Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting What does it take to be CERTAIN?

Shortly after getting my 95SE I took a close look under the hood and was somewhat alarmed to note significant cracking and flaking off of insulation on all the electrical connections. It was also evident that the deterioration extended into the trunks arising off the harnesses.
Thus it was with a certain degree of satisfaction that I learned of the recall 99M03 for certain 1995-97 Contours & Mystiques to inspect and replace under hood wiring harnesses
because of brittle and cracking insulation. This apparently was related to "ambient factors of high temperature and high humidity."
Today I called the customer service folks and was informed that my car was not among the "Certain." I admit I was perplexed, 95 SE, made 12/94, less than 100k, brittle and cracked insulation but "your car is not listed". Anyone have a clearer understanding of this, I'm sure it's just part of the overall plot against me, but I could be wrong.

mike

I had a similar experience with a different item. My wiring harness was replaced without argument on both my Contiques, but I can't get Ford to replace the gear shift indicator. It seems to me that my car fits all the requirements, but OASIS doesn't show that my VIN # qualifies. Wish I knew what was going on.

Your car is certainly impacted. ALL Contiques in the US until a running change in 1998MY are impacted (this is the reason why I bought a 1998.5 rather than the other deals on the lot when I was buying). The incorrect insulation grade was specified until the running change. That is, it wasn't a manufacturing quality problem that affected a subset of production, but a design problem that affected the entire build range.

Just keep pushing Ford until they fix it under warranty. FYI, your dealer is probably not interested in fixing it since it is a lengthy and unpleasant repair that is probably poorly compensated. Thus, you may need to push hard and appeal to higher customer service contacts. The national line, if you need it, is (800)392-FORD.

Thanks guys, in actuality it was the national customer Resistance service that I called. I must admit however that I was fairly controlled, deciding to learn more before going nuclear. When I do get them to see the error of their ways I fully expect a Battle Royal with the local dealershi_s getting the work done.

tanks
dr.Majik

The dealership where I bought my car gave me a hard time about cat replacement when my VIN didn't show up in their OASIS report. My cats were quite obviously plugged but they refused to the full recall work and just replaced the main cat under the emmisions warranty. When I returned with the same problem after 40K miles, they replaced the obviously cracked up wire harnesses with no questions. Your dealer - service rep. may be more understanding than the customer phone person. It may be helpful to mention that it's a safety hazard. (OASIS is NOT always correct, but Ford folks will never question it's output.)

Can anyone tell me if this recall affected the Mercury Mystique also? I have a 95 and I have seen some issues with the wiring while working on the car. Connector to the coil pack for instance. Any info would be welcomed.

Thanks!

Yes, it affected the Contour, Mystique, and some Mondeos (I'm not sure which model years, but the climate in Europe is less severe, so they may not have symptoms).

For those interested, the recall number is 99M03. I called the Ford Customer service and indeed, mine was covered in the recall. Funny how Ford never notified me of this. Even though they have all of my information correct in thier database. FYI, the service department must first inspect the harness and make the call about replacing it. I'm sure I'm in for a fight. I want to see if they notice the bare conductors showing on the coil pack connector. I'll wait till after they "inspect" it and make thier determination. I've fought them so many times they call me by my first name when I go in there. I'm sure they hope I never buy a car from them again. At least the service dept does. I'll let you know how it works out. I will take it in next week.

As I read your posts I feel better people, one really dumb question what is "Oasis"?

tanks
mike :

Don't know what it stands for. IMHO, it seems to be the computer system that Ford uses to keep track of VIN #'s, recalls, warranties, etc.