1999 Mercury Cougar

I HAVE OWNED MY 99 COUGAR FOR 7 YEARS NOW I BOUGHT IT USED AND EVERYTHING WORKED FINE THE FIRST YEAR BUT LATE WITHIN THE LAST 3 YEARS I HAVE CHANGED THE ALTERNATOR 3 TIMES STARTER 4 TIMES AND THE BATTERY 3 TIMES JUST RECENTLY MY CAR REFUSED TO START SO I FIGURED IT WAS THE STARTER CAUSE EVERY FALL AND WINTER ONE OF THE 3 MENTIONED GOES OUT WELL I REPLACED THE STARTER AND IT WONT START NOW I CHECKED THE BATTERY AND THAT IS GOOD I ALSO CHECKED THE CABLES AND THEY ARE GOOD , AND JUST TODAY I FOUND A FEW RECALLS ON MY CAR ONLINE SO I WENT TO THE FORD WEBSITE TO SEE IF THE RECALLS WHERE LISTED BUT THEY ARE NOT . DOES THAT MEAN THE PREVIOUS OWNER DID THE RECALLS ? AND IF SO WHY IS THE SAME PROBLEM OCCURRING AND WHAT CAN THE DEALERSHIP DO OR WILL DO ? WHAT RECOURSE DO I HAVE IF THE DEALERSHIP REFUSES TO FIX MY CAR UNDER THE RECALL? *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1999 MERCURY COUGAR. ON SEPTEMBER 4, 2008, WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 65 MPH, THE INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR LIGHTS BEGAN FLICKERING ON AND OFF. THE FOLLOWING WEEK, THE CONTACT REPLACED THE BATTERY, BUT THE FAILURE PERSISTED. THE DEALER PERFORMED A DIAGNOSTIC AND STATED THAT THE BATTERY CABLE WAS DEFECTIVE. THE MANUFACTURER STATED THAT HIS VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER 01V031000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:BATTERY). THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN REPAIRED. THE VIN WAS UNKNOWN. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 55,000.

I AM THE ORIGINAL OWNER OF A 1999 MERCURY COUGAR AUTOMATIC V6. I HAVE NEVER BEEN IN AN ACCIDENT WITH THE VEHICLE, BUT CONTINUE TO HAVE MECHANICAL PROBLEMS. LIKE OTHER 1999 ' 2000 MERCURY COUGAR OWNERS I WORRY ABOUT THE SAFETY OF DRIVING A VEHICLE WITH MORE PROBLEMS THAN CAN COST EFFECTIVELY BE FIXED. MY LIST OF BROKEN ITEMS INCLUDE THE RADIO, POWER WINDOW REGULATOR, O2 SENSORS, TRANSMISSION AT 59,000 MILES, DASHBOARD LIGHTS (LOW COOLANT AND CHECK ENGINE), DOOR/WINDOW LEAKY SEAL ISSUES, ENGINE MISFIRE (DECREASED ACCELERATION) AND NOW MY CRUISE CONTROL AND TURN SIGNALS DO NOT WORK. UPON RESEARCHING THE RECALL FOR CRUISE CONTROL FIRES DEALING WITH FORD PRODUCTS I FOUND THAT I AM AMONG OTHER DISGRUNTLED COUGAR OWNERS. FORD/MERCURY OR FORD TECHNICIANS HAVE NOT DONE A SATISFACTORY JOB LETTING OWNERS KNOW OF RECALLS THAT NEED ATTENTION. MY LATEST CONCERN IS THAT MY COUGAR MIGHT START ON FIRE, PER MY COMPLAINT WITH FORD; THEY SEE NO THREAT WITH MY CRUISE CONTROL ISSUES AND SUGGESTED I CONTACT THE NHTSA WITH MY COMPLAINT. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1999 MERCURY COUGAR. WHILE DRIVING 45 MPH, THE EXTERIOR LIGHTS BECAME DIM. THE EXTERIOR LIGHTS ALSO DIMMED IMMEDIATELY WHEN THE CONTACT BEGAN DRIVING. THE FAILURE OCCURRED INTERMITTENTLY. THE HEADLIGHTS AND INSTRUMENT PANEL LIGHTS ALSO FLICKERED AND DIMMED, BUT THEN ILLUMINATED TO FULL CAPACITY. THE FAILURE IS DIRECTLY RELATED TO NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER 01V031000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:BATTERY:CABLES); HOWEVER, THE DEALER STATED THAT THE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 80,000 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 79,700.

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1999 MERCURY COUGAR. IN 2003, THE ENGINE FAILED WHEN FUEL WAS PRESENT IN THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER AND REPAIRED UNDER WARRANTY. CURRENTLY, FUEL IS NOT ABLE TO ENTER INTO THE ENGINE. THE VEHICLE WILL START AND THEN SHUT OFF. A DIAGNOSTIC TEST HAS NOT BEEN PERFORMED ON THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE HAS ALSO HAD ELECTRICAL FAILURES, WHICH CAUSED THE BATTERY TO FAIL FOUR TIMES IN FOUR YEARS. THE BATTERY CABLE HAS BEEN RETIGHTENED SEVERAL TIMES AND REPLACED ONCE. THE SPEED WAS UNKNOWN. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 99,000 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 20,000.

I ALSO OWN A 99 COUGAR AND HAVE HAD NOTHING BUT ISSUES, BUT I LOVE THE WAY THE CAR DRIVES WHEN IT WORKS CORRECTLY. I HAVE ALSO REPLACED THE ALTERNATOR AND IT'S ALSO ON ITS 5TH WINDOW MOTOR, WHICH STILL DOES NOT WORK CORRECTLY. I HAVE REPLACED ALMOST EVERY SENSOR POSSIBLE, TOO. OF COURSE WHEN I HAVE QUESTIONED MERCURY ON THESE ISSUES, THEY CLAIM THAT IT'S NOT A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THE COUGARS. I HAVE HEARD FROM OTHERS ON THE TIRE ISSUES, BUT LUCKILY MINE HAS NOT HAD ANY ISSUES WITH TIRES. THE NEWEST ISSUE WITH MINE IS THE HEADLAMPS. I WAS IN SOME HEAVY RAIN WATER IN THE BEGINNING OF OCT. 2006 AND THEY LEAKED AND HAD PUDDLES INSIDE OF THEM. I TOOK IT TO BE SERVICED BY MERCURY AND I HAVE NOT HAD MY CAR BACK FOR 3.5 MONTHS! IN TALKING WITH FORD I HAVE FOUND OUT THAT THEY HAVE NOT MADE ANY HEADLAMPS FOR THE 99 COUGAR SINCE JAN. 2006 AND THEY ARE ON A NATION WIDE BACKORDER. TO MAKE A LONG STORY SHORT, I AM HOPING THAT FORD WILL MAKE THINGS RIGHT FOR NOT STOCKING HEADLAMPS AND PUTTING ME WITHOUT A CAR FOR THE PAST 3.5 MONTHS. *NM

1. CAR BEGAN TO LOSE POWER AND THE STEERING WHEEL BEGAN TO LOCK UP AND LIGHTS BEGAN FLICKERING ON THE DASH. 2. THE CAR STALLED IN THE FAST LANE ON A BUSY FREEWAY. THE CONSEQUENCE WAS A SMALL TRUCK REAR-ENDED THE BACK OF THE CAR AND IT WAS TOTALED. ONE PERSON HAD BUSTED LIP IN TRUCK AND ONE IN THE CAR HAD BUSTED FOREHEAD AND BLACKENED EYES WITH BACK INJURIES AND THE OTHER ONE HAD BACK AND STOMACH EXTREME PAINS AND LEGS. 3. NOTHING COULD BE DONE AT THIS POINT-THE CAR ALWAYS HAD PROBLEMS. TOO BAD, I WAS NOT AWARE OF ALL OF THE RECALLS--MAYBE THAT WOULD NOT HAVE HELPED EITHER. *NM

I WOULD LIKE TO COMPLAIN ABOUT MY COUGAR. I CANNOT PASS THE IL. EMISSIONS TESTS, DUE TO THE FACT THAT THE O2 SENSORS ARE DEFECTIVE. MY ENGINE LIGHT IS CONSTANTLY ON. I HAVE HAD MY CAR SERVICED FOR THE ENGINE LIGHT, ALONE, 8 DIFFERENT TIMES. EIGHT! THIS IS INCREDIBLE. ALSO, MY CAR MAKES A LOUD SCREECHING NOISE WHEN I ATTEMPT TO START IT. -IF IT STARTS AT ALL.- I HAVE HAD MY STARTER REPLACED TWICE. TWICE!!! THIS CAR IS A LEMON. NOTHING BUT A LEMON. HOW COULD MERCURY SALE SUCH CRAP AND GET AWAY WITH IT. MY DRIVERS' LICENSE WILL BE SUSPENDED BECAUSE I CANNOT PASS THE EMISSIONS TEST. IF I CAN EVEN GET MY CAR TO THE TESTING FACILITY. I HAVE HAD THE ALTERNATOR CHANGED, THE FUEL PUMP, THE ELECTRICAL WIRING CHANGED, SUNROOF, TURNING SIGNAL, EVEN THE RADIO WAS DEFECTIVE. I SINCERELY HOPE THAT THERE IS A CLASS-ACTION LAWSUIT AGAINST MERCURY, BECAUSE I WILL BE THE FIRST ONE IN LINE TO SUE. *NM *TR