This vehicle has been a "lemon" since purchased new in August, 1997 from sam galloway Ford in fort myers, Florida. From the beginning, the car drove "rough" not smooth. The vehicle constantly was vibrating, and simply got worse over time. The vibrations would occur at speeds as low as about 40 miles per hour, increasing the faster you drove. You could actually feel and see your body shake. The ride was the total opposite of a smooth one. Rough and bumpy, even on smooth, Florida roads. The vehicle felt like you were "pushing" or "forcing" it to drive. The gear shift has always been difficult to manuver, generally sticking while trying to change gears. A couple of times, this nearly caused an accident, due to the inability to change gears. When reported to Ford, the only response that that "per the manual, the transmission needed some type of overhaul, at a cost of about $500. Also, several times, there was smoke and a burning rubber type smell emitting from the air vents. This was brought into Ford several times, and not fixed. The final time, the entire car filled with smoke--I called the service manager, marlon hanson, from the vehicle on my cell phone, because I was scared that the car may burst into flames. His remarks made it sound like "no big deal" just bring in the car. Meanwhile, I had to pull over, I was so scared, not knowing if the vehicle was going to start on fire or even blow up. This vehicle was brought in twice more for this repair, and finally appears to be fixed. We were told that it was some wiring that was burning, or starting on fire. Our only compensation for that was a free rental car, after I pressured the service manager. The cassette portion of the radio broke early on. Never addressed that issue with dealer or Ford. Steering column is increasingly difficult to manuever-very hard to turn. Airbag warning light intermittendly comes on, at any speed. Tires have been replaced, but newer tire keeps deflating--per tbs, coil spring problem?

- Fort Myers, FL, USA

I own a 1998 Ford Contour, VIN #[xxx]. about a month and a half ago, I was preparing to travel onto interstate 79 to go from meadville to erie, Pennsylvania. Less than a mile from my home on harmonsburg road, I heard a "pop" and my vehicle felt like it had a flat tire. I traveled about another quarter of a mile to a gas station and checked the tire. It appeared to be okay. As the vehicle was becoming hard to steer, I decided to return home. I put on my flashers and traveled at 25 mph back to my home, a straight one mile drive from the gas station. When I turned left into my driveway, I heard a grinding sound and my vehicle would no longer steer. As soon as I was off the road, I turned off the engine. The tire was flat, and the car leaned to the right-front. At a very low speed, the car seriously tipped toward the ground on the right front side. At a faster speed, it could easily have flipped several times. I was very shaken by this incident, and I have been uncomfortable driving this car since this first incident. My husband attempted to change the tire and found that the suspension coil spring had snapped and embedded itself into the tire. We called the aaa to have the car towed to lake view Ford in conneaut lake. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Conneaut Lake, PA, USA

No summary listed for above vehicle.

- Woodbridge, VA, USA

Coil spring on the right front of car broke. Replacement of the following was necessary: Shock absorber, cb spring, D boot, bearing assemnbly, aa seat, mounting assy, halfshaft assembly, cv joint assembly, brake shoes, disc brake rotor, tires.

- Berlin Heights, OH, USA

Front end will not stay aligned it has been realigned 3 times 3/28/00 last time, and the front drivers side tire has been replaced 5 times, it is already showing wear, and its only been 1200 since it was realigned. We have not had the car 1 full year.

- Oxford, ME, USA

When driving at any speed there is a knocking and clucking noise coming from the front of the vehicle. Also, headlights are working intermittently.

- Washington, DC, USA

The vehicle vibrates when driving about 60mph, on the front end. Dealer has seen four times. Problem still exist. Mjs

- Center, TX, USA

The airbag light is on. When applying the brakes there is a squeaking noise coming from the brakes. Also, the front end misalignment, causing vibration.

- Marshall, IL, USA