1999 Ford Contour

AS SOON AS I EXITED THE FREEWAY (ALMOST A FULL CIRCLE EXIT), MY CAR STARTED CHOKING AND FINALLY STOPPED. NO FUEL SEEMED TO BE REACHING THE ENGINE. I HAD AAA TOW IT HOME SINCE I WAS CLOSE TO HOME. THE ENGINE CRANKED BUT WOULDN'T START. THIS CHOKING HAPPENED ONCE BEFORE WHEN I ENTERED THE FREEWAY ON A SIMILAR FULL-CIRCLE RAMP, AND THEN STEPPED ON THE GAS TO PICKUP SPEED. IT COUGHED A BIT BUT THEN RAN FINE. SEEMS LIKE THE SPIN CAUSES SOMETHING TO CHOKE. OTHER CONTOUR OWNERS HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS BEFORE. IT SUPPOSEDLY HAPPENS WHEN THE FUEL IS LESS THAN A QUARTER OF THE TANK. FORD HAD RECALLED THE FORD FOCUS FOR FUEL DELIVERY SYSTEM PROBLEMS AND MY CAR EXHIBITS THE EXACT SAME SYMPTOMS. WHEN I TALKED TO FORD CUSTOMER SERVICE, THEY ASKED ME TO TAKE IT TO A DEALER, HAVE IT FIXED AT MY EXPENSE AND THEN THEY WOULD CONSIDER RE-IMBURSING THE EXPENSES, BUT THEY ALSO SAID THAT I SHOULDN'T COUNT ON A REIMBURSEMENT. I EXPLAINED TO THEM THAT THIS COULD BE VERY DANGEROUS SINCE IT CAN HAPPEN WHILE ENTERING A FREEWAY. I'VE SEEN A FEW MORE COMPLAINTS LIKE THIS ON THIS SITE (WWW.NHTSA.ORG) BUT NO SOLUTIONS. SOME SAY THAT THE DEALER CANNOT FIGURE OUT THE CAUSE. THE SOLUTION SHOULD BE THE SAME AS THE FORD FOCUS RECALL SOLUTION AND SHOULD BE FIXED AT FORD'S EXPENSE.

DASHBOARD IS PEELING UP FROM WINDSHIELD, DEFROST PANEL IS NOW FREE FLOATING ON THE DASH. AT THIS TIME THE DASH IS PEELING UP NEAR THE AIR BAG AND I HAVE CONCERNS OF IT DEPLOYING WHILE DRIVING. I HAVE CONTACT FORD THERE WAS A RECALL ON THIS VERY ITEM WHICH HAS NOW EXPIRED. I WAS NOT NOTIFIED (I AM THE ONLY OWNER). THEY HAVE REFUSE TO EXTEND THE RECALL TO COVER THIS DEFECT. I HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT IT WILL BE $1500.00 TO REPLACE THE DASH. I WAS TOLD BY FORD THAT I INDEED WAS NOT NOTIFIED AND THAT THE DEALERSHIPS WERE AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM AND SHOULD HAVE NOTICED IT. MY CAT WAS IN THE SHOP FOR 3 MONTHS DURING THE RECALL TIME AND THE DEALERSHIP NEVER CHECKED MY VEHICLE FOR THIS DEFECT. I FEEL THAT FORD SHOULD AT THEIR COST REPLACE MY DASH. THIS IS A EXTREME SAFETY HAZARD.*AK

STALLS AND WON'T RESTART. I HAD THE ALTERNATOR CHANGED AND THE FUSE BEHIND THE HEAD LIGHT SWITCH BY GOODYEAR. THEY DID A COMPLETE DIAGNOSTICS TEST AND SAID THE ONLY THING IT COULD BE WAS THE ALTERNATOR AND MAYBE THE FUSE. I GOT THE CAR BACK AND IT RAN FINE FOR ABOUT 3 HOUR'S THEN STALLED. I HAD TO TAKE IT BACK 3 MORE TIMES AFTER THE INITIAL VISIT AND STILL HAD THE SAME PROBLEM. GOOD YEAR COULD NOT FIGURE OUT THE PROBLEM AND HAD MY CAR TOWED TO A FORD DEALER SHIP WHERE I HAD TO PAY AGAIN FOR A DIAGNOSTIC TEST WHICH CAME BACK CLEAN, SO THEY SUGGESTED A NEW BATTERY AND FUSE. THE CAR WAS WORKING FINE UNTIL EXACTLY ONE YEAR LATER WHEN THE SAME EXACT THING HAPPENED, IT STALLED YET AGAIN. I CAN BARELY OPEN THE DOOR'S WITH MY KEY AND IT TAKES ABOUT THREE TIMES TO DO SO. I WENT TO WALMART AND BOUGHT SOME FUSE'S AND FOR NOW IS WORKING. I HAVE TAKEN THE CAR TO 2 PLACE'S ONE A FORD DEALER SHIP AND HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM AS LAST YEAR, IF BOTH PLACE'S COULD NOT FIND THE PROBLEM THEN, THEN WHY SHOULD I WASTE MY MONEY AGAIN. THERE IS A DEFECT SOME WHERE IN THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM AND I SHOULD NOT HAVE TO CHANGE THE FUSE SO OFTEN. *AK

A NEW BATTERY WAS INSTALLED. IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT THERE WAS A CONSTANT STRAIN OF 32 AMPS BEING DISCHARGED, CAUSING THE BATTERY TO DRAIN, AND NOT BEING CHARGED. *AK THE KEY COULD BE TURNED OFF WITH THE IGNITION IN THE LOCK POSITION AND THE TRANSMISSION IN PARK. WHEN THE DRIVERS SIDE DOOR WAS OPENED, THE BUZZER THAT REMINDS THE CONSUMER THAT THE KEY WAS STILL IN THE IGNITION HAD GONE OFF EVEN WHEN THE KEY WAS NOT IN THE IGNITION. *SC

AFTER 22K MILES I HAVE TO REPLACE THE ORIGINAL TIRES 185/70/R14 ON MY FORD CONTOUR SE '99. I CONTACTED GENERAL TIRE (THE TIRES HAVE 70K MILES WARRANTY). I WAS SURPRISED TO FIND OUT THAT "GENERAL TIRE WAS NOT CONTRACTED BY FORD CO TO PUT TIRES 185/70/R14 ON FORD CONTOUR SE". I CONTACTED TIRE DEALERS, CHECK WEBSITES AND FOUND THAT THE ONLY SIZE 205/60/R15 IS LISTED AS AN ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT. THE SIZE 185/70/R14 IS DOWNSIZE TIRES, AND TIRE MANUFACTURES WILL NOT HONOR THE TIRE WARRANTY IF I PUT THESE TIRES ON MY CONTOUR SE. THIS IS ONE PROBLEM. THE BIGGEST ISSUE IS SAFETY: DO THE TIRES 185/70/R14 PROVIDE THE SAME SAFETY FEATURES AS 205/60/R15? I FOUND THAT R15 TIRES COULD HOLD 400 LB MORE THAN R14 TIRES, PROVIDE BETTER TRACKING CONTROL. AND, I ALREADY KNOW THAT, THE R14 TIRES LASTED ONLY 22K MILES. I TRY TO CONVINCE FORD CO THAT BECAUSE OF THE PRODUCTION DEFECT MY CAR - CONTOUR SE 99 -WAS EQUIPPED WITH INCORRECT TIRES (185/70/R14 INSTEAD OF 205/60/R15), AND AS A RESULT OF THAT THE SAFETY LEVEL OF THE CAR IS LESS THAN IT SHOULD BE, AND TIRE WARRANTY IS DENIED BY TIRE MANUFACTURERS. THE ONLY FIX IS TO REPLACE THE WHEELS (RIM AND TIRES). THANK YOU.