1997 Ford Contour: raw data

Every record we hold for this vehicle, as plain tables, with nothing added. The consumer page shows the same records with the maintenance schedule, price ranges and nearby shops around them.

vehicle	1997 / ford / contour
known issues	7 clusters (reviewed 2026-10-07)
complaints	252 on file (1996-02-28 → 2013-02-06)
recalls	0
investigations	0
fars	not identifiable in FARS
indexed	yes
license	CC BY 4.0 (derived)

Known Issues clusters all years →

Automatic transmission and shift lever failurePOWER TRAIN20 complaints2000-03 → 2007-12contour-1997-transmission-shift-failure

10079087 SHIFT LEVER DOES NOT ENGAGE DRIVE WHEN SHIFTED TO D POSITION; WILL ONLY ENGAGE WHEN SHIFTED TO 2 POSITION
556946 TRANSMISSION FAILED THREE TIMES WITHIN FOUR MONTHS. MAY 1ST, JUNE 26TH AND AUGUST 17TH/2000. EACH TIME TRANSMISSION HAS BEEN REBUILT
885834 WHILE DRIVING VEHICLE WILL JUMP OUT OF GEAR. ALSO, WHEN IN PARK VEHICLE IS HARD TO SHIFT INTO GEAR

Front wheel bearing replacement and noiseSUSPENSION5 complaints2001-02 → 2003-06contour-1997-front-wheel-bearings

10023195 TWICE I HAVE HAD TO REPLACE THE FRONT WHEEL BEARINGS SINCE I BROUGHT THE CAR
8000833 THREE REPLACEMENTS OF FRONT WHEEL BEARING, AND ONE REPLACEMENT OF RIGHT REAR BEARING, ALL REPLACEMENTS MADE FROM TWO DIFFERENT DEALERS
880863 CONSUMER TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALERSHIP/MECHANIC FOR A "ROARING" NOISE COMING FROM FRONT END

Headlight switch wiring and tail light failureEXTERIOR LIGHTING12 complaints1999-09 → 2005-09contour-1997-headlight-switch-wiring

10103412 THE HEADLIGHT SWITCH WIRING CAUSED AN OPEN CIRCUIT IN THE INSTRUMENT PANEL ILLUMINATION, THE PARK LIGHTS AND TAIL LIGHTS
10099997 HEADLIGHTS OVERHEATED, CAUSING THE ELECTRICAL HARNESS TO MELT
8015232 TAIL LIGHTS AND INTERIOR DASH LIGHTS WENT OUT WITHOUT WARNING. THIS WAS DUE TO LIGHT SWITCH HARNESS CONNECTORS MELTING, SHORTING OUT THE WIRES

Heater blower switch and wiring overheatingVISIBILITY9 complaints1999-07 → 2001-08contour-1997-heater-blower-switch

885770 HEATER FAN CONTROL SWITCH BEGAN SMOKING AND SHUTDOWN WHILE VEHICLE WAS IN OPERATION
894186 DURING REPLACEMENT OF HEATER BLOWER SWITCH CONSUMER NOTICED THAT ELECTRICAL WIRES WERE MELTED TOGETHER AND CHARRED BLACK
842073 WHILE DRIVING AT 35 MPH SMELLED SMOKE, AND HEATER SWITCH CAUGHT ON FIRE AND BURNED

Brake failure and extended stopping distanceSERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC9 complaints1999-09 → 2007-07contour-1997-brake-failure

10197454 WHILE THE CONTACT APPLIED THE BRAKES AT 30 MPH, THE VEHICLE FAILED TO STOP
10012324 WHILE DRIVING THE CONSUMER NOTICED THAT THE BRAKE PEDAL DESCENDED TO THE FLOOR AND THE VEHICLE EXPERIENCED EXTENDED STOPPING DISTANCE
725277 WHEN I TRIED TO MAKE A SUDDEN STOP THE REAR WHEELS LOCKED, THE CAR SPUN ABOUT 90 DEGREES AND HIT A BRIDGE

Engine stalling while drivingENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING8 complaints1999-08 → 2013-02contour-1997-engine-stalling

844089 WHILE DRIVING AT ANY SPEED VEHICLE STALLS WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING, AND THEIR IS A LOSS OF POWER
8000579 WHILE DRIVING ABOUT 65 MPH WHEN ENGINE STOPPED WORKING WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING CONSUMER HAD TO CONTROL OF VEHICLE, TOOK IT TO THE SIDE OF ROAD
717766 FOUR REPAIR ATTEMPTS HAVE BEEN MADE TO PREVENT MY CAR FROM STALLING IN WATER PUDDLES

Electrical fire and smoking wiringELECTRICAL SYSTEM6 complaints2000-07 → 2005-07contour-1997-electrical-fire

10119131 THE VEHICLE CAUGHT ON FIRE AFTER BEING PARKED FOR 2 MINUTES
10097767 WHILE PARKED IN THE DRIVEWAY VEHICLE CAUGHT ON FIRE
725419 MY CAR DIED, AFTER PULLING OVER I NOTICED SMOKE COMING FROM THE BACK LEFT SEAT

NHTSA complaints (summary) all years →

count	earliest_date	latest_date	crash_flagged	fire_flagged	top_components
252	1996-02-28	2013-02-06	11	12	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:45; ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:40; POWER TRAIN:32; SERVICE BRAKES:31; HYDRAULIC:31

Recalls all years →

none listed

Investigations all years →

none listed

FARS occupant deaths all years →

not identifiable in FARS (absent, not zero)

Cite this

Derived data is CC BY 4.0. Link back to the page you used. Text and BibTeX below.

Wrench.Pro (2026). 1997 Ford Contour vehicle data [dataset]. https://www.wrench.pro/data/vehicles/1997/ford/contour

@misc{wrenchpro_1997_ford_contour_2026,
  author = {Wrench.Pro},
  title = {Wrench.Pro vehicle data: 1997 Ford Contour},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {\url{https://www.wrench.pro/data/vehicles/1997/ford/contour}},
  note = {Derived from NHTSA public records. CC BY 4.0.}
}

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