Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Problems with car..........

How full is your gas tank when it's doing that, and how many miles does the car have? My car was having trouble getting up to speed, and it would "jerk" sometimes when I would give it gas. It only happened below 1/4 tank, then only below 1/2 tank. At this point I took it in, and although there was no Check Engine Light, there was a code in the computer. It turned out that I needed a new fuel pump. BTW, I drive a '99 Contour V6 Auto, and this happened around 35-40k miles.

Conclusion to my car problem...

I waited and waited for this car salesman jerk to call me back. I waited until 4:30 p.m. and then I called. I left a message with another guy, to tell my salesman to give me a call. He never called back. At 6:30 p.m. I called the dealership, and finally got a hold of the guy. The first thing he says? "Oh - sorry I didn't call! We sold TEN cars today!" I said, "Really, that's nice, glad you could take time the time out of your busy schedule to call me back." He didn't say anything to that. Then he told me that the service department told him that my problem sounded like there could be water in my gas tank, or it could be the spark plugs. (We had thought from the beginning that this could be the problem, we just wanted to be sure.) Then he told me that these things were not covered under the warranty. He said it would be cheaper for me to go some where "smaller" and get it taken care of.

I really cannot argue much with what he said. It probably is a spark plug, because there was no moisture coming from my exhaust. (I may go buy a can of Dri-Gas to be sure though). But it angers me that they wouldn't even look at it. I still would have to of paid the $98.00. After I hung up with the dealer, I called my mother. She said that the salesman called HER and asked her what was wrong witht the car! She said she didn't know, and to call me. Which he never did anyways. What good service, eh??? I plan on writing a not so nice letter to the owner of the company, and let them know that they WILL lose a lot of business with their STEALERSHIP ways. I will make sure to tell people to avoid Rowan Pontiac GMC. I wish I would have.

So now I suppose my question is, is it cheap to replace/fix the spark plugs? Is there a "how to" on how to do this? I'm pretty clueless when it comes to these kinds of things.

Thanks again for all the help and advice. It means a lot to me that you all would take the time to comment, and give support.

Have a great night!
~ Kari ~

Wallace487 - in reference to your question, this happened on a full tank. I actually filled it up the night before. My car currently has 59,830 miles on it.

I plan on getting the car checked out somewhere soon, and if it's not spark plugs, I'm hoping it is a water pump, or something covered under warranty. *crosses fingers*

I won't be able to get it in somewhere for another week or so.

Another question....

I am leaving to Mesick, Michigan on Thanksgiving. It's about a 3.5 to 4 hour trip there. Do you think I would be okay to drive up there with my car the way it is right now? I drove my car several times today, and it hasn't jerked at all today. And when it did do it yesterday, it didn't do it very long, and once driving, it went away. What do you all think? Safe to travel up north for the weekend?

I'm aure theres a local SE MI CEG-er who could look at your car and replace the plugs/wires. Put up a post and see who steps up I'd help you out but thats not my area of expertese, I'm a detailer...remember that in the spring

Mesick...that's appraoching my neck of the Northwoods. About a 45 minute-hour drive for me. Plugs aren't too bad, the CEG tried, tested and recomended plugs are autolite APP764. You can get them at Advance Auto for like $4/plug last I checked. With a 6" extension (i think thats what i used) and good plug socket someone who knows what they're doing should be able to change those out in about half an hour. Heck, if I wasn't so busy this weekend with Thanksgiving and a friends wedding, I'd volunteer to drive over to Mesick and do it for ya, but no can do. Best of luck, and hope that solves your problem!

Thanks for the replies I thought the spart plugs would be much more..lol..glad to hear they are relativly cheap I'd ask bf to change them for me...but I may just ask the neighbor. We'll see.

Yep...up to Mesick this weekend. It is so beautiful up there. I lived up there during the summer, and worked right in Traverse City. What a drive! lol.

Anyways, thanks again - you guys are great!

~ Kari ~

One other little note - if you change the plugs, be sure change the wires too. That will save you the headache of having to get someone to go back in there.

Again, Good Luck!

Karilyn
I have a 96 with the V-6. It was doinf what i think yours was doing. I would press on the gas to go and it would lunge forward, then act like it ran out of gas, and then lunge forward. When I gave mine a tune-up and replaced the oxygen sensors it quit. I also reset the computer by unhooking the negative battery cable for 10 minutes. You might want to try that, unhook the battery cable for about ten minutes and then hook it back up. You will have to reprogram your radio and your clock. After you hook the cable back up be sure to let the engine idle for about five minutes to relearn its idle characteristics. See if that helps.

Blaze