1995 Ford Contour SE 2.5 Duratec from North America

Summary:

A power machine for the domestic lovers

Faults:

My water pump broke at 98,000 miles.

My tachometer broke at 102,000 miles.

My starer broke at 108,000 miles.

General Comments:

This car is a very good bargain for anyone who wants performance and comfort.

It can become a high maintenance car if you don't take good care of it, but with a little care it will run awesomely.

The interior although comfortable starts to need recovering after a while.

It's a very fun car and very fast with a few modifications.

The engine is very strong and can keep up with SVT Contour's and Focus'.

The power is great and came stock with around 175 horsepower and 160 foot pounds of torque.

Getting the 1995 Ford Contour SE is an great deal for anyone who takes good care of their vehicles.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 16th April, 2004

1995 Ford Contour GL 2.6 from North America

Summary:

It's a great car If it stays running

Faults:

Well I have had to replace the mass air flow sensor, coolant sensor, a sensor that looks like a flat breaker. its copper, it sits behind the motor and below the dash under the hood. there were a few other sensors that had to be replaced. I replaced an alternator twice. I replaced the erg valve today.

The head rests are broken the seat belts in the back are broken. they broke about 5 months after I had the car. I had the shifting indicator replaced, it just one day was cracked.

I have spent more money on this car then I have spent on my ford Fairmont. Everything in my Fairmont was manufactured except the fuel filter. it was 18 yrs old. and I also had to replace the tie rod ends. other than that I had a wonderful car. wish I still had it.

Now I have a bigger problem the same thing is happening to my car as the first posts had mentioned. it dies out when you give it gas. I have to let off the gas before it takes hold then give it gas to get on down the road. it Idles up and down while the vehicle is stopped. I'm so stumped I don't know what else to do.

General Comments:

I want to know if maybe the timing could be off on my car, since we replaced the alternator.

My car car used to get out of its own way. I always said my car is a 4cylc but runs like an 8cylc. I want that car back.

I'm willing to try anything to get my car running back up to where it should be.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 5th April, 2004

6th Apr 2004, 11:18

I don't know Contours, but your symptoms sound like my Escort. I had a crack in the plastic between the air filter (behind the headlight) and the intake manifold. This crack was downstream of the mass air flow sensor, so the computer didn't know how much air it was getting. Plugs, rotor, wires, dist. cap didn't fix it. A few wraps of duct tape around the crack and it was running like a champ.

1995 Ford Contour GL from North America

Summary:

A fun money burner

Faults:

We had to get a new timing belt. Had to buy a whole new transmission.

General Comments:

This car is fun, quick, and comfortable. However we have put twice as much money into it as we paid for it.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 12th February, 2004

1995 Ford Contour GL 2.0 4 cylinder from North America

Summary:

I will never buy a Ford again

Faults:

Airbag lock switch- replaced five times while I had the car.

Replaced brake rotors.

Replaced alternator twice.

Car required new battery every summer.

Replaced front passenger window switch three times.

Replaced original stereo, which died.

Interior began to disintgrate.

Dealership incorrectly attached the steering wheel after a repair visit.

General Comments:

This car is absolute garbage, and the dealerships were a nightmare to deal with.

The most consistent and egregious problem had to deal with the driver's side airbag. The airbag light would flash on the dashboard periodically. Every time I took the car in, it had the same diagnostic error: "airbag lock switch has failed." I got various explanations from the dealership as to what this part was, but every time, the only way to fix it was to replace the entire airbag module. This always bumped just around $850 each time I had it fixed. The fixes never lasted long. One time, I had taken my car in to get the airbag replaced, and two days later when I went to go pick-up my car, the airbag light was still flashing!

The first time the alternator blew on my car, it left me stranded 8 miles away from the closest town in a December rainstorm.

The second time the alternator gave out was in the summer, and the battery vomited its contents all over the engine bay.

The dealerships were always jerks to deal with. They always kept the car a lot longer than they said they would, they never returned phone calls, and they were quick to become argumentative.

Overall, I think that Ford executives have to be pretty cynical to release such an intrinsicly botched car onto the market.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 18th January, 2004

22nd Jan 2004, 14:12

I Believe you either abused or purchased an abused Contour, I have a '95 Contour that I bought in October '03 and haven't had any major problems except for the fact that I should have bought one with a 5-speed (0-60 in 8.1 sec.) I understand how upset you are about all the money you dumped into it, but when it comes to value, it would be hard to find a better car for the money.

26th Jan 2004, 15:27

I gave the car all of its regularly scheduled maintenance. I tend to put high mileage on my cars, but it is mostly highway mileage. As it is the car had less than 90,000 on the odometer when I traded it in. I drove the car from July of 1997 until October of 2001. Let's see how much praise you heap on the car after four years of ownership.

5th Feb 2005, 10:16

I made a major mistake of not reading reviews about ford contours before purchasing it. I have a thick file on my ford contour now. I feel sorry for people who have bought this car. Would not recommend this car at all.

9th Feb 2006, 05:55

Too bad about your experiences with the Contour. I owned one for 6 years and about 145000 miles, with only a fan-belt and front rotors replaced. The engine ran flawlessly the whole time I owned it. The ONLY reason I don't have it anymore is that I totalled it hitting a SUV at about 60mph. Not good on front ends :|

9th Feb 2006, 11:57

The contour is a piece of crap, I made a mistake in owning one (i nicknamed it the "detour") and thanks to FORD I will never buy American cars again (i have since owned a Camry, BMW 3-series, Scion tC, and now I currently own a black G35 coupe and love it). Those people at Ford are the rudest people I ever dealt with. On a side note, take this car to a transmission shop and you will see how much hate this car and the mercury mystake.