Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Dashboard Warping

Well I knew I had seen some forums out there about this topic but they must have went bye bye. I live in Illinois and the humidity here is unbearable. Well about a month ago, I noticed that the center dash defroster vent was starting to pop up. Then is just got worse from there. The vent was unable to stay in itself so I just completely removed it. Well now the dash has warped so badly that it is actually bent up and touching the windshield. Real ugly sight. It obviously came unglued. The car is out of warranty now. I figured that I would take a stab at Ford and try to get it fixed for free or at least have them half ass it instead of replacing the whole dashboard. The SVT dealership told me that they do sometimes fix items even out of warranty but only if they meet certain criteria. I asked what the criteria might be. The service manager said that they would be happy to replace the dashboard if I had choosen the dealership to take my car to for all the oil changes and warranty repairs. Well this dealership is 60 miles from my house. I settle for the Jiffy Lube for the oil changes and the only warranty work that I have had done is replacing the fog lamp bulbs 3 times so far. So I had taken the car to a local Ford dealership. So then I asked the service manager, "you mean to tell me that if I would have driven here for my oil changes and warranty work then you guys would fix the dashboard with no fuss?" He said we sure would. I began to swear at him and then left the rat hole. I even suggested that they just fix the problem instead of replacing the dash. He said that Ford does not just toss screws anywhere to fix a problem. He said that they do not do busines that way. whatever!! Anyone happen to run across this issue and have any ideas? I could fix it myself but squeezing up in the dash near the windshield is not kosher. The car only has 50k miles and the damage with the dash board is completely not acceptable in my opinion, warranty or no warranty!!!

yeah. My dash starting bubbling at around 35,000 KM. I got my whole dash replaced under warranty........and after I complained a whole heck of a lot@!

I just had my dash replaced because of bubbling. Apparently, the dash pad just becomes unglued from the dash itself. Seems to be most prominant on '99s. The service manager told me they could reglue it, but that would only postpone the inevitable.

I've had the new dash in a week now, so far no rattles. The only thing I can complain about is the colour - while it is obvious that the new dash is Midnight Blue, it is a few shades lighter then the rest of the trim. Maybe some people wouldn't notice or care, but I'm hyper-sensitive to that...

My dash warped @ 25000 miles. The defroster vent feel out and the dash above my instrument cluster curled up also. My ford dealership tried everthing in the book to try and fix it. After 2 weeks and a lot of griping and complaining, they finally agreed to replace the dash. From my expierience, there is nothing that can be done to repair the warpage once it starts.

My dash was replaced at 8k miles and this is a VERY common problem on later Contours. Since you're out of warranty and this is upwards of a $600-$700 repair I would politely work your way up the Ford food chain. Start with the district Ford rep as your dealer is already worthless (go figure!).

well the same thing happened to my 99 SE that's happened to so many others. I've had the same problem with the dealerships not wanting to do anything since my car is out of warranty. I did try a temporary fix and its working pretty well. I got some cable ties and tied them around the holes in the defrost vent and theses small hooks under the defroster vent. I then lined it with some epoxy glue under the dash where it was coming up and around the defroster vent. So far it has held up very well and is not noticiable sitting in the car...only looking directly down on it through the windshield you can see the cable ties. That was 3 months ago and it shows no signs of wanting to come back up. ANyway, you might want to give this a shot.
-Neal

And after the replacement, get a dash cover!

Sam

ford just replaced mine for free. so far so good. mine warped at 11k. i noticed also that is slightly a different color.

i dont want a dash cover, they look horrible....but what about a sunshade? what kind do you guys use? i cant find one the fits, please help!!!

thanks,

Try your local dealership parts department... they usually have sunshades and might have one big enough to fit the contours MASSIVE windshield. Also, if you cant find one to fit, you can use the sunvisors to help hold the sunshade in place. Anything is better than letting the sun cook your interior! I have leather and I cover my car... thats the best solution, if you want to dish out a few extra bucks for a quality cover... and it protects the entire car: paint, interior and all! Zaino gives you protection, but car cover gives you 100% blockage! Get white if you get one... NO OTHER COLOR!

My dash is doing the same thing @ 20K. Looks like I'm due for the second trip to the dealer in a month.