Problems · by component
1999 Ford Contour visibility problems
41 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 1999 Ford Contour cite visibility, 9% of all 444 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
41
9% of all complaints
Crashes
0
Reported by owners
Fires
2
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
Reported by owners
What owners say about the visibility
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“THE DASHBOARD WINDSHIELD AIR/DEFROSTING VENT COVER BELOW THE WINDSHIELD POPPED OFF AND THE DASHBOARD PADDING HAS PEALED UP BLOCKING WINDSHIELD/FORWARD VISIBILITY. THIS HAS CAUSED THE VEHICLE TO FAIL THE VIRGINIA SAFETY INSPECTION. ALL REMEDIES WE HAVE TRIED HAVE ONLY SEEM TO PROVIDE TEMPORARY RELIEF. I HAVE PICTURES. I HAVE TALKED TO SEVERAL OTHER CONTOUR OWNERS WHO HAVE THE SAME PROBLEMS AND I HAVE SEEN CONTOURS IN PARKING LOTS WITH SIMILAR CONDITIONS. ADDITIONALLY, I WAS TOLD THIS WAS IDENTIFIED IN A PAST SAFETY RECALL. THIS IS A SAFETY HAZARD RESULTING FROM DEFECTIVE MATERIALS AND POOR DESIGN. *JS”
“HAPPENED AROUND OCT 15, 2008 AT NIGHT, BETWEEN MARSHALL AND OLIVET MI. FAILURE WAS WINDSHIELD WIPER LINKAGE, CAUSING WIPERS TO BLOW OFF THE VEHICLE. PART IS HARD TO FIND, LOOKING TO GET IT FIXED FOR SAFETY OBVIOUSLY. WAS NOT ABLE TO SEE WELL, SINCE NEXT EXIT WAS STILL MILES AWAY. NO EASY WAY TO FIX THIS IN AN EMERGENCY, LIKE THIS. THIS TYPE OF LINKAGE IS UNSAFE, AND I BELIEVE ANY VEHICLES WITH IT SHOULD BE RECALLED. *TR”
“I THINK SOMETHING SHOULD BE DONE TO CORRECT THE CLOUDING OF HEADLIGHT LENS - IT IS DEFINITELY A HAZARD AND VERY DANGEROUS...THERE SHOULDN'T HAVE TO BE ANY INCIDENTS BEFORE THIS IS LOOKED INTO..... LETS DO IT BEFORE THERE ARE INJURIES!! *TR”
“DASH ON FORD CONTOUR WARPS, INTERFERING WITH VISION AND DEFROST CAPABILITIES OF VEHICLE. FORD HAD A ONE RECALL ON THE DASH, BUT REFUSES TO FIX THE PROBLEM AGAIN.*CN”
“DT: THE CONTACT STATED THE DASHBOARD WARPED. IT TOUCHED THE WINDSHIELD, AND WAS PULLING THE PASSENGER'S AIR BAG PIECE. THE AIR BAG LIGHT CAME ON A COUPLE OF DAYS AGO. THE LIGHT HAS NOT BEEN ON SINCE. HE STATED NOW THAT HE WAS USING THE DEFROSTER, IT WAS COMING UP MORE. OFTEN. THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN INSPECTED TO SEE WHY THIS WAS OCCURRING. *AK”
“FRONT WINDSHIELD WIPER ON MY FORD 1999 EXPEDITION OPERATES BY ITSELF WHEN CAR IS ON. THE WIPER SWITCH IS SET TO OFF WHEN THEY COME ON. WORRIED ABOUT ELECTRICAL ISSUES WITH THIS VEHICLE FROM READING OTHER CONSUMER ENTRIES. *NM”
Showing 6 of 41 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 7, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.