1999 Ford Contour

DT: THE CONTACT STATED THE DASHBOARD WARPED. IT TOUCHED THE WINDSHIELD, AND WAS PULLING THE PASSENGER'S AIR BAG PIECE. THE AIR BAG LIGHT CAME ON A COUPLE OF DAYS AGO. THE LIGHT HAS NOT BEEN ON SINCE. HE STATED NOW THAT HE WAS USING THE DEFROSTER, IT WAS COMING UP MORE. OFTEN. THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN INSPECTED TO SEE WHY THIS WAS OCCURRING. *AK

ON DEC. 3, 2004 I WAS INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT WITH MY VEHICLE, 1999 FORD CONTOUR, AND AN ONCOMING VEHICLE, A 1999 FORD PICK-UP. I WAS GOING THROUGH A GREEN LIGHT AT AN INTERSECTION DOING 30-35MPH WHEN THE TRUCK WENT THROUGH HIS RED LIGHT, PLOWING THROUGH THE INTERSECTION. AS A RESULT, I HIT (T-BONED) HIS TRUCK. THE WHOLE FRONT END OF MY VEHICLE RAN INTO THE PASSENGERS SIDE OF HIS VEHICLE (HE WAS DOING 30MPH AT THE VERY LEAST). MY AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY AS IT SHOULD HAVE. I HIT MY HEAD ON THE STEERING WHEEL. WHEN PARAMEDICS ARRIVED I WAS THEN PUT IN A NECK BRACE, PUT ON A BACKBOARD, AND TAKEN TO THE ER. I DID NOT SUFFER A CONCUSION, INJURY WAS MINOR (HIT HEAD, APPROX 10 MINUTE STATE OF CONFUSION ABOUT 5 MINUTES AFTER COLLISION, DIZZINESS AND SAW SPOTS ABOUT 30 MIN AFTER COLLISION), AND I'VE ONLY SUFFERED A VERY SORE NECK AND BACK. HOWEVER,INJURIES SUSTAINED COULD HAVE BEEN MUCH WORSE. I DO NOT SEE ANY REASON WHY THE AIR BAG SHOULD NOT HAVE DEPLOYED. FORD SHOULD BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS FAILURE. SINCE I WAS TAKEN TO THE ER I AM NOT YET AWARE OF ALL OF THE DAMAGE MY VEHICLE HAS SUSTAINED; ALL I KNOW IS THAT THE BUMPER WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE INTERSECTION, AND THE CRUMPLE ZONE DID AS IT SHOULD- HOWEVER, BEING THAT THE FRONT BUMPER WAS HIT HARD ENOUGH THAT IT FELL OFF AND THE CRUMPLE ZONE REACTED, THE AIR BAG SHOULD HAVE BEEN ACTIVATED. WHAT CAN BE DONE TO DETERMINE WHY IT DID NOT, AND CAN FORD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE IN SOME MANNER?*AK

I HAVE NORMAL USE ON MY CAR AND ON JULY 26, 2004 MY AIR BAG LIGHT AND THE EMERGENCY BRAKE LIGHT CAME ON. I READ MY OWNER'S GUIDE TO SEE WHAT THE PROBLEM COULD BE AND IT STATED THAT IF THESES PROBLEMS WAS TO OCCUR THAT I NEED IT TO BE SERVICE BY A QUALIFIED TECHNICIAN. I BROUGHT MY VEHICLE IN ON JULY 27, 2004 TO GET IT SERVICED. I INFORMED FORD THAT I SMELLED A WIRE BURNING, AND THAT I SAW A LITTLE PUFF OF SMOKE ON JULY 26, 2004 THAT CAME FROM UNDER MY DASH BOARD. I WAS INFORMED MY THE FORD DEALERSHIP THAT THEY DID 3 DIAGNOSTIC TEST ON IT AND THEY STILL COULD NOT FIGURE OUT WHAT THE PROBLEM IS WITH THE AIRBAG SYSTEM. THIS IS A SAFETY PROBLEM THAT COULD HAVE ENDED UP DEADLY IF I WAS TO GET INTO AN ACCIDENT BECAUSE OF THE MALFUNCTIONS IN THE CAR. AS FAR AS WHAT IS BEING DONE IS BEYOND ME BECAUSE THEY STILL CANNOT FIGURE OUT WHAT THE PROBLEM IS, AND WHAT PARTS ARE GOING TO BE NEEDED FOR THE REPAIRS ON MY CAR. I WOULD LIKE TO MATTER TO BE INVESTIGATED IMMEDIATELY BEFORE SOMEONE GET HURT, AND THEY DON'T HAVE THEIR AIR BAG SYSTEM NOR EMERGENCY BRAKE LIGHT SYSTEM WORKING. *AK

THIS IS NOT AN AESTHETIC COMPLAINT AS CLASSIFIED BY FORD MOTOR CORPORATION. DASHBOARD IS PEELING UP FROM BASE OF WINDSHIELD AND OBSTRUCTING DRIVERS VIEW, DEFROST PANEL IS NOW DISLODGED FROM DASHBOARD AND CREATING ADDITIONAL OBSTRUCTION OF DRIVER'S VIEW AND RENDERED NON FUNCTIONAL. THE RECESSION OF THE DASHBOARD IS NOW SEPARATING FROM THE AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT SECTION OF THE DASH. I PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE NEW AND HAVE BEEN THE SOLE OWNER SINCE ITS PURCHASE IN JULY 1999 AND HAVE BEEN REFUSED ASSISTANCE. I CONTACTED FIRST THE FORD DEALERSHIP FROM WHICH I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE AND WAS TOLD THERE WAS IN FACT A RECALL ON THIS ITEM AND HAD SINCE EXPIRED AND WAS DIRECTED TO CALL FORD MOTOR CORPORATION DIRECTLY FOR FURTHER ASSISTANCE. I WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE RECALL. THE THREE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVES THAT I HAVE SPOKEN TO OVER THE PAST 24-30 MONTHS EACH CONFIRMED THE RECALL AND NOTED 1) SINCE IT WAS CLASSIFIED AS AN AESTHETIC PROBLEM IT HAD AN EXPIRATION DATE ATTACHED IT AND 2) IT WAS SENT TO THE DEALERSHIPS TO EXPEDITE ON VEHICLES THAT CAME IN FOR SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE VISITS. AGAIN, I WAS NOT NOTIFIED FROM EITHER THE DEALERSHIP AT THE TIME OF MY SERVICE VISITS OR FORD MOTOR CORPORATION WHEN THE RECALL WAS INITIATED. I HAVE REQUESTED SECOND OPINIONS FROM OUTSIDE SOURCES THAT ARE FORD CERTIFIED IN BODY REPAIR AND EACH NOTED THE RAMIFICATIONS OF DRIVING THIS VEHICLE WITHOUT THE MANUFACTURER DEFECT CORRECTED IS AND NOT LIMITED TO A SPONTANEOUS DEPLOYMENT OF THE AIR BAG AND A RESULT OF A POTENTIALLY FATAL ACCIDENT FOR THE DRIVER, PASSENGERS, AND NOT EXCLUDING OTHER DRIVERS ON THE ROAD THAT COULD INADVERTENTLY BE INVOLVED. IN MY RESEARCH OF THIS SITUATION I HAVE FOUND COMPLAINTS OF THIS NATURE WITH SIMILAR RESPONSES SINCE 2001.*AK

I OWN A 1999 FORD CONTOUR WITH A HORRIBLY WARPED DASHBOARD. THERE WAS NEVER A RECALL, ONLY A COURTESY CALL TO COME TO FORD AND HAVE IT FIXED. I BROUGHT IT INTO MY LOCAL DEALER, WHO DID NOT HAVE ANOTHER DASH TO REPLACE. THEY HAD TO ORDER IT. WHEN I CALLED BACK SEVERAL MONTHS LATER, THEY TOLD ME THAT TIME HAD EXPIRED AND THEY SENT THE DASH BACK TO FORD AND THERE WAS NOTHING I CAN DO. THIS WARPED DASH IS DANGEROUS, INTERFERES WITH MY FIELD OF VISION, THE DEFROSTER WON'T WORK PROPERLY AND NOW IS INTERFERING WITH THE PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG. I WANT YOU TO KNOW ABOUT THIS EARLY IN CASE OF AN ACCIDENT. THIS CAR WAS BOUGHT NEW IN 1999 BY ME AND ONLY HAS 35K MILES ON IT. *AK

AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY WHEN REAR ENDED. MY CAR WAS PUSHED INTO INTERSECTION. DAMAGE TO CAR WAS BUMPER, HAD TO REPLACE MUD GUARDS AND ATTACHING HARDWARE. CONTACTED FORD ABOUT MY CONCERN THEY SAID THAT THE FORCE PROBABLY WASN'T GREAT ENOUGH. EVERYONE I SPOKE WITH ASKED ABOUT THE AIRBAGS AND WERE SUPRISED WHEN THEY DIDN'T DEPLOY AS THE FORCE WAS GREATER THAN 20 MILES AN HOUR. *AK