Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General General How many Miles and how many problems

2000 SVT #1441

1300 miles:

No straps holding pass. airbag in place
awful rattle r.side dash (from day 1)
heater blower fan
scratches on hood (from day 1)

2500 miles:

replaced transmission
grunching/knocking sound rear suspension (brake cable TSB)
drivers seat loose and rocking
power antenna not going all the way down
sunroof making wierd noises
r.r. exterior door handle sticking open (up)
more dash rattles

13,000 miles (goes in tomorrow)

throttle stuck wide open (has happened twice), I'm sure I'll get a "could not duplicate"
AC condensor smashed and leaking (not sure if it was like that from factory, or if they did it when doing the tranny swap)
trunk not latching closed
chirping in front suspension
creaking/groaning rear suspension
paint flaking off on leading edge of l. rear door
weatherstripping loose on sunroof
holes in weatherstripping both front doors
more dash rattles!

Quality is job.....ummm...errr... what # was that again?!?!? This is ludicrous on a car that is 8 months and 13k from new! No more Fords for me! If it wasn't for the HUGE depreciation hit I'd have to take, I'd trade the thing in tomorrow! (or maybe wait for the new Altima)

Just hit 41000 and all I've done is change oil and ATX fliud. Only difference is it seems to run stronger now than when I bought it. No problems at all. (knock on wood)Totaly reliable. Bow to the mighty ZETEC!! LOL

SCOTTK!!!!

Will the front links cause the rear clunking Mine are loose and I have this problem. The back is tight!!!
My noise is distinct and comming from rear. How could the noise travel that well from the front links to back??? It would be nice if this was the problem!!!

Oh ya!!! 98 zetec 140 000kms

1) Brake lights leaking water into trunk!
2) front bearings (grrrrr)
3) front bearings (grrrrr)
4) Trunk leak
5) Tie rod
6) Alignment
7) Balancing
8) Balacing
9) Blower motor
10) water pump
11) Resistor for blower motor
12) Wire harness for blower motor.
13) Fuel flapper doen twice (first time severe leaking when tank was full after first recall!
14) Serpentine replaced afdter water pump was done because the FORD dealer forgot to put all 3 bolts in pulley the serpentine runs on and it was wobbling with one bolt in!

15) Recall on water pump redone to cover pulley/serpentine belt problem.

16) Spark plugs were done at 60 000kms! Don't trust the 100 000kms that plats are good for.

17) Spark plug wires replaced and car ran better.

18) Fuel filter replaced twice (canadian gas
)

19) Rotors / pads (normal for this mileage)

20) Air bag sensor

21) Brake valve recall done on rear brakes!

22) Car still fish tails like a SOB!!! My front links are loose, would this fix the problem? Car is scary in the winter. I wish the the tire spikes were legal in Ontario Can!!!!

23) Road light fill with water and I have to wait at least a day after I wash the car before I can safely turn them on without blowing the bulbs!

I love the car but I hate the employees at Ford when they say I have never seen this problem before. These problems above are common with these cars and a FORD tech has the nerve to tell me he has never seen this before!! :rolleyes:

FIRST DAY ON THE JOB BUDDY?????

Milage is 95,1xx

Problems...none.

Love this car...regular maintenance and, to quote a previous post-er, "it runs like a Rolex"

44,000 Miles - New Transmission

99 SE 2.5 MTX

186K+

WheelBearings two times
rear springs
water pump
O2 Sensors
Main CAT Clogged
Back Pressure Sensor
Crap Buildup in Intake

Other than that, all is well.

2000 Mystique LS Duratec/ATX with 24,xxx miles....

1. wiring harness
2. alternator
3. front brakes and rotor

otherwise, the rest was just required maintainence. Not too bad at all when u see some other people's problems.

Miles
32K

Problems
None

Wood
knock, knock

95 gl duratec

@54,000
exhaust broke twice (not really a problem)

@59,000

new engine block
power steering pump
water pump
idler
new clutch
throttle positioning sensor
new catalytic converters (3)


hrm that should be it

I find it refreshing that folks have not flamed their fellow CEGer's that actually state factual information that such and such on THEIR vehicle broke.

There on some (certainly not me) on this board who think that anything not said in favor of the Contique is non-"enthusiast" in nature. Thanks to all who posted here.

Again, I will post problems with MY vehicle, these are not necessarily indicative of the fleet's quality as a whole.

Problems I've had with this vehicle:
(most mileage(s) at which problem first reared its head not known, vehicle currently at 102,000 on the odometer)

1. Stock motor mounts no where stiff enough to be considered acceptable. Stock motor mount bolt breaks as if it were made of play-doh.

2. Headlamp assemblies rusting from the inside-out. Light projected by headlamp assemblies (even when new) pitifully inadequate.

3. Paint looks as if it has tiny bird-foot prints (cracks) all over, especially on surfaces exposed to the sun.

4. Rear trunk seal doesn't.

5. Grinding/Crunching noises coming from rear supsension even though springs, brakes, etc. replaced. (Yes, nay-sayers, rims are stock and tires ARE correct size.) (No, it is NOT the exhaust system.)

6. Catalysts replaced. (At least this was under recall.)

7. Carpet (shrinking?) pulling away from trim everywhere, but worst area around passenger side front door. I have tried to stop this and 'pretty it up' to no avail.

8. 2-3 shift somewhat challenging unless transmission thoroughly warmed up, and even then not so good.

9. 'Duratec': Plastic-impregnated cardboard waterpump impeller WILL fail prematurely and if driver is not painfully observant of dash gauge, permanent engine damage will result.

10. Constant battling with the CEL light. O2 sensors, etc. replaced, light goes off for 5,000 miles and then comes back on now and then.

11. Premium stereo system isn't.

12. Power antenna replaced 3x.

13. Squeaks and rattles everywhere. Most prone-to-rattle area seems to be the dashboard area in front of the passenger seat and the passenger side of vehicle from the a-pillar back.

14. Excessive road/tire/rim noise transferred to passenger compartment by design of rear suspension. (although this may be caused by lack of sound-dampening materials.)

15. Clock backlight replaced 2x, now out again.

16. Indicator on speedo 'wobbles', making it rather hard to determine actual speed. I have read 'fixes' for this, but other manufacturers seem to be able to find permanently lubricated speedometer cables that do not exhibit this 'feature'.

17. Interior trim around / headliner around moonroof constantly has to be 'adjusted' to keep large gaps in fitment to be seen.

18. Gas tank cannot be filled sometimes, but that isn't a problem because sometimes the fuel filler door refuses to open, precluding the attempt at actually filling the fuel tank with the required substance the engine requires to make power.

The above 'problems' are probably enough to list, although I have more.


Here are (for a change) some good things about my car:

A. Acceleration is adequate with the Duratec and 5 sp. transmission.

B. Power windows work.

C. Moonroof still works.

D. Even though, IMHO, these things look like a scaled-down ovoid Taurus, people never fail to ask "What IS that car?"

Suggested room for improvement for FORD, on all there vehicles:

Single catalyst (or, at most, one for each exhaust pipe) that does it all. Multiple cats are not neccesary in all cases. Keep it simple, stupid.

More robust wiring harnii.

Paint that looks new after 8-10 years.


May your travel be uneventful, and your wallet be fat.

Rob