2000 Ford Contour problems & reliability
199 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2000 Ford Contour, alongside 4 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
7 complaints report injuries (8 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2000 Ford Contour vehicles were involved in 6 fatal crashes with 4 occupant deaths. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Structure | 79 | 40% |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 34 | 17% |
| Unknown OR Other | 26 | 13% |
| Visibility | 23 | 12% |
| Electrical System | 16 | 8% |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 14 | 7% |
| Air Bags | 9 | 5% |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 8 | 4% |
| Seats | 5 | 3% |
| Equipment | 4 | 2% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Half of the failures with a reported odometer reading occurred by 55,000 miles (middle 50% between 40,000 and 85,000 miles), based on 86 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“Dashboard is delaminating and peeling upward interfering with air bag deployment, defrosters and visibility. Ford has ongoing issues with this same problem on other ford products. I feel this is definitely a safety issue and quality issue. *tr”
Visibility/wiper · filed Jun 15, 2020
“Tl* the contact owns a 2000 ford contour. The contact stated that when the brake pedal was depressed, there was an abnormal noise. In addition, the vehicle traction control activated when the brakes were activated. The failure recurred on numerous occasions. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it…”
Service Brakes · filed Oct 16, 2014
“Tl* the contact owns a 2000 ford contour. The contact stated that when the fuel tank was half full, the engine would hesitate, lose power, surge and stall. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the fuel pump and fuel filter were replaced but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was not contacted. The vin was…”
Fuel/propulsion System · filed Mar 18, 2013
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- INSTRUMENT PANEL COVER WARPAGE
Defect Petition DP06004 · opened Oct 23, 2006 · closed Apr 10, 2007
Technical service bulletins
91 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2000 Ford Contour. The 10 most recent:
Ford: certain 1999-2001 model year vehicles up to 6000 lb gvwr registered in new york and certain 2001 vehicles up to 6000 lb gvwr registered in the state of maine, certified for sale in california-federal emission…
CSP-08B01 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 16, 2008
Guidance for cng tank inspection for vehicles produced after december 2, 1996. *tt update. *tt
020503 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 21, 2005
General (pcm) power train control module programming procedures. *tt
042107 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Dec 13, 2004
Rear window defroster grid/integral antenna diagnosis and repair - terminal tab repair. *tt
04189 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Dec 13, 2004
Malfunction indicator lamp (mil) illuminated - system lean diagnostic trouble codes (dtc's) - service tips. Various models including 2004 f-series. *tt
04174 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 6, 2004
Rear window defroster grid/integral antenna diagnosis and repair - terminal tab repair. *tt
041514 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 9, 2004
Inoperative electric rear window defroster (heated backlite) grid lines, integral antenna concerns. *tt
031501 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 12, 2004
Malfunction indicator lamp illuminated with diagnostic trouble code p0420 and/or p0430/ 2.5l engine only. *tt
04104 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 21, 2004
Steering column shipped without crush pad - reuse original crush pad if not damaged. *tt
041814 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 1, 2004
Remote keyless entry (rke) - service tips. *tt
03181 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 15, 2003
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 2000 Ford Contour has 4 NHTSA recall campaigns — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 2000 Ford Contour?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.
- · Owners most often reported problems around 55,000 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.