1999 Mercury Cougar from North America - Comments

I have owned my 99 Cougar for 6.5 years and love her, she is very temperamental.

I never let men drive her. She's definitely a ladies kinda ride.

I have replaced the transmission 1.5 years ago, the tires twice, the alternator twice, the battery, the brakes and things like that twice, however it's been paid for for the last 3 years and I know what she has in her new, and well sometimes things need to be maintained and replaced. For this fact I will keep her and my son will be 16 next year so he wants to drive her, she doesn't like that idea, LOL.

I am having the oil pan gasket, crank shaft seal replaced because of the oil leak that no one can find. So for her sake, I am taking care of her now, instead of it being worse later.

And she is that "burple" color, looking purple all day and blue all night, nice.

Stop talking trash about these babies, mine can go 125 mph easy before I scare and let off of her.

I bought a 1999 Cougar 3 months ago. It ran great.

I drove from az to mass. and back, but I've done nothing but fix this thing. Now it won't start - engine light kept flashing and the car was shaky, but once it warmed up it ran fine, but now it's not starting at all. I found a hose from the intake to the PCV that had completely rotted and 3 different mechanics didn't notice for some reason, one being a dealership in Massachusetts, any idea what why it cranks but won't start?

I have a '99 Cougar V6, with the check engine light on, of course. Low threshold on the cat, same as usual. It's been on for 3 years now. First time I had the front 2 cats replaced for about 1000$, but now I just have them clear the code so the light is off long enough for my smog exam. Still passes fine.

Currently it is in the shop as there is a leak in the oil pan and it was dripping on the manifold. This caused a burning smell that came thru the vents and some smoke. An oil pan that can drip on the manifold seems terribly short sighted.

Does anyone know how to put the car back in time once I change the timing belt? Thank you!

I have a 99 Cougar 2.5 V6 stick, and I haven't had any major issues with it until now.

Today I went out to start it, to warm it up before driving to work which it started fine. I come back in the house to make my lunch, then proceeded to go out and drive off when I noticed my battery light was on and the dashlights and headlights were dim. So I put it in first gear, and was going out the driveway and it was sputtering. So I shut it off and tried to restart it, and all it did was click click click like the battery was dead.

So I went inside called my boss told him I would be late hahah. Went back out and tried it again and it started up no prob, but the battery light was on again. I tried to drive it a little bit further and it eventually stalled. Now would that be battery/alternator? I'm not sure. Also it was kinda wet and cold out would that play a factor?

I love the car; no other problems other than just regular maintenance.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated

brockstir_528@hotmail.com

I bought my cougar this summer from my parents and it only has 63000 miles on it. Anyways the check engine light came on and I read that it was an emission problem. I was broke so I left it for now. Anyways a few months later I thought the battery died. So I replaced the battery and the check engine light was OFF!!! So I think just removing the battery and putting it back in might reset the check engine light. But I don't know for sure. And it turns out it was my alternator not the battery. The alternator cost me 600cdn to replace because of the horrible location on the engine but anyways. Ya try the battery removal to see if the engine light goes off. It's much cheaper than paying to replace a sensor anyway but if it doesn't work sorry I guess I just got lucky. Sort of... lol.

I own a 99 mercury cougar and had to replace timing gear, tensioners, oil pump and rear heads car runs great but after a min.. the oil light comes on then the timing chains rattle any sugesstions?? reply tinamaries73@hotmail.com thank you!

I have a 1999 Cougar as well. When its summer, the car runs great. As soon as it gets cold outside, things happen; when I start it, it revs up to 3000rpm and allmost stalls. It keeps doing that and it will stall, so I have to keep my foot on the gas to keep it running. When it warms up a bit, it will idle but really really roughly, and the check engine light will flash. When hooked it up to a scanner, it says 'p0174', (running lean) and a couple other saying O2 sensors saying running lean. I changed all 4 O2 sensors; the car has 270,000 on it. It ran like brand new for three days but now the same problem persists... I am a journeyman mechanic, but on semis, not on cars. If there are any ideas, email me @ huskylv@hotmail.com Thanks.

Journeyman: your car is not a spring chicken anymore. It might be gunked up pretty bad. I would to run some Lucas Oil Fuel Treatment for a few tanks. It should clean injectors and clean carbon deposits from valves etc. That and the EGR suggestion might bring it back to normal.

Sad to say, also an owner of a '99 Cougar with similar issues. Would be nice if Merc would step up and take responsibility for their mistakes. Explains why they're in line for bailout money. Currently dealing with the alternator and I don't have $600 to have someone else replace it (like $160 is painful enough). Any advice on replacing it besides the four feet of extensions. Also, need location of regulator before I take on the alternator. Any insight or advice appreciated. eastcoastwalker@comcast.net.

I just bought a 99 Cougar the other day, and I got it home (about 15 minutes away) and it started smoking and the check engine light came on. I was pretty upset because I bought the car less than 10 minutes before I got home. When I test drove it, it was fine and drove fine. I wasn't expecting much; the poor thing has 165,000 on it, so I know it's not a spring chicken =).

Anyways, I started it up to see where the smoke was starting to come from, and the check engine light came on. Completely upset, I saw it was coming from the radiator. I talked to my father, who's car has pretty much always had the check engine light on and he said not to worry about it, that we would change the radiator and see how it went from there, but after reading everyones comments I'm a lil' scared that something major might be wrong with this nice car I just bought. It runs fine and isn't getting hot at all. Maybe I'm just over analyzing things and it is just the radiator. Can anyone help?

I have a V6 Manual 1999 Cougar. I have had it since OCT of 2004. I have put about 100k miles on it since then and have had no MAJOR issues. Just some annoying things and it sounds like a freight train when it starts.

I read that someone had their sunroof go bad. Mine did as well. So when I drive I need to have my windows open a crack or my sunroof bounces around.

Also, I read someone had to replace tires in 1 1/2 years? Yeah, I have had new sets put on every year. I have finally just started buying used tires. Much cheaper.

And finally, the check engine light... the infamous light. My check engine light has been on for almost three years now. Before inspections I disconnect the battery and let it sit for and hour or so, connect it back up and the light stays out. It doesn't come on until I hit a bump or ditch in the road. I think it may be sensors but I am not sure.

Overall a very reliable car, and as I said, no MAJOR problems. But if anyone has any ideas on how to keep tires or fix the engine light, let me know. Thanks.

I own a 99 Cougar, and it has been a good car for the most part. I've put 1 used and now 1 new alternator in it, clutch, O2 sensors, and the usual brakes and rotors, key-less entry and rear hatch problems. Now I'm seeing that the oil pan is leaking through a pin sized hole where the pan is starting to rust - not happy about that. Otherwise it's been a fine vehicle for us for a few years now.

One more thing, what does it say about the world we live in when I've heard several people talk about how fast their Cougar is? I've driven both 4 and 6 cylinder model Cougars - I could drag an old oak tree behind my V8 and pass the Cougar without a problem.

I just bought a 2000 Cougar V6 with 132K on it. The car - old as it is - still looks great and is a blast to drive. It's not that fast - but it gives the driver the impression that it's fast because it's low to the ground and has a growl on acceleration. Well, my dash lights pulsate and I hope it's not an alternator job coming. The car is addictively fun and stylish... I can do the routine maint and hope for the best.

I'm the proud original owner of my 99 "cougs," and have had very very few issues until recently. The biggest issue is it needed a new tranny... bad torque converter. But now I have a p0401 and p0174 with it wanting to stall at idle. Replaced the EGR valve and DPFE with no joy. Any suggestions??? MAF? O2 Sensors?

It's treated me really well for 107K and through 24 states, so I hope to keep it going for a long time.