1998 Ford Contour Steering Problems
- Complaints
- 33about this part
- Share
- 4%of 846 total for the year
- Median mileage
- 74,000miles
- Trend
- StableComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are within 25% of the 3 years before.
NHTSA recorded 33 complaints about the steering of the 1998 Ford Contour, 4% of the 846 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 74,000 miles. 1 of these say a crash was involved, according to the filers.
Example complaints
Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
“My family and I were making a right turn from the parking lot of a movie theater to a moderately busy street. After I completed the turn, I heard a loud bang , and my car suddenly swerved to the right, and I couldn't stop. I could not go forward, or back around. Thinking that it was caused by a blown tired, I got out; it was not. When I had it towed to my mechanic, he said that one of the steering rods on the front, right passenger wheel had broken. He replaced both the right and the left steering rods.”
NHTSA complaint #10163843, filed 2006-07, 58,000 miles“My 1998 Ford Contour 4-door sedan recently experienced a devastating failure. While my daughter was driving through a parking lot at low speed, a sub-frame assembly under the dash fell down on her feet. The assembly is held in place with two bolts which had come loose. As a result of this, the steering linkage was allowed to disconnect, permitting the steering wheel to spin freely. Had this happened on the highway she would have completely loss control, and because the frame fell on her feet, she probably couldn't have applied the brake. No steering and no brake! …”
NHTSA complaint #10010467, filed 2003-03, 120,000 miles“Dt: while driving and without prior warning the consumer could not make a right turn. Took vehicle to the repair shop, and they said the rack and pinion steering rack broke, and needed to be replaced. Also, did a power steering flush.”
NHTSA complaint #10138164, filed 2005-10, 52,839 miles“Automatic transmission slipped badly nearly causing accident as car behind me did not anticipate my car not being able to accelarate as I turned onto a busy road. Second time tranmisson has failed in the vehicle - first at approx 25000 miles. Leaking trans fluid also damge seals to power steering rack causing seals to fail competely in less than 300 miles.”
NHTSA complaint #763123, filed 2002-06“The contact owns a 1998 Ford Contour. While driving approximately 40 MPH on a wet road, the steering wheel seized. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the coil springs were damaged. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The contact stated that the failure recurred every time the road was wet. The approximate failure mileage was 137,000.”
NHTSA complaint #10764644, filed 2015-09, 137,000 milesRelated service bulletins
- 10013115Jan 1, 2004Steering column shipped without crush pad - reuse original crush pad if not damaged.
Steering: other model years
Other parts of the 1998 Ford Contour
132 complaintsElectrical system
130 complaintsTransmission and drivetrain
128 complaintsSuspension
102 complaintsAir bags
99 complaintsBrakes
91 complaintsFuel system
72 complaintsExterior lighting
43 complaintsVisibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
43 complaintsSeats
35 complaintsOther or unknown
34 complaintsVehicle speed control
34 complaints
← All problems reported for the 1998 Ford Contour
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 29, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.
To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology