Ford Motor Company: Exterior Lighting › Headlights › Switch
Ford Motor Company reported this defect to federal regulators on May 5, 1999 and put the number of vehicles at risk at 605,581. The repair is free for as long as the recall stands.
The defect
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES. THE TERMINALS AT THE HEADLIGHT SWITCH AND WIRING HARNESS CONNECTOR CAN EXPERIENCE HEAT DAMAGE AS A RESULT OF OVERHEATING.
The risk
THE DAMAGE COULD RESULT IN DISTORTION OF THE TERMINAL CAUSING AN OPEN CIRCUIT IN THE INSTRUMENT PANEL ILLUMINATION, PARKING LAMP, AND TAIL LAMP CIRCUITS.
The remedy
DEALERS WILL INSTALL A HEADLAMP SWITCH WIRING CONNECTOR CONTAINING BRONZE TERMINALS AND AN INSPECTION, AND REPLACEMENT IF NECESSARY, OF THE HEADLAMP SWITCH.
6 model years covered
Newest first| Vehicle | Complaints | Recalls | Fires | Crashes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 Ford Contour | 846 | 12 | 20 | 50 |
| 1998 Mercury Mystique | 231 | 11 | 7 | 9 |
| 1997 Ford Contour | 218 | 8 | 10 | 11 |
| 1997 Mercury Mystique | 71 | 7 | 3 | 4 |
| 1996 Ford Contour | 563 | 11 | 24 | 35 |
| 1996 Mercury Mystique | 185 | 10 | 12 | 7 |
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 99V103000.
Full record for the 1998 Ford Contour → · Recalls carrying a do-not-drive advisory → · Where this data comes from →