1996 FORD CONTOUR — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 556 complaints · 0 recalls
Most-reported system: ENGINE (99 complaints · 17.8%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 34
  • Fires 23
  • Injuries 38
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 1995 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution ENGINE appears in 99 of 556 owner complaints (17.8%) in this vehicle snapshot. ENGINE: 99 complaints, 17.8% of reports ENGINE 99 · 17.8% · 2 crash reports 6 fire reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 88 complaints, 15.8% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 88 · 15.8% · 13 fire reports POWER TRAIN: 55 complaints, 9.9% of reports POWER TRAIN 55 · 9.9% · 1 crash reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 47 complaints, 8.4% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 47 · 8.4% · 3 fire reports SERVICE BRAKES: 33 complaints, 5.9% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 33 · 5.9% · 4 crash reports SUSPENSION: 29 complaints, 5.2% of reports SUSPENSION 29 · 5.2% · 3 crash reports VISIBILITY: 29 complaints, 5.2% of reports VISIBILITY 29 · 5.2% VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 23 complaints, 4.1% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 23 · 4.1% · 6 crash reports AIR BAGS: 22 complaints, 4.0% of reports AIR BAGS 22 · 4.0% · 14 crash reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 453 complaints, 81.5% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 453 · 81.5% · 24 crash reports 16 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
ENGINE 99 17.8% 2 crashes · 6 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 88 15.8% 0 crashes · 13 fires
POWER TRAIN 55 9.9% 1 crashes · 0 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 47 8.4% 0 crashes · 3 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 33 5.9% 4 crashes · 0 fires
SUSPENSION 29 5.2% 3 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 29 5.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 23 4.1% 6 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 22 4.0% 14 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 453 81.5% 24 crashes · 16 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Oct 1995. 1995-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 1996-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 1996-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 1996-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 1996-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 1997-Q1: 9 owner reports 9 1997-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 1997-Q3: 12 owner reports 12 1997-Q4: 8 owner reports 8 1998-Q1: 14 owner reports 14 1998-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 1998-Q3: 9 owner reports 9 1998-Q4: 20 owner reports 20 1999-Q1: 19 owner reports 19 1999-Q2: 18 owner reports 18 1999-Q3: 59 owner reports 59 1999-Q4: 26 owner reports 26 2000-Q1: 24 owner reports 24 2000-Q2: 17 owner reports 17 2000-Q3: 23 owner reports 23 2000-Q4: 20 owner reports 20 2001-Q1: 35 owner reports 35 2001-Q2: 25 owner reports 25 2001-Q3: 23 owner reports 23 2001-Q4: 11 owner reports 11 2002-Q1: 14 owner reports 14 2002-Q2: 11 owner reports 11 2002-Q3: 13 owner reports 13 2002-Q4: 9 owner reports 9 2003-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2003-Q2: 16 owner reports 16 2003-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2003-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2004-Q1: 10 owner reports 10 2004-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2004-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2004-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2005-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2005-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2005-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2005-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2006-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2006-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2006-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2007-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2007-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2007-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2008-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2009-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2009-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2010-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2011-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2012-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2016-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Oct 1995 Jul 2021 Investigation PE98063 ● Investigation PE98063 Investigation RQ99019 ● Investigation RQ99019 Investigation PE00023 ● Investigation PE00023 Investigation EA01001 ● Investigation EA01001 Investigation RQ02006 ● Investigation RQ02006
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1995-Q4 Owner reports 2
1996-Q1 Owner reports 4
1996-Q2 Owner reports 4
1996-Q3 Owner reports 8
1996-Q4 Owner reports 2
1997-Q1 Owner reports 9
1997-Q2 Owner reports 6
1997-Q3 Owner reports 12
1997-Q4 Owner reports 8
1998-Q1 Owner reports 14
1998-Q2 Owner reports 4
1998-Q3 Owner reports 9
1998-Q4 Owner reports 20
1999-Q1 Owner reports 19
1999-Q2 Owner reports 18
1999-Q3 Owner reports 59
1999-Q4 Owner reports 26
2000-Q1 Owner reports 24
2000-Q2 Owner reports 17
2000-Q3 Owner reports 23
2000-Q4 Owner reports 20
2001-Q1 Owner reports 35
2001-Q2 Owner reports 25
2001-Q3 Owner reports 23
2001-Q4 Owner reports 11
2002-Q1 Owner reports 14
2002-Q2 Owner reports 11
2002-Q3 Owner reports 13
2002-Q4 Owner reports 9
2003-Q1 Owner reports 4
2003-Q2 Owner reports 16
2003-Q3 Owner reports 4
2003-Q4 Owner reports 3
2004-Q1 Owner reports 10
2004-Q2 Owner reports 5
2004-Q3 Owner reports 5
2004-Q4 Owner reports 5
2005-Q1 Owner reports 5
2005-Q2 Owner reports 5
2005-Q3 Owner reports 5
2005-Q4 Owner reports 3
2006-Q1 Owner reports 2
2006-Q2 Owner reports 2
2006-Q3 Owner reports 3
2007-Q1 Owner reports 3
2007-Q2 Owner reports 1
2007-Q4 Owner reports 2
2008-Q1 Owner reports 1
2008-Q2 Owner reports 1
2008-Q3 Owner reports 3
2009-Q1 Owner reports 3
2009-Q3 Owner reports 2
2010-Q1 Owner reports 1
2010-Q3 Owner reports 2
2011-Q2 Owner reports 1
2011-Q3 Owner reports 1
2012-Q4 Owner reports 1
2013-Q2 Owner reports 1
2013-Q3 Owner reports 1
2015-Q4 Owner reports 2
2016-Q2 Owner reports 1
2017-Q2 Owner reports 1
2018-Q4 Owner reports 1
2021-Q3 Owner reports 1
Defect investigation 1 PE98063
Defect investigation 1 RQ99019
Defect investigation 1 PE00023
Defect investigation 1 EA01001
Defect investigation 1 RQ02006
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (0)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

Zero safety recalls recorded for this model year in official NHTSA records.

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot Aug 21, 2026
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 556 complaints · page 1 of 23

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot Aug 21, 2026
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources