Tl*the contact owns a 1998 ford contour. While driving approximately 35 MPH the vehicle lost all power. The contact was able to coast onto the emergency lane. The vehicle was towed to a local mechanic who stated that the vehicle had severe electrical problems and suggested that the vehicle be taken to an authorized dealer. The dealer advised the contact that the wiring harness needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage were 92,000.
1998 Ford Contour electrical complaints
Page 2 of 5: complaints 11 to 40 of 130, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I heard about the ford contour engine wiring harness recall only by internet. My car is a ford contour sport 1998. The wire insulation is peeling off in the whole harness, and the car is stopped now. Mileage is approx. 110000. I never received any message from ford. I am the only owner of the car.
The wiring insulation on my 1998 ford contour is literally falling off the wires. I am afraid to touch any wire because the insulation just flakes off leaving bare wire. This has been occurring for quite some time and apparently is fairly common in this model.
Insulation on wiring harness breaking and falling off.
Tl* the contact owns a 1998 ford contour. While driving approximately 60 MPH the entire instrument panel and radio failed, and then the engine stalled. The driver was able to jump start the engine. The vehicle was taken to an independent repair facility, and the mechanic concluded that the wiring harness failed. His vehicle identification number was excluded from recall# 01v230000 (electrical system). No repairs were made, and the vehicle was inoperable. The failure and current mileages were 82,000. The vehicle identification number was unavailable.
Tl*the contact owns a 1998 ford contour. The contact stated that the wiring harness and the wiring around the heating unit sensors have deteriorated. The coding has cracked off the other wires, causing them to be exposed. This allows all of the wires to touch each other, which could cause a short in the vehicle. As a result, the engine temperature gauge does not work. The vehicle is still operable, but the coolant temperature becomes extremely high. In addition, the vehicle stalls while traveling at low speeds, such as 15 MPH. The dealer stated that the VIN was excluded from the federal safety agency campaign id number 01v230000. The contact feels that the vehicle should be included in the recall since the failures were identical. The current and failure mileages were 62,000.
I have a 1998 ford contour lx with only approx. 53,000 miles on it. I am on the 4th (fourth) alternator replacement: august 2004, october 2005, august 2006 and now, september 2008. There is definitely a problem with this car. I would like to know if there has been a recall on this year and model of ford vehicle.
1. All engine wire harness insulation is cracking and falling off. Bare wire at most of the engine compartment connectors. Unknown damage under wire wrapping. Existing ford recall cover 95-97 year models. Subject vehicle is a 98 model year. 2. Still waiting for the first major meltdown. Connector wires are physically pulled apart to prevent electrical shortage. 3. No repair work has been done.
Tl*the contact owns a 1998 ford contour. The contact took his vehicle to a mechanic to have the gear shifting system repaired, and was informed that the wiring harness needed to be replaced. The current mileage was 97,000 and failure mileage was 27,300.
Engine wiring harness insulation is crumbling leaving exposed wires. Found that this is a common problem for ford contours (all years), but that a recall has only been issued for 1995-1997 vehicles. Have had multiple problems with sensors not working, speedometer and fuel gauge intermittently stops functioning. Check engine light comes on randomly. Mechanic has stated that problems are in wiring harness.
I am the owner of a 1998 ford contour. I bought it used, and within a 1 year remainder of a 3 year warranty. I was never officially notified of several defects and the federal safety agency recalls that are still in effect for this car model year. One of the repairs for the blower resistor was performed twice, however it was never done to my satisfaction and it did not meet the standards of quality as expected for the recall. There are several safety issues with this car, and I am now afraid to keep driving it after what I have read. The ford motor company is very negligent in following up with consumers on these issues, and they keep an outdated database of former owners which they fail to update with the current owners in cases where the car ownership has changed hands. I am kind of close to hiring a lawyer to sue them over these recall issues. What should I do? Are they still obligated to fix the recall issues at their expense? I am certainly not about to put one dime of my own money into that car to fix issues covered by recalls. Again, I do not wish to fight or wrangle with a company that is so awful who puts out a terrible and cheap product like the ford contour, then won't stand behind their car. However, if there are formal responsibilities which they are legally bound to, I will reserve my right to pursue this under the fullest extent of the law. Please advise. Sincerely, mr. Mcdonough
Tl*the contact owns a 1998 ford contour. Open electrical circuits and melted housing materials were found under the hood of the vehicle. The contact notified ford who stated that her VIN was not included in recall # 01v230000 (electrical system). Ford stated that nothing could be done. The dealer stated that the repair was never previously performed. The current and failure mileages were 115,000.
Tl*- the contact's vehicle stalled while driving 35 MPH and the driver was unable to move the car from the middle of the road. The contact took the car to dealer (maroone ford) and they told her that the failure was due to a problem with the electrical system and that it was under warranty but she will have to wait for the repairs.
I have a 1998 ford contour svt, this is my third one. Every one I purchase has the same problem, the wires in the wire harness for the computer and car crack and the coating just falls right off, which allows the wires to the computer to touch which shorts the computer and makes the car no longer start, it will crank but it will not start cause the computer in shorted and confused so there is no fuel and no spark going to the fuel rail or the coil pack. At this point the car needs a wire harness and a PCM and this all costs close to $3000 of which I do not have to fix it. My friend worked for general electric and he said he has seen this before at the factory when the coating is heated to high once it drys its only a matter of time before the coating cracks and flakes off. Ford says they will not help me although its a consistent problem with these svt contours I am hoping this can help all us ford lovers.
There's a recall on 1995-1997 ford contour ( #99m03 at www.contour.org/faq/recall/99m0). The recall is for a complete engine harness failure , due to cracking and brittle wires. My vehicle was manufactured 06/97, and I have a complete wire harness failure. They want over $3000.00 to repair a problem that should be covered under a recall. I spoke to ford and they do not have an answer as to why they are only covering some vehicle. They should cover all contour's with this problem. This is a matter they should not be aloud to get away with.
Dt*: the contact stated without warning, the vehicle would not start. It was towed to an independent repair shop, who determined the engine harness, cooling fan harness, and power distribution box wiring needed to be replaced.
Dt*: the contact stated while driving 15 MPH, all power failed causing the engine to stall, along with steering and brake failures. The service dealer attempted to diagnose the problem on several occasions without success. The power failure had happened 6 times since 2001. An independent service dealer expressed the wiring harness was beyond repair and should have been replaced. The manufacturer was notified.
Dt*: the contact stated while traveling 50 MPH, the wiring in the engine compartment became brittle and the insulation cracked and fell off due to overheating. The connection to the engine also disintegrated due to overheating and the check engine light illuminated. The service dealer informed the contact the wiring harness needed to be replaced. When the manufacturer was contacted, the contact was informed the VIN did not match the recall for the electrical system (01v230000), ford recall # 01s22. Updated 1/17/2007 -
Recurring electrical problems and dangerous exposed wiring resulting from deteriorating under hood wiring harness. Same problem existing on 1995-1997 contours addressed by owner notification program 99m03. Ford dealer examined and acknowledged problem exists but will not repair as onp 99m03 doesn't cover 1998 contour. See http://henning.ws/fordcontour.cfm for photographic evidence of problem.
The 1998 ford contour have many known problems, the one I am currently having an issue with is a faulty headlight switch that causes the dashboard lights to go out creating a situation where a driver can not see their safe speed and worse the running lights also stop working, preventing people from seeing your car from behind. The brake lights and turning lights work but not the running lights. On a dark road the car is not visible from behind. Both these conditions make it extremely unsafe to operate the vehicle at night. There is a recall from ford covering this exact problem however for some reason the ford can not tell me, my car is not included. I have a 1998 ford contour. So far no one at the dealer will help me to determine why my car is not included although they agree it is the same problem and calls to ford have gotten me no where as well. What can I do now? It is an expensive repair and a safety issue as well.
All the wiring under the hood has brittle insulation. Every senor. My car does not fall under recall 99m03 which is should since it is the same problem. My car was built in 1997 and titled a 1998. This is a serious fire hazard.
Dt: the contact received the federal safety agency recall 01v230000 . The dealership said that they did not want to fix the recall at this time because there was no problem, and it required them to remove the entire dashboard. She did not start experiencing a problem until 2005. The blower did not work all the time. The new owner of the dealership did not want to do the recall repair. The manufacturer said that the vine was included in the recall, however it expired. They said that the time frame for the recall was either the first six years after the vehicle was manufactured or 72,000 miles. Therefore, the repairs have not been done because of the time limit.
My vehicle was manufactured on 5/15/97 but is titled as a 1998 vehicle. Ford motor company has issued a recall on 1995-1997 ford contour vehicles for a problem where the insulation falls off the underhood wiring. My vehicle has this problem to the extent that bare copper wiring is exposed at every connector under the hood and I am sure in places that are not visible as well. If these wires contact each other, possible engine stalling, loss of lighting, cooling and even engine fires are possible. Ford motor company is refusing to make the repairs because the vehicle is titled as a 1998 even though it wwas manufactured in 1997 with the same parts as the vehicles they are offering to repair. I am refering to their warranty extension 99m03 which calls for all wiring harnesses to be replaced at no cost to the consumer. My local ford examined the vehicle and agreed that the repairs were necessary for the ontinued safe operation of this vehicle but when he looked up the VIN in his system, the vehicle was not covered because of the title year, (1998 but built in 1997 with 1997 parts). They are obviously well aware of the problem but for some unknown reason are refusing to make good on my vehicle.
Vehicle was purhased in jan of 1998. Vehicle currently has 70,000 miles. Vehicle was taken to a goodyear for tune up. When picking up the vehicle goodyear informed me of a fautly wire harness. They also included that the wire harness was flaking off almost as if it was rotten. The vehicle was never in a fire or an accident. I took the vehicle to another ase certified mechanic for a second oppinion. They stated that vehicles wire harness was of poor quality and that due to the protective layer over the metal wires flaking off it caused a short once the exposed wires touched metal burning the computer. They also included that it could have caused a fire and or worse while operating the vehicle. I contacted ford and even took the car to them and they refused to even look at the vehicle claiming that goodyear damaged it. I have researched this car and the sister vehicle mercury mystic on the net and they both have had the same exact problems as far as the manufacturer using a decective wire harness cause shorts and or sometimes fires. I have contacted a lawyer and they contacted ford with no resolution. Ford does not want to look at the vehicle because it's out of warranty. I have contacted many specialist in field and according to them a wire harness should last as long as the vehicle. Please help!
Dt: cracked wiring in the engine department. All wires leading to the engine, battery, coil and possible fuel injectors are cracked and exposed. Little or no insalation are left on the wires. Wire harness that leads to the ecu is cracked and exposed. This has not caused a fire, but all this is causing more damage everytime the car is serviced.
Dealer told me electrical system had a short. O2 sensor & computer in car. The car has had to have the o2 sensor replaced 3 times ($1200.00 charged by to me by dealer each time) and the computer reset. *ak my complaint is that I should not have to pay to have the electrical fixed and the o2 censor replaced again (4 time!!)... The turn signals work and than do not .. I have been told a short is in the car but ford will not find for free.. I am tired of fixing this car please please help
The consumer is experiencing problems with the accelerator cable. When the consumer takes his foot off the pedal the engine does not return to it's lower idling speed. The consumer is also experiencing electrical problems. The air bag light stays flashing. Owner has contacted the dealer and because of the VIN, this vehicle is not included in any recalls relating to the defects of this vehicle.
1.ABS brake fuse and blower motor fuse are one and the same, darn cold in minnesota, and hard to get too to replace. Must pull out battery first. To replace the hydraulic pump for ABS brakes to fix problem...$3000.00, more than the car is worth for trade in or resale value. I found this out after hitting a deer on nov. 26 2004. And does not include cosmetic damage. Air bags did not deploy either. 2.front and back window molding is shrinking and forcing windows out, very drafty. 3.shift module failed, took to ford dealer to replace, when replaced the dash board started smoking. The neighbor module burnt up, and all the dash board wiring. Total cost to repair $1200.00, but the dealership took off $200.00 of the labor costs. 4. I called ford on several different occasions to complain. They will not stand behind their product. I have dealers that will not take it on a trade in, because it's a contour.
The blower and ABS system were defective. The ABS light was on. The fuse needed to be replaced, after inspection wiring harness was found to be defective. There was a recall for vehicles through 1997.
Smoke then flames came from the engine compartment and within 5 minutes of parking in the garage. The fire department extinguished the fire, and indicated that the fire occurred because of an electrical system failure.
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