The defect
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.
The risk
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.
The remedy
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.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by ODI
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Ford Contour | 1995, 1996 |
| Mercury Mystique | 1995, 1996 |
Components: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Model years in this recall
NHTSA complaints and the number of recall campaigns for each model year this recall covers.
| Model | Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ford Contour | 1995 | 891 | 8 |
| Ford Contour | 1996 | 563 | 8 |
| Mercury Mystique | 1995 | 335 | 8 |
| Mercury Mystique | 1996 | 185 | 7 |
Other engine and engine cooling recalls in 2000
24 of the 541 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2000 concerned the engine and engine cooling; FORD MOTOR COMPANY filed 963 campaigns in all.
| 00V423000 27 Dec 2000 | LAND ROVER NORTH AMERICA, INC. |
| 00V311002 6 Dec 2000 | MITSUBISHI CARIBBEAN |
| 00V385000 21 Nov 2000 | CRANE CARRIER COMPANY |
| 00V376000 14 Nov 2000 | ISUZU MOTORS LIMITED |
| 00V342000 25 Oct 2000 | PREVOST CAR, INCORPORATED |
| 00V334000 18 Oct 2000 | HAULMARK IND., INC. |
| 00V328000 16 Oct 2000 | LAND ROVER NORTH AMERICA, INC. |
| 00V319000 11 Oct 2000 | AMERICAN SUZUKI MOTOR CORP. |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2000