Faults:

Fuel pump replaced.

General Comments:

Replaced 2000 cougar factory fuel pump with aftermarket pump for $100 and pump is now 50,000 miles old. mercury sent me recall notice on pump after warranty expired. aftermarket pump is still pumping.

Faults:

At 110,000 miles, let's just say I've had a lot of problems.

I've suffered the infamous trunk hatch problem. In order to open the trunk, someone has to open it while the button is pressed inside or use the key. After numerous visits to the dealer, it still hasn't been fixed properly.

My check engine light is always on.. the code it always reads according to my mechanic "low voltage". Has had three new batteries and wiring replaced and a new alternator. I have come to accept it now.

Lights flicker under hard acceleration, no fix for that.

Sunroof broke around 108000 miles (I never used it until recently); dealer wants $1425 to fix, even though it's a common problem.

The tape double sided adhesive that the spoiler sits on started coming off after 10,000 miles. Dealer blamed it on something hitting the spoiler, causing it to lose "grip", even though there was no sign of damage to the spoiler. Took it to 2 different body shops and all agreed... "the glue gave up". Fixed it myself.

The car suffers from a weird electrical short, where all the gauges except the speedometer revert to their inactive state, so the fuel gauge reads empty, temp reads cold, tach reads zero, and the trip computer always reads 0 miles to empty, even when the tank is full.

Gas light comes on when the tank is full.

Was suckered into buying the extended warranty with the "touch of class" paint job. Got a rock chip in the front bumper at 45,8 -- the paint on the bumper had peeled almost completely off. The car has "flexi-paint"; it's supposed to flex and give way without cracking or peeling.

Bumper was repainted under warranty, but after the warranty expired, I was on my own. Bought a bra to cover the front. No more peeling.

I have a faulty mirror control; it was replaced.

The passenger's window is slow to go up and down when controlled from the driver's side. Have gone through 4 sets of tires already, due to uneven tire wear on the driver's side.

The driver's mat holder (pre-tensioner) broke off after 70,000 miles. Now the mat will not stay in place.

Cup holder by the driver doesn't hold drinks well around freeway on ramps or curves. Drinks always come flying into the driver's lap (mine!). Only use the rear cup holder now.

Seats are nearly impossible to keep clean, as well as the floor. Some stains are there to stay.

A/C system has had two separate holes in it. Fixed both times, and each time the A/C works worse than before; have given up on fixing it.

There are other things that went wrong with the Cougar, but why only talk about the bad.

General Comments:

Gas mileage has been OK... around 21 mpg, which is not that great.

Dealer service is not all that great. I'd rather take it to a local shop and get the service done in 4 hours rather than 3 days plus.

Faults:

I had to replace the alternator once, and am currently replacing the clutch.

General Comments:

Still running great with the high mileage. Looks amazing, drives and handles great. I would suggest this car to any new driver.

Faults:

The latch for the hatch non performing, the only way to get it to work is to hit the button while pulling the hatch up. It has been broken as long as I can remember at this point.

At 40,000 miles had to replace the alternator. At 52,800 had to replace the alternator again at full cost. I was 800 miles over the 12,000 mile warranty, but only 10 months. The dealership was not willing to accept any responsibility.

At 55,000 -I started to notice a major issue with the lights. Both interior lights and headlights flicker and dim when shifting or putting any draw on the system. The dealership has tried to fix what they thought was the issue 3 times, taking about a $400.00 payment each time. So I am into this issue for about 1200.00 and the problem exists. Then they printed me out from the Ford website that this issue is an "except-able condition". So why did they keep taking my money when they knew that it couldn't be fixed. The manager couldnt answer me. So I am having to drive a car that has sever dimming of the headlight when I shift.

General Comments:

For the first 30,000 miles this car was great, after that it was all down hill.

This car has been nothing but a headache and a draw on my wallet since the warranty expired.