1998 FORD CONTOUR Complaints

I AM VERY DISPLEASED WITH THE FORD CONTOUR. ABOUT 2 MONTH AFTER I PURCHASED MY CAR I HAD TO HAVE THE BRAKE PADS REPLACED, THEN REPLACED AGAIN AFTER THAT. I'VE HAD SEVERAL RECALLS ON THE CAR, NOT TO MENTION ALL THE OTHER HEADACHES I'VE DEALT WITH. I'M REALLY CONSIDERING NOT TO EVER BUY ANOTHER FORD CAR, THIS HAS BEEN THE WORST CAR I'VE EVER OWNED

WHEN THE CAR IS DRIVEN AND YOU TURN THE HEATING SYSTEM ON YOUR GETTING A MUSTY SMELL. IT HAPPENS ON HEATING MORE THAN COOLING.

I NEED TO FIND OUT INFORMATION REGARDING NHTSA CAMPAIGN 99V243000 ON THE AIRBAG SENSORS. THE WEBSITE STATES THAT "VEHICLES THAT HAVE THE AIRBAG WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED WILL HAVE A NEW AIR BAG DIAGNOSTIC MONITOR INSTALLED" CURRENTLY, THE DEALER REFUSES TO INSTALL THIS MONITOR AS PART OF THE RECALL SAYING THAT THEIR INFO DOES NOT COVER IT. THEY WANT US TO REPLACE IT AT AN APPROXIMATE COST OF 200 DOLLARS PLUS LABOR. I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE SOME SORT OF DOCUMENTATION SENT TO ME TO FIND OUT IF THE INFO ON THE WEBSITE IS CORRECT. IF IT IS CORRECT, I WOULD LIKE TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THE DEALER WITH SOME SORT OF DOCUMENTATION, RECALL NUMBER, ETC. ANY HELP YOU COULD GIVE ME IN RESOLVING THIS WOULD BE APPRECIATED. *AK

PE00-020; FIRESTONE FIREHAWK GTA, P20560R15, ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT FOR FORD CONTOUR 1998 WITH 14,300 MILES . ALL 4 TIRES CRACKED FROM TREAD ALL THE WAY AROUND THE TIRE. CONSUMER WAS ADVISED TO GO SLOW ON ROADS, AND AVOID HIGHWAYS. *AK

THOUGH THIS CAR IS ONLY SLIGHTLY OVER 3 YEARS OLD, I HAVE HAD 5 RECALLS ON IT, HAD TO REPLACE FRONT WHEEL BEARINGS ($400), CONSOLE CLOCK LIGHT HAS BURNED OUT, HAD TO REPLACE WINDSHIELD DUE TO EXTENSIVE CRACK CAUSED BY SMALL STONE CHIP,ETC. CURRENT CAM TIMING JOB ESTIMATED AT $1,000. I'VE NEVER HAD THIS MUCH TROUBLE WITH A VEHICLE IN MY LIFE. ASKED FORD'S TO COVER 1/2 OF COST; WAS REFERRED TO DEALER, WHO "DECLINED." IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE I CAN DO ABOUT THIS LEMON??

3RD GEAR SYNCRONIZER FAILED. TRANSMISSION IS DIFFICULT TO SHIFT INTO 3RD GEAR. GRINDING SOUND PRESENT WHEN SHIFING INTO 3RD, EVEN WITH THE CLUTCH PEDAL PUSHED ALL THE WAY IN.

FUSEBOX: BOUGHT CAR IN JULY 1999, HAD TO HAVE THREE RECALLS FIXED, ONE OF THEM WAS ON THE AIR BAG SENSOR, WE WENT AND HAD ONE OF THE RECALLS CORRECTED, THE NEXT WEEK WE WERE SCHEDULED TO HAVE THE REMAINING TWO FINISH, ON WEDNESDAY OF THAT WEEK THE AIR CONDITIONER STOPPED WORKING WHILE WE WERE DRIVING HOME FROM WORK, WE HAD THE MECHANIC CHECK IT THAT FRIDAY WHEN THEY FIXED THE AIR BAG SENSOR, THE MECHANIC SAID THE FUSE BOX WAS BROKEN AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED, HE REPLACED THE FUSE BOX (FREE OF CHARGE) AND WE WENT ON OUR WAY, THEN ON 8/14/2000 AS WE WERE AGAIN DRIVING HOME FROM WORK ON THE EXPRESSWAY AT ABOUT 55 THE AIR CONDITIONER DIED AGAIN, WE READ THROUGH THE CAR MANUAL AND FOUND THE CORRECT FUSES TO THE BLOWER MOTOR AND A/C, WE CHANGED THOSE FUSES, THAT DIDN'T FIX THE PROBLEM, WE THEN CHANGED THE RELAYS, (WHICH WERE VERY HARD TO GET REPLACEMENTS FOR), THAT DIDN' T FIX IT EITHER, FINALLY WE TOOK IT TO A FORD DEALER AND HAD THEM CHACK IT, THEY SAID THERE WAS A FUSE IN THE FRONT (WHICH THE OWNERS MANUAL SAID SHOULD ONLY BE CHANGED BY AN AUTHORIZED FORD MECHANIC) THAT HAD BLOWN AND WHEN IT DID IT FUSED THE FUSE TO THE CONNECTOR AND THAT THE ENTIRE FUSE BOX WOULD HAVE TO BE REPLACED, THIS TIME AT A COST OF OVER $400.00 TIRES: WE HAVE JUST HAD TO REPLACE TWO FIRESTONE FIREHAWK GTA P205/60R15 90T M+S TIRES BECAUSE THE TREAD WAS COMING AWAY FROM THE SIDEWALL AT THE SEEM, IT WAS SO BAD THERE WERE SMALL FLAPS OF THE TREAD THAT STUCK STRAIGHT OUT LIKE SOMEONE HAD PEEL A BANANA.( DOT NUMBER: TIRE SIZE: P205/60R15 )

WHEN PUTTING GAS IN TANK IT BEGAN TO SPITTING THE FUEL BACK OUT AFTER A FEW CENTS. IT TAKES AT LEAST 10 MINUTES TO PUT 5$ WORTH OF GAS INTO VEHICLE. DEALER HAS BEEN CONTACTED. *AK

BOTH THE DRIVER'S SIDE AND PASSENGER'S SIDE SEATBELT DO NOT RETACT DURING NORMAL USE. THE SEATBELTS WILL FOLD OVER AND BECOME JAMMED APPROXIMATELY 4-5 TIMES DURING THE WEEK. WOULD LIKE TO HAVE THE PROBLEM TAKEN CARE OF BEFORE SOMEONE IS KILLED BECAUSE A SEATBELT DOES NOT RETRACT AND TIGHTEN UP DURING AN ACCIDENT.

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.