21st Dec 2010, 09:24

Carl: your Ford Cougar is based on the Ford Mondeo/Contour/Mercury Cougar/Mystique models. So any comments there could be helping you. Search for Contour Enthusiast Group (CEG) and "Mad Moles" and you find some excellent web sites for your Cougar problems.

Getting the plugs and wires changed is a good start. Do you have a Check Engine Light on? If so get the codes. Be slow in changing expensive sensors, rather clean as many things that can be cleaned i. E throttle body, EGR system. Search for vacuum leaks or go ahead and replace the cheap vacuum tubing.

Keep mental or written notes of any changes that occur.

Good luck!

16th Jan 2011, 09:28

Just bought a used 2000 Mercury Cougar V6. I had a '99 Mercury Tracer, which I had countless problems with, so I was wary about getting another Mercury. The transmission went on the Tracer, and I ended up getting the Cougar for a good price, so I thought that it being a different model, I wouldn't have half the problems I did with the Tracer. Oh boy, how I was wrong.

Only had the car 4 days when it starting have tons of electrical problems. The lights on the dash started dimming, and the warning light was constantly on while driving. The windows sometimes worked, and when they did, they'd make squeaking noises and took forever to go down. And then when they did go down, you couldn't get them to roll back up unless you restarted the car like 6 times. The power locks only worked for 1 day of me having it.

By the fourth day I had it, I was driving and everything electrical stopped working. First, the CD player shut off, then the heat/fan shut off, and then the car kept jerking and driving weird until the entire thing just shut off (while I was in the middle of busy traffic) and wouldn't start back up. Ended up having to push the thing into a parking lot, and then calling a tow truck to tow the thing to a mechanic.

It still being fixed as I type this, but the guy has replaced the alternator 3 times, which every time, it blew out. Now he's telling me that the dash instrument cluster needs to be replaced, because it's not giving out the correct voltage, so it keeps blowing out the alternator. Come to find out that there was a huge recall on the V6 because of wiring problems. So now I have to go check out junk yards/ebay to find this part, and hope and pray that it'll work. Which I have a feeling that it won't.

So now I'm debating if I should spend the money to get the Tracer or the Cougar fixed, which will probably end up costing me the same amount either way. At least with the Tracer, I never had any electrical problems. It was usually the exhaust system that always went. So with that, I'd only have to fix it once a year and it'd be fine. But with the Cougar, it's ALL electrical problems. So I'm unsure if it'll ever be fully fixed.

All I know is I will NEVER buy a Mercury/Ford ever again. They make crappy cars, and something always breaks on them. And of course it always costs a fortune to fix. I DO NOT recommend this car, or any Mercury for that matter, to anyone. You'll be stuck putting more money into it than what it's actually worth.

29th Mar 2011, 10:55

Hi,

I have a 2000 and the check engine light has been on from the time I bought it, Auto Zone said it was the EGR valve. I replaced that and it is STILL on.

Also my AC/heat only works on 4 too. I have been told it's the blower motor, but I don't want to pay out $$ into it unless that is it for sure.

Did you ever fix your heat/AC problem? Also what was the end result for the check engine light?

Thanks in advance for your help!

31st Mar 2011, 18:24

If the blower motor works on 4, then the motor is O.K. I would check the blower switch, relay, the blower resistor or the wiring connecting any of these parts.

I had a switch melt down on a Ford Contour (the Cougar is based on the Contour), and replaced it with one from the junk yard.

You can check the resistor with a multimeter before spending about $40 for a new one.

20th Apr 2011, 13:05

I just got my 99 Cougar this year. All problems. The car ran for three day. What a waste.

4th May 2011, 11:39

I just bought a Mercury Cougar 1999 with 190k miles.

I have had it now for a month. The only problem is it started leaking oil, but it's not a lot... like the size of a half dollar. I think it may be the oil pan but I am not 100% sure.

Other than that I have had no problems with mine. LOL.

6th Jun 2011, 22:11

The radio does not turn on if the car has been sitting in the sun. Same problem with the power seat and the trunk release.

What could be the problem?

Otherwise, things have been pretty smooth going... I just had to replace the starter and alternator at 120K. Replaced the blower switch and freon. It needed some warranty work in the beginning but it has worked fine with few problems.

21st Jun 2011, 06:29

You know, I've owned two Cougars now, and have a lot to say about them. I purchased a '99 2.0L 4 cylinder, stick shift, for next to nothing, and drove it from 176k to about 235k miles, with absolutely NO PROBLEMS!! This I later found out is because the 2.0L is made by Ford. That is a GREAT engine, and would love to own another one, no matter what car it's in.

Like I read in other reviews here, I could easily push over 40mpg with that car, even when on freeways and in city; Hwy driving sometimes even better. That car spent its whole life in Northern Minnesota I'd like to add, and was rusting pretty good, it had gigantic snow tires on it, and survived a 60mph head on with a 200lb whitetail deer with ease. On top of all that, I'm about 99% certain the owner before me drove thousands and thousands of miles without an oil change before I got it. I also taught several girls how to drive a manual in that car LOL, and the clutch survived!!!

I absolutely loved that car, and it will take a VERY impressive vehicle to outdo it.

The only reason I had to get rid of it was electrical issues. The wires under the windshield wiper grill that go to the windshield wiper motor became corroded, shorted, they flow into a wiring harness the size of your wrist, that went, which took out EVERYTHING.. But the engine remained, faithfully starting for me EVERY SINGLE TIME. I drove it during the day (because it had no headlights) and with my Tom Tom on (cause it had no speedometer) until I decided it was time to sell it to the salvage yard. Ended up picking up a 1999 V6, manual. Now, don't get me wrong, I love this car.. But it has been a major chore just to get it to 150k miles... There's all kinds of problems, and the only reason I found this forum is because I was googling how to fix the car alarm randomly going off..

I truly love this car, and I'm gonna try and keep it going for as long as I reasonably can.. But with it going thru two water pumps in less than a year, random vacuum lines deciding to self destruct, the sun roof dying, and plenty of other small problems, it really makes me miss my little faithful four banger that pushed 40 mpg... as the 6 cylinder will maybe push 30 mpg on the hwy, if I'm really really really lucky... But hey, they look pretty and are really fun to drive!!! Great sound systems too...