This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
- 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 stated without warning, the vehicle would not start. It was towed to an independent repair shop, who determined the engine harness, cooling fan harness, and power distribution box wiring needed to be replaced.
: the contact stated while driving 15 mph, all power failed causing the engine to stall, along with steering and brake failures. The service dealer attempted to diagnose the problem on several occasions without success. The power failure had happened 6 times since 2001. An independent service dealer expressed the wiring harness was beyond repair and should have been replaced. The manufacturer was notified.
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.
All the wiring under the hood has brittle insulation. Every senor. My car does not fall under recall 99M03 which is should since it is the same problem. My car was built in 1997 and titled a 1998. This is a serious fire hazard.
- West Palm Beach, FL, USA
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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.
Vehicle was purhased in Jan of 1998. Vehicle currently has 70,000 miles. Vehicle was taken to a Goodyear for tune up. When picking up the vehicle Goodyear informed me of a fautly wire harness. They also included that the wire harness was flaking off almost as if it was rotten. The vehicle was never in a fire or an accident. I took the vehicle to another ase certified mechanic for a second oppinion. They stated that vehicles wire harness was of poor quality and that due to the protective layer over the metal wires flaking off it caused a short once the exposed wires touched metal burning the computer. They also included that it could have caused a fire and or worse while operating the vehicle. I contacted Ford and even took the car to them and they refused to even look at the vehicle claiming that Goodyear damaged it. I have researched this car and the sister vehicle Mercury mystic on the net and they both have had the same exact problems as far as the manufacturer using a decective wire harness cause shorts and or sometimes fires. I have contacted a lawyer and they contacted Ford with no resolution. Ford does not want to look at the vehicle because it's out of warranty. I have contacted many specialist in field and according to them a wire harness should last as long as the vehicle. Please help!
Dealer told me electrical system had a short. O2 sensor & computer in car. The car has had to have the O2 sensor replaced 3 times ($1200 charged by to me by dealer each time) and the computer reset. My complaint is that I should not have to pay to have the electrical fixed and the O2 censor replaced again (4 time!!)... the turn signals work and than do not.. I have been told a short is in the car but Ford will not find for free.. I am tired of fixing this car please please help
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.
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.
Intermittently when the gas pedal was applied, the vehicle failed to accelerate. This occurred because of an obstruction in the flow of fuel to the engine. The dealership has serviced the vehicle 5 times. They have replaced the fuel pump, the filter and the oxygen sensor. The problem still exist. The dealership refused to service the vehicle anymore because they indicated they have done all they could do to correct this problem. The vehicle leaked oil over the entire engine, the fuel pressure dropped when the vehicle was driven on mountainous areas, a short was found, and wires were found chaffed.
Constant problems with the vehicle. Alternator, fuel tank, gear shift indicator, computer sensor's (variable cam timing over retarded), automatic shift labored and fails, cooling fan motor, etc. This vehicle is in some form of repair shop on a regular basis. Have I driven a Ford lately? yes, and sorry I chose to do so.
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 Ford 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.
Consumer had recall(01V23000) repairs performed and was informed by Ford that she was entitled to a refund, consumer has contacted manufacturer on 3 occasions and was told that a check had been issued, after not receiving a check for 3 weeks, consumer was informed to contact the dealer where the repairs were made, the dealership informed consumer that a check had not been issued because Ford was not authorizing the refund, Ford stated the dealer did not go through the proper channels to be reimbursed, the dealer then told consumer they would reimburse her and try to get the money back from Ford, however consumer still has not received a refund.
Transmission has a defect, there is a slip when you applying gears. Also, brake pedal goes all the way down to the floor, and grabs a little bit. Dealership is aware of problem. Brakes have failed, on one occasion consumer almost hit a child, brake pedal slips from under foot. Emergency brake is only effective 50 percent of the time. Transmission intermittently changes gears roughly, at times jarring occupants in the vehicle. Possible electrical problem: Light of the clock has burned out twice, consumer states there are shorts in the dashboard, causing the heater or A/C to only have one speed working, dome lights work intermittently, light under dash works intermittently, warning bell does not chime all the times it should, consumer states a sensor causes heater to act as the ac and vice versa. Hinges not made properly, causing door movement while opening/closing, does not stop when it should. Seat blet retarction does not have enough elast, causing it not to retract properly, has gotten caught in the door jam. Alarm system has failed. Wheel cover cracked when a tire was being changed and another one fell off, consumer was not aware of the time or place it fell off.
While driving back from Chicago on I55, the water pump (which supposedly had a recall of which I was not notified) went out. Warning lights did not appear anywhere on the dashboard, and the only indication that anything might be wrong was a whining sound under the hood which stopped after a short interval. Within an hour, the entire car was destroyed. A new engine, water pump, electrical system, and radiator needed to be replaced. All of that is still being done, two weeks later. They have done the work without charge, and have given me a rental car to use in the meantime, however, with a new engine, they are only willing to give me a 9,000 mile warranty on the car repaired. Since this was not my fault, a fairly new car, and a lack of communication on the Ford manufacturer that this was a problem, I feel that a full warranty on the repairs is justified. Additionaly, at the time of this occurrence, I had four middle school students in my care. The thought that the car could have quit in the middle of a six land traffic pattern in Chicago without warning, would have been a disastrous accident with all of us possibly being killed. I think that the Ford manufacturer needs to deal with this problem and immediately. Thank you. Ginger granger
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Miaimi, FL, USA