Consumer stated that the temperature gauge system was defective. Vehicle lost power, and began to smoke. Consumer was told that the wiring of the temperature gauges was done incorrectly. Consumer contacted the manufacturer, and was told that there was nothing that they could do.*ak the vehicle's engine was damaged and had to be replaced as a result of the overheating.
1998 Ford Contour electrical complaints
Page 3 of 5: complaints 41 to 70 of 130, newest first, as owners wrote them.
1) A/C blower shut off and upon investigation a 60 amp fuse broke under the fuse box in the front of the car under the engine hood were damaged. And further inspection showed several open wires coming from the battery and one comming from the fuse box which is believed to have caused the fuse to break. 2) notified by 2 different auto-electrical repair shops they had seen simular damage and informed me off the costs of a replacement wiring harness and labor which ranged from $3800 - $4400. Checking other various web sites showed a lot more people with the same problems which ranged from fires to having to drive with broken fuses or having to pay high amounts to replace it. 3) doing preventative maintentence by cleaning area and spraying a high base in the area to prevent further damage caused by exposed wires to the elements on a weekly bases till I can afford such a large repair and not replacing a fuse which controls my blower and ABS.
Intermittently when the gas pedal was applied, the vehicle failed to accelerate. This occurred because of an obstruction in the flow of fuel to the engine. The dealership has serviced the vehicle 5 times. They have replaced the fuel pump, the filter and the oxygen sensor. The problem still exist. The dealership refused to service the vehicle anymore because they indicated they have done all they could do to correct this problem. *nm the vehicle leaked oil over the entire engine, the fuel pressure dropped when the vehicle was driven on mountainous areas, a short was found, and wires were found chaffed. *sc
Ford refused to honor recall campaign #01v230000 manufacturer's campaign #01s22 claiming "warranty had expired".
Consumer received recall 99mo3 regarding wiring harness, recall only affected vehicles from 1995-1997. The insulation on the wiring harness deteriorated, causing the system to short out. Dealer will not fix the problem free of charge.
I have a 1998 ford contour svt sitting my driveway with 74,000 miles on it which will not run because it has a defective wiring harness. I am aware that the 1995 thourgh 1997 models had a factory recall because the wiring harness insulation failed. This car is a 1998 model that was built in may of 1997 and the insulation is falling off the wiring in the engine compartment. The car will not run at this time due to the fact that this wiring has caused a problem shorting out. It is also has major protential to be a life threatening fire hazzard.
Dealership replaced the bronze terminals, but refused to replace the headlight switch as stated in the headlight switch/wire harness recall 99v103000. Instrument panel lights and headlights were not working properly. *ak
The vehicle's blower switch caught fire around the steering column.
Vehicle is without dash lights and tail lights. Dealership will not honor recall.
This car has been nothing but problems, springs, brakes last 4 months,water pumps went at 63,000, tires wear out in less than a year, temperature gauges do not read right. Engine races, solenoid went....very expensive to fix. I do not understand why everyone is having the same problems but no help?
My car stopped running while I was in motion at around 45 MPH. Fortunately, traffic was light and I was able to move my disabled vehicle to a safe location off the roadway. The computer was determined to be the problem and was replaced. After picking up the car from the dealer, I drove around thirty miles and noticed that the "check engine" light was on. Returning to the dealer, I was informed it was a faulty sensor. I replaced that, and about 4 miles later, the car died again, while I was on the road, in motion. The dealer mechanic said it was a faulty wiring harness which would cost $2000 to $4000 to repair. We took it to another mechanic who got the car running again for $1400, and the car has died again. I am seeking to file a complaint and request that you investigate the wiring harness on 98 ford contour se's and find out if other drivers are having this problem, since I was lucky twice. If it had been on the freeway, I might not have been.
Constant problems with the vehicle. Alternator, fuel tank, gear shift indicator, computer sensor's (variable cam timing over retarded), automatic shift labored and fails, cooling fan motor, etc. This vehicle is in some form of repair shop on a regular basis. Have I driven a ford lately? Yes, and sorry I chose to do so.
No dash lights, back-up, or license plate light. Took to dealer and dash lights were fixed $200.plus. But no clock light, license plate light or back-up lights. All fuses where checked and ok.
The instrument panel warped and was repaired. Mr scc
The heater went out in our car, so we decided to fix it at home. After taking out the bad part, we discovered it was melted. I decided to check the web to see if yet another recall had been issued. Indeed it had. We don't remember being notified. I called the dealership to schedule a repair. They fixed it. One month later, our heater blower motor went out. We believe this is in direct correlation to the heater blower resistor that was melted. We ended up paying out of pocket to get a new heater blower motor, but not after trying to contact ford customer services. When we contacted them, we could not talk to a manager ( they would have to call us back when it was convenient for them). They called back three times. All three times we were out, when we called them back we were told that we would have to wait to be called back at fords convenience. After the third time they called and we weren't home, they said they couldn't be bothered with our complaint anymore. While we were at the dealership to pick up our car, we insisted someone from ford talk to us. They lied and said our complaint had nothing to do with the recall and they know this because they talked to the service manager. We know they lied because he was out all day, and we asked him if he talked to ford and he said no. The service manager did finally say that the part that was melted did contribute greatly to the demise of the heater blower motor, but that ford would not pay for it. He said other people had this same problem. I am not sure of the exact dates.
While driving 50mph heat was extremly hot coming from under the dashboard.
Intermittently vehicle brake lights and turn signal lights will not operate when vehicle ran over a bump or pothole. Vehicle been to the dealer on five occasions, and problem is still reoccurring. Feel free to provide any further information.
The vehicle stalled intermittently without warning. One day the vehicle stalled 12 times. The engine light has been illuminated since purchased. Nlm the vehicle stalled the second day the consumer ever drove it. The blower on the A/C and heater failed. On one occasion the vehicle wouldn't start. It turned out the problem was with the alarm system.
Turn signal electrical harness malfunction, no 4-way or turn signal at all. Replaced with another electrical harness, worked for about 3 weeks then malfunctioned again, this time left turn signal inop at the harness(sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.)
Alternator originally replaced on 06/04/2001,part failed on 05/16/2002.
Turn signal/brake lamps burn out very frequently (once every month or two). In mid-october, the turn signal burned out, and changing the bulb did not remedy the problem. Car was taken to the dealer to be repaired. Dealer said that part of the fitting that the tail lamp plugs into had melted, thus shorting out the circuit and resulting in failure of the signal.
Consumer had recall(01v23000) repairs performed and was informed by ford that she was entitled to a refund, consumer has contacted manufacturer on 3 occasions and was told that a check had been issued, after not receiving a check for 3 weeks, consumer was informed to contact the dealer where the repairs were made, the dealership informed consumer that a check had not been issued because ford was not authorizing the refund, ford stated the dealer did not go through the proper channels to be reimbursed, the dealer then told consumer they would reimburse her and try to get the money back from ford, however consumer still has not received a refund.
The wiring of the main fuse panel crystalizes due to excessive heat from the engine compartment which causes a breakage in the wiring and the wiring to overheat. This has manifested itself by causing air conditioner blower motor not to work. The wiring gets extremely hot when this happens. I know of other contours that have experienced this same problem.
Electrical short in passenger's side turn signal. Dealer has yet to be contacted. Please provide further details.
Passenger's side rear turn signal has an electrical short in wiring that causes bulbs to constantly be replaced. Dealer has yet to be contacted. Please provide further details.
No summary listed for above vehicle.
Vehicle filled with smoke, no flames just wires burning. Consumer received a recall notice 01v230000/ manufacturer's recall 01s22.made and appointment, and part was ordered 4 days ahead, at that time information came up as a recall. Once consumer arrived at dealer was unable to pull up recall, and denied recall repairs.
Stalls for no reason, when I put it in gear or when I come to a stop. Also at a slow speed.
This vehicle has been a "lemon" since purchased new in august, 1997 from sam galloway ford in fort myers, florida. From the beginning, the car drove "rough" not smooth. The vehicle constantly was vibrating, and simply got worse over time. The vibrations would occur at speeds as low as about 40 miles per hour, increasing the faster you drove. You could actually feel and see your body shake. The ride was the total opposite of a smooth one. Rough and bumpy, even on smooth, florida roads. The vehicle felt like you were "pushing" or "forcing" it to drive. The gear shift has always been difficult to manuver, generally sticking while trying to change gears. A couple of times, this nearly caused an accident, due to the inability to change gears. When reported to ford, the only response that that "per the manual, the transmission needed some type of overhaul, at a cost of about $500. Also, several times, there was smoke and a burning rubber type smell emitting from the air vents. This was brought into ford several times, and not fixed. The final time, the entire car filled with smoke--I called the service manager, marlon hanson, from the vehicle on my cell phone, because I was scared that the car may burst into flames. His remarks made it sound like "no big deal" just bring in the car. Meanwhile, I had to pull over, I was so scared, not knowing if the vehicle was going to start on fire or even blow up. This vehicle was brought in twice more for this repair, and finally appears to be fixed. We were told that it was some wiring that was burning, or starting on fire. Our only compensation for that was a free rental car, after I pressured the service manager. The cassette portion of the radio broke early on. Never addressed that issue with dealer or ford. Steering column is increasingly difficult to manuever-very hard to turn. Airbag warning light intermittendly comes on, at any speed. Tires have been replaced, but newer tire keeps deflating--per tbs, coil spring problem?*a
Intermittently vehicle will stall out and die without warning at various speeds. Vehicle will start up immediately after . Dealer has been notified. Please provide additional information.
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