09

I too have a Ford Contour SE. I purchased it about two years ago with 54,000 miles on it. After awhile I noticed the dash had started to bend back. Also while my gas tank got to about a quarter left, it started to buck on me. Changed the fuel pump and the problem is still there. If you have any way of how to fix it, please say something.

17th May 2010, 08:43

"Also while my gas tank got to about a quarter left it started to buck on me. Changed the fuel pump and the problem is still there. If you have anyway of how to fix it please say something."

You might want to check the fuel gauge. I had a friend go and get her fuel pump replaced when she thought it quit. It did the same thing with 1/2 tank of gas showing on the gauge the next week, and we found it was actually out of gas and the fuel pump was fine. Of course the dealer refused to refund her at that point... typical!

27th Aug 2010, 12:56

I received a 1999 Contour SE when my uncle passed 3 years back. I have no knowledge of any problem prior to it being in my ownership, but since I have had it, these were issues with mine:

Had a short somewhere in the wiring, and the mechanics cannot find where it is. The short keeps blowing out one of my fuses and keeps blowing it out every time I put a new one in. Because of this, my turn signals are not functional, my AC cannot be used, and my gear shifter lock (I have to drive a pen into the side to release the lock every time I pull it out of park.)

The gas tank starts to bug out once it goes under 1/4 of a tank, however I think I just have a bunch of gunk in the tank.

I have not had any problems with the dashboard warping, and I live in the south. 105+ degrees every day of the summer. However, the hinge that holds my glovebox up broke off.

My heating gauge is broken, so it is always stuck on cold.

Other than this, the car works fine driving, stopping, etc. I do love this car, but I do not love the problems :(

12th Nov 2010, 21:54

I have a 2000 Ford Contour SVT, and the dash is coming unglued. After researching this problem and what to do to correct it, I have found that Ford Motors and the dealerships are NO help at all. There comments are, "it's an old car, what do you expect" and "if we fix all of our screw ups we would go broke", and "you are stuck with it".

On Oct 23 2006, NHTSA opened an investigation on, "INVESTIGATION OF INSTRUMENT PANEL WARPAGE THAT MAY AFFECT PASSENGER AIRBAG DEPLOYMENT". Testing was also conducted in the areas of forward field of view and windshield defrost rates. On April 10 2007 the investigation was closed and no recall was issued.

So, the bottom line is the only way to get some results is to file a claim in small claims court! It is sad that they are not that concerned with safety and customer service!!

Karma shall prevail!!!