1998 FORD CONTOUR — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 836 complaints · 0 recalls
Most-reported system: POWER TRAIN (105 complaints · 12.6%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 50
  • Fires 20
  • Injuries 50
  • Deaths 4
Compare with 1997 →
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 POWER TRAIN appears in 105 of 836 owner complaints (12.6%) in this vehicle snapshot. POWER TRAIN: 105 complaints, 12.6% of reports POWER TRAIN 105 · 12.6% · 3 crash reports ENGINE: 102 complaints, 12.2% of reports ENGINE 102 · 12.2% · 1 crash reports 4 fire reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 101 complaints, 12.1% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 101 · 12.1% · 2 crash reports 11 fire reports SUSPENSION: 90 complaints, 10.8% of reports SUSPENSION 90 · 10.8% AIR BAGS: 82 complaints, 9.8% of reports AIR BAGS 82 · 9.8% · 23 crash reports SERVICE BRAKES: 61 complaints, 7.3% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 61 · 7.3% · 3 crash reports FUEL SYSTEM: 54 complaints, 6.5% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 54 · 6.5% · 1 crash reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 34 complaints, 4.1% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 34 · 4.1% VISIBILITY: 30 complaints, 3.6% of reports VISIBILITY 30 · 3.6% · 1 fire reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 673 complaints, 80.5% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 673 · 80.5% · 43 crash reports 13 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)
POWER TRAIN 105 12.6% 3 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 102 12.2% 1 crashes · 4 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 101 12.1% 2 crashes · 11 fires
SUSPENSION 90 10.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 82 9.8% 23 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 61 7.3% 3 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 54 6.5% 1 crashes · 0 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 34 4.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 30 3.6% 0 crashes · 1 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 673 80.5% 43 crashes · 13 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 Jul 1997. 1997-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 1997-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 1998-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 1998-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 1998-Q3: 14 owner reports 14 1998-Q4: 30 owner reports 30 1999-Q1: 44 owner reports 44 1999-Q2: 16 owner reports 16 1999-Q3: 60 owner reports 60 1999-Q4: 45 owner reports 45 2000-Q1: 33 owner reports 33 2000-Q2: 41 owner reports 41 2000-Q3: 31 owner reports 31 2000-Q4: 37 owner reports 37 2001-Q1: 42 owner reports 42 2001-Q2: 40 owner reports 40 2001-Q3: 26 owner reports 26 2001-Q4: 35 owner reports 35 2002-Q1: 31 owner reports 31 2002-Q2: 27 owner reports 27 2002-Q3: 31 owner reports 31 2002-Q4: 13 owner reports 13 2003-Q1: 19 owner reports 19 2003-Q2: 13 owner reports 13 2003-Q3: 20 owner reports 20 2003-Q4: 11 owner reports 11 2004-Q1: 16 owner reports 16 2004-Q2: 14 owner reports 14 2004-Q3: 17 owner reports 17 2004-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2005-Q1: 10 owner reports 10 2005-Q2: 12 owner reports 12 2005-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2005-Q4: 8 owner reports 8 2006-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2006-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2006-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 2006-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2007-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2007-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2007-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 2007-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2008-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2008-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2008-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2009-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2009-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2010-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2010-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2010-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2011-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2011-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2012-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2024-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Jul 1997 Jan 2024 Investigation SQ98002 ● Investigation SQ98002 Investigation RQ99019 ● Investigation RQ99019 Investigation PE00023 ● Investigation PE00023 Investigation PE00027 ● Investigation PE00027 Investigation EA00025 ● Investigation EA00025 Investigation EA01001 ● Investigation EA01001 Investigation RQ02006 ● Investigation RQ02006
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1997-Q3 Owner reports 2
1997-Q4 Owner reports 2
1998-Q1 Owner reports 3
1998-Q2 Owner reports 3
1998-Q3 Owner reports 14
1998-Q4 Owner reports 30
1999-Q1 Owner reports 44
1999-Q2 Owner reports 16
1999-Q3 Owner reports 60
1999-Q4 Owner reports 45
2000-Q1 Owner reports 33
2000-Q2 Owner reports 41
2000-Q3 Owner reports 31
2000-Q4 Owner reports 37
2001-Q1 Owner reports 42
2001-Q2 Owner reports 40
2001-Q3 Owner reports 26
2001-Q4 Owner reports 35
2002-Q1 Owner reports 31
2002-Q2 Owner reports 27
2002-Q3 Owner reports 31
2002-Q4 Owner reports 13
2003-Q1 Owner reports 19
2003-Q2 Owner reports 13
2003-Q3 Owner reports 20
2003-Q4 Owner reports 11
2004-Q1 Owner reports 16
2004-Q2 Owner reports 14
2004-Q3 Owner reports 17
2004-Q4 Owner reports 4
2005-Q1 Owner reports 10
2005-Q2 Owner reports 12
2005-Q3 Owner reports 6
2005-Q4 Owner reports 8
2006-Q1 Owner reports 4
2006-Q2 Owner reports 5
2006-Q3 Owner reports 8
2006-Q4 Owner reports 6
2007-Q1 Owner reports 1
2007-Q2 Owner reports 5
2007-Q3 Owner reports 7
2007-Q4 Owner reports 2
2008-Q1 Owner reports 3
2008-Q2 Owner reports 1
2008-Q3 Owner reports 3
2008-Q4 Owner reports 1
2009-Q1 Owner reports 4
2009-Q2 Owner reports 2
2009-Q4 Owner reports 2
2010-Q1 Owner reports 2
2010-Q2 Owner reports 3
2010-Q3 Owner reports 4
2011-Q1 Owner reports 1
2011-Q2 Owner reports 3
2011-Q3 Owner reports 2
2012-Q4 Owner reports 1
2013-Q3 Owner reports 1
2013-Q4 Owner reports 1
2014-Q2 Owner reports 1
2014-Q3 Owner reports 1
2015-Q1 Owner reports 1
2015-Q3 Owner reports 1
2015-Q4 Owner reports 1
2018-Q4 Owner reports 2
2024-Q1 Owner reports 1
Defect investigation 1 SQ98002
Defect investigation 1 RQ99019
Defect investigation 1 PE00023
Defect investigation 1 PE00027
Defect investigation 1 EA00025
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 836 complaints · page 1 of 34

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