This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
The egr valve, egr gas regulator valve went bad. The shifting sensor went bad causing it to feel like the transmission was slipping. The transmission and engine mount broke causing the engine to vibrate very badly. The A/C compressor locked up causing the belt to brake and stranding my wife and 8 month old daughter.
Consumer was traveling about 50mph on highway and noticed a smoke smell coming through the vents. He pulled over to the shoulder and vehicle was on fire. Dealership was aware of problem. Prior to recall 00V367, engine was overheating and burning excess oil from overheated piston rings, after recall repairs, there was an internal antifreeze leak that was going into motor oil, engine cooling fans were operating intermittently when engine was hot, dealer found upper radiator hose at water pump had a pinhole leak, engine cooling fan wiring overheated and burned out at fan relay and fan connectors, then consumer received recall 01I009 and had these repairs completed on vehicle, after recall repairs, engine and in-dash wiring overheated and burned, dealer installed recall parts for blower motor again, consumer later informed a new motor was needed due to no compression due to overheating damage. This took place prior to vehicle fire. Headlight and taillight lenses replaced. Overdrive light was inoperative, shift lever internal sliding bezel had a stress crack, at times it was hard to get out of park when temperature was cold. A/C did not blow cold air and was noisy. Fuel door would not open at times. Speedometer cable was replaced due to a ticking noise.
Air conditioner had quit. Consumer took vehicle to mechanic. During this repair mechanic found wiring harness needed to be replaced. All plastic coating was falling apart when being touched. Wires were exposed, and one circuit had shorted out.
First the A/C started flooding the passenger compartment. Result the condenser was replaced by plantation Ford, who told me this was a common problem with these vehicles. Then the transmission started lurching in reverse. Result $2000, and again Ford told me this was a common problem with the Contour. Finally the engine quit on the highway, and the head gasket was blown. Much later Ford issue a recall for the cooling fan fuse, aand the wiring harness. Both of which I was not informed about, but had to learn from a mechanic. And when I did take the car to plantation forn they told me they could not tell if the head gaasket was blown because of the cooling fan fuse, and that the engine wiring harness recall had expired at 100,000 making my vehicle ineligible since it had 106,000. I have E:mailed you pictures of the harness, which are so brittle, and corroded I would be scared to start any motor with it for fear of a fire.
- Cooper City, FL, USA
Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...
Driving down interstate, airconditioner went out, smelled something melting, smoke from under hood when opened, told it was air, could drive, blew 2 head gaskets due to cooling system not working, cost over 600$. fan only runs on high and low. Heater motor going out. Manual transmission slips out of gear while driving. Back doors squeak really loud, and oil don't work. Check engine light on always. Airbag lights on always. Back seat belt broke. Altonator going out. Radiator leaks then stops, leaks then stops. Fan makes a loud noise when running.
Engine head gasket blewout without prior warning and vehicle overheated. Also, consumer was traveling on highway and heard a screeching noise, air conditioner went out, and heater motor burned out, there was no heat. She has contacted dealership.
Air conditioner hose is routed against the brake booster vacuum hose, causing it to get hot and burn a hole through the brake hose, resulting in loss of brakes.
Consumer had A/C on & went to turn it down, and knob wouldn't turn. Knob had started to burn & melted down to the switch. Dealer basically said it was not their fault.
A/C stopped cooling, temperature gauge went to hot and I pulled over. There was no sign that the car had gotten hot. No steam, etc. Regular maintenance on car done.
Dash board switch for air conditioner has not worked properly for quite some time. Air (regular or max) does not blow out the dash board vents nor the floor vent - all air blows out of the defrost vents underneath front window. This car was taken to Ford/Lincoln/Mercury dealership in West palm beach, fl for extensive service June 1998 - the problem has persisted and appears to have never been corrected. Ford dealership, both in West palm and nashville have rechecked and advise there is nothing wrong with the switch (?). bottom line - it doesn't work.
Air conditioner's high level switch fails to operate; A/C is set on low/ medium setting. Dealer notified and refused to repair unless cost goed to consumer.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Laurel, MS, USA