27th Jan 2007, 09:19

Guys (and Girls) I have been reading all of your comments. I own a 99 Cougar and have since 2001. The Sun Roof went out, the driver's window stopped working, O2 censors, power coil, gasket, and last year (2006) I had to put in a new transmission. The comment about the RP M's jumping before shifting is the transmission problem I had. My tires were constantly needing to be replaced, but I switched from a V rated tire (The BF Goodrich) to the H-rated Han-kook tires and despite a minimal loss of maneuverability they are working great. One comment asked about idling in winter, and I had a problem similar to that that turned out to be an exhaust leak (not the Cat or the Muffler, but the pipe that connected them) and surprisingly that was about the cheapest thing I ever fixed on this car. Good Luck.

31st Jan 2007, 09:01

I purchase my '99 brand new, and had no problems with it up until last year. I started the car one day, drove to my grandparents, and the car has never started again... that was 14 months ago. My husband is great with cars, and he is having trouble finding what is wrong with it. We had to replace the fuel pump, and that didn't work. He has taken the manifold off, and found that the fuel rail is just spewing gas into the engine- the problem is, we can't figure out what is causing it- we tried a new computer, that didn't work. We have tried so many things, and nothing. I was wondering if anyone else has come into this problem. I am getting frustrated, and about to give up.

27th Feb 2007, 19:55

I too have had some problems with my 99 Mercury Cougar. The trunk latch is a lost cause and I live with that as do many other writers to this web site. After 2 battery replacements and one alternator, I found a defective battery cable which Ford installed incorrectly in all 99 cougars. It was a recall long ago, but the recall has expired. Anyway, the new battery cable fixed the problem. I have a few other problems that I live with, but a new one developed that is puzzling. The car makes a high pitched whining sound in the engine compartment for just a minute or two after a cold start. My friend thinks it is the power steering going bad, but it steers fine. I don't know the cause. Any suggestions?

3rd Mar 2007, 16:30

I bought my 99 Cougar almost 2 years ago with 65k miles on it.

I haven't had major problems with it, but I have had problems...

The Starter's gone bad, I had to have several pulleys replaced in the engine. The Check Engine light goes on and off at will since I've had the car. The Rotors on the car were warped when I bought it. I've replaced the tires only once due to busting radials on cobblestone streets in St. Louis.

The Rims often bend due to them being aluminum. None of the interior lights work. Only lights that work inside the car are the cluster panel, glovebox and warning lights.

Transmission seems to be slipping.

Window motor has broken.

I've had to get a front end alignment on it.

The Air/Heat only works on 4 and on high.

Sometimes the engine will whine until I hit the gas.

I've had to get the front drivers side ball joint worked on twice.

Often sluggish when driving..

I took my car into firestone to have to pulley's replaced and while doing so they said my alternator was bad and replaced it without my permission, later found that they messed up an electrical component and had to have that replaced at a Mercury Dealer.

My car now leaks, when it rains the drivers and passenger side floor board gets soaked.

I've been told it's the windshield so I'm having that replaced.

Does anyone know where to get new window stripping? I doesn't look like it works and I had to bust through the drivers side one day to break into my car when I locked the keys in.

Flryan23@yahoo.com.

6th Mar 2007, 13:17

OK, well I am a 17 year old and this is the first car that I bought myself, I have so many problems with this car it is amazing. I have had my alternator go out, my cat converter is going bad, my motor in my driver's side window is shot, and I have no clue what is wrong with my moon roof, and my fan doesn't work on any of the other settings except 4, and just last night I was driving home from work and my stereo started acting goofy, it would start cutting out and when I hit the side with my hand it started to work again, WTF!!! And when I go to start it up in the morning it makes a god awful squeaky sound, but that goes away quickly.

Please email me at paintball4food@hotmail.com with any ideas as to what might be wrong with some of the things listed above. Thanks!

7th Mar 2007, 01:08

Hi all, Jeb here from the UK we had the same car up until a short while ago, badged as a Ford Cougar which uses the same duratec v6.

I have a Mondeo v6 which is an American Contour with restyled lights, Please you should all make sure that you get your water pumps replaced around the 72k mark as the impellers which pump water round the engine are made from plastic?! So try and get hold of an aftermarket one made from metal, they are freely available on ebay etc. going for around £50 ($100) ish. If you don't you could suffer head gasket meltdown on the back bank of cylinders closest to the bulk head, which will overheat very quickly when the water pump fails, but it won't be picked up on the temperature gauge as the sensor for that is located at the front of the engine. A poor design by Ford.

In regard to the fan problem, it is a burnt out power resistor in the dash that will need replacing, which causes this problem on a lot of cars.

And any problems with car cutting out in turns is most likely a fuel pump failure caused by low grade fuel, I personally only run my car on 97 octane premium unleaded or 95 at worst, it makes a hell of a difference to economy and performance etc. As I've never heard of the problems described over here in England as we have 95 octane minimum in our pumps, so I'd think about boosting your octane on fill up if possible.

Regards Jeb.