1995 Ford Contour

THIS PROBLEM IS NOT FIXED. THE TRANSMISSION GOES OUT OF GEAR AT ABOUT 60 MILES AN HOUR (OD TRANSMISSION) AND THE VEHICLE "BANGS AND SPUDDERS". ADDITIONAL, THE TEMPERTURE GAUGE HAS ALWAYS RUN HOT AND YET THE VEHICLE SEEMS TO BE FIND- MAKES IT DIFFICULT TO KNOW IF THE VEHICLE IS OVERHEATING. THE TRANSMISSION PROBLEM IS GOING TO BECOME MORE COSTLY. CONCERNING THE TRANSMISSION- I DO LIVE IN MARYLAND AND AM REQUIRED TO HAVE A VEHICLE EMISSIONS INSPECTION THAT HAS THE VEHICLE PUT ON A DEVICE THAT TAKES THE VEHICLE TO HIGH SPEEDS!

I WAS REAR-ENDED EARLIER THIS YEAR AND TOOK MY CAR IN TO THE DEALERSHIP FOR BUMPER REPLACEMENT. DEALERSHIP DID NOT INFORM ME THAT FORD DISCONTINUED MY BUMPER MODEL, SO THEY REPAIRED IT INSTEAD OF REPLACING IT -- WITHOUT MY PERMISSION! SILVER PLASTIC STRIP THAT RUNS THROUGH CENTER OF BUMPER WAS RE-INSTALLED AS-IS - CRACKED - SINCE BUMPER WAS NOT BEING MADE ANYMORE AND NEW PART WASN'T AVAILABLE. BOTH HORNS WERE REPLACED, IN SPITE OF RARELY BEING USED. RUBBER WINDOW STRIPS LOOSEN, POP UP EASILY. ONE POWER WINDOW IN REAR CAN ONLY GO DOWN ABOUT 6 INCHES, SQUEAKING TERRIBLY AS IT MOVES DOWN; TOO EXPENSIVE TO FIX. OUTER GAS DOOR RELEASE STICKS. BOTH METHODS OF OPENING THE DOOR (FLOOR LEVER AND TRUNK STRAP) STOPPED WORKING THIS YEAR. PAID FOR REPAIR AT DEALERSHIP, BUT BOTH METHODS STOPPED WORKING AGAIN AFTER A FEW DAYS. I NOW HAVE TO OPEN UP MY TRUNK EVERY TIME I GO TO THE GAS STATION, PULL THE RELEASE STRAP AND RAP LIGHTLY ON THE OUTER DOOR IN ORDER FOR IT TO POP OPEN. I AM SCHEDULED FOR A NEW REPAIR IN A FEW DAYS AT THE DEALERSHIP FOR ROUGH IDLE AND STALLING. PROBLEM INVOLVES MASS AIR FLOW SENSOR AND/OR PCM, AND IS DETAILED IN TSB ARTICLE NO. 98-20-7. HAD CONTACTS CLEANED ON RADIATOR TANK AND DRIVER'S DOOR PANEL (BEEPING SIGNAL FOR WHEN DOOR OPENS AND KEY IS LEFT IN IGNITION STOPPED WORKING). HAD COMPLETE TUNE-UP AT DEALERSHIP THIS SUMMER, WITH MILEAGE AT ONLY 40,000. DRIVER'S SIDE SPEAKER WIRE HAS LOOSENED, WITH SOUND DRIFTING IN AND OUT DEPENDING ON BUMPS HIT ON THE ROAD. DRIVER'S DOOR LOCK COLLAPSED INSIDE KEYHOLE. LOCK CYLINDERS ARE ONLY AVAILABLE IN SETS OF FIVE, SO ALL FIVE OF MY LOCK CYLINDERS HAD TO BE REPLACED BY DEALERSHIP. REPLACEMENT CYLINDER ON MY GLOVE COMPARTMENT VIBRATES TOO MUCH WHILE DRIVING. REVERSE LIGHTS STOPPED WORKING. WIRING HAD TO BE REPAIRED. PAINT IS THIN AND SCRATCHES EASILY, EVEN FROM NON-ABRASIVE CONTACT. DRIVER'S WINDOW OPENS ALL THE WAY, SLIDING DOWN AT A QUICK SPEED. VERY INDIFFERENT TREATMENT BY DEALERSHIP.

I'M A HEARING IMPAIRED DRIVER/OWNER OF FORD '95 CONTOUR GL (LOW-INCOMER, AVERAGE $21,000 A YEAR). I'VE BOUGHT THIS CAR IN 1997 FROM A MINNEAPOLIS-AREA FORD DEALERSHIP (QUALITY AUTO DEALERSHIP IN BLOOMINGTON, MINNESOTA). AT THE TIME, I HAD LESS THAN $10,000 TO PAY FOR A RECENT USED CAR(ONE THAT IS WITHIN 2-3 YEARS AFTER IT CAME ON THE MARKET). I TRIED OUT FEW CARS AND THE WHITE 1995 FORD CONTOUR GL. THE DEALER INSISTED THAT '95 FORD CONTOUR GL WAS A GOOD BUY AT AN AFFORDABLE PRICE. I WAS WILLING TO TRADE UP MY OLD CAR TO REDUCE THE PRICE BUT IT WAS STILL TOO HIGH FOR ME SINCE IT DIDN'T INCLUDED OTHER FEES LIKE THE TITLE AND REGISTRATION LICENSE. AFTER A SHORT, PERSUASIVE NEGOTIATION, I GOT THE DEALER TO AGREE TO MARK DOWN TO $9995 AND I ACCEPTED THAT. SO I BOUGHT THE CAR. AFTER A FEW DAYS, I WAS EXPERIENCING A PROBLEM WITH IT, SO I HAD IT TOWED BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP AND LATER TOLD ME THAT THE WHOLE ENGINE WAS BAD AND NEED TO BE REPLACED. I WAS STUNNED BUT THEY WERE WILLING TO DO THE REPAIR FOR FREE. IT TOOK ME A WEEK TO GET MY CAR BACK. EVERYTHING WENT FAIRLY FINE FOR THE NEXT COUPLE YEARS. IN 1999, THE AIR-CONDITIONER IN MY CAR STOPPED WORKING AND IT WAS TOO EXPENSIVE TO REPAIR AT THE TIME. I MOVED TO COLUMBUS, OH IN JAN. 2000. FOR THE LAST 3 YEARS, THAT CAR HAS BECOME A TROUBLE FOR ME. ONE REPAIR AFTER THE NEXT. THE BIGGEST REPAIR COST I'VE PAID OUT WAS $2060.43 TO REPLACE A FLYWHEEL. I HAVE TRIED TO TAKE GOOD CARE OF MY CAR BY TAKING IT TO JIFFY LUBE FOR OIL/CHECK-UPS EVERY 3-6 MONTHS FAITHFULLY AND I'M STILL HAVING TROUBLE WITH MY CAR. RIGHT NOW, IT IS AT ANOTHER FORD SERVICE BECAUSE THERE MAY BE DEFECTED WIRING COILS IN MY CAR (A DEALER RECALL THAT I'M NOT AWARE OF). I HAVE KEPT ALL THE SERVICE MAINTENANCE PAPERS IN FILE FOR ALL THE REPAIRS AND SERVICES ON MY CAR. I WANTED A NEW CAR AND I'M NOT VERY HAPPY. I'M TIRED OF PAYING FOR THE REPAIRS. THANK YOU, [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

WAS DRIVING 60MPH ON HIGHWAY WHEN ENGINE CHECK LIGHT CAME ON. 30 SECONDS LATER, I HEARD NOISE WHICH SOUNDED LIKE BICYCLE CHAIN SWITCHING GEARS. 90 SECONDS AFTER THAT, THE OIL LIGHT LIT , TEMPERATURE GAUGE REGISTERED HOT SUDDENLY AND SIMULTANEOUSLY ENGINE DIED. FORD DEALER SERVICE DEPT. DIAGNOSED "WATER PUMP FAILURE". REMOVED WATER PUMP. THE PLASTIC IMPELLER HAS MULTIPLE CRACKS AND NO LONGER SPINS WITH SHAFT. FORD DEALER HAS SERVICE BULLETIN ACKNOWLEDGING PROBLEMS WITH WATER PUMPS ON MY TYPE VEHICLE, AND EXTENDS WARRANTY TO 6 YEARS/75,000 MILES. MY CAR IS "TOO OLD" TO QUALIFY FOR COVERAGE, ALTHOUGH IT IS UNDER THE MILEAGE LIMIT, AND I THINK IT IS UNFAIR. ONE OF THE MAJOR REASONS I PURCHASED THIS CAR WAS THE 2.5L ENGINE THAT DOESN'T REQUIRE A TUNE-UP UNTIL IT REACHES 100,000 MILES. THIS ENGINE BLEW AT 70,381 MILES BECAUSE OF A LITTLE PIECE OF PLASTIC THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO KEEP IT FROM OVERHEATING. IN MY OPINION, IT IS IRRESPONSIBLE OF THE MANUFACTURER TO USE PLASTIC IN SUCH AN ENVIRONMENT WITHOUT FAIL-SAFE WARNING SYSTEMS THAT ALLOWS VEHICLE OPERATOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SLOW DOWN, GET OFF THE ROAD AND PREVENT TOTAL DESTRUCTION OF A VERY EXPENSIVE MOTOR. THE ESTIMATED REPAIR COSTS OF $6,700.00 EXCEED THE VALUE OF THE CAR WHICH WOULD HAVE BEEN $6,435 (KELLY BLUE BOOK DEALER RETAIL) BEFORE THE WATER PUMP WENT OUT AND CAUSED ENGINE FAILURE. THE CURRENT VALUE OF THE CAR ACCORDING TO REGIONAL SALVAGE YARDS, WHOLESALERS AND THE LOCAL FORD DEALER IS A GENEROUS $250.00. THANK YOU FOR REGISTERING MY COMPLAINT. ANY INFORMATION OR ASSISTANCE YOU COULD PROVIDE ME REGARDING THIS MATTER IS GREATLY APPRECIATED.*AK

WHILE TRAVELING NOTICED ENGINE INDICATOR LIGHT CAME ON .VEHICLE WAS SERVICED. TECHNICIAN STATED VEHICLE WAS OVERHEATING AND NEEDED VALVE JOB .*AK CONSUMER IS CONCERNED THAT THE COMPONENT IN RECALL 00V367 MAY HAVE BEEN THE PROBLEM ALL ALONG AND YET HAD TO PAY FOR THE REPAIRS WITH THE VALVE AND GASKET, THE RECALL COMPONENT HAS FAILED 2 TIMES. *SLC

I HVAE HAD PROBLEMS EVER SINCE I FIRST PURCHASED THE CAR 8 MONTHS AGO, STARTING WITH ENGINE FAILURE DUE TO A MISSING VACUUM CAP. NEXT, I ENCOUNTERED A DRIVE BELT THAT WAS ON THE VERGE OF BREAKING, IT WAS SEVERLY CRACKED. THE BRAKE CALIPERS WERE STICKING CAUSING MAJOR VEERING WHEN STOPPING AT SPEEDS OVER 40, AND THIS ALSO RESULTED IN WARPING MY ROTORS. ALSO, FOR THE FIRST 7 MONTHS, MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WOULD COME ON PERIODICALLY, BUT AFTER A COUPLE OF FUEL INJECTOR CLEANERS, IT WAS MUCH BETTER. THEN, ON A CROSS COUNTRY TRIP, THE CAR'S IDLE WORSENED, ITS POWER DECREASED,AT A STOP, THE CAR WOULD START HAVING A CONVULSION LIKE FEEL AND SOUND, FROM A STOP, IT WOULDN'T ACCELERATE UNTIL A CLICK IN THE ENGINE COULD BE HEARD. THEN THE ACCELERATION WAS VERY LURCHING AND SPUTTERY. AFTER A DIAGNOSTIC, I WAS INFORMED THAT IT WAS NOT THE ORIGINAL ENGINE. THE MECHANICS SENT ME TO THE DEALER WHO FOUND THE SUPPOSED CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM. $400 LATER, MY AIR MASS SENSOR WAS REPLACED AND THE CAR SEEMED TO DO MUCH BETTER. HOWEVER, IN THE PAST COUPLE OF WEEKS, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT STAYS ON THE ENTIRE DURATION OF DRIVING, AND THE CAR HAS CONTINUED ITS LURCHING ACCELERATION AND CONVULSION LIKE PROBLEM. THE UNPREDICTABLENESS IN MY CAR HAS MADE ME SOMEWHAT FEARFUL TO DRIVE BECAUSE I'M NOT SURE WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT, AND IF I CAN AFFORD TO FIX IT. I'D LIKE TO KNOW MY BUYER'S RIGHTS AND SEE IF THERE'S ANY RESOLUTION TO BE HAD..