- Vehicles
- 605,581
- Built between
- Apr 1995 – Aug 1998
- Models
- 2
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- NHTSA investigation
- Owners notified
- 16 July 1999
- Repaired
- Not reported
- Unrepaired
- Not reported
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between April 1995 and August 1998. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 1996-1998 Ford ContourBuilt April 1995 to August 1998
- 1996-1998 Mercury MystiqueBuilt April 1995 to August 1998
What the defect is
Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. The terminals at the headlight switch and wiring harness connector can experience heat damage as a result of overheating.
What could happen
The damage could result in distortion of the terminal causing an open circuit in the instrument panel illumination, parking lamp, and tail lamp circuits.
What gets fixed
DEALERS WILL INSTALL A HEADLAMP SWITCH WIRING CONNECTOR CONTAINING BRONZE TERMINALS AND AN INSPECTION, AND REPLACEMENT IF NECESSARY, OF THE HEADLAMP SWITCH.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtApril 1995 to August 1998
- Recall reported to NHTSA5 May 1999
- Owners notified16 July 1999
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 5 May 1999.
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
- 99S14
- 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 july 16, 1999. 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.