11th Aug 2007, 13:57

I have a '99 Cougar that's just about to hit the 100k mark. I'm really surprised to see so many negative comments here when overall it's a very nice car. Yes, there are some really stupid design flaws like the cup holder and the placement of the alternator, but nothing like a chronic transmission failure or anything.

Anyway, my reason for dropping by was to contribute a solution for the trunk latch problem. There are two things you can do. First, yank the springs sticking out of the underside of the hatch door and stretch them - they get compressed after a while and don't push the door up as well as they used to. If that's not enough (and it's usually not), head over to eBay and pick up some replacement lift supports for the door - they stiffen up after a while, and in addition to impeding the latch, they also don't hold the door up so well anymore. I think I paid $25 for the pair and installed them in 5 minutes, and haven't had a problem opening the trunk since then. Happy trails.

15th Aug 2007, 04:58

Guys, my 99 Cougar has been jerking pretty bad and I think it's the fuel pump. I would be changing it tomorrow, but the problem is that I'd have to remove the tank from underneath. Has anymore had this experience, please email me to tell me how difficult the job is, because I want to do it alone.

Femi. email; talk2cmii@yahoo.com.

Thanks.

16th Aug 2007, 12:48

The fuel pump in the '99 is inside of the gas tank, and you can get to it by lifting the back seat and opening the cap on top of the tank... which requires a tool that your dealer has. You might find a way to open it yourself, but I'm not sure I'd recommend that.

14th Sep 2007, 15:44

I am the original owner of my 2002 Cougar, and although I haven't had the problems of everyone here, I definitely have the alternator problem. My original one lasted 3 years, and each one after that lasted only 1 year. My advice is to just buy the replacement at Advance or Autozone. They warranty them for life. You just have to deal with the annoyance of putting them in, but at least you don't have to pay for more than one. For people with sputtering problems, did you try a tune up? When mine started to sputter and misfire, it just needed new plugs and wires. I didn't mind it at 90k miles.

11th Oct 2007, 20:49

I just recently purchased a 99 Cougar privately. Before I purchased the car the person had an exhaust valve and head gasket replaced, which cost $2000. Since I've had it I had to have both front sway bars replaced, 4 new tires, repair a leak in the exhaust manifold, new rear left and right caliper slide pins, and new brake pads and a new alternator (which seems to be the most common, luckily this one has a 3 year warranty). Also the drivers side window switch sticks and sometimes doesn't work for days, the trunk sticks sometimes, one day I went to turn the car on and the alarm went off. Another day every button I pressed in the car the horn would beep. When I turn the heat on the car revs A lot higher. I'm hoping that once all this is fixed it will drive like a new car again, but I guess we all know that cars (especially Fords) are money pits. This car has taught me the value of hard work, because I've had to work my butt off to pay for it! lol However the car is very fun to drive with the V6 5 speed and I hope to drive it for a couple more years... Humm then maybe a new Lancer...

Devin.

12th Oct 2007, 21:28

I purchased my 99 cougar 2 1/2 years ago and just recently after the 100k mark, have had several problems with it. I have so many common problems with everyone else, it's pathetic to rewrite them, cause we are all having the same problems. As I am on here, depressing myself and making myself sick reading all these reviews, I am left wondering about the "lemon law". Is there nothing that we can do to get back our outrageous money that we've spent on these p.o.sh*t's??? Can we all hire a lawyer and sue ford for some of our money back?

These comments and problems that just about everyone us have is no coincidence. The 99 is the first year of the new body style and it has more problems than any, but we can't forget that EVERY year has more problems than a decent car should. Someone, a lawyer reading this or a lawyer that owns one, should do something about it. Then let us all know and maybe we can have some money out of it to get us a real car that doesn't just LOOK GOOD!

Very frustrated in Virginia

brandieejoe@yahoo.com.

25th Dec 2007, 20:02

I recently purchased a 1999 Cougar from a used car lot with 91,000 miles on it. I have had nothing but problems, with the brake lights not working, and also the engine light stays on all the time. I'm totally disgusted with this vehicle.

8th Feb 2008, 20:53

I purchased a 99 Cougar in Jan of 2005 with 85,000 miles on it. It is absolutely a beautiful car and I can honestly say I have only replaced a battery. I guess I should feel lucky? I hate to hear how poorly the car was built as they are fun to drive. Very sexy cars!

Good luck everyone.

20th Feb 2008, 18:44

I just hesitantly bought a 99 cougar V6 automatic with 124000 miles on it. It seems like everything works good on the car that I can tell except it hesitates when you "get in" it pretty hard. I talked to a ford service guy and he said that it's because it's computer controlled and it takes it a sec to react to what I'm telling it to do. I don't know, it seems more like an injector problem or maybe needs a fuel filter. It stutters pretty bad for a second then takes off fine. If you ease into it - it does great. Any thoughts?