Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EQUIPMENT | |||||
| 6707 | 08/01/1999 | 608441 | Concerns with activating the octane adjust function with ngs or sbds. *tt | 11/03/2000 | |
| 12917 | 07/01/1999 | 610746 | Some vehicles may exhibit a concern in activating the octaine adjust feature when using the module reconfiguration method. *tt | 05/12/2000 | |
| 6546 | 07/01/1999 | 610679 | Some vehicles may exhibit a concern in activating the octane adjust feature when using the module reconfiguration method. *tt | 05/10/2000 | |
| 13336 | 10/01/1999 | 609617 | Information on activating octane adjust function with ngs/sbds. *tt | 04/04/2000 | |
| EQUIPMENT - ELECTRICAL | |||||
| 022001 | 10/01/2002 | 10013086 | Replacement speaker installation tips. *tt | 04/07/2005 | |
| EQUIPMENT - ELECTRICAL - AIR CONDITIONER | |||||
| 02208 | 10/14/2002 | 10013060 | Climate control a/c service tech tips. *eh | 04/07/2005 | |
| 13355 | 10/01/1999 | 6092160 | Information regarding a/c peanut o-ring color. *tt | 11/27/2000 | |
| 12525 | 03/01/1999 | 6091773 | Concerns with the left air conditioning panel register discharge temperature that is warmer than the center and / or right vents. *tt | 11/14/2000 | |
| 7249 | 10/01/1999 | 6090834 | Information on using peanut style a/c fittings. *tt | 03/30/2000 | |
| 99196 | 09/20/1999 | 6090087 | Information on identifying non-approved / alternate refrigerants which could cause safety, and performance concerns if installed in ford a/c systems. *tt | 03/08/2000 | |
| 99195 | 09/20/1999 | 6090085 | Service information for musty and mildew type odors coming from the air conditioning / heating system. *tt | 03/06/2000 | |
| 5849 | 03/01/1999 | 605237 | Some vehicles may exhibit a left air conditioning panel register discharge temperature that is warmer than the center and / or right vents. *tt | 06/04/1999 | |
| 9811093 | 04/01/1998 | 603602 | Some vehicles may exhibit inoperative a/c or inadequate cooling. *yc | 02/25/1999 | |
| EQUIPMENT - ELECTRICAL - RADIO/TAPE DECK/CD ETC. | |||||
| 99129 | 06/14/1999 | 606460 | Experiencing a whine / buzz type noise in the speakers of the entertainment radio or two-way radio on vehicles with an in-tank electric fuel pump. *tt | 08/24/1999 | |
| 9873 | 04/13/1998 | 601341 | Experiencing a whining / buzzing noise in the speakers of the entertainment radio or two-way radio. *tt | 07/24/1998 | |
| 9881 | 04/27/1998 | 601230 | Issue with door speaker grilles may crack during normal usage on some vehicles. *yc | 07/10/1998 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| EQUIPMENT | |||
| 05/01/2005 | 1 | ||
| Dt: cosco model # 02-531bnp, the grandmother noticed that while removing the child seat the owner has to keep pushing the button to release the fasteners. the owner was concerned that it took a couple of minutes to release the child out of car seat in case of an accident. the owner will contact cosco. *ak | |||
| 03/31/2005 | 2 | ||
| Air conditioner and heater do not work. consumer took vehicle to dealer for service, and it was determined that blower motor malfunctioned. *ak *bf *nm | |||
| 07/02/2004 | 164000 | 1 | 11/07/1997 |
| There were no traumatic events such as crashes or injuries. my complaint is about an equipment failure due to a defect of which ford was aware. *ak the front coil springs of my 1998 ford contour broke early in july 2004. the car had 164000 miles on it. although they did not issue a recall, ford did issue an extended warranty on the front coil springs for 10 years, 150,000 miles. (this is documented in nhtsa campaign id number : 01i013000) this was issued on august 3, 2001. that is also the date for a recall for the installation of spring catcher brackets in case the springs broke. (nhtsa campaign id number : 01v255000) i had my vehicle in for the recall on 3/29/2002. i called the toll-free number provided by ford about this problem (1-866-436-7332) and also heard on a recorded message at that number that another make of ford car (taurus) is currently under a repair program for the same problem: corosion of the front coil springs. this recall program is for 1999-2001 taurs and sables started, according to the recording, in the first week of august 2004. this taurus-sable program offers free replacement of the coil spring for taurus and sable models for 10 years/150,000 miles or until july 31, 2005 if the vehicle is over the mileage requirement in the extended warranty. also during the recording at the toll free phone number, there is notification of a safety spring shield recall that will go into effect december 2004. i believe it is basically the same safety recall program offered for the same problem on my ford contour in 2001. it is my contention that the reason the taurus/sable was given a free repair offer until july 31 2005 regardless of mileage is because the taurus is one of ford's banner models. i believe that the offer of free repairs until july 31, 2005 was not made for the contour because the contour is a model that was discontinued some time ago. there are relatively few contours compared to the ford taurus and sable, which ford still sells. | |||
| EQUIPMENT - ELECTRICAL | |||
| 06/15/2003 | 0 | ||
| We have a 1998 ford contour. the check engine light goes on. it first came on in oct 01 we took it to the ford garage in delhi. they said it needed a cam sensor/ solenoid sprockets etc. since that was a lot of money we decided to take it to canadian tire to see what they thought. they thought it was a cam sensor. we had them put that in. $58. mileage 111346. it worked fine for a couple weeks. we complained to ford and found out about the awa.. after warranty adjustment. this had not been mentioned earlier. so we a new solenoid sprocket etc. put in by ford,, (jan /02) . how it came to that mileage when ctc had it back in nov/ 01 and then it was* 11134*???? they also had it in dec and the mileage was 112279.) that baffles me. the check engine light was to surface again. my daughter had the car at school so she was finally able to take it to our garage in may/28/02 at that time the garage checked #3 cylinder cause of our check engine concerns.. cost 39.10. nothing was done at that time. the engine light continued to stay on. finally we took it in again on oct 24th and another cam sensor was put on. $144.46. mileage 130776. on nov,.5th /02 took it in again and they said it would require an exhaust camshaft and solenoid gaskets and seals. we again asked about the awa and they said no it was no longer covered. they said that the last solenoid was only covered for 20,000 km. had they detected the problem back in may when we brought it in and had they written down the correct mileage then it would have been covered under warranty. since we did not really feel that the solenoid ( and really didn't want to pay $1000 for fixing it and then finding out that there might be another problem) was the problem, since we had already had that replaced once we considered taking it to a guy that used to work at ford. (his wife drives a contour) he checked the car for surges. scan tested it tried various computer parts rechecked valve. etc,, but it all proved negative. | |||
| 1 | |||
| Cigarette lighter broken. nlm | |||
| 10/09/1999 | 1 | ||
| Recall work not completed due to dealer scheduling problem. (99v-103) mjs | |||
| 08/01/1999 | 2 | 05/01/1999 | |
| Consumer is having scheduling problems in receiving recall repairs (99v-103) (99v-194). mjs | |||
| EQUIPMENT - ELECTRICAL - AIR CONDITIONER | |||
| 03/05/2006 | 67300 | 1 | |
| Tl*the contact owns a 1998 ford contour. in march of 2006, the blower motor failed and caused the air conditioner not to work. the contact just found a safety recall for his vehicle and will call the dealer to determine if his vin is included. the vin, powertrain, nhtsa recall number, and purchase date were unknown. the current mileage was 80,207 and failure mileage was 67,300. | |||
| 10/14/2002 | 2 | 05/01/2000 | |
| Blower not working already replaced with recall out again. air conditioning repaired and replaced twice going out again. making sounds like before like bearings going out. mr | |||
| 07/01/2001 | 3 | ||
| Consumer stated the heater core is inoperative, will not blow out heat, took vehicle to dealer, and repaired it, but problem still exists. third time that problem has occurred, the problem is with the heater / air conditioner blower switch only operates on high speed. * jg *ak | |||
| 06/21/2001 | 1 | 07/29/1999 | |
| Engine check light remained illuminated on dash,and brake fluid was leaking. dealer has replaced rear brake pressure control valve. *ak the consumer stated that the breaks were fine now since replacing the defective brake valve. the blower motor had no 3rd speed due to blower motor switch failure. it was replaced by the dealer. the vehicle takes fuel very slow due to fuel pipe flapper valve failure. *yh | |||
| 1 | |||
| 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.*ak | |||
| 06/01/1999 | 0 | ||
| Air conditioner unit gives out a musty and mildew odor. dealership is aware of problem. *ak | |||
| 05/06/1999 | 1 | 05/06/1999 | |
| First day car was bought engine died, took to dealer, and they gave consumer another contour. currently, vehcile will shut off in middle of intersection. dealer replaced transmission, and engine was acting up. *ak consumer states vehicle has been in 3 times for transmission problems, it jerks and vibrates, consumer does not think that dealer replaced transmission like they said. 1 time for engine problems. consumer has been in 2 accidents due to sudden acceleration. front sway bar replaced, steering would shimmy and rattle. blower motor assembly replaced, due to rattling noise in air conditioner, also cycling switch replaced due to air conditioner not cooling. left front seat belt buckle assembly replaced, belt would not buckle. starter failed and was replaced. engine light illuminated, dealer found loose connection at act. rear struts replaced, noisy. *slc | |||
| 05/14/1998 | 1 | 05/24/1997 | |
| A/c not cold enough due to faulty seal o-rings at the evaporator top and lower line outlet. nlm | |||
| 05/04/2000 | 20 | 02/01/1999 | |
| A/c heater blower constantly blowing on and off. wire shows evidence of burning. when wire is jiggled it may or may not turn the blower back on. experienced a complete outage begining 12/12/00 and still will not come on resulting in no heat or a/c in my car. *ak | |||
| 05/14/1998 | 1 | 05/24/1997 | |
| A/c not cold enough due to faulty seal o-rings at the evaporator top and lower line outlet. nlm | |||
| 1 | 01/01/1998 | ||
| Consumer smells a musty odor when using the a/c. nlm | |||
| 3 | 11/01/1998 | ||
| I was in transit to replace my braking system for the second time in 6 months when my transmission failed. my 'check engine' light stays on and the car now stalls when in a stopped position at a traffic light. these issues, amongst a list of other major failures has occurred in the last 2.5 years of ownership of this lemon ( complete a/c system has been replaced, complete fuel system has been replaced, window motor has been replaced, etc.). neither the ford manufacturer or dealerships have responded, agreed or offered any investigation, correction, compensation or assistance in response to these previously written and verbal matters, and legal action will commence. the issues listed in this table are only the recent (last 3 months), and do not include the montage of problems in the last 2 years, some of which are mentioned in the comments section. | |||
| 07/17/2000 | 1 | 07/01/1998 | |
| Took vehicle to dealer to have problem resolved, gave info on tsb about problem absolutelly nothing was done to vehicle. cable assembly at blower resistor melted while a/c was running earlier this afternoon. will definitely have a discussion with dealer tomorrow. there are two tsb's on blower motors in the 98 contour. why doesn't the dealers know how to check to see if they apply to a particular vehicle. i informed the asst service manager of the tsb's on my vehicle 99m07 & 99m08 both of which deal with blower and blower resistor problems. seems my trip to gary smith this date was a waste of time and almost a waste of my vehicle. there could have easily been an electrical fire due to the overheating cable assembly and blower resistor. maybe nhtsa can help resolve this problem before someone gets hurt!!!!*ak | |||
| 1 | 01/01/1998 | ||
| Consumer smells a musty odor when using the a/c. nlm | |||
| 03/29/1999 | |||
| Vehicle pulls to the left & the air conditioning unit has a musk smell. *yc | |||
| 05/24/1998 | 1 | 05/08/1999 | |
| Fuel system. air condition valve. | |||
| 07/01/1999 | |||
| Air conditioner wires burned out and left a bad odor within vehicle. *ak | |||
| 06/01/1998 | |||
| No summary listed for above vehicle. *ak | |||
| 11/27/1998 | 3 | ||
| The air conditioner does not flow air from the vents like it should. has taken vehicle to the dealer at least 3 different times. problem cannot be found. *ak | |||
| EQUIPMENT - ELECTRICAL - RADIO/TAPE DECK/CD ETC. | |||
| 1 | |||
| Radio failed. yh | |||
| 1 | |||
| Radio cassette failed. | |||