1995 Ford Contour Driver assistance Problems

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING AWAY FROM A STOP SIGN, THE GAS PEDAL BECAME STUCK, THE ENGINE RACED AND THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED. THE CONTACT TURNED THE IGNITION OFF AND PULLED OFF OF THE ROAD. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A DEALERSHIP WHERE THEY DETERMINED THE PROBLEM WAS WITH VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: CABLES. THERE IS AN NHTSA RECALL, # 97V225000, REGARDING THE VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: CABLES. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL DUE TO THE VIN. UPDATED 1/17/2007 - *NM

NHTSA ID

10166306

Incident

Aug 23, 2006

Mileage

196,000 mi

VEHICLE'S ACCELERATOR CABLES NEED TO BE REPLACED.*MR THIS IS A SECOND REQUEST FOR AN EXPLANATION REGARDING THGE MATTER REFERRED TO IN THE EARLIER LETTER.*CB

NHTSA ID

10046261

Incident

Jun 6, 2003

VEHICLE'S ACCELERATOR CABLES NEEDS TO BE REPLACED.*MR DEALER NOTIFIED. *CB

NHTSA ID

10037748

Incident

Jun 6, 2003

NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOV EVEHICLE. *AK

NHTSA ID

757832

Incident

Jan 2, 2002

THE CONSUMER STATED THAT THE VEHICLE GETS HOT AND STALLS. *YH

NHTSA ID

564002

SPEEDOMETER NEEDLE FLUCTUATED WILDLY, THEN IT REGISTERED ZERO. TEN SECONDS LATER THE CAR'S DRIVEABLITY WENT DOWN DUE TO THE ON-BOARD COMPUTER RECEIVING ZERO SPEED INPUT: LIMITED ACCELLERATION, NO CRUISE CONTROL, ETC. END RESULT: BOTH SPEED CABLE AND SPEED CONTROL SENSOR BROKEN; CONNECTION PIN FROM TRANSMISSION TO SENSOR STUCK OR SNAPPED --> WILL NEED TO DROP TRANSMISSION AND TEAR IT OPEN JUST TO GET AT A $25 PART!*AK

NHTSA ID

751801

Incident

Aug 28, 2001

RECALL 97V225000/ MANFACTURER'S RECALL 97S95. CONSUMER CALLED DEALER ABOUT RECALL NOTICE, BUT DEALER STATED THERE WAS NO NOTICE. CALLED FORD CUSTOMER SERVICE, AND THEY ALSO STATED THERE WAS NO SUCH RECALL. MANFACTURED TOLD CONSUMER TO CALL NHTSA TO GET RECALL CORRECTED. *AK

NHTSA ID

894722

DROVE INTO A SPACE, BEFORE TURNING OFF THE IGNITION, PUT GEAR SHIFT IN PARK, CAR SUDDENLY LUNGED FORWARD, ACCELERATED OUT OF CONTROL, RAN INTO A TREE

NHTSA ID

9002969

Incident

May 30, 2001

DESIGN FLAW IN ENGINE IS CAUSING A VIBRATION IN STEERING WHEEL ,GEAR SHIFT AND DOWN IN BRAKE PEDAL. IT HAS BECOME WORSE. CURRENTLY, VEHICLE JERKS FORWARD. *AK CONSUMER STATES VEHICLE JERKS AND PULSATES WHILE BRAKING. *SLC

NHTSA ID

884648

THE ENGINE RPM'S DO NOT DROP FAST ENOUGH TO ENABLE A SMOOTH GEAR CHANGE. I COMPLAINED ABOUT THIS PROBLEM WHEN THE CAR WAS NEW BUT THEY SAID NOTHING WAS WRONG. NOW IT HAS 125000 ON IT AND STILL DOES THE SAME THING. THE ENGINE RPM'S DO NOT DROP FAST ENOUGH TO ENABLE A SMOOTH GEAR CHANGE. IF YOU TRY TO CHANGE GEARS BEFORE THE ENGINE HAS SLOWED DOWN THE GEARS WILL GRIND. YOU HAVE TO HOLD THE CLUTCH IN FOR 3 - 4 SECONDS BEFORE YOU ARE ABLE TO MAKE A SMOOTH GEAR CHANGE. IF YOU ARE TRYING TO ACCELERATE UP TO HIGHWAY SPEEDS AND HAVE TO WAIT SO LONG IN BETWEEN SHIFTS IT IS HARD TO ACCELERATE SMOOTHLY AND QUICKLY WHICH CAN GET A PERSON REAR ENDED AROUND HERE WHILE ATTEMPTING TO ENTER THE INTERSTATE. ALSO THE HEAT THAT COMES FROM UNDER THE HOOD IS VERY HOT, AND HAS CAUSED THE PAINT ON THE HOOD TO START CRACKING. THE ENGINE HAS NEVER OVERHEATED, AND HAS NEVER BEEN ABOVE THE HALFWAY POINT IN THE NORMAL ENGINE OPERATING RANGE (ACCORDING TO THE GUAGE). BUT THE HEAT HAS CAUSED THE PAINT ON THE HOOD TO CRACK. I ALSO RECIEVED A RECALL NOTICE FROM FORD TO HAVE THE WIRING HARNESS UNDER THE HOOD IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT REPLACED BUT WHEN I CALLED PHIL LONG FORD IN COLORADO SPRINGS I WAS TOLD THAT OUT VEHICLE HAD TO MANY MILES ON IT AND THERFORE DID NOT QUALIFY FOR THE NEW WIRING HARNESS UNDER THE HOOD IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT. ON THE RECALL NOTICE IT STATES THAT THE FAULTY WIRING HARNESS CAN CAUSE A FIRE, AND IS DUE TO THE HIGH HEAT PRESENT UNDER THE HOOD. FORD HAS STILL REFUSED TO REPLACE IT DUE TO THE HIGH MILEAGE.*AK

NHTSA ID

724960

Incident

Aug 15, 1995

RECALL 97V225000 WAS PERFORMED 03/27/1998. THE CABEL FAILED AND FORD DID NOT HAVE THE PART IN STOCK. PROJECTED DATE IS JUNE 2000. I SUSPECT THAT THE RECALL DID NOT FIX THE ORIGINAL PROBLEM. PART #F5RZ-9775-AA WAS REPLACED WITH RECALL AND PART NUMBER F5RZ-9A758-A FAILED. WITH 38000 POTENTIAL CARS IMPACTED A LOT OF LIVES COULD BE AT STAKE. THE NHTSA DATABASE SHOWS THIS PROBLEM HAS OCCURRED AFTER THE RECALL WAS PERFORMED. FORD UNWILLING TO BE OF ANY HELP AND HAS NO SYMPATHY FOR CARS THAT COULD BE INOPERABLE FOR 3 MONTHS. THE FACT THAT THE PARTS ARE NOT IN STOCK TELLS ME THAT THIS MAY BE A PROBLEM THAT IS BEING PUSHED UNDER THE CARPET. FORD MAY NOT HAVE THE PARTS BECAUSE TOO MANY OF THESE CABLES ARE BREAKING EVEN AFTER THE RECALL. THE RECALL WAS DONE TWO YEARS AGO. THE EXCUSE THAT WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF A RECALL ON THESE CARS DOES NOT EXPLAIN WHY THE PARTS ARE NOT AVAILABLE.*AK

NHTSA ID

720708

Incident

Mar 21, 1998

AFTER DEPRESSING THE GAS PEDAL, PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOORBOARD. BECAUSE PEDAL WAS BROKEN. DEALER AND MANUFACTUREER WERE CONTACTED. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION. *AK

NHTSA ID

859217

NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOV EVEHICLE. *AK

NHTSA ID

718208

Incident

Jul 18, 1999

NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOVE VEHICLE. *AK

NHTSA ID

717152

Incident

Jan 5, 2000

WHEN GAS PEDAL IS DEPRESSED, CAR DOES NOT MOVE. THE ENGINES IDLE DOESN'T CHANGE. IT FILLS LIKE THE THROTTLE CABLE IS BINDING. WILL EVEN HAPPEN AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. CONTACTED THE DEALER AND WAS TOLD TO CHANGE THE BRAND OF GAS AFTER SPENDING $70.00 IN DIAGNOSTIC TESTING. AFTER DOING SOME RESEARCH FOUND THAT MANUFACTOR POSTED RECALLS FOR CARS WITH SIMILAR PROBLEMS WITH SAME MANUFACTOR DATE. CONTACTED DEALER AND WAS TOLD THAT MY VEHICLE WAS NOT ONE OF THE CARS INVOLVED. THE CAR IS DANGEROUS TO DRIVE. WHAT BOTHERS ME MORE THAN ANYTHING IS THERE INABILITY TO FIND THE PROBLEM. I GUESS SOMEONE HAS TO GET HURT BEFORE THE REAL PROBLEM IS FOUND

NHTSA ID

715758

Incident

Nov 30, 1999

THROTTLE CABLE FAILED. MJS

NHTSA ID

549826

WHEN PUTTING ON THE GAS PEDAL, THE PEDAL WILL STICK. AT TIMES THE PEDAL GOES ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOORBROAD, BUT THE VEHICLE WILL NOT MOVE. OWNER IS STILL EXPERINCEING THE PROBLEM AS LISTED IN RECALL 97V225000 FORD/THROTTLE CABLE. OWNER WAS INFORMED THAT VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN RECALL. THE PROBLEM HAS NOT BEEN CORRECTED. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION. *AK

NHTSA ID

853166

Incident

Dec 12, 1998

MY THROTTLE CABLES WERE REPLACED IN SEPTEMBER OF 1998 PURSUANT TO A RECALL. IN LESS THAN ONE YEAR, THE THROTTLE CABLES COMPLETELY SEVERED. BECAUSE THE MILEAGE WAS BEYOND THE 12000 MILES FORD ALLOWS UNDER WARRANTY, I HAD TO PAY $225 TO HAVE MY THROTTLE CABLES REPLACED, AGAIN, AND INCURRED $150 TOWING BILL. THE RECALL ON MY THROTTLE CABLES WAS FOR THE 1995-1996 CONTOUR. THIS MONTH, ANOTHER RECALL OF THE 1997-98 CONTOUR (NHTSA-99V194000) WAS ISSUED FOR THE SAME PROBLEM. FORD HAS NEVER FIXED THE PROBLEM - THEIR SOLUTION TO THE 1995-96 RECALL WAS TO PUT ANOTHER DEFECTIVE SET OF THROTTLE CABLES ON MY CAR, WHICH DIDN'T EVEN LAST A QUARTER OF THE MILES THAT THE FIRST DEFECTIVE CABLES DID! I DO NOT KNOW WHAT THE NHTSA'S STANDARD IS FOR FIXING A DEFECT UNDER A RECALL, BUT IT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE THAT FORD IS ALLOWED TO REPLACE ONE DEFECTIVE PART WITH A PART THAT IS EVEN MORE DEFECTIVE - THAT IS SIMPLY NOT A FIX AND THAT SHOULD SIMPLY NOT BE PERMITTED. THROUGHOUT MY ENTIRE OWNERSHIP OF THIS CAR, FORD AND ITS DEALERS HAVE REPEATEDLY DISPLAYED THEIR COMPLETE APATHY AND LACK OF CONCERN FOR THEIR CUSTOMERS AND THE PROBLEMS THEY EXPERIENCE WITH THE PRODUCTS THAT THEY PLACE INTO THE MARKET AND THAT THEY MAKE A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF MONEY FROM. WHEN I CONTACTED FORD'S CUSTOMER SERVICE, I WAS ESSENTIALLY TOLD THAT FORD COULD DO NOTHING FOR ME EVEN AFTER I EXPLAINED THAT THEY HAD SIMPLY PUT ANOTHER DEFECTIVE PART ON MY CAR AND PLACED MY LIFE IN DANGER BY DOING SO. THE KIND OF DISREGARD OF ETHICS (THAT IS, FEELING PERFECTLY JUSTIFIED IN USING ONE DEFECTIVE PART TO REPLACE ANOTHER REQUIRED TO BE REPLACED BY A RECALL) DISPLAYED BY FORD AND ITS DEALERS SHOULD NOT GO UNCHECKED. AND, I DO NOT EVEN KNOW IF MY NEW THROTTLE CABLES ARE THE SAME DEFECTIVE ONES RECALLED ON THE 1997-98 CONTOURS THIS MONTH, OR WHETHER THEY ARE THE "NEW FIX" FOR THOSE CARS. I'M NO EXPERT, BUT IT IS PRETTY UNUSUAL FOR AN AUTOMOBILE TO EVEN NEED THROTTLE CABLES REPLACED ONCE-LET ALONE TWICE IN ONE YEAR. THANKS.

NHTSA ID

710430

Incident

Aug 18, 1999

THROTTLE CONTROL CABLE WAS REPAIRED UNDER THE RECALL ONCE, BUT THE CABLE IS STILL DEFECTIVE. DEALER HAS BEEN CONTACTED, AND THE CONSUMER HAS TO PAY THIS TIME. *AK

NHTSA ID

845502

I BOUGHT THIS CAR IN NOVEMBER OF 1997 WITH 36000 MILES ON IT ALMOST 2 YEARS LATER I AM APPROACHING 60000 MILES AND IT SEEMS THE CAR IS BREAKING DOWN SURELY THE CAR WAS MADE TO LAST LONGER THAN THIS THE DRIVING THAT HAS BEEN DONE HAS BEEN EASY DRIVING MOSTLY INTERSTATE I AM ALSO WORRIED ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT MY CAR WILL LAST PAST THE YEAR 2000 I HAVENT RCVD ANY INFO FROM FORD MOTOR COMPANY ON WHETHER I NEED A NEW COMPUTER FOR THE CAR THIS CAR WAS A BIG INVESTMENT FOR ME AND I STILL OWE 8000.00 DOLLARS ON IT DO I NEED TO LOOK INTO GETTING ANOTHER CAR WITH ALL THE RECALLS ON THE WEB AND THE ONES I HAVE RECVD IN THE MAIL NOT TO MENTION THE CONSTANT ROUGH IDLE ETC. I AM WORRIED ABOUT WHETHER THIS CAR IS WORTH FIXING. *AK

NHTSA ID

708771

Incident

Feb 1, 1999

WHILE STOPPING VEHICLE LURCHED FORWARD AND KEPT GOING FORWARD UNTIL OCCUPANT PLACED VEHICLE IN NEUTRAL POSITION IN ORDER TO STOP VEHICLE. REPLACED PARTS IN VEHICLE. BUT PROBLEM IS STILL OCCURRING. *AK

NHTSA ID

838880

Incident

Jun 4, 1999

ACCELERATOR STUCK , COULDN'T STOP THE CAR. *AK

NHTSA ID

705820

Incident

Apr 14, 1999

THIS VEHICLE WAS SUBJECT OF RECALL FOR THROTTLE LINK CABLE. IGNITION/PLUG CABLES ALSO FAILED AND HAD TO BE REPLACED. THE SPEEDOMETER/ODOMETER CABLE THAT FAILED FAILED BECAUSE OF A LINK. THIS LEADS TO A QUESTION ABOUT THE OVERALL FITNESS OF CABLES THAT FORD IS USING ON THIS VEHICLE. I'VE NEVER BEFORE HEARD OF A NON-TRAUMATIC FAILURE OF A SPEEDOMETER/ODOMETER CABLE AT UNDER 100,000 MILES. I AM NOT SURE OF DATES OR MILEAGE AS SUBMITTED. THIS HAPPENED A WHILE AGO, AND I ONLY SAW NOTIFICATION OF YOUR WEBSITE ON A PUBLIC BUS THIS EVENING (8 FEB). PLEASE INVESTIGATE AND LET ME KNOW IF THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM. I'VE LONG SINCE REPLACED THE SPEEDOMETER/ODOMETER CABLE AND HAVE LEARNED MY LESSON. NEVER AGAIN WILL I BUY A FORD MOTOR COMPANY PRODUCT. *AK

NHTSA ID

703072

Incident

Dec 1, 1998

ACCELERATOR CABLE FRAYED AT FIRE WALL ALLOWING ACCELERATOR TO SUDDENLY STICK AT FULL THROTTLE.

NHTSA ID

542402

Incident

Oct 10, 1998

CRUISE CONTROL IS FAILING TO OPERATE, AND WHENEVER CONSUMER MAKES A RIGHT TURN THE HORN WOULD BLOW OUT. DEALER NOTIFIED. *AK

NHTSA ID

829166

Incident

Jul 1, 1998