The Curse of the Contour

[WingBender]

The other day my neighbor and I were riding in his '97 Accord to go see a basketball game. The topic of our respective cars came up.

His Accord has 206k miles on the odo. He says he has done all the basic maintenance required, including replacing the timing belt, but sometimes lets the oil changes go a little long. The only real repair he's had to have done was the AC compressor. Everything else was normal wear-and-tear.

I told him about my '96 Contour. With 95k on the clock, it has had the catalyst replaced, the starter replaced, the water pump replaced (twice), the O2 sensors replaced, and probably a few other things that I've forgotten.

I then noted that having the Check Engine Light on is a fact of life with my car. Right at that moment, the CEL in his Accord illuminated! He looked confused for a moment, then asked, "Does this mean I have to pull over?" I said no, just ignore it, it's telling you the computer logged a fault code. Then I asked, "Has the CEL ever gone on in this car before?" He said, "No. This is the first time."

Eerie. The Curse of the Contour lives!

 

[BrApple]

this has left me very


my 95 has been one of the best cars you could ever ask for. Its nearing 200k and the only major thing other then standard maintinence, wheel bearings are included in that was a radiator.

it continues to be a great car ...


anything with high miles is bound to have a problem.

 

[WingBender]

...wheel bearings...

Wheel bearing! Thanks for reminding me! I recently had the left front wheel bearing replaced. It was starting to sound like a machine gun.

The relative reliability of your 'Tour must be some kind of statistical anomaly, clerical error, or distortion of the time/space continuum. Based on the comments in this forum, I think my ownership experience is far more typical of what people go through with these cars.

 

[cliffjohnson]

anything with high miles is bound to have a problem.

Not in my opinion.

My '97 2dr Accord had 240K on the original engine & trans with nothing major ever going wrong. There was the fuel pump and water pump that needed to be replaced, but that's about it.

It was getting up there in mileage so I traded it in on a '98 SVT with 60K miles on it. Things went well until the water pump went out which I learned through here is very common. Then, all hell broke loose. Rear main seal started to leak, leading to the alt becoming drenched in oil leading to replacing it and the battery, rear brakes locked up when the e-brake was put on so I never did that, the wheel fell off while I was driving, the entire wheel, I could only put $0.32 worth of gas in the tank until the pump stopped b/c of some valve thing, the CEL never went off even after I fixed what was reported to be the problem, the driver side window motor burnt out, the sunroof motor worn down, the passenger side visor fell off, the power antenna somehow bent one day while going up, after I had the car aligned at 100K miles the front end has shook ever since even after two more alignments, the little ball at the bottom of the shifter broke off leading me to cheap out and buy the B&M (IIRC) shifter which had the same thing happen (and even with the lifetime warranty they wouldnt' refund me the money b/c I did a group buy through CEG), radiator hose fell off one day in traffic which is always helpful, replaced the starter, tons of transmission problems which baffled me seeing how I don't race it around bc there's no room in this area to do that and there's more to list but that's everything that happened in the last year that I owned that POS. Thanks to that car I have sworn off Fords, I come on here every now and then to see if there are any advances in making it a more solid car, but it seems hopeless.

BTW, I sold the SVT with 145K miles on it, almost a 100K less than the Accord, say what you want about it sucking b/c it's Japanese, but I bet that it's still on the road somewhere.

 

[98SVTC]

Although I distrust statistics I think I can safely say that for the majority of the posters on this site, automotive understanding is not their forte. Otherwise we wouldn't have to read that someone had to replace a wear item when they were expecting it to last forever. Many problems I read about end up being caused by a failure of the nut behind the wheel. That would be the steering wheel. :help:
Karl

 

[2000myst]

IDK, I don't think at 65000 mi a transmission is called a wear-item!

I have replaced both wheel bearings, which is normal, but then the trans let go, not too mention that the trans lines were replaced shortly after that.

However, the car has been fine as long as I have had it. Gets me from point A to point B. It always starts and has heat. Thats all I need.

 

[Beans]

"Does this mean I have to pull over?"

LMAO!:laugh: Busted out laughing on that one.. i have drove it off a cliff already if i listen to that thing.

 

[rouar]

My friends with Accords have had to do very little to them. The cars keep ticking with no end in sight.

<ramble>

My Maxima had oodles of problems between 65-85K, but since then, 112K now, almost everything has been maintenance save for the ignition coils recently (a very common item, like the Duratec waterpump, and ironically the easiest repair I ever did on the car). I need to check out the suspension but for its mileage and enduring Boston roads / central MA country cowpaths, I'm not surprised.

The funny thing is that the car has no rattles whatsoever and looks/feels new inside. My SVT, which is the same age, has so many rattles I cringe going over bumps. The perception of quality is apparent right there.

My old Contour had very few rattles inside (apparently rare among Contiques) but by the end of my ownership it was going in for repairs far more often than I could afford. Sold it with only 77777 miles when I suspected the tranny was beginning to go.

I miss that car dearly, but the unreliability between the 2 Fords I owned and the 5 my parents had have persuaded me to swear off Ford for a while. The SVT is the exception simply because I'm Contour obsessed.

I like the reports that are saying Ford products are more reliable these days. I'll be waiting to see long-term reliability, till I consider coming back.

 

[cliffjohnson]

Many problems I read about end up being caused by a failure of the nut behind the wheel. That would be the steering wheel. :help:
Karl

I concur, but I was a mechanic for 2 years before becoming a pipe fitter for Washington Gas (when people asked what I did at the gas company I told them that I laid pipe, haha) so I'm not ignorant when it comes to auto upkeep, but I'm rusty. That's why my brother has been doing the majority of my auto work, that and b/c has been the top mechanic in his shop for the past 4 years I think that he knows a thing or two. I don't think that the power window motor burning out and the other "minor" problems have anything to do with me, not saying that was a shot towards me.

I do believe that a lot of people think a car is something they don't have to care for and when it breaks down they blame it on the car. That's just plain dumb. I have been consist with upkeep; the problems I had all happened within 1 or 1.5 years. It was like when one thing went wrong, everything else followed in line.

 

[Tony2005]

I've heard of a few Accords with CELs coming on at 81K miles for the catalytic convertors. :shrug: It's just that some of them were covered by "secret" warranties (service writers putting the odometer to 79.5K or getting the customer services to accept that it happened before 80K miles) so that customers don't make a stink in the showroom.

 

[Frank T]

I had a 92 Civic and donated it at 314k on it...It had a second engine put in(overheated the orginal,something about power flushing the rad)...Grant it was a Civic,not a Accord...Check engine light came on, oxygen sensor was out, cost over 225.00 for the part....Did all regular maintenance on it and got 30 mpg.(had a auto).....In the end, it started to use a quart a week and the a/c would only work for about 5 minutes.....Don't know if I would buy another one......

 

[98SVTC]

I concur, but I was a mechanic....

As was I. That was where I originally learned the "nut behind the wheel" line. I guess what I'm trying to say is that for every bullet proof Honda story, there's a domestic story to match it. It's just that most people who post on these so called enthusiast sites do so in order to find out how to fix something more than they want to heap accolades. So, it's always going to seem like things are "going wrong" with these cars when in the overall scheme of things, it may only be that a small percentage of these cars have problems. Enthusiasts and the novice driver can be harder on cars than grandma. Not too many grandmas post with problems.

But comparing Honda to a domestic car manufacturer is almost like comparing apples to oranges. If Ford had started out building motorcycles, it may be a totally different story. How much Honda learned from miniaturization and how that translates into car and engine building, we'll never know but my guess is that it has not been a liability.
Karl

 

[Big Jim]

Don't think for a minute that Honda doesn't have its problems. Having worked in a Honda dealership I can most certainly say that they didn't have any fewer problems than the Ford or Lincoln Mercury dealerships I have worked in. For that matter, Volvo and Mercedes had their share of problems too. So does BMW.

I truly feel that Honda is living off their reputation. Their quality is not a stellar as it once was.

 

[SquareHead]

My 95 has been decent.
Replace so far:
Coil pack/wires/plugs.
Water pump-was doing timing belt anyway.
Ball joints, sway bars(upgrade).
O2 sensor
IAC valve
1 motor mount
Serpentine belt and tensioner
All else has been pretty good.

 

[Aussie Ford]

Some folks say that the 95 Tour was the best one and they went down hill from there. That is aside from the wiring harness issues.....

Anyway owning a Contour is an adventure, you know I heard that after you have owned one for three years you can, if you apply for it, get an associates degree in automitive technology at your local community college..... LOL :laugh: J/K

But you half to admit it is and educational tool....... lol maybe it was five years......... :laugh:

Happy New Year,
AF

 

[SVT Loki]

The biggest reason I didn't buy a Honda for my DD here in NYC, is because they are #1 on the auto theft list.

As for the the quality, BigJim hit the nail on the head. All cars have problems eventually, it's the luck of the draw and proper maintenance that are deciding factors IMHO
​

 

[Tony2005]

Some folks say that the 95 Tour was the best one and they went down hill from there. That is aside from the wiring harness issues.....
...

WRONG! 96!

Check my signature. :laugh:

Yes, once they started decontenting was when things went downhill.

 

[Aussie Ford]

sez U....... I got one of each! it has taken a lot of work to get my 99 to have all the features of my 95..... including lighted entry :laugh:

My 95 has 125k and my 99 has 110k by next year it will be 140+

Happy New Year,

AF

 

[Tony2005]

sez U....... I got one of each! it has taken a lot of work to get my 99 to have all the features of my 95..... including lighted entry :laugh:

My 95 has 125k and my 99 has 110k by next year it will be 140+

Happy New Year,

AF

My 96 has lighted entry too!

And a Happy New Year to you too! :laugh:

 

[B3NN3TT]

...for every bullet proof Honda story, there's a domestic story to match it. It's just that most people who post on these so called enthusiast sites do so in order to find out how to fix something more than they want to heap accolades.

Well put.

I owned a 95 Saturn SL2 that I never had to TOUCH apart from tires and oil changes, and one failed battery. I ran that car up to 135k and sold it to buy something bigger.