1998 Ford Contour Problems, Complaints & Recalls
- Compared with other Contour years
- Far more complaints than other years 2nd of 7 for complaints
- Safety recalls
- 9 recalls: check your VIN
- NHTSA crash rating
- Not rated
Owners have filed 846 complaints with NHTSA about the 1998 Ford Contour. That ranks 2nd out of 7 Contour model years for complaints. The most reported problem area is engine and engine cooling (132 complaints, 16%), typically at around 71,000 miles. Complaints mention 50 crashes, 20 fires, 54 injuries. There are 9 safety recalls covering this model year. NHTSA has opened 7 defect investigations involving it.
- 846owner complaints
- 9safety recalls
- 7NHTSA investigations
- 50complaints mentioning a crash
Complaints are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume.
Most common 1998 Ford Contour problems
Complaints grouped by the part of the car owners reported, with the median mileage when the problem happened.
| Problem area | Complaints | Share | Median miles | Owners mention most | Typical repair cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine and Engine Cooling problems | 132 | 16% | 71,000 | “water pump” (15%) | — |
| Electrical System problems | 130 | 15% | 85,465 | “wiring harness” (17%) | — |
| Power Train problems | 128 | 15% | 84,221 | “automatic transmission” (12%) | — |
| Suspension problems | 102 | 12% | 79,405 | “coil spring” (44%) | — |
| Air Bags problems | 99 | 12% | 89,714 | “air bag” (52%) | — |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic problems | 83 | 10% | 78,600 | “provide further” (11%) | — |
| Fuel System, Gasoline problems | 62 | 7% | 55,000 | “gas tank” (27%) | — |
| Exterior Lighting | 43 | 5% | 86,200 | — | — |
| Visibility | 43 | 5% | 79,000 | — | — |
| Seats | 35 | 4% | 112,000 | — | — |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 34 | 4% | 89,310 | — | — |
| Steering | 33 | 4% | 74,000 | — | — |
| Unknown or Other | 33 | 4% | 190,000 | — | — |
| Equipment | 29 | 3% | 133,000 | — | — |
| Seat Belts | 18 | 2% | 87,732 | — | — |
| Structure | 18 | 2% | 128,000 | — | — |
| Tires | 13 | 2% | — | — | — |
| Fuel System, Other | 12 | 1% | 80,000 | — | — |
| Wheels | 12 | 1% | 54,500 | — | — |
| Interior Lighting | 10 | 1% | — | — | — |
| Latches/locks/linkages | 6 | 1% | — | — | — |
| Service Brakes, Air | 5 | 1% | — | — | — |
| Parking Brake | 4 | 0% | 63,000 | — | — |
| Engine | 3 | 0% | 86,000 | — | — |
| Child Seat | 1 | 0% | — | — | — |
| Electronic Stability Control | 1 | 0% | — | — | — |
| Electronic Stability Control (esc) | 1 | 0% | — | — | — |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 1 | 0% | 122,000 | — | — |
| Service Brakes | 1 | 0% | 147,000 | — | — |
| Service Brakes, Electric | 1 | 0% | — | — | — |
One complaint can list several problem areas, so shares can add up to more than 100%.
Complaints by year received
1998 Ford Contour recalls (9)
Tap a recall to see the problem, the risk and the fix.
Suspension:front:springs:coil springs
Problem: Vehicle description: passenger vehicles built at the kansas city assembly plant and originally sold in or currently registered in the states of connecticut, delaware, illinois, indiana, iowa, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, missouri, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, vermont, west virginia, and wisconsin, and the district of columbia. The front coil springs may fracture as a result of corrosion in high corrosion environments. Depending on the location of the fracture, a broken spring could move past the spring seat and contact a front tire.
Risk: Some tires have deflated due to contact with a broken spring.
Fix: Dealers will install spring catcher brackets. Owner notification began october 23, 2001. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact ford at 1-866-436-7332.
Electrical system
Problem: On certain my 1996-1998 passenger vehicles built at the kansas city, cuautitlan assembly plants or on my 1999 passenger vehcles built at the automotive alliance international assembly plants, the rough surface of the heater blower resistor's stainless steel blades can damage the copper surface of the wiring harness connector. The damage could, over time, cause increased resistance in the connector and, due to subsequent terminal relaxation, result in an open circuit condition.
Risk: The open circuit could lead to electrical arcing that could melt the connector housing material creasing the potential for a fire.
Fix: Dealers will install a new heater blower resistor and a new wire jumper harness. Owner notification began august 29, 2001. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact ford at 1-800-392-3673.
Fuel system, other:storage:tank assembly
Problem: Vehicle description: bi-fuel vehicles. These vehicles may have a fuel tank filler pipe grommet that could have been damaged during the installation of the bi-fuel system. If the grommet is damaged, fuel could leak. Fuel leakage in the presence of an ignition source could result in a fire. Dealers will replace the fuel tank filler pipe grommet.
Risk: If the grommet is damaged, fuel could leak. Fuel leakage in the presence of an ignition source could result in a fire.
Fix: Dealers will replace the fuel tank filler pipe grommet.
Service brakes, hydraulic:foundation components
Problem: Vehicle description: passenger vehicles not equipped with the anti-lock braking system (abs). A pressure conscious reducing valve (pcrv) in the rear brakes may be subject to corrosion and result in malfunction, when operated in areas that use salt compounds on the roadway for de-icing or dust control.
Risk: If both pcrv's malfunction, vehicle handling could be adversely affected during braking as a result of the rear wheels locking, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will install improved pcrv's in the rear brake system. This recall was expanded in september 2000 to include 1999 and 2000 ford contour, mercury mystique and cougar vehicles.
Air bags:frontal:sensor/control module-inactive
Problem: Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. The air bag sensor wiring pigtail insulation can become brittle and crack over time due to accumulation of water in the pigtail protective convolute in combination with high underhood temperatures related to the routing of the wiring pigtail near the radiator. This can result in environmental stress cracking of the insulation.
Risk: In some cases, the air bag warning light can illuminate and the air bag supplemental restraint system disabled.
Fix: Dealers will install air bag sensors with revised wiring insulation. In addition, vehicles which have the air bag warning light illuminated will have a new air bag diagnostic monitor installed.
Vehicle speed control
Problem: Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. The accelerator cable may have been manufactured with a burr on or near the end of the cable sleeve interior. This burr could fray the core wire resulting in the accelerator not returning to idle when the accelerator is released.
Risk: This condition can result in the throttle sticking, binding, or causing high engine rpm.
Fix: Dealers will install a revised accelerator cable that has a flared conduit sleeve end and molded on end fitting.
Exterior lighting:headlights:switch
Problem: Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. The terminals at the headlight switch and wiring harness connector can experience heat damage as a result of overheating.
Risk: The damage could result in distortion of the terminal causing an open circuit in the instrument panel illumination, parking lamp, and tail lamp circuits.
Fix: Dealers will install a headlamp switch wiring connector containing bronze terminals and an inspection, and replacement if necessary, of the headlamp switch.
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.
Exterior lighting:headlights
Problem: Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. The text and/or graphics for the vehicle headlamp aiming instructions provided in the owner guides are not sufficiently clear. This does not meet the requirements of fmvss no. 108, "lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment."
Risk: If the headlamp assemblies are replaced, customers may be confused by the aiming instructions provided in the owner guides causing the headlamps to be improperly aimed.
Fix: Owner guides containing revised aiming instructions will be mailed to owners of these vehicles.
To see whether a specific car still has an open recall, enter its VIN on NHTSA's official recall lookup. You can also decode a VIN here.
NHTSA defect investigations
- Incorrect gear indication (RQ02006) — opened Feb 26, 2002, closed Sep 12, 2002, led to recall 98V233000.
- Blower switch/resistor or wiring harness (EA01001) — opened Jan 5, 2001, closed Jul 31, 2001, led to recall 01I009000.
- Fuel expulsion during refueling (EA00025) — opened Oct 4, 2000, closed Jan 25, 2001.
- Fuel expulsion during refueling (PE00027) — opened Jul 10, 2000, closed Oct 4, 2000.
- Blower switch/resistor or wiring harness (PE00023) — opened Jun 14, 2000, closed Jan 5, 2001.
- Various intermittent electrical issues (RQ99019) — opened Sep 15, 1999, closed Mar 7, 2001, led to recall 99V243000.
- Fuel gauge does not read below 1/4 (SQ98002) — opened Jan 27, 1998, closed Jul 31, 1998.
Recent owner reports
Short excerpts of the latest complaints filed with NHTSA, with personal details removed. Full reports can be searched on NHTSA.gov.
Vehicle won't pass inspection due to a Broken or cracked coil spring front passenger side. It was in a recall that we never received notification. And I don't feel like we should be out over $200 to get it licensed.
Was driving down route 322 on day and had to hit the break and all of a sudden they went to the floor. I pulled over and checked my break fluid resivour and it was empty. I think the passenger side drum break is leaking fluid.
"takara recall" my heater motor in my 98 ford contour se just stopped working.
Takata recall i and other consumers have contacted ford regarding the 1998 ford contour and it's defective parts including the engine wire harness yet they are refusing to acknowledge nor accept responsibility for or correct the problem stating it's not under recall t*jbreating each person who has…
Tl* the contact owns a 1998 ford contour. While driving approximately 40 mph on a wet road, the steering wheel seized. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the coil springs were damaged. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the…
Other Ford Contour years
← 1997 Contour · 1999 Contour →
| Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 Contour | 4 | 0 |
| 2000 Contour | 199 | 5 |
| 1999 Contour | 419 | 3 |
| 1998 | 846 | 9 |
| 1997 Contour | 218 | 5 |
| 1996 Contour | 563 | 8 |
| 1995 Contour | 891 | 8 |
See all Ford Contour problems by year, every Ford model, or the Ford VIN decoder.
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Frequently asked questions
What are the most common problems with the 1998 Ford Contour?
Owners most often report engine and engine cooling, electrical system, power train problems. The top one, engine and engine cooling, accounts for 132 complaints.
Was there a recall on the 1998 Ford Contour?
Yes, 9 safety recalls. Enter your VIN at NHTSA.gov to check whether the repairs were done on your car.
Was the 1998 Ford Contour a good year?
Complaint data can't fully answer that, because counts aren't adjusted for sales. Compared with other Contour model years, the 1998 has far more complaints than most years. Always get a pre-purchase inspection and check the VIN for open recalls.