- Vehicles
- 262,559
- Built between
- Apr 1994 – Dec 1995
- Models
- 2
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- NHTSA investigation
- Owners notified
- 5 February 2001
- Repaired
- Not reported
- Unrepaired
- Not reported
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between April 1994 and December 1995. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 1995-1996 Ford ContourBuilt April 1994 to December 1995
- 1995-1996 Mercury MystiqueBuilt April 1994 to December 1995
What the defect is
Vehicle description: 1995 passenger vehicles equipped with the 2.0L and 2.5L engines, and 1996 vehicles equipped with 2.5L engines. Tightening of the engine cooling fan motor bearings, up to and including motor stall, can result in increased motor torque and higher than normal motor current and accompanying high motor temperatures.
What could happen
Overheating of the cooling fan motor due to excessive current can result in smoke and odors from bearing grease, insulation and other internal motor components. If electrical current continues to be applied to the motor, internal motor components could ignite possibly igniting other engine compartment components.
What gets fixed
DEALERS WILL INSTALL A POSITIVE TEMPERATURE COEFFICIENT DEVICE IN-LINE WITH EACH FAN MOTOR. FORD WILL ALSO EXTEND THE WARRANTY ON THE ENGINE COOLING FAN ASSEMBLY TO A TOTAL OF 8 YEARS OF SERVICE OR 100,000 MILES FROM THE WARRANTY START DATE, WHICHEVER OCCURS FIRST. IF THE VEHICLE ALREADY HAS MORE THAN 100,000 MILES, THIS COVERAGE WILL LAST UNTIL JULY 31, 2001.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtApril 1994 to December 1995
- Recall reported to NHTSA6 November 2000
- Owners notified5 February 2001
Your rights
A safety recall repair is free. Under US federal law the manufacturer must fix a safety defect at no cost to you — no charge for parts, labor or diagnosis — whether or not you are the original owner. A dealer cannot charge you for recall work, and cannot require you to have bought the vehicle from them.
That entitlement is not unlimited. It applies where the vehicle was first sold less than 15 years before the recall was announced — 5 years for tires. Past that a manufacturer may still do the repair free of charge, and many do, but they are no longer obliged to. This recall was reported on 6 November 2000.
To arrange the repair, contact any franchised dealer for the brand. If a dealer refuses the work or tries to charge for it, you can report that to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/recalls or on 1-888-327-4236.
Official source
- Manufacturer's recall number
- 00S44
- Recalling manufacturer
- FORD MOTOR COMPANY
- Recall initiated by
- ODI
Everything on this page — the models listed, the build dates and the repair figures — comes from the manufacturer's filing to NHTSA and describes the vehicle line as a whole, not any individual car. Only the manufacturer can confirm whether a specific vehicle is affected, and whether its recall work has already been carried out. Check yours by VIN and read the official notice at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Additional notes
Owner notification began february 5, 2001. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact ford at 1-800-392-3673. Also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-888-DASH-2-DOT (1-888-327-4236).
Check your own vehicle
This page describes the recall, not any one car. To see which recalls cover a specific vehicle, search by make, model and year.
A VIN lookup here identifies your vehicle and shows recalls issued for that make, model and year. It cannot tell you what is still open on your individual car - only the manufacturer knows that. Search by VIN instead, or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov for whether a recall is still open on your individual car.