Ford Motor Company: Fuel System, Other › Storage
Ford Motor Company reported this defect to federal regulators on Nov 17, 1997 and put the number of vehicles at risk at 1,800. The repair is free for as long as the recall stands.
The defect
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: BI-FUEL VEHICLES MODIFIED TO RUN ON EITHER GASOLINE OR COMPRESSED NATURAL GAS (CNG). THE NATURAL GAS FUEL TANKS HAVE A SOLENOID SHUT-OFF VALVE THAT STOPS FUEL FLOW FROM THE FUEL TANK IN THE EVENT OF CERTAIN MODERATE TO SEVERE COLLISIONS. IF THE VEHICLE IS IN A COLLISION AND THE NATURAL GAS FUEL LINE IS DAMAGED, THE SYSTEM COULD LEAK NATURAL GAS.
The risk
FUEL LEAKAGE IN THE PRESENCE OF AN IGNITION SOURCE COULD RESULT IN A FIRE.
The remedy
FORD HAS REQUESTED OWNERS OF THESE VEHICLES TO HAVE THE CNG FUEL SYSTEM DISABLED UNDER A PREVIOUS RECALL CAMPAIGN AND TO ONLY USE GASOLINE FUEL UNTIL A PERMANENT CORRECTIVE ACTION IS DEVELOPED. OWNERS ARE BEING ALERTED TO THIS SOLENOID VALVE CONCERN AT THIS TIME. THE TIMING OF CORRECTIVE ACTIONS IS BEING DELAYED TO ALLOW BOTH CONDITIONS TO BE REMEDIED AT ONE TIME. IN THE MEANTIME, THERE IS NOT RISK AS LONG AS THE NATURAL GAS SYSTEM HAS BEEN DISABLED AND THE VHEICLE IS ONLY OPERATED ON GASOLINE.
2 model years covered
Newest first| Vehicle | Complaints | Recalls | Fires | Crashes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 Ford Contour | 218 | 8 | 10 | 11 |
| 1996 Ford Contour | 563 | 11 | 24 | 35 |
What this page is, and what to do next
A recall is not an opinion. It is a Part 573 report a manufacturer is required by federal law to file once it decides a defect poses an unreasonable risk to safety, and it commits them to repairing the vehicle at no cost to the owner. The three passages above are the manufacturer’s own wording as published by NHTSA.
This page describes the campaign. It cannot tell you whether one particular car has already been through the shop — that is tracked by VIN, and only the manufacturer knows it. Check yours at nhtsa.gov/recalls or with a franchised dealer, quoting campaign number 97V203000.
Full record for the 1997 Ford Contour → · Recalls carrying a do-not-drive advisory → · Where this data comes from →