Ford Contour
Owners filed 3,155 complaints across 9 model years of the Ford Contour. The 1995 drew the most (891).
Model years9
Complaints3,155
Recalls55
Fires129
Deaths15
Which Ford Contour years should you avoid?
Going by 3,155 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the Ford Contour years to avoid are 1995.
- 19952.2× the usual share of fires, crashes and deaths for a car of its age (65 fires, 39 crashes, 11 deaths).
How this is worked out: each year is compared with a typical year of the same model, which takes most of the difference in sales out of it, and its share of serious failures is compared with every other car of the same model year, because older cars were complained about differently. A year needs 25 complaints to be judged at all. Complaints are unverified owner reports. Full method →
Every Ford Contour model year compared
Complaints per year| Year | Complaints | Relative volume | Recalls | Fires | Crashes | Most reported | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 4 | 0 | — | — | Engine and Engine Cooling | Routine | |
| 2000 | 199 | 7 | 1 | 8 | Structure | Routine | |
| 1999 | 419 | 5 | 9 | 28 | Structure | Above average | |
| 1998 | 846 | 12 | 20 | 50 | Power Train › Automatic Transmission | Fatalities reported | |
| 1997 | 218 | 8 | 10 | 11 | Power Train › Automatic Transmission | Above average | |
| 1996 | 563 | 11 | 24 | 35 | Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine › Gasoline | High concern | |
| 1995Avoid | 891 | 12 | 65 | 39 | Electrical System › Wiring › Front Underhood | Fatalities reported | |
| 1994 | 12 | 0 | — | — | Power Train › Automatic Transmission | Routine | |
| 1993 | 3 | 0 | — | — | Power Train › Automatic Transmission | Routine |
Data: NHTSA complaint and recall files, October 2026. Complaints are unverified owner reports.