Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (battery, alternator, wiring, ignition, instrument cluster, infotainment).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 1995 Ford Contour owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Experienced transmission issues, with intermittent rough shifting and intermittent failures to engage in drive or reverse. It mysteriously started to run fine for several days. One morning I drove a short distance for an appointment. Upon returning and starting the car I noticed smoke exiting the left side of the engine compartment. I turned of the vehicle and inspected the engine compartment, and I could still see some smoke coming from the left-rear part of the engine compartment. After this incident, several of the vehicle's electrical functions failed, including park/brake shift interlock, heater fan, backup lights, directional flashers. Following the incident, the transmission issues have resumed. Upon inspection, I noticed several wires had cracking insulation, and some even had bare wire exposed.
I have a 1995 Ford Contour and just found out all along there was a campaign on the wiring harness in the engine compartment . This is very unsafe and is causing the car to act erratically it is a fire hazard due to the fact the wiring harness is frayed if I touch any of the wires the insulation just falls off what hasn't already fell off. Engine dies and stalls all the time and car is un drivable called Ford and they said there was a campaign and recall on wiring harness . But is unavailable now but I could buy one for $1300.00 it has caught small fire due to this.
Consumer was traveling about 50mph on highway and noticed a smoke smell coming through the vents. He pulled over to the shoulder and vehicle was on fire. Dealership was aware of problem. Prior to recall 00V367, engine was overheating and burning excess oil from overheated piston rings, after recall repairs, there was an internal antifreeze leak that was going into motor oil, engine cooling fans were operating intermittently when engine was hot, dealer found upper radiator hose at water pump had a pinhole leak, engine cooling fan wiring overheated and burned out at fan relay and fan connectors, then consumer received recall 01i009 and had these repairs completed on vehicle, after recall repairs, engine and in-dash wiring overheated and burned, dealer installed recall parts for blower motor again, consumer later informed a new motor was needed due to no compression due to overheating …
I have a Ford Contour 1995 manufactured in 12/94 I have some complaints about my car. There are some recalls out on this vehicle. But there are not list for my Contour VIN # but I have the same problems. My car was taken to the robins Ford delership in glenolden,pa for not starting. After they inspected the vehicle they called me and told me that I have a wiring harness defect that caused it to short circuit my spark plugs. They told me that the wires for this vehicle is out dated and for have been replacing them with updated wires. But they have not issued a recall for my VIN# but it is a known manufacturer defect with this car. I also have some problems that have just started that Ford have recalls on but again not my so called VIN#. My seat belts on this car have been breaking off at the connection tab as well as my defroster not working. Both have recalls on them. …
My car stalled on me back in March of this year, and when it was looked at a garage, they told me it was a faulty engine wiring harness on my 1995 Ford Contour. I looked around on the internet, and saw that there was indeed a recall on this same harness. I never received a notice from Ford about it. I contacted the local Ford dealer, and they verified that there was indeed a recall on it, and to bring it in to have the work done. I then had the car towed there to have it fixed. After they had it for about three or four days, I went back to check on it, and they said that they couldn't work on it, because it was five thousand miles over their "recall warranty". I had the car towed back home, and called Ford themselves. I got the same runaround from them also. I notified them that I never received the recall notice on it, and they basically told me sorry, it wasn't their fault. …
1995 Ford Contour recall letter #99m03 issued oct.1999. I purchased car apr.2001 without knowledge of this recall. Mileage when purchased, 98,042. Mileage when wiring harness was determined as problem, 121,869. I have receipts for parts and labor that was not necessary due to this problem. There is a total of 20 recalls as of jan. 1995 on my VIN number. Ford motor states recall #99m03, is not considered a safety recall and expires at 100,000 miles. Other recalls extend to 150,000 miles because they are considered customer satisfaction courtesy. The car was manufactured and sold with a wiring harness defect and several other defects. Because I purchased the car used I was not aware of all defects. I believe Ford should be responsible for their defective products and not force the second owner of the car to pay for their mistakes. …
The car has trouble starting or will not start. This happens intermittently and we cannot predict when the car will not crank/start. You turn the key and nothing happens; it does not crank or make any noise at all. If you park the car and go inside, return and try to start the car, sometimes it does not start. This has happened many times. Sometimes, if you wait 20-30 minutes, the car will start up, but you cannot be sure. The car has been scoped and various repairs have been made, but the problem persists, and since the non-cranking episodes happen sporadically, they have not isolated or corrected the problem. The frequency of non-cranking episodes is increasing and the wait time to try to restart the car is now up to 1 hour. The car is not safe to drive because no one can predict when the car will not start or when it will stop. …
1995 Ford Contour. Recall 99m03 (underhood wiring harness) was completed by Ford dealership October 2000. In 2003 and since, check engine light comes on, ABS light comes on, blows fuses randomly, finally the steering column started smoking and the wiring caught fire. After inspection, it appears Ford only replaced part of the wiring harness on the recall, not the entire harness as the invoice shows. Part of the wiring appears in very good shape, while some sections of the harness are frayed, insulation is falling off, and bare wire is exposed. If this is the norm and not just an individual incident, it is a very misleading and dangerous deception. It would appear they only patched a problem that was, for safety's sake suppose to be replaced. The invoice that was provided when repairs were done, does indicate that the entire harness was, in fact replaced. …
I took my 1995 Ford Contour in to my local perry Lincoln Ford dealer, on hitchcock st., in santa barbara, ca--today (10/12/09. I stated to the repairman that I noticed, on the internet, that the '95 Ford contours had been recalled for ignition fires. I told him that my ignition switch heats up, every time I drive it, even a short distance of 3 miles to work, every day. I told him that the ignition switch gets so hot, that my key is too hot to handle!! The entire driver's wheel component, that includes the ignition switch, gets hot. The repairman, at Ford, took my VIN no.; and researched my car, on his Ford computer; and my VIN no. Did not show a recall. I told him, I thought the recall was for all 1995 Ford contours, not just some. Do I have to wait for a fire to start, in the ignition switch, before anything is done about it? …
The entire wiring harness in the engine compartment is defective. The plastic covering the wires is cracked and peeling off in the entire system causing the car to occasionally brake for no reason and to kick and sputter when driving especially when it has been raining. The Ford dealer admits it is a common problem caused by an experimental plastic that was used that year but the complaint is not covered under any recalls so we have had to have minor repairs done to the wiring every time the car dies due to a short in the system. The car is in perfect shape mechanically and the body is in great shape also. I am wondering why no one has addressed this problem before because I hate to think of how many others there are just like me who May have to junk a perfectly good car because they cannot afford to keep paying for wiring problems. …
NHTSA investigations
Blower switch/resistor or wiring harness
There is no summary currently available
Blower switch/resistor or wiring harness
There is no summary currently available
Electrical complaints in other Contour years
Frequently asked questions
How common are electrical problems on the 1995 Ford Contour?
NHTSA has 180 complaints about the electrical system of the 1995 Ford Contour, 20% of the model year's 891 complaints. The component named most often is wiring › front underhood (69 mentions).
Is there a recall for 1995 Ford Contour electrical problems?
No. NHTSA lists no electrical system recall for the 1995 Ford Contour, though it has 8 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 1995 Ford Contour electrical problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 120,000 miles, and 3% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 33 fires and 1 injury and 1 death to electrical system problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.