1997 Ford Contour GL Sport from North America - Comments

Check engine light on (almost continuously) for 5 years. Sometimes goes off for a few days at a time.

O2 sensor failed at 10,000 miles. Replaced under warranty. Check engine came back on a month later after fixing this. Car continued to run fine.

Heater resistor burned out causing plastic burning smell for several months. Fan didn't work in one speed setting. Replaced under recall.

Updated engine calibration at about 10000 miles to avoid "jumpy" acceleration and hard to control engine. This helped a bunch.

Light switch replaced under recall.

Air conditioning stopped cooling due to a leak in a line at 15000 miles. Repaired under warranty.

Power steering will cut out when driving through a puddle of water on right side of car (from driving position). Very dangerous! This was a Ford Technical Service Bulletin item, but not a recall. A plastic shield was put in the wheel well which helped, but did not eliminate the problem. Water splashes on the front end accessory drive belt causing the power steering to not function. This should have been a recall. See your dealer if you have this problem.

Coil on plug inductor failed and lost a cylinder at 33,000 miles. $350 to replace.

Plastic "band" which indicates "PRNDL" selection cracked and broke at 40,000 miles. Car is always in Park regardless of gear since. $200 to replace part alone - not done yet. This one is very annoying and should be a recall item.

Brake pads replaced front and rear at 65000 and 48000 miles respectively. I consider this fine.

Firestone Fire hawk tires replaced at 40,000 miles due to wear. Replaced with Kelly Chargers which I like better for traction.

Plastic air vent grille fell apart on driver side in cabin at 50,000 miles. Not fixed. Can't aim the air on that grille.

Overdrive light occasionally will flash on the dash. This goes away on restart of car.

Car made "hooting" noise from the air intake system which would be followed by unstable engine rpm, untimately resulting in the car dying. This was also a Technical Service Bulletin and was only $100 to fix. New intake tuning resonator tube had to be installed in the air system to fix. Did it myself. See your dealer if you have this problem.

Driver side window motor died around 45000 miles with window in the DOWN position in the middle of winter. $300 to replace assembly.

Latest problem: Car speedometer suddenly went to zero on the highway going 75 mph. Car also downshifted to 3rd gear suddenly. Transmission shifts very harsh and won't go into 4th gear. No speedometer. At a service shop now. Transmission speed sensor and gear bad. I'm hoping this is all for this problem - $300 or $400 to fix if it is. Mechanic told me the only engine code that came up was the speed sensor, making me wonder if this has been the check engine light issue for 5 years now, but only now a major problem.

Major complaint with car: Transmission will stay in 4th gear way too long while trying to slow down. Trans will "decouple" from the engine when slowing down in 4th gear for fuel economy, but stay in 4th gear a long time. The car effectively will not slow down on its own without applying the brakes. It is almost like it is stuck in "cruise". No engine braking, only very slow transmission braking. People think this is due to badly working brakes, but the brakes are fine. It is the power train design which requires strong braking to slow down due to poor system design. Brakes on the contour tend to wear out soon due to this problem. I often drive in the "sport" mode with the button on the stick selector to keep it in 3rd gear when in town to make this a little better.

Other than looking forward to possible fuel pump failures or catalytic convertor failures or water pump failures yet to come for me, I really like the contour. It has a nice ride and good performance. It has depreciated rapidly from new due to all the problems. Ford needs to do much better with quality.

Followup to my original post: The transmission speed sensor and gear was the problem with the transmission. It was about $300 to fix. The check engine light has now come back on about two weeks after going off. Car seems to be running fine now and the speedometer works.

I forgot to mention another problem. The other front window motor, this one on the passenger side, has now started to fail. The window squeals going down or up, and I've stopped using this window lest the motor fail in the down position again like it did on the driver side.

I'm going to give Ford a few years before I consider their products again. I'd like to hear from anyone else out there with similar problems or other ones I haven't had with my '97 Contour GL Sport. Thanks.

Heater resistor burned out causing plastic burning smell for several months. Fan didn't work in one speed setting. Replaced under recall.

"Ford is so dumb my car smells like burning plastic once in a while, and they say it isn't the resistor"

"Plastic "band" which indicates "PRNDL" selection cracked and broke at 40,000 miles. Car is always in Park regardless of gear since. $200 to replace part alone - not done yet. This one is very annoying and should be a recall item."

This is a recall item, under extended warranty, see your dealer for an OASIS report, it is basically a list of any warranty, and recalls of your car.

"Overdrive light occasionally will flash on the dash. This goes away on restart of car."

You likely have the same problem I did.

If you were to have your computer scanned you would likely get code PO731 - 1st gear shift ratio incorrect. What it needs is a new TRS sensor, Transmission Range Sensor, your transmission is fine though. I have known many people who have owned Contours and have the same problem.

It cost like 2 1/2 labor, and that part I think was about $100.

I don't think it is worth being done, because for me it only happened in cold months and would happen like a once every two weeks, and after I shut off the car, and restarted it it would be off for a few days.

"Other than looking forward to possible fuel pump failures or catalytic converter failures or water pump failures yet to come for me, I really like the contour. It has a nice ride and good performance. "

Yes, on V6s like yours water pump failure are common above 60,000, reason is the plastic impeller in the water pump breaks due to a stress fracture.

Update to my original post - 9/10/2004.

Thanks for the comments in the response. One thing, the PRNDL plastic band is actually not covered under recall. The clear plastic area is covered if you can't see the display anymore. I was talking about the black plastic band that connects to the shifter itself. Mine broke and spit apart. Not covered.

Well, the car has worked well since my last post except for one new problem. The cruise control suddenly stopped working during a trip last week. Nothing happens when the buttons are pressed.

I went ahead and had the water pump replaced with a metal impeller blade aftermarket design by BAT. It has worked fine for the last 10000 miles or so. I wanted to avoid having the Ford pump fail on me. It happened to two of my friends with their Contour SE's.

I've not yet had any catalytic converter or fuel system problems. I did have the fuel filter replaced and a tuneup at 70000 miles to be safe. I'm at about 75000 miles now.

Further Followup to my original posts:

I just had my front left and right wheel bearings replaced on the car. Horrible noise from the front engine area of the car, like a bad muffler or turbine noise, but where the engine is. It was the wheel bearings. Also had a new serpentine drive belt put on. $350 total. The front wheel bearings are a common Contour problem. If you need this done, the secret is to press in new bearings, not replace the whole assy. The car is much quieter now with the new bearings.

In other news, my check engine light has been off for the last 6 months! Not sure why! :) I still get a radiator fluid light on when I just start the car and for about 5 minutes. I have found that there is nothing wrong with the cooling system. Someone told me if you fill the level slightly above "full" it may go away. Don't know.

I'm also about to replace the Kelly Chargers at about 40,000 miles life. The Contour really eats tires I've found. A friend tried Michelin's (more expensive) and ate through them even faster. He is now using Kelly Chargers too and likes them better than the Michelin's anyway...

I think I've been through most of the Contour problems now that are common. I haven't replaced the wire harness under the recall yet--probably should soon...

I have a 96 2.5. I had a vacuum leak problem - replaced intake gaskets and a cracked hose. It has the typical "moose" when cold. The OD light is flashing occasionally, along with the odd "false start" where the starter engages itself when running in neutral - also the power locks cycle themselves - usually with brake application, but sometimes totally random. I'm suspecting the TRS. Other than that, the electrical system has been buggy from the start - bad connections at the multifunction switch caused the main brake lights not to work while the high level lights still worked - bad connection caused blower motor to work erratically.

The dash clock quit. The shift interlock would often not allow you to get out of park (may have been related to the TRS, but I just disabled it last winter)

FUN car to drive, but a royal pain to work on.