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

I just got my 2000 Contour from a Dealership on November 10th. I haven't even had it for two weeks yet, and noticed a problem today, not sure if it's minor, or something major.

Today I was backing out of the drive way, and my car started jerking. It wasn't hard jerks, it would just pull forward every 5 seconds or so, and shake a little. It seemed to do it when I was driving slow (under 25 mph.) Then when I turned onto a main street, I hit the gas to get up to the speed limit, and it would not go. I was hitting the gas, and nothing happened for a few seconds, and then it picked back up, and it was fine.

The engine & trans wasn't making any noise, so I assume it has nothing to do with that. The car was doing fine driving around, and then we stopped, had dinner. When we came back out and went to leave, the car started jerking again. It picked up fine when I drove on the main streets, but for the first few minutes while driving, it was doing that jerking thing.

It seems to stop though after about 2 - 3 minutes of driving, and doesn't do it at all when you are driving at a faster speed. It almost seemed like my car was going to lose power, but lights or radio never dimmed.

My mother was in the car, and she seemed to think maybe it had something to do with the gas. Her boyfriend thought maybe it was moisture in the gas tank? When my fiance' drove with me this evening, he seemed to think it may need new spark plugs, and wires. (His truck did something similar back in summer, and it needed all new spark plugs and wires.)

I really don't know what to do...I don't know squat about cars, except how to drive them. I tried to explain this the best I could...but does anyone have an idea of what this *could* possibly be?

Thanks in advance for any replies, they are always greatly appreciated.

~ Kari ~

i would take it back where you got it from and explain the probe to them cause i have the same problem you do. see if they an fix it.

what kind of warranty does the dealer have on used cars???
go there and find out... you should have found this out when buying the car.. its probably something that they should have fixed before they sold the car.. thats the reason why they give so little for trade ins... as they have to get them running right to sell them and guarantee them to the people they sell them to.....

I do have a warranty on the car. It is 2 years / 24,000 miles. I'm plan on calling tomorrow morning to see what they will do for me.

The warranty says that any repairs that they do under the warranty, I have to pay the first $100 and they cover the rest.

My concern is that is problem will not be covered under the warranty, and they will want an arm & a leg to fix it. They SHOULD just fix it because I JUST bought the darn thing. I do not have the money to get it repaired right now, I expected to buy a car, and not have to worry about much for a while.

I'll call tomorrow morning and see if they will look at it. It needs to be taken care of, I'm going on a long trip Thanksgiving Day, and I don't want to have to worry about it on the highway.

Thanks again for the replies, I will be sure to update you with the information that I get from the dealers.

~ Kari ~

when i bought my contour from the dealer i got that where u pay the $100 bucks on like blown engine and ect. but never have used it so to late now good luck on ur car

At first I thought it was a plugged up cat or bad fuel pump, but with it going away, well I say take it in and see what they say Do you have a CEL?

I'll assume you have a V-6 engine. Additional information like that - & if you noticed a Check Engine light would be helpful.

Based on your description, the plugs/wires replacement seems a possible solution to your problem. The dealer may have installed crappy plugs. What we need in these high performance machines is Double Platinum Autolites.

Several folks here have had some considerable experience with plugs & wires - myself included.

CEL = Check Engine Light

Also known as the Contour Enthusiast Light

OH...lol...now you can really tell I know nothing...lol

But no - there is no check engine light on. I JUST called the dealership service department, and I told him the situation, and told him I JUST bought the car. He said that it is $98 JUST for them to look at it!?!?!?

So I hung up and called the guy who sold me the car. He wasn't in yet, so I left him a message. If he doesn't call shortly, I'll call back, again, and again until he picks up!