FaultScore

Worst years for a Ford Contour

Owners have filed 4,570 complaints about the Ford Contour with NHTSA across model years 1993 to 2001. More of them are about the engine & cooling than anything else.

Avoid

1995 Ford Contour

1,323 complaints — the highest FaultScore of any year, mostly engine & cooling.

Cleanest on record

1994 Ford Contour

13 complaints — the lowest FaultScore of the graded years.

Every Ford Contour year, graded

The grade compares each year against the rest of this model's own run — never against another car. Click any bar or row to open that year's report.

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded
Year Grade Complaints Crashes Fires Median miles Most reported
2001 4 0 0 Body & Structure
2000 B 248 12 1 55,000 Body & Structure
1999 C 616 39 19 60,000 Body & Structure
1998 D 1,189 56 23 80,910 Engine & Cooling
1997 B 314 14 11 93,000 Electrical System
1996 C 858 42 31 90,000 Electrical System
1995 D 1,323 48 82 89,007 Engine & Cooling
1994 A 13 0 0 Electrical System
1993 5 0 0 Brakes

What breaks on a Ford Contour

Across every model year on file. Follow a row for that part's complaints and the year it was worst.

Engine & Cooling 704 15.4%

Worst in 1995

Electrical System 646 14.1%

Worst in 1995

Worst in 1998

Brakes 366 8.0%

Worst in 1995

Suspension 305 6.7%

Worst in 1998

Worst in 1995

Worst in 1998

Body & Structure 231 5.1%

Worst in 1999

Lights 226 4.9%

Worst in 1996

Airbags 222 4.9%

Worst in 1998

Steering 184 4.0%

Worst in 1995

Worst in 1999

Worst in 1996

Worst in 1995

Exactly what failed on a Ford Contour

The named sub-assemblies behind those complaints, across every model year.

Automatic Transmission 221 18.1%
Gasoline 185 15.1%
Engine 120 9.8%
Front Underhood 114 9.3%
Coil Springs 111 9.1%
Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip 109 8.9%
Cooling System 107 8.7%
AIR Conditioner 92 7.5%
Frontal 88 7.2%
Foundation Components 77 6.3%

Complaints filed over time

Every complaint about every Ford Contour, by the month it reached NHTSA.

Feb 1995 peak 122 Feb 2024

Ford Contour problems by state

Where owners filed from. Heavier states are usually just bigger markets, but a part that fails in heat or salt shows up here first.

Compare the Ford Contour

Side by side on complaint history. Remember that raw totals track how many were sold as much as how good they were.