Head gasket and engine failure on my 1996 ford contour at 64,000 miles. The car was well taken care of and it happened while I was in a passing zone and the car failed to accelerate. From what I can see over the internet, this is an on-going problem with ford.
1996 Ford Contour engine complaints
Page 2 of 5: complaints 11 to 40 of 124, newest first, as owners wrote them.
This car has less than 70000 miles on it. We had trouble with the fuel door, front wheel bearings, brakes, door handles, transmission, electric windows, and now as a special treat the engine failed. This car has been the worst investment that my wife and I have ever made. I have have owned several cars and trucks with 200000 plus miles on them and none of them have ever been as problematic as this automobile.
My newest problem that I have with the car now is it stalls at red lights and doesnt start for 45 minute to an hour. I took it to 3 garages already and they can't find the problem.
The consumer stated that while driving the cooling fan seized. This caused the electrical components to melt and result in a fire. *ak the consumer saw the recall on the internet but later found out the vehicle was not included in the recall due to the VIN. The consumer fells the scope of the recall should be expanded. *ph
The wiring harness of my 1996 ford contour caught fire. I had prior problems with the vehicle in the past such as tail light going out constantly and also headlights, as well as problems with the o2 sensor. I have put more that$2000 dollars alone on this car just getting it repaired.
The consumers vehicle experienced symptoms of the federal safety agency recall # 01-v-230-000 which was related to the rough surface of the heater blower resistor's stainless steel blades. The consumers vehicle was not included in the recall due to VIN.
The engine head gasket failed causing the engine to stop working.
While driving the vehicle at 50 MPH engine stall. Dealer has been notified. Please provide further information as per conversation. Mr
Problem appears to be electrical, change alternator-and this is not problem. Dt
Mr
Wiring to cooling system melted. Also, each time consumer takes vehicle to dealer she is told that nothing is wrong with vehicle.
Temperature gauge constantly shows vehicle is overheating, when in fact it is not.
While driving 65 MPH, engine went from normal to red hot in temperature. Vehicle was towed to dealership and found plastic water pump fan had broken into pieces.
Wires from the cooling fan are melting together and causing engine to overheat. Dealer notified.
The original water pump on this engine has a plastic impeller which is prone to failure. I have talked to several owners of this same car who experienced this identical problem. I believe the water pump design is defective.
This car is only 6 years old. Has had catalytic converter failure in 2000. Extended warranty expired at 87,750 miles, 1,250 miles ago. Contacted ford motor co. And was told they would not stand behind this defect. I was hoping you could help.
Check engine light stays on, replaced o2 sensor with light returning on.
The front part of the vehicle makes a dragging sound while driving. The dealer indicated there was an internal transmission problem. *yh the serpentine belt was replaced. Updated
Engine problems causing vehicle to stop while in process.
The consumer states that the vehicle is stalling intermittently. The dealer has been notified. Nlm
No summary listed for above vehicle.
Also the timing belt is broken and there's nothing on owner's guide that tells you to change timing belt after 60,000 miles. Engine light on after one month of buying this car I call the dealer made appointments few times but the problem never went away, few times I had to pay for them to check on the way home the light is back on , I call them back and ask what's the problem , what's the purpose of me taking a day off to bring the car to be fix and the problem still exist., their remark was there's 23 sensor and they could'nt tell which one it was. Now I'm stuck paying 1 1/2 yrs on a car that I don't have , still have to came up with money to get a new engine in which I don't have , bumping ride to and from work, cancel all my appts. And begging people for rides so I can pick up kids from school and food shopping, I can't take the kids to do anything because I have no car that's not fare. Thank-you for all your help ,thank-you again.
Engine check light coming on. Took to kinsel ford in june 2001...told catalytic converter going out. Engine light went off...started coming on again and car had alot of exhaust and running rough. Took to silsbee ford and was told that the engine was out due to the engine cooling fan not coming on like it was suppose to so it also fried the wires. Ford is willing to pay for parts but refuses to pay for labor due to the fact that they say it was out of the 100,000 warrenty for the repair. I explained that the problem was going on when I brought it in in june and they didn't correct it then, according to the check out sheet they didn't even check it for that and I specifically asked for that recall to be checked. I had even been in in march of 2000 for the check engine light coming on. I was told by ford that my car had no recall for the engine and engine cooling fan. Just extremely upset that you can have a recall, take your car in and it not be checked for it and when it goes out due to the recall that the company penalizes the consumer.
Vehicle stopped abruptly while in middle of traffic, consumer sent copies of bills to dealer, but no response, consumer is requesting reimbursement.
Stalls out if you take your foot off the gas, surges between 1-4 rmps, engine light is on, all started after I had the heater blower switch replaced.
No summary listed for above vehicle.
Water pump failure @ 78000 miles - report early failure.
Problems with the engine light coming on and the servicing dept at the ford dealer and other auto servicing center could not figure out why to this day it is on. At one time the entire interior lights and rear brakes lights went out. It currently shut its self off ( stalls) and get hot. The engine sounds revved up and shortly after the AC unit went out.everything has been checked out/ the alternator was replaced the crankshaft was replaced some wiring had to be replaced all the fluids are where they should be and it still stalls and overheats for no reason. Both front windows electrical motors have gone out.
Vehicle not included in recall number 00v367000. Overheating of engine cooling fan due to excessive current. Please give any further details.
Vehicle was serviced for recall 00v367000/ manufacturer's recall 00s44 concerning engine cooling fan. After vehicle was picked up, same day, consumer found air conditioner and heater were not working. Only defroster worked. Dealer opened hood and stated nothing was done to affect air conditioning unit/heater. Advised consumer to call back next week to speak to service manager.
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