1996 Ford Contour Power Train Problems
Owners have filed 77 complaints with NHTSA about power train problems on the 1996 Ford Contour, 14% of all complaints for this model year. Half of the reports with a mileage happened before 81,124 miles. The words owners use most often: “shift lever” (8% of reports).
- 77power train complaints
- 81,124median miles at failure
- 1mention a crash
- 0mention an injury
- 1related recalls
- 35%of reports with a speed happened at 50+ mph
What owners describe
Phrases that appear unusually often in these complaints compared with complaints about other cars.
- Shift lever: mentioned in 6 of 77 complaints (8%)
- Automatic transmission: mentioned in 5 of 77 complaints (6%)
At what mileage do power train problems happen?
Based on 9 complaints that reported the odometer reading.
How serious are the reports?
Of 77 complaints, 1 mention a crash.
Ford Contour power train complaints by model year
| Model year | Power Train complaints | Share of that year | Median miles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 Contour | 1 | 25% | — |
| 2000 Contour | 4 | 2% | 40,000 |
| 1999 Contour | 25 | 6% | 66,500 |
| 1998 Contour | 128 | 15% | 84,221 |
| 1997 Contour | 30 | 14% | 97,000 |
| 1996 Contour | 77 | 14% | 81,124 |
| 1995 Contour | 126 | 14% | 89,000 |
When owners reported it
Related recalls (1)
Power train:automatic transmission:lever and linkage:floor shift
Problem: Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. The floor shift automatic transmission control can be damaged if subjected to certain interior cleaning products. The gear position indicator can deteriorate and not correctly indicate the actual gear position.
Risk: This condition can result in incorrect gear selection.
Fix: Dealers will replace the automatic transmission floor shift control.
What owners report
Short excerpts of recent complaints, with personal details removed. Full reports are on NHTSA.gov.
Tl*the contact owns a 1996 ford contour. While attempting to shift the gears on the floor shift, the contact experienced incorrect gear selection. He took the vehicle to the dealer and a technician stated that they did not repair vehicles after ten years. The manufacturer stated that his vin was…
I just got the car from used car dealer on 02/07/08 drove fine went home and in the morning i went out got kids in car and went to back up and had no reverse..the shop i took it to said the transmission is out. The car only has 81000 miles on it....and there has been alot of complaints made about…
At first vehicle would indicate wrong gear and then it binded up the gear shift so eventually had to remove some plastic from gear shift just to shift the gear then the automatic gear shift indication will not indicate what gear the car is in at all. Possibly causing wrong gear selection could…
Frequently asked questions
Do all 1996 Ford Contours have power train problems?
No. NHTSA has 77 owner complaints about power train for the 1996 Ford Contour (14% of the 563 complaints for this model year). Complaint data shows that the problem is reported, not how many of all cars sold are affected.
Was there a recall on the 1996 Ford Contour power train?
Yes: 1 safety recall list power train. Check your VIN on NHTSA.gov to see whether the fix was done on your car.
At what mileage do power train problems start?
The median reported mileage is 81,124 miles: half of the reports with a mileage came before that.
What do owners say about power train problems on the 1996 Ford Contour?
The most frequent phrase is “shift lever”, in 6 of 77 complaints, followed by “automatic transmission” (5).
Other 1996 Ford Contour problems
See all 1996 Ford Contour problems or power train problems across all Contour years.