21st Oct 2006, 07:22

My daughter who just turned 16 wanted a 2000 mercury cougar. I purchased it for her, in return she pays me back. She is working and doing just that. The cougar is the most precise thing in her life right now and she loves it. She has put an alternator on it, she has had no problem with it since. She has owned it for almost a year now, she is a very cautious driver and does no speeding I guess you can say she handles it with care.

22nd Oct 2006, 15:16

Well this version of the cougar is based on the pathetic contour platform. These cars have such crapppy reliability it is unreal a car company would release them to the public.

26th Oct 2006, 12:53

I have a 2000 mercury cougar I purchased exactly a year ago. It seemed to be in great shape when I bought it, but that all seemed to go to hell pretty quickly. First thing my fog lamps shorted out, then my truck latch doesn't unlatch properly, if I "pop" it, then shut the door it re-latches and if I use the key I have to turn the key twice, now I have to replace 4 tires because they wore unevenly because of a problem with aligning them right, My windows let water pour in if I go through a car wash, and I need a wheel bearing replaced and a axle, my low coolant light goes on and off. and the check engine light is throwing a code for a catalytic converter$$.It is leaking transmission fluid all over. What a nightmare.

30th Oct 2006, 10:00

I love my '99 Cougar. I bought it with 102,000 miles on it and now has close to 110,000, and other than the alternator going out, the car is wonderful. Maybe I'm lucky? I don't know, but I love this car. <3.

30th Oct 2006, 14:44

I have a 99 cougar with 125,000 miles on it. I am having some major electrical problems too. Alarm will go off randomly. Now my blinkers and hazards only work 10% of the time. If you have anny ideas on how to fix this cheap. please let me know. I have found that if I use the key to lock and unlock, the alarm does not go off as much. The alarm will also go off just by itself and my neighbors are not very happy when it starts going on and off at 3 in the morning. Please let me know if you have any ideas on how ti fix this.

jerwest2000@yahoo.com.

7th Nov 2006, 05:51

Also a 99 Cougar with alarm problems. Alarm goes off almost all the time when set, but more annoying is the intermittent beeping and hazards flashing at all hours. Happens when stopped and driving.

Any help or hints would be greatly appreciated.

paddylast@manx.net

14th Nov 2006, 23:56

I own a '99 Mercury Cougar and I have a question about the warped stereo buttons. Is there any way that I can purchase JUST the buttons for cheap, or do I need to purchase a whole new stereo? Does anyone have any advice on the cheapest way to get my stereo working again? If so, please email me at khan005@gmail.com. Thanks.

24th Nov 2006, 08:50

I bought a used 99 cougar. It had 50k miles on it when I purchased it. Two years later I am up around 85k miles. My biggest problem was the electrical system which controlled the power locks and security system, blew out the fuse. Just stick a 30 fuse into the place where Ford had the 20 fuse for that system. Second my alternator does squeak a little. But that's like very rarely when I rush to start the car. Just press the brake and turn the wheel slight and it solves that problem. Otherwise the car runs great. If tires are a problem and you live in the south buy rims and high performance tires. I've gotten those tires to last 2 or 3 years each before the tread is able to wear down.

4th Dec 2006, 20:20

I just bought a 1999 cougar, and was also having a problem with the alarm going off, and intermittent horn/lights flashing even while driving. I think I tracked the problem down to a bad hood switch. The hood switch is part of the alarm system. If the alarm is armed and the hood is opened, the alarm will sound. Furthermore, if any of the inputs (hood, doors, lift gate, or radio) is set/reset seven times within 8 seconds, it puts the alarm system into a diagnostic mode, so any additional input will cause the lights to flash and the horn to sound. That's was happening when I'd get the random horn/blinkers, even while driving.

I opted to remove the switch altogether, instead of trying to replace it. Splicing the two wires together allows the alarm system to arm, but of course it won't trip if the hood is opened. No big deal for me.

4th Jan 2007, 18:08

I purchased a brand-new 2002 Mercury Cougar after graduating from college and have had nothing, but problems.

First I had to replace the alternator. Then I was told that the catalytic converter was cracked and had to be replaced, at least this was under warranty at the time. The brake pads and rotors have been replaced and repaired. Then I had to replace the starter and battery. And the latest is the mass air flow system and all 3 catalytic converters have to be replaced. Unfortunately for me, the catalytic converters are no longer under warranty. The warranty on them is 8 years/80,000 miles and isn't it ironic that at 83,000 miles my catalytic converters are clogged.

I would also like to point out that my car has been well taken care of with regular oil changes, scheduled maintenance according to the manual, tires replaced, rotated, and alignment.

Kinda funny (although I'm not laughing) that before I bought this car, I had been driving a used 1991 Chevy truck for 5 years with 150,000+ miles on it. And it is still running strong as I sold it to my cousin.

9th Jan 2007, 17:47

I've owned my 99 Cougar for about 2.5 years. I bought it with 55,000 miles and it now has about 80,000 on it. So far I've replaced the moon roof, radio, trunk latch, hood latch, 3 tires, and probably even more that I can't remember. Sometimes my power steering quits when I go through a large puddle, but I'm lately mad about the tires. I had two blow outs within 3 months of getting the car, and recently another. They have all been rim leaks and the guy at the tire place said it may by my rims. I read that someone else had a similar problem. I love this car, but I'm really starting to get frustrated with it!