16th Aug 2007, 12:18
It's me again, I posted back in April with the strobe lights and transmission issues, My car is currently in the shop because of the power steering and (hopefully) the starter. I don't know what I'll do if it's the alternator AGAIN. At least it's still covered under the 1 year warranty. Isn't that pathetic?? My alternator couldn't last a full year...
I'm putting in a bottle of power steering fluid each day, it practically gushes out of my car when I'm parked with the car off. When I drive, it stays in the reservoir, go figure...I'm sick sick sick of Mercury. Isn't there something that can be done because of these vehicles? Why isn't Ford liable? These cars are poorly made, and they include careless mistakes.
29th Aug 2007, 23:16
There is a TSB that your ford dealer should now about. The spot of high resistance in the wiring from the alt. to the battery needs to be cut out and the wiring harness re-wired. I had the strobe light effect, then had this done and they don't flicker at all. They don't even dim at a stop light and brighten when I accelerate from the stop.
18th Oct 2007, 21:40
I bought my 2000 Cougar and all was good... for awhile. I have all the same problems as everyone else, but I need some advice. I can start my car with me giving it gas, but once I let off the gas it stalls, and it won't start unless I give it gas. HAS ANYONE HAD THIS PROBLEM? If so let me know what you did to fix this problem. Write back or send me an e-mail at Ted.Hanson@wpafb.af.mil Thanks.
7th Nov 2007, 19:56
My car seems to lose power sometimes. Colder weather it sputters. At 1/4 tank it wants to quit if I take a hard turn, especially if I am going up hill.
Sent to mechanic several times, they can't find a thing.
21st Nov 2007, 08:59
Regarding comment on 7th Nov 2007, 19:56.
This is a fuel pump problem. I had the exact same problem twice. It's just that your fuel pump isn't quite dead... yet.
3rd Dec 2007, 03:28
I everyone,
I've had a 2000 Cougar since 2002. Got it with 46000 miles, now has 118000. I generally like the car (nice engine spur, no rust at all, nice tight steering) but have experienced most of the troubles posted on the site (definitely seem to be design issues) :
- Windshield air vent pops out
- fuel pump replaced after the car would stall when tank was under 1/4 or cornering. Ford has a recall campaign on this so replaces for free if you tell them those symptoms.
- AC just quit on me (does anyone have a suggestion, thanks?)
- heater blower only works on position 4: From some of the comments, looks like blower resistor issue is common, please confirm. Also let me know if there is a common resistor or relay between blower and A/C
- Trunk does not open with the remote anymore and does not stay up either (does anyone have an easy solution?)
- Changed the alternator, belt and battery at 115,000 miles. This seems a common issue, but was root caused to an oil leak that soaked the alternator. I saw on one site that a common issue with this car was a joint that would leak. Please let me know if you have experienced this).
- Latest issue: my car would sometimes not start at cold temperature or sudden temp variations. Then start the next day. Starter turns, battery is fine, just looks like fuel is not getting to the cylinders. Let me know if you have a solution to this.
Thanks to everyone for posting these comments, they have been very useful to me. It is always better to go to a garage shop with some idea of what the problem might be. I was the one telling to the dealership for example that my stalling issues were linked to the fuel pump and covered by a recall campaign...
13th Dec 2007, 16:05
I've had my 2000 Cougar for 3 years. Haven't had too much trouble with it. Replaced the battery a couple of times and had the sensor in my transmission fixed.
But now it's doing something new. I was driving it the other night and noticed that the interior lights looked dimmer than usual. Then a few minutes later, my battery light came on and faded out. It never stays on, it just fades in and out. Same with the interior lights and headlights. It seems to get worse when I brake and not so much when I'm driving at a steady speed. And to top it all off, there is a strange whistling coming from under the hood.
I have made note of the TSB about the re-wiring of the alternator cable. Is there something else I should bring up to my repair shop??? Anyone else had this problem and gotten
a proper diagnosis???
Please help.
25th Dec 2007, 01:02
Now that I no longer have any problem with my lights strobing and dimming my 2000 cougar (automatic) has thrown another problem at me.
While being parked in my driveway and without any prior indication of a potential problem I suddenly do not have reverse. Back up lights come on, but just won't move. I have all forward gears and movement. Fluid is fine, parking brake is off etc.
How does reverse just stop working while parked in a driveway???
I received help here before and would appreciate any help or ideas anyone can offer of what this problem might be and/or how to fix it- hopefully not a new transmission either as I just can't afford one right now.
I thought maybe the winter driving (been many winter storms here lately) had something froze up, but thawing every bit of ice and snow off the car did nothing except get the garage floor all wet.
Any suggestions appreciated! You can email me at windsor643@yahoo.com.
10th Aug 2007, 11:23
I've had my 2000 Cougar for about 5 years, and for the last 2 years it has been a mess. I have spent over $4200 in the last 12 months alone on emissions sensors and idle problems, but now the catalytic converters are bad and the dealer has told me I need to spend another $1500 for new ones.
Needless to say this car has made me rip out my hair. Everything is more expensive to fix on this car than I could imagine. Tires are $175 a piece, the battery is cross-negative, so it is not only hard to find like the tires are, but the battery costs $80.
I thought buying an American car was going to make it easy for me to find parts, but I was wrong. I also have never had very cool A/C in the car, and I work at a car dealership (unfortunately not a Mercury dealership), so I have had it checked and it has always held freon well and never needs a charge, but it starts out cool and then gets hot.
And has anyone noticed how hard it is to get frost or fog off the front windshield?
I think I am just posting this to let anyone interested in buying a Cougar know that everything costs 3 times what you expect. They are beautiful cars and are quick, but they come with fuel and emissions issues.