When driving consumer smelled something burning. Dealer said engine cooling fan needed to be replaced. There is a recall 00v367000, but this vehicle is not affected due to VIN.
1996 Ford Contour engine complaints
Page 3 of 5: complaints 41 to 70 of 124, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Ever since buying our 1996 2.5l contour in aug. Of 1999 we have had nothing but problems out of it. Our first problem we experienced was a loud howling coming from the engine compartment, later to discover the factory installed mass air flow intake hose kit had been revised thus leaving us to have to purchase the new at a total price of $97.00 dollars to fix the problem. Shortly after getting this one problem fixed another arose. This time both the check engine light and cooling system lights are on continuosly despite having proper fluid levels. Along with the other problems every time the car is started in the morning or any time the engine is cold it idles roughly for about 20 seconds and then quits and no one can explain this weird phenomena but is sure seems to happen to the majority of these cars. Needless to say with ford's lack of attention to these matters not just mine but all of them this will be my last auto bearing the ford name.
Asked dealership to perform recall 00v-367000 and they said ford has no such recall.
While driving, vehicle overheated, consumer stopped to add anti-freeze, a little while later vehicle began to make noises and came to a complete stop, vehicle had caught on fire. Ohio traffic crash report.
When driving vehicle stalled out and overheated without prior warning, causing engine to burn up. Consumer has contacted the dealer. *ak consumer states her problem was exactly what recall 00v367 was for.
This engine situation was intractable because the ford bulletin advises that head gasket removal warrants replacement, therefore even ford technicians have to ?!@#$% foot around to see if the problem is elsewhere rather than going right to the source. I borrowed $10,000 to finish school this year and much of that money was spent on this car. It destroyed my academic year and I barely graduated thanks to this major headache. The was only at 49,000 miles when it finally went caput. When the engine was disassembled it was totally warped and blown. I bought a ford rebuilt engine because I couldn't afford the extra $700 for a jasper rebuilt engine... See they rebuild the same engine and make a 7 year 100,000 warranty on the rebuilt engine because they use a graphite head gasket and make other improvements that ford doesn't make. Ford not only sells their weaker rebuilt engines but only put a 1 year 12,000 mile warranty on it. Well, I'm broke and it's totally ford's fault.
When the water pump failed th head gasket also failed . And possibly a cracked cylinder head.
Was traveling on highway 70mph without prior warning all lights came on the dashboard and there was a clicking noise . Vehicle had to be towed to dealership. *ak
While driving engine overheated. Then, took vehicle to dealer. Dealer found out that problem was with water pump that malfuntioned, and caused overheating.*ak the empellor fell apart causing the engine to over heat.
The engine cooling fan broke prior to recall notice 00v‑367 causing the vehicle to overheat, the consumer had to have a new engine installed, consumer requests reimbursement. Nlm
While driving, engine overheated, dealer stated that vehicle is not covered under manufacturer's recall due to VIN, consumer feels this vehicle should be included.
Engine ran out of coolant fluids. Dealership was aware of problrm.
Without warning engine check light came on causing vehicle to start to knock and make alot of noise. Prior to this incident, vehicle was taken to dealer to be checked for excessive use of oil.
My 1996 ford contour's (w/v6 2.5l duratec motor) engine check light came on around jan 2 of 2001. I scheduled an appointment to have it checked out at the closest ford dealership in modesto, ca. As soon as possible. The next available appointment was on friday jan 05, 2001, later on that week. Once I took it in, they had diagnosed the problem as being my (3) catalytic converters and my throttle body. The service advisor then told me that he had to check with ford because he believed that the work was covered under a ford recall 97e61. The next day he responded to me and told me that ford had said that it wasn't covered and that my bill would be $1,300.00. I then asked him why it wasn't covered and he told me because my VIN# doesn't show it. He then asked me to take it up with ford the actuall company. So I've been doing research on it myself and have come up with a little bit of info. Ford's customer service has told me that the reason my car is not covered is because it doesn't fall under the 97e61 criteria for recall. So I asked what actuall part does not fall undeer the criteria. They asked me to take it up with the federal safety agency and they can give me that info. What I have found is that cars that were built at 2 ford plants, cautlin, and kansas city plants are the ones that are affected. Well my car was built at the kansas city plant. The other criteria I know about is if the car was built within march of 95 thru march of 96. Well my car was first sold in feb. 96 and it's a 96 model so it would have to fall within that time frame. I am currently having my car fixed at a different ford dealership but my cost is still over $1,100.00. Plesae help me. Cesar garcia call me any time at 408‑674‑9315 to let me know you have received my letter. I would also like a copy e-mailed to me of what I have written so I have a record at [email protected].
Consume r was traveling about 65mph on highway and heard a clunking noise. There was no prior warning light at all. Vehicle had to be towed. Mechanic told consumer that engine head gasket had blown out.
The car overheated severly while on the freeway, I had it towed and spent 2 weeks at 2 different automotive companies (including the ford dealership in burien, wa) trying to get it fix before discovering it had cracked the block of the engine. I spent about $1,300 and had to salvage the car. Is there a possible way to get some compensation back from ford? I have all my paper work since I bought the car. Thank you for any help. Gail bowman
Consumer was driving and engine overheated without prior warning. Vehicle was blowing out blue smoke and making clunknig noises.
Engine keeps overheating and causing smoke under hood when driving. Consumer has taken vehicle into ford on three different occasions, and ford claimed that they repaired problem.
The air only comes out of the defrost.
Plastic impeller disinigrated inside water pump> no indication previously at weep hole> ford charges $350 to replace after just being there 2 days earlier for timing belt replacement.
Right rear light continued to go out. Replace bulb few times. Right wheel bearing had to be replaced. Major fan belt replaced. Alternator replaced. Light on radio goes off when head lights turned on. This happened after they fixed my recall for lights. Gas cap cover is very hard to open. Takes several times to try and open. When air is on smells come through really strong from other cars. Owner notification recalls are not taken care of until they actually happen. These are coil can break and car go down blow out tires. Also electrical harness can break and wires will connect with other parts of the car and cause a fire. I have sent a letter to the president of ford and explained how I felt this car was unsafe and if anything happened to me or my family they would be held responsible. I never received a response from anyone. They should be made to take back all contours and give us a safer car for us and our families to drive. I am a single parent and cannot afford to finance another car. They need to provide a loan and new car for us. I will be contacting ford again in the near future to see if they will help with taking my car back and giving me another car/loan. As I told them in the letter they just wanted to sell and make money they didn't think of the family and or families that this car as it fell apart would effect. I appreciate that you have this web site that I can voice my concerns,problems with the ford and feel someone may pay attention before someone is hurt in these cars as have been many with the tire situation. I will help you in any way I can to clear up all of these problems. I keep the letter I sent ford in my car in case something happens someone will be able to read it and know I did try to get this problem dissolved before it was to late. Thank you so much for your help. Debbie jennings hewitt
Air flow sensors failed.
My car was in the shop 5 times in one month - all electrical problems. Alternator, battery, starter, wiring harness, speed sensor and oxygen sensor were all changed. The ford dealership does not understand why I am having all these problems. It was also in a garage fire at the dealership in this time and I had smoke damage to my car on top of the engine problems. Needless to say, I loss money on the trade in. This is the worse car I have ever owned and will never own another ford car or truck again.
No comment. No safety defect.
Cooling system failed at low mileage for no reason. I was informed by a friend that he was told by a car dealership that there was a "silent recall" on the cooling system and head gasket, when I called they denied it. Water pump,timing belt,serpentine belt, thermostat, sw 5030 switch, dy719 switch, frr2 relay and pressure test cooling system and inspection where done. I had all parts replaced with new ford parts at non-ford repair station due to williams ford bad service and reputation of not fixing cars properly and over charging. I feel that williams ford should be investgated on how they run the matiance department, myself and people I have meet have had nothing but problems.
I have previously had problems with this vehicle and have taken it more than eight different times to be service and problem still has not been resolved even after having engine replaced I am having some of the same problems. Car has been serviced on a regular basis and still it has problems.e . .
Loss of power while traveling. Problem have occurred on several occasions, and been in / out of dealer's shop on several occasions, and still unable to find cause or duplicate the problem. Please provide any further details.
The water pump impeller failed. The impeller is made of plastic and it developed cracks. The result was overheating. A water pump failure at 42k miles is unacceptable. Other contour owners had this problem and there should be a recall.
Vehicle got hot when it came to complete stop. If consumer shifted gear into reverse and applied gas pedal, vehicle would turn off. Vehicle turned on and off intermittently. Vehicle doesn't turn off if the vehicle is cold.
Each incident has been with the engine, the dealership attempts to fix one problem and another engine problem begins. My car has been in repair for the fifth time in four of the five months that I have had the car. I've been driving a rental car three, almost four weeks now. Because of these problems with the engine. What can I do?
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