12th Jul 2002, 20:28

72,000 miles on a 2000 Contour SE five speed V-6:

Clutch hydraulic line leaked at 32,000 miles

IMRC control module failed at 65,000 miles

Dash warped at 67,000 - covered in a recall.

Other than that the car has been bulletproof.

I work in the car industry and the number of problems that people are seeing with this car are quite normal for most cars out there regardless of make or model. BELIEVE ME your opinion of mid line domestic car quality would change for the better if you owned a Porsche, BMW, Mercedes - I used to work on them, some never leave the shop. When they go out of warranty, the repair issues and costs on Porsche turbos and 12 cylinder cars are insane. How would you react if the new $75,000 400 horse sports sedan stayed in the shop for a month each visit for oil leaks and engine electronic failures? Believe it or not, most owners just accept it.

12th Aug 2002, 09:28

August 12/02 1998 Contour V6 5 Speed.

Overall, a well performing car, a pleasure to drive, but costly to repair.

At 90,000kms the engine went. Ford Goodwill and Dealership participation and an affordable owner contribution replaced it. The alternator and starter were replaced on separate occasions around 120,000kms. Engine check light always on happening continuously to the point where it is ignored.

At 135,000kms the clutch needs replacing. Estimate for repair from $1100 to $1600.

7th Sep 2002, 19:00

I have a 1998 Contour SE V6. The sunroof will not go back, although the motor runs. If you use your hand while holding the switch down, you can ease it back. Don't know what the problem is there. The car was originally owned by a good friend of mine who never had any problems with it, this started right before I bought it. Any one else with this problem that can clue me in to an easy repair? Email me at: Chami90655@aol.com Thanks!

12th Oct 2002, 15:51

I have a 1998 SVT. Good power and comfortable, although the road noise can be annoying. The vehicle has had several mechanical failures. The power steering failed, the pump had to be replaced at 40,000 miles, $1100 parts and labor. The clutch has been failing since about the same mileage, this will be a $1,300 repair at a dealer. The cam positioning switch has failed and at about the same time (52,000 miles.) the ABS system failed. Ford says the entire wiring harness must be replaced, total for CPS and ABS problems, hold on to your hats, $6,000 to $7,000! The $1,200 spent on the extended warranty was, for a change, well worth it.

30th Oct 2002, 16:25

I have a 98 Mercury Mystique. There is a water leak on the passenger side under the dash. Anybody have any experience with this. I have had it looked at by mechanics, windshield people, and two body shops nobody has any ideas, they all say one of the other guys should be able to help. HELP PLEASE!!!

Neil@tjsamson.com.

3rd Jan 2007, 09:16

I owned a 1995 Ford Contour which I bought used after 13500 miles. The car is GREAT I just sold it to my wife’s grandmother. My wife bought a 1998 Ford Contour which has had more problems then the 1995 did. The 1995 had problems with the springs always going bad. I had to replace them three times. All in all for a car that had 175,000 miles on it it was very well built.

The 1998 car which we bought new from the dealer had a few more problems, but then again my wife tends to be really hard on her cars. We had to have the transmission replaced and the computer chip replace. The dealer stated the chip went bad and caused the transmission to get messed up. Ford went 60/40 with us to replace it.

Recently we had to replace three of the four oxygen sensors, the idle switch and a wire harness for the fuel pump and replace the oil gasket. The total was $1300 for the repairs, but after owning the car almost 9 years who can complain?

I did notice that some mechanics don’t know beans about repairing or troubleshooting a fuel problem. We paid a major tire company for them to replace a fuel pump and then the problem reoccurred. I finally figured out what was wrong with the car and told a small shop mechanic who was able to fix the issue. That was part of the $1300 repair.

The car has 161000 miles on it the interior is looking great. If you think you shouldn’t run into problem with a car over 100,000 miles on it you are crazy. I look at it this way. I spend two grand this year on the car and it should give me another two years of use out of it. Two years of use means a car payment savings of 350 a month for 24 months which equals $8400 I’m not spending on a new car. I just wish Ford didn’t discontinue the Contour.

19th May 2007, 12:48

I have a 1998 Ford Contour that will not go into gear and I wanted to know if anybody knew what was wrong before I payed for a new transmission??

24th Jul 2007, 22:24

I bought one after it had a previous owner. So far it's been crappy because we had to replace the transmission, but the car also had 100,000 on it when I bought it... so that's understandable...

Some of the problems being complained about are normal wear and tear on a vehicle; if you don't take care of it, you can't expect it to take care of you.

My car runs great now that it has a re-built transmission. Basically take care of your vehicle and treat it like your baby.

I do however have to agree with the truck thing... but again normal wear and tear for a 1998 vehicle; just go pay $5 and replace the weather stripping. You can't expect a car to last forever if you beat the crap out of it!

12th Nov 2008, 23:56

My husband and I just bought a Ford Contour '98 from one of his Sergeant. He assured us that nothing was wrong with the car. Shortly after that, the car started shorting out. It was more like a bad train ride than a car ride.

We looked under the hood, and the wires were so corroded when we touched them... they literally fell apart.

Anyone else have this problem? It's not even over 100,000 miles yet, and it seems like the transmission is going out, too.

We just went and bought a new car and we're trying to sell the Ford for someone who needs it for spare parts. Any suggestions?

Anyone know how much it'd cost to replace the entire wire harness and get new wiring in the car?