Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Dash Replacement Blues .. 4 days in shop

My dash has become so loose I decided to let Ford fix it (typed while trembling in fear). I really don't relish testing Ford Service as this rarely results in optimum situations. I am sure they will damage something else when they repair the dash.

Went to local Ford Dealer (Blue Oval Certified).

They inspected the dash, said it was too loose and curled to use the "kit" so they are ordering a new dash. I don't know if this is good or not. Hopefully new dash has better glue. The kit looked a little uhh, "busy," but sturdy at least.

Dealer was nice and polite, checked it right out without even an appointment. So maybe my pessimism is unfounded.

Planned to put her in the shop Aug. 1 (My vacation and hopefully enough time for parts to come in) so I'll let everyone know then how it turns out.

Ford no longer permits the dealer to install new dashes. The new instructions call for the installation of a revised kit. Don't be surprised when you take your car in if they are not able to install the new dash you expect. There is a long thread on this topic if you look back a few days.

I had heard that and the dealer said that. But after looking, they said they had to replace it. The passenger side is curled up (on the vent opening towards the rear of the car) that they didn't feel the kit would work. The curl is about 2 inches higher than the dash. Looks ugly. The technician couldn't push it down by hand.

Whatever though, as long as the dash doesn't rattle and the vent stays in place. I am a little nervous about the dash replacement, so I will be happy as long as it is done well.

Thanks for the reply.

Big Jim, with you being a Ford Tech and all. Could you explain what Ford's reasoning behind this change is?They managed to replace dash's for some of us and now everybody else seems to be SOL! Come on Jim whats up?

I had three new dashes put in, well, two, but three were ordered, one before the recall under warranty, then after the recall had to order a new one, and then because they ordered the wrong color, ordered another and had that one put in...

Please explain...

I don't understand Ford's reasoning. I can only speculate that they discoved that they were spending much more money than they expected to and looked for a way to contain the expense. I won't pretend to be able to speak for Ford.

I know you cant speak for Ford Jim, however I thought maybe being as you work at a dealership you might have a little inside info. I know my boss's are constantly asking me to cut corners or hurry up because they think its taking to long. I of course refuse, they can get someone else to do there dirty work I really dont care! I find it pretty strange that your dealership has claimed Ford no longer replaces dash's yet one of my buddies just had his replaced on 7/19/02! I took a look at it last night to be sure it was a new dash and lo and behold it was. So I geuss my qeustion is if Ford is not replacing dash's Why did they replace one yesterday????

The latest instructions are very clear on the topic of replacing dashes on this program. Dealers that do simply won't be paid for doing the work. The warranty computer has been edited to bounce the claim. If they do, they will need to try to convince their rep that it was necessary and that will not be easy to do because of the published information. Our rep has made it clear that he will not be authorizing any. The latest information that I have heard is that they will not pay to replace the dash. You may want to ask the service manager of the dealership that did the work why he wants to do work he won't be paid for. I don't agree with Ford on this topic. It is engendering a lot of bad will.

Hello all, I am new here and like what i see.

I just recently bought a 99 Contour SE. I dash was in pretty bad shape. It was about 5" up the windsheild. The dash was nice and tite, but the people at the dealer ship said that they would attempt to use the "KIT". They didn't make any promises tho. What exactly was the deal with the dash?

I'm not trying to hammer on you Jim so please dont take it that way. No offense intendid. The problem seems to be some hot dog at Ford is trying to impress some of his boss's! I dont know what your computer at work says or how it got there but I know this for a fact. Ford still replaces dash's and pay's for it. The Ford reps in my area say so! In fact mine was replaced in Feb. I know that the policy had supposedly changed since then, but they replaced my buddy's dash yesterday and yes Ford payed for it. I know for a fact that the Ford customer service rep had the dealership order and install new dash's in these 2 instances because I was on the phone by 3 way conferance call and heard and participated in the discussion. My friend followed my advice on how to handle it and had the exact same experiance I had and now has a new dash. I have posted about this on several different threads since I got mine fixed. I've recieved 5 different message's from people telling me they did what I did and were scheduled to have there dash's replaced as well. I started getting these message's about a month ago, but I havent heard anything from them yet and do not know if they were resolved yet. However the 2 previous acounts I spoke of have been resolved and 1 of them was yesterday. Ford authorized it and Ford paid for it. Sounds like somebody on up the ladder at Ford is playing games and since its begining to look like a regional thing and you being a Ford tech you know what that means. Thanks for the info Big Jim. I hope you dont feel like I'm taking it out on you. I certainly dont mean it that way.