1999 Mercury Cougar from North America - Comments

In the past month and a half I have had the car in my posseesion for about 2 weeks. First it went in because the brakes started grinding.

--Needed new brake pads because whoever put them on before, put on the wrong size.

--The rotor (??) stopped spinning, hence the grinding.

--Needed 2 new tires.

Got the car back. May father drives it. The Tachometer and Speedometer both drop to zero, and the car loses power. $850 dollars later, I think my car is fixed. No, a week later the same thing happened.

--This time they determined it was the alternator that was messed up, which had been fixed 6 months prior.

Luckily my dad bought a 3 year extended guardian warranty, so they covered it at little cost to us.

Today I am driving it, 2 days after getting it back, the engine light comes on. Which after reading this website doesn't concern me, because it seems like a common problem, which is not really a problem at all.

I wish I had found this site before I bought the car. It would have saved a lot of frustration and aggravation, not to mention money. My dad is now talking about buying a new car. That would be my 4th car in 5 years. There is something wrong with me. I love the look of the car, and I love how it handles, so I'm not sure if I'm ready to give up on it yet. If I do get a new one any suggestions on a type of car??

Have you had any more things go wrong with your cougar lately? I'm at the same mileage with my cougar and my alternator had to be replaced, so I was just wondering what's going to be next! :)

Who ever told you that your rotor was bad because it "stopped spinning", needs kicked and you need to brush up on your automobiles' components. The only time it is possible for your "rotor" to stop spinning is when the tire is not spinning. Let me explain. You know those little nuts that are on the wheel of your car (4 of them), well if you take those off and remove the tire, you will see the rotor that is slid over the four studs (in the same manner as the tire fits on). The rotor is the part of the braking system where the caliper grabs on to when you apply the break pedal. It is possible for the smooth surface of the rotor to wear due to brake pads that is in poor condition causing them warp (excessive hard breaking will also cause this due to the high heat that is produced). This warping of the rotor is what makes the break pedal vibrate when you apply pressure to the pedal. So in a nut shell, the rotor does not fail by "not spinning". But do not fear, replacing the rotors is common maintenance that is usually done about every 2 or 3 break pad changes.