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.
1) A/C blower shut off and upon investigation a 60 amp fuse broke under the fuse box in the front of the car under the engine hood were damaged. And further inspection showed several open wires coming from the battery and one comming from the fuse box which is believed to have caused the fuse to break. 2) notified by 2 different auto-electrical repair shops they had seen simular damage and informed me off the costs of a replacement wiring harness and labor which ranged from $3800 - $4400. Checking other various web sites showed a lot more people with the same problems which ranged from fires to having to drive with broken fuses or having to pay high amounts to replace it. 3) doing preventative maintentence by cleaning area and spraying a high base in the area to prevent further damage caused by exposed wires to the elements on a weekly bases till I can afford such a large repair and not replacing a fuse which controls my blower and ABS.
Intermittently vehicle brake lights and turn signal lights will not operate when vehicle ran over a bump or pothole. Vehicle been to the dealer on five occasions, and problem is still reoccurring. Feel free to provide any further information.
Turn signal/brake lamps burn out very frequently (once every month or two). In mid-October, the turn signal burned out, and changing the bulb did not remedy the problem. Car was taken to the dealer to be repaired. Dealer said that part of the fitting that the tail lamp plugs into had melted, thus shorting out the circuit and resulting in failure of the signal.
The wiring of the main fuse panel crystalizes due to excessive heat from the engine compartment which causes a breakage in the wiring and the wiring to overheat. This has manifested itself by causing air conditioner blower motor not to work. The wiring gets extremely hot when this happens. I know of other Contour that have experienced this same problem.
Had to slam on brakes suddenly/ABS light came on, and fuse between blower and heater popped out. This happened every time brakes were applied suddenly. Would have no codes. Would put 80 amps fuse in & same thing happened. Heater motor wold still be running & ABS light on. Front end brakes would lock up. Back brakes did not work.
I am very displeased with the Ford Contour. About 2 month after I purchased my car I had to have the brake pads replaced, then replaced again after that. I've had several recalls on the car, not to mention all the other headaches I've dealt with. I'm really considering not to ever buy another Ford car, this has been the worst car I've ever owned
Fusebox: Bought car in July 1999, had to have three recalls fixed, one of them was on the air bag sensor, we went and had one of the recalls corrected, the next week we were scheduled to have the remaining two finish, on Wednesday of that week the air conditioner stopped working while we were driving home from work, we had the mechanic check it that Friday when they fixed the air bag sensor, the mechanic said the fuse box was broken and needed to be replaced, he replaced the fuse box (free of charge) and we went on our way, then on 8/14/2000 as we were again driving home from work on the expressway at about 55 the air conditioner died again, we read through the car manual and found the correct fuses to the blower motor and A/C, we changed those fuses, that didn't fix the problem, we then changed the relays, (which were very hard to get replacements for), that didn' T fix it either, finally we took it to a Ford dealer and had them chack it, they said there was a fuse in the front (which the owners manual said should only be changed by an authorized Ford mechanic) that had blown and when it did it fused the fuse to the connector and that the entire fuse box would have to be replaced, this time at a cost of over $400 tires: We have just had to replace two Firestone firehawk gta P205/60R15 90T M+S tires because the tread was coming away from the sidewall at the seem, it was so bad there were small flaps of the tread that stuck straight out like someone had peel a banana.( dot number: Tire size: P205/60R15 )
The fuse to turn signals continue to blow, and there is no warning until attemped to use the signal. Dealer has been contacted. The vehicle was taken to a dealer in May 2000 for shift indicator problem recall. The vehicle was returned to the dealer again several times because the problem continued and approximnately 12 fuses blew over all.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Tampa, FL, USA