2000 Mercury Cougar from North America - Comments

Hey everyone, I have a 99 Cougar with about 99,500 miles on it. Have gone through 3 alternators, 1 fuel pump, and 2 sunroofs. But those are just fun facts.

My reason for writing is cause my car will not stay on when first cranked, I have to restart it about 3 times a morning to keep it going. Full tank of gas in it and replaced the fuel pump 2 years ago. When I do sit and idle other times it will murmur/sputter. Accelerates fine and drives fine, but just that idle issue. Any ideas?

Oh and does anyone else have the oh so annoying issue or their defrost vent getting cold and popping out of the slot? This has been my major annoyance for 3 years now with this beauty. The vent pops out and all the hot air gets redirected to the middle of the cockpit instead of the windshield. In the morning it makes me mad, telling the story makes me laugh tho.

Thanks in advance.

Shawn.

I also have a Mercury Cougar 2000. About a week ago the engine light came one. I noticed the engine struggling when idle, especially in below freezing temperatures.

I am thinking the FUEL DELIVERY MODULE (FDM) might be causing this. Does this make sense?

Other problems:

- I had to replace the front and rear rotors

- Some AC switch broke, causing the AC not to function.

- When car is less than 1/4 tank, engined stalled when taking a corner sharply.

- Hatchback latch does not keep the hatch open for longer than a few seconds.

My current problem is with cold weather start. the engine won't turn over: lights come on (not a battery problem, have fairly new one), blower doesn't work, try again a few times (sometimes 20 min), then blower comes on and it starts!! Mechanic has ruled out everything he can think of... any ideas?

For the guy on December 13th with the starting problem: Try the simplest thing first. Try taking the battery cable clamps off the battery and using a wire brush to clean the battery posts and cable clamps. If you have corrosion on your battery terminals, which may not even be obvious, it can prevent the starter from turning over, even if the lights still work.

I have a 2000 cougar that has not been starting right for about 2 months (in cold weather). I took the battery cables off, cleaned them, and it started fine for 2 weeks, now... same problem, but it's a new battery and that won't even work now. After about 6 hours today, the car finally started- and then about an hour later it wouldn't start again. (I've already replaced the alternator, battery and fuel pump)

I have a 2000 Cougar. I have had the fuel pump and alternator done. I am noticing the car is now acting as if it can barely make it up hills and some times like it is going to cut off when I am driving. Any ideas what it may be the mechanic says it is fine, but I can tell after driving it for six years it is not.

I am the proud owner of a 2000 Cougar (Bright Yellow, Limited Edition, V6), and though I have experienced the fuel pump issue (>2 years ago), my dealer replaced it under my ESP. I also experienced an issue with the sunroof (steel bearings) coming off-track, but again my ESP kicked in. Without ANY warning, the latest issue was with the engine, resulting in a neighborhood repair shop wanting us to pay $5600 for a new motor - "no compression in 2 cylinders." Fortunately, my husband has the skills/knowledge to know that what the repair shop was stating, questioning of what led them to such a conclusion (only a compression test), that there was a good possibility that the engine may NOT be as bad as they had stated. After we brought it home, my husband took the valve covers off and could immediately see that a cam-shaft bearing cap broke. After finding a reputable engine repair shop, parts were repaired/replaced (<$1000), and we put the motor back in the vehicle. I have my car back and it is running as good now (89,300 miles) as it did when I bought it when the odometer read 7 miles. I have to admit I did entertain the idea of purchasing a new car (one with the 100,000 warranty), when this all began, but I am glad that I waited. My car has become my "signature piece" and I cannot imagine being without it! (Beware of non-reputable repair places and try to acquire second opinions, even though it may cost $100-200 to have it towed to another shop, you could also save $$$$.)

My car too has been having problems. I just had the fuel pump replaced after 56,000 miles and now my alternator is acting up. I can't believe I've spent over 1000 bucks in the past two weeks. I had the alternator replaced and my controls are going crazy. My trunk won't open unless I do it manually. If you pull down on the springs in the trunk where the trunk latches to the frame, this problem is temporarily fixed. My controls on the driver's side will not open the passenger window. This car is too much trouble for its own good. I am ready for a new car, or one that works!

I just replaced my pump at 110k. Died outside of a halfway house for crack addicts...

Also had to replace the front tie rods and other pieces. About $1000. Plus the emergency brake for $250.

All together, I have put about $2500 in 6 years into the old girl. Better than a lot of cars friends have.

My daughter has a 2000 Cougar she bought new. The same day it was bought the headlights quit working. Dealer fixed that (some switch or cable change). The car has 100000+ miles now, but has run sloppy for some time. The alternator was just replaced as well as the battery (#3...) Prior to replacing the alt & battery, the lighting system "flickered." This occurred with all lights, inside and out. After replacing the alt & battery, charging and starting problems went away, but lights continue to flicker. Almost looks like police lites. Anybody have any suggestions??? Electrical problems and many brake jobs seem to plague this car!

Our daughter has a 2000 Cougar and is experiencing trouble with the sunroof opening. The sunroof was functioning fine until one day it just wouldn't open. It doesn't make any clicking noise like it has bad gears. It moves slightly to open on one side, but seems to be stuck. A repairman told us we need a new track. Any suggestions on this problem and if it is the track where we could fine a reasonable used track?

I drove a 1998 Mercury Tracer for five years. At one point the A/C stopped blowing cold air and the car began to run poorly. The engine began to sputter and stall so I took it to a mechanic. He plugged it into a machine and told me it was a weak fuel pump. Cost about $600 to replace. When they gave my car back it ran just as poorly as before. They didn't even bother to test drive the vehicle to see if they fixed the problem. I took matters into my own hands and replaced the spark plugs and wires. Cost about $50. The vehicle ran perfectly. I assumed the A/C would be too expensive to fix so I left it alone for a long time. When we finally took it to a reputable mechanic he instantly new that it was just a bad ground wire. Cost about $200 to fix. Not bad at all. I recently bought a 2000 Cougar and have been watching it closely. It runs great and now I know that Ford/Mercury vehicles are not real sophisticated and should be cheap to repair. I believe it will run for a long time.

I have a silver 2000 Cougar SE with 112,000 miles on it and is outside 24/7 and the only parts replaced were the fuel pump two years ago and I just replace the battery on 1/17/07 when it just die with no warning. but since the start of this winter season when the temp gets below freezing the emergency brake locks up. there are three cables that make up the system and I replace the ones that go to each back disc to get rid of the problem. I was wrong the cable that runs from the brake handle back needed to be replace. there was water inside the cable that would freeze overnight and lock-up the cable. this car has been very, very good to me! I know that the clutch and struts will have to be replace one day, but that's a bullet I'll have to bite when it comes. I'm keeping the car for the long haul unless something like the engine should let go. but she running strong and I don't see that happening until sometime after 200,000 miles.

I have a 2000 Mercury Cougar, the heater and A/C do not work and haven't for 3 years. We can't figure out why it doesn't.We keep replacing the fuses, but when you try to turn it on, it blows the fuse and then the headlights don't work. Every time we take it to get looked at, they say "your car has a mechanical problem and it will cost you almost $1000. to fix." But they never tell us anything that's wrong with a heating/cooling system. We had to fix the intake manifold because it was leaking. And they said that there is something wrong with the transmission.

There are problems with the hatch, when you unlock it and go to shut the it will lock itself. The sunroof doesn't work, and the doors will unlock and lock on their own not like some cars are made to, they do it on its own at any time. When you lock up the car to go into a store or something, they sometimes unlock themselves.

Do you have any thoughts on what possibly wrong with my car?

E-mail me with any comments at: lily11289@aol.com

I have a 2000 Cougar and had the Fuel Pump go as well after 109k.

Just replaced the brakes 119k and the hand brake cables.

All in all a decent car after 7 years, still no rust and the engine purrrs nicely with the RAM air intake.