1997 Ford Contour problems
Owners have filed 314 complaints about the 1997 Ford Contour with NHTSA. Electrical system accounts for 15.6% of them — narrowly the most common, ahead of engine and engine cooling at 14%.
Complaints314
Crashes14
Fires11
Injuries13
Deaths0
What owners report breaking
Electrical system 15.6% · 49
Engine and engine cooling 14.0% · 44
Power train 9.9% · 31
Service brakes, hydraulic 9.9% · 31
Suspension 7.6% · 24
Exterior lighting 7.6% · 24
Visibility 6.7% · 21
Steering 5.4% · 17
Severity
Of those complaints, 14 describe a crash, 11 describe a fire and 13 report an injury.
Reading the numbers
Across the 6 model years of the Ford Contour in this data, 1997 draws comparatively few complaints; 1995 is the outlier year.
Filings have fallen off, 4 in the last three years against 13 in the three before. That is normal as a generation leaves the road.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 93,000 miles.
In owners' own words
Heater fan control switch began smoking and shutdown while vehicle was in operation. Consumer has taken vehicle to private mechanic, who indicated that defect resulted from factory wiring harness being too small a guage of wiring to carry electrical load. Replacement wiring harness was of a higher guage. Please provide any additional information/attachments. Electrical system
When driving vehicle would hesitate. Water temperature gauage would fluctuate. Took vehicle to dealership. Informed by mechanic a tsb was sent by manufacturer on cause of problem. Seemed that computer chip caused vehicle to hesitate. Mechanic removed battery cable & let vehicle sit for awhile before rehooking cables. This caused computer chip to reset itself. Electrical system
When making a left turn while driving in rainy weather or going through small puddle of water, the water splashes on the generator ,causing complete power loss. Vehicle was taken to dealership on september 20th, but the problem has not been corrected. Please provide any further information. Electrical system
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…