Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Modern Problems

My car started sputtering when accelerating in 2nd, 3rd and 4th gears with the check engine light coming on at times. So I took the car into the dealership they said that they could not find the problem, engine light was off. All this happened few weeks ago, since I picked the car up from the dealer the problem is still occuring. Yesterday I was on call for work and got called in on the way to work things started to go wrong. I noticed the check engine light was on constantly and the car was sputtering even in first gear with little acceleration. So I prayed the car would make it home and when I got a few miles near my home the engine light started to flash on and off. Also I could smell something was burning or frying but could not see smoke. So I had it towed to the dealer it only has 28,000 miles on it. The dealer called me and started to say it was the spark plugs and it was going to cost money to change them. I did not let them finish eexplaining the charges to me I laid into them. I said the plugs are schedule change at 100,000 miles not 28,000. I said I had never seen a car do this with bad plugs. Also many things like I'm paying on a car thats not reliable and how come they did find the problem the first time. The dealer said they would review my problems with the manager. So they called me today and said they would change the spark plug wires, the plugs were ok. They also recomended changing the fuel filter and that it should have been changed at 15,000. I said ok but looked up in the maint manual the fuel filter gets changed at 30,000. I hope this is not an electrical problem that acts up after my warrenty ends.

While it is in service have them check everything to make sure it is running right. Have them go along with you for a test drive, so you can show them whats wrong and wha the symptoms are.

For you worrying about if this will happen after warranty has expired, you have already brought the problem up and if they cannot find the problem and do not solve it, the warranty still covers it, until they do. However, if it stops and is not continious the warranty may not cover it. Talk to the dealerships Ford Field Rep. Just ask the manager if you can get their contact number.

Bad plug, wire, and/or coil pack... The CEL flashes when a misfire is detected. You've got an ignition problem.

-Lance

Well I got my car back from the dealership and they changed the plugs wires and fuel filter. They charged me 40$ for the fuel filter and did not charge me for the plugs and wires. They said the fuel filter should be changed every 15,000 or every year. So I checked it out in the maint manual it said change the filter every 30,000. I told them this and they said because of the winter grades of gas its 15,000 miles. I said I did not see any note of this in the service manual funny huh?

the accepted change interval for a fuel filter is 30,000 miles... that's pretty much industry wide, as far as I know...

I can't imagine changing it at 15K... that's ridiculous. And, if it's in the service guide, you are NOT obligated under any circumstances to do it more often. They ARE obligated to fix it if it breaks- IF you follow your maint. sched.

That's the biggest crock'a'crap I ever heard.

When the CEL light is FLASHING with no real pattern, that means you ar MISFIRING. This can cause big time damage to the engine. The smell you smelled was the iron aluminum and steel components melting together... okay, that's exaggerated, but still... misfiring is very bad for a car.

They should not have charged you for the fuel filter- FORD themselves say it isn't due. I would "ask" for a refund were it much more than $40, but hey- it may be worth it to you...

Ford dealers earn their reputation, in my experience...

Randy

I change my fuel filter every year. (both cars)
Cheap insurance against many factors.
Better safe then sorry.
It's under $10.