I have a 1998 Contour, 6 cylinder with 69,000 miles and I bought it new. The car runs good and handles OK for a 4 door sedan. And it has always passed the CA smog test. But... it needed a new trans at 50K miles ($3000), a water pump at 58K miles ($500) and the front brake rotors need replacing every 20K miles. Very frustrating, and now I can't get more that about a third of a gallon of gas in the tank without the pump shutting off, so filling up can take 15 minutes! And the check engine light comes on and goes off more than the brake lights in stop and go traffic.
I'm afraid Ford has lost a repeat customer with this gem...
I never ever had any problems with my contour its been maintained an never broke down, the transmission works fine,it works like the day I bought it, i seriously think these problems are because people don't know how to take care of a car.
Have spent some time today reading anything I could find on the internet about the 1998 Contour SE. Mine is starting to run terribly; it has only 53,000 miles; I bought it nearly new with only 3,000 miles... thinking that the problems other Contour owners are having reflect how the car has been maintained? My own brother works at a Ford dealership and he has been helping me maintain my car all along. My car has been carefully watched by Ford, as I purchased the extended warranty and would not take it anywhere else.
No - my Contour is sputtering (bucking/backfiring/whatever) down the road; every once in a while I put it into Reverse and it goes into neutral (Dealership says nothing is wrong with it because these things don't happen when they drive it.) I've already had a fuel rail done; water pump, temperature gage & sending unit; brakes, and a number of other things I can't quite recall at the moment.
As someone else said - I'm afraid to drive the car. It's a mess right now, and Ford seems to think it's fine! I suppose trading it in is the only answer.
I agree with those who state that the Contour is fun to drive. When it runs correctly - it runs GREAT! But it seems those days are over at only 53k. I suggest to anyone who is not having problems with their 1998 Contour - enjoy it while you can!
Ford Contours are garbage! I own one and I will never own a Ford again! My transmission has been replaced, it jerks and pulls and stalls out all the time! If my husband was still alive, he would have been able to fix it, but come to think of it, he wouldn't have gotten one in the first place.
Florida.
It is obvious from readin numerous reviews that the transmissions on these cars are defective. It is irresponsible for someone to accuse the owner for not taking care of a part of their car that is not suppost to require any service till 80 000km's (50 000miles). Either way even with a tranny flush it should not desttroy the transmission. I agree that if you baby your car that you should have less problems than others who do not, but the average car should only require minimal maintenance in order to run properly with only normal wear and tear in terms of repairs.
I have honestly loved this car since it has come out and have seriously contemplated purchasing one back in '99 but even then I could not come to purchase one after hearing about the reliability issues. Now it is dec '05 and I am thinking about it again, but after reading these reviews I have been reminded why I have never purchased one of these cars even though I think they are a great alternative to smaller imports. It is just not worth the worries and overall cost. These worries are reflected in their resale values, but it is still not worth it.
I purchased my 97 ford contour sept 04. It had 59,000 miles on it. Now at 89,000 miles my transmission has gone bad before this I only had to replace two sensors which cost 120.00, repairs shops say the transmission for these cars are difficult to work on and would cost 1600-2000 to be fixed.
I have an option of getting a trans from the junkyard and paying for labor. The trans will cost about 400-500 and then the cost to pay someone to put it in will be about 300. Reading other peoples comments I think I will look into buying another car instead of throwing away money. THUMBS DOWN TO FORD!!!
I have a 1998 ford contour SVT. This car is a nightmare. Transmission is dead just after owning it 3 days.3,000.00 is the price for it to be fixed. If anyone has an option for me.. maybe would like to buy it for cheap... call me.678 431 8686.
Ford would have you believe that their poor sales and poor market share are a result of no new models. They would also like to blame health care costs and retiries on losing money every year. But eventually when you make a car as unreliable as this Contour, word gets out. They put garbage on the road and expected because the name "Ford" was on it, it wouldn't matter. Thanks to sites like this, the average person is becoming more informed. Thus Ford sells less vehicles.
I should just lump in some snake oil Tranny cure and sell the Motor on while it still runs.
I just finished reading the comments on problems related to the 1998 Ford Contour. As an owner of this car, I agree with each and every complainant. I have had my transmission replaced twice in four years ownership. I have had four sensors replaced, alternator went out twice, starter replaced, water pump replaced twice. I could go on and on with the maintenance problems needed, and I bought the car in 2002 with only 27000 miles on it. The problems began with the rear windows not working after having it only one week of purchase. I would say that these people have legitimate complaints, and I have all the repair orders to prove my car problems.
I agree with all the complaints I have had the same problems. I will not buy this car anymore.
Purchased a '96 Contour with the 2.5 automatic with 100,000 on it. I was looking for inexpensive 2nd car that got good gas mileage. At least better than my truck. Tranny was replaced at 80,000. Owned it 6 months and started shifting hard between 1st. and 2nd. When car gets warmed up sometimes speedo quits working and it won't shift into 3rd or overdrive. Shop tried a new trans speed sensor. No help. Tranny needs replaced. They want $1800.00 to rebuild. Going to scrap it. Shame because everything else is in great condition. There must be an abundance of used motors and parts galore available just no good used trannies. Who would trust one. No more Fords!!!
I own a 1995 ford contour GL with a 2.0L DOHC MFI Engine, Bought the car Nov 2000 I still own the car as of Nov 2006. It currently has 140,195 miles on it, I haven't had any issues with the transmission or the engine I have had great luck with the car has the original spark plug wires. A small problem with the car has occured it will not start, but I think I can resolve the problem very easily. Ford has lost conciderable amout of profit sharing due to termination of production of small cars. When opec raised crude oil and gas went up into the 2.95-3.45 range ford's profit sharing fell due to big powerful 5.3L trucks, If ford would invest into more small cars like the contour sales and profit sharing would increase.
I purchased my 1998 Ford Contour new. On and off I have had problems. Gas tank would not take gas... a recall. Heater burned out twice... a recall..cat converter bad.. the Ford shop told me it was fine until warranty was out then it needed to be replaced. Oil pan has a hole in it.. another 600.00. Window trim fell off... and I have a sports and those stupid attachments on the bottom 2 on each side fell off years ago... cost $100.00 for each one to replace. I have seen other sports without the bottom attachments...don't even know why they were there I was told to put a jack in if you had a flat. Trunk leaks and has for the past 3 years, but can't figure why it is leaking. My contour has 100,000 miles and the transmission is shot. Now let me tell you I took care of this car... but everyone I talk to tells me that a Ford gets no more than 100 thousand out of it then it is shot. I have friends with GMs and they get 200 thousand and more without any major problems. I have always purchased Fords, but after the Contour I will not. They just do not have a long lifespan. I did not drive the car much the first few years, but on an average if you drive 20 thousand a year you get 5 years out of a ford. Not much. I would not recommend anyone purchase a Ford Contour or a Ford Car. I believe in buying American, but in this case... to buy American means you are stuck paying out a lot more money because it does not have quality.
Inherited a 98 Contour SE in fall 2003 with only 42,000 miles. Car came from My mother in law and was well cared for, a cream puff, we kept it as a second car to get to and from work. Easy, mostly highway miles, we maintained and inspected the car regularly, wife drives it easy. After about a year at app 55,000 miles the string of problems began. Eat a front spindle, rattle in front end no one can find, ones side of stereo speakers went out, power antenna sometimes sticks, rear seat belt buckle jams intermittently and for no apparent reason, eats tires, Rear driver side tire wears out quickly even though we have had it aligned and adjusted, it still eats those tires. Electrical problems required some rewiring last year. Master cylinder failed, transmission problems have been starting and getting worse although has not failed yet. In the past 2 years the car needs repairs every 2-4 months, in addition to the master cylinder and spindle, car has eaten front wheel bearings, tie rod ends and ball joints ant all before 87,000 miles. Check Engine light always on despite several reprograms, fan light always on, but it hasn't overheated. We love the gas mileage and would love to try and get another year and 13,000 mils out of it, but the $200-$600 repiar bill every 2-4 months on top of maintenance is becoming a waste of money and effort.