1999 Mercury Cougar

THE SUNROOF ON MY 1999 MERCURY COUGAR HAS STOPPED WORKING. IT STOPPED IN THE RAISED POSITION AND UPON INVESTIGATING THE PROBLEM IT SEEMS THAT THE PLASTIC PIECES ON THE TRACK HAVE BROKEN. WHILE RESEARCHING THE PROBLEM I DISCOVERED THAT THIS IS A KNOWN PROBLEM AND CAN BE DANGEROUS BECAUSE THERE HAVE BEEN MANY REPORTS OF THE SUNROOF PANEL ACTUALLY FLYING OFF THE CAR WHILE MOVING. FORD/MERCURY KNOWS THIS WAS A PROBLEM BECAUSE THEY CHANGED THE PLASTIC PIECES TO ALUMINUM AFTER THIS MANUFACTURE YEAR. IT IS A SHAME THAT SOMEONE DOESN'T MAKE THIS COMPANY FIX THE PROBLEM BEFORE SOMEONE GETS HURT OR KILLED BY ONE OF THESE SUNROOF'S MALFUNCTIONING AND FLYING OFF THE CAR OR FALLING ON SOMEONE WHILE TRYING TO GET IT TO CLOSE. YOUR ATTENTION IN THIS MATTER WOULD BE APPRECIATED. *JB

FAULTY EQUIPMENT IN THE SUNROOF ASSEMBLY (PLASTIC PIECES THAT HOLD THE SUNROOF TO THE TRACK GUIDES). THESE PIECES ALSO TAKE A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF "STRESS" WHEN THE SUNROOF IS IN THE OPEN POSITION. THEY ARE SUPPORTING MOST OF THE WEIGHT OF THE SUNROOF ITSELF. AND ALSO ON MY CAR, LEFT SIDE TRACK IS BROKEN AND JAMMED. TAKE A LOOK AT WWW.COUGARSUNROOF.COM PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO READ SOME OF THE COMPLAINTS. THEY FOCUS AROUND THE SAME PROBLEM, AS I HAVE DESCRIBED ABOVE. I THINK A RECALL SHOULD BE ISSUED FOR ANY 1999 AND UP MERCURY COUGAR THAT HAVE SUNROOFS. *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

THE ISSUE IS WITH THE DESIGN FLAW FOR A SUNROOF ON THE 1999 FORD MERCURY COUGAR, WHICH HAPPENED ABOUT A MONTH AGO WHEN TRYING TO OPEN ONE DAY. I BOUGHT THE CAR WITH LOW MILEAGE OF 53000, SUNROOF ONE OF MAIN REASON FOR PURCHASE. DID SOME RESEARCH, THERE IS GREAT WEBSITE THAT SHOWS THOUSAND PLUS OWNERS WHO HAVE HAD SAME PROBLEM AND NO HELP FROM FORD. PROBLEM IS SMALL PLASTIC PIECE IN DESIGN OF SUNROOF CANNOT SUPPORT ROOF, THEREFORE BREAKS AND ENTIRE ROOF MUST BE REPLACED EVEN THOUGH PART COST A FEW DOLLARS. THE COST TO FIX VEHICLE FROM FORD WITH LABOR HAS BEEN QUOTED BETWEEN 1500-2500 DOLLARS, UNBELIEVABLE FOR DESIGN FLAW. ALSO CAUSES SAFETY ISSUE FOR SOME AS SUNROOF IS LOOSE ON TOP OF ROOF AND WILL NOT SHUT ALL THE WAY FOR MANY OWNERS, BUT SINCE NO INJURIES HAVE BEEN REPORTED YET, FORD HAS NOT RECALLED FAULTY DESIGN. MY ONLY REQUEST IS THAT SOMEONE FROM AGENCY TAKES A LOOK AT THE THIS WEBSITE AS THE ADMINISTRATOR HAS DONE A TERRIFIC JOB EXPLAINING THE PROBLEM, THE UNFAIR TREATMENT FROM FORD, AND ALSO COMPLIES A VERY LONG LIST OF OWNERS WHO HAVE ALL HAD THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM. THE WEBSITE WILL ALLOW THE AGENCY A VERY GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF THE ISSUE AND HOPEFULLY TAKE ACTION FOR THOSE WHO FEEL CHEATED BY THE COMPANY (I WAS DIRECTED TO THE NHTSA FROM THAT SITE). PLEASE REVIEW THIS WEBSITE AS IT WILL EXPLAIN ALL THAT IS NEEDED FOR THE COMPLAINT AND HOPEFULLY ALLOW THE AGENCY TO TAKE SOME ACTION FOR THE CONSUMERS. HTTP://WWW.COUGARSUNROOF.COM/FAQS.PHP AND HTTP://WWW.COUGARSUNROOF.COM/INDEX.PH. *JB

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

1999 MERCURY COUGAR LEAKS WATER INTO HATCH AREA DIRECTLY ONTO THE INTERIOR EXPOSED ELECTRICAL WIRING AND CONNECTIONS FOR TAIL LIGHTS AND HATCH RELEASE. DEALERSHIP CANNOT DETERMINE SOURCE OF LEAK AND THEREFORE CANNOT REPAIR. MERCURY WILL NOT RELEASE BLUEPRINTS OF SHEET METAL LAYOUT TO HELP IN DETERMINING WHERE WATER LEAK MIGHT BE ORIGINATING. NEITHER DID MERCURY COVER DIAGNOSIS AND WILL NOT COVER REPAIR EVEN IF PROBLEM SOURCE WAS IDENTIFIED. SIGNIFICANT WATER INSIDE THE VEHICLE AND DIRECTLY ON EXPOSED ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS COULD EASILY RESULT IN A CATASTROPHIC FIRE HAZARD AND LOSS OF LIFE. *JB