Comments: 1-15, 16-26
Since I purchased my contour there have been numerous recalls. I have had to replace three batteries, I have had three sets of brand new tires put on and out of the months August and September I had my car a total of seven days. It was in the repair shop the rest of the time. I have had that car in the shop at least five times since I bought it. This last time I had to have the motor rebuilt. Now I've had it for five days and it is still smoking and cutting out while driving down the road. It shakes so hard when you stop at a red light it feels as if the wheels might fall off. I can't wait to get rid of it.
I am not pleased with this car at all.
My 2000 Ford Contour SE should be the Poster Child of bad car manufacturing. The dashboard has fallen apart (literally). The entire dashboard just ripped apart beginning at the windshield. Now I have this huge, highly visible, gaping hole in the dash. That's just the beginning. The key gets stuck in the ignition, the air conditioning sucks (it doesn't circulate well), the tires always feel unbalanced even when new, the brakes are rough,
and when the car warms up (especially on cold mornings), something under the hood makes a horribly loud humming noise. And forget the heating system. If my heater is left on too long, I start to smell circuits burning! I can't wait to get rid of this car and never, ever will I waste my money on another Ford.
97 Contour SE - V6, 5spd, leather, sunroof, fogs, 85K miles
Overall, I've been very very happy with this car, and I have owned, Volvo, BMW 528, Mercedes 300TE 4matic and now drive a '03 SAAB 93 - the 'tour is more fun to drive than any of them.
Problem areas:
Electrical.
Yes electrical was a problem about 18 months ago (70K miles) the dealer and the regional Ford mechanic got involved and two batteries and some replaced wiring later (the first battery paid by me the second paid by Ford and I didn't even buy it from them) the electrical system is sound. At 53K the power sunroof failed - Ford paid for the parts I paid the labor, a $1400 job turned into $300 for me. For the last year the electrical has been solid. This car by the way has the brightest stock headlamps of any car I ever owned, Fogs work great too.
Engine
At 60K I had in upper plenum removed, all the waste gates cleaned, and the waste gate cable (which was frozen) replaced.
Tires: Yeah I had tire noise, thought it was wheel bearings - the new Dunlops cured that one right away - the car feels well balanced and tracks true.
Dash board: No problems at all - looks great.
HVAC - Hot heat, Cold A/C - no problems.
Key sticky: Yes a little - but not once you figure it out.
This is a very strong driver, and far more bang for anyone's buck than a far more expensive BMW - compare to Audi A4, BMW 325, Dodge Stratus - when comparing dollar for dollar, this car is a great value, and I expect the 24V Duratec to give years more of good service.
April 26, 2003.
Bought a Contour SVT in 2000 and have loved the car and have had no real problems until about 6 months ago the plastic defroster strip popped up and now it appears that the entire dash board is beginning to peel up from the front too the back, Has any one else had this problem, I also noticed that on some models of Contours the is a large strip over the defroster area, as though ford knew about this and changed something on the later models, I appreciate.
Ford contour SE V6.
Transmission problem at 80,000miles
Rebuilt transmission costing $3,000 had to be fixed at least once a week for 4 weeks.
Now I get massive amount of engine heat coming into cabin. It gets hotter than it is outside in August. I wonder how much it will cost to diagnose this problem.
With the dash there was a recall out for it.
You can buy the reapir from Ford for $77, and do it yourself or pay them $430 to do it.
This applies to all 99-00 Tours, the dash becomes warped overtime. See they changed it in 1999, and didn't design it well.
If you let it go it will bang against the windshield.
I had to do the recall to my 2000 SVT, that and one wheel bearing were the only problem I have ever had, and I had it for three and half years.
I have a 2000 Contour with the same warped dash as previously stated, and I didn't receive the recall notice from ford at all. It is like they didn't want to spend the time or the money to fix this problem on my car. I would like to know if the recall would still be in effect for this and also is there a time limit if you haven't been notified. The real big thing is that I financed this through Ford Credit, so I thought I would get a notice, but that didn't happen. I just returned from Iraq, and would like this unattractive dash taken care of. Thanks.
(quote) I have a 2000 Contour with the same warped dash as previously stated, and I didn't receive the recall notice from ford at all. It is like they didn't want to spend the time or the money to fix this problem on my car. I would like to know if the recall would still be in effect for this and also is there a time limit if you haven't been notified. The real big thing is that I financed this through Ford Credit, so I thought I would get a notice, but that didn't happen. I just returned from Iraq, and would like this unattractive dash taken care of. Thanks. (/quote)
I have the same problem (dashboard) with Ford Contour 2000.
Didn't receive recall note either. And I cannot find any proof of recall on Internet before I'll go to dealer.
Could you, please, post the link on this recall if you found it?
Thanks!
I have the same warped dash problem on my 2000 SVT.
I was told by my local dealer it was a 'fix' and not a recall and has expired so I can't receive the fix from them.
I bought the defroster kit and it comes with a bunch of parts, but no instructions for its installation. Does anyone know how or where to get these?
I, too, have had problems with the dashboard curling up. We did receive a recall notice, but the dealer that we took the car to said that the recall had expired, and that it would cost over $3000 to replace.
We have had other quirky problems... every time it rains, the passenger side floorboard, and the entire trunk will be saturated... the switch for the heater/AC has quit working... and we had a very expensive fuel pump repair (that I understand is another problem with the Contours and Mystiques).
2000 Ford Contour.
Dash issue... Has anyone had ANY luck getting this problem fixed? I would appreciate any direction or information to get this unattractive defect resolved.
Any suggestions?
I bought a used 1999 Ford Contour last week with less than 100K miles on it. What a piece of junk this car is. The cables to the battery have melted twice. A serious danger of fire my mechanic tells me. This time, even the terminals melted. Anybody wanna buy my junk?
March 12 06 We also have a 2000 contour with the dash problem. I am currently looking for a copy of the recall notice. If any one can post a website where I can find the notice that would be great. I want a copy so I can stick the dealer that we bought it from with the bill. Because it should have been fixed before we bought it. It cost us $1500 to have it replaced at a local body shop. It had to be replaced with a completely new dash. They could not put in a used one because it may have the same problem. The body shop said that the dash actually was shrinking.
The notice in question here was mailed out August 2001 and can be found under Customer Satisfaction Program Number 01B78.
I have a 1999 Ford Contour and I have the same problems with my dash curling up. It also starts rattling in the area of the curling two thirds of the time when the car is running.
I also have been having problem after problem in the last 6 months. Granted, it's reached the 100,000 mile mark, but I've had it in the shop 5 or 6 times in the last 6 months, and now my biggest expense is a new fuel pump!!
Will these problems never stop?
My grandparents own a 99 Contour; They also never received any kind of recall or service notice regarding the warped dash. The problem didn't occur until last year, long after the recall expired. So... I am trying to find the do it yourself repair kit... if anybody knows where to look, let me know.
Thanks.