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After reading the other comments, I thought I would share my experiences with my 99 V6 Cougar. I have owned this car for 5 years, previous to that my sister owned it. I too take my car in for its oil changes and services. However I have had many problems with it. I have replaced the Alternator, over 1000 dollars for electrical repairs (the car would just turn off, turns out that the anti-theft is too close to the windshield wiper wires), serpentine belt, battery, tire, all the brake (rotors, pads, shoes), the conrtol arm on the front right of the car, have had all the "new" brake rotors re-worked again. Things I have been told to start saving for are all new belts, the front left control arm, and the rear suspension. Other than the seemingly endless repairs, I still love the car and driving it...
I have many problems with my 99' Cougar. My twin sister and I both have matching 99' cougars that we purchased in 02. We both have gone through at least 5-8 O2 sensors, and 100's of dollars worth of work done on them in the past. I recently had $300 of work done to my car because it would not stay started or kept stalling out. 2 weeks later I am now having to spend $1130 on a new catalytic converter. Along with that both of our cars left window has gone out. If my sister uses her over head light her alarm goes off, along with randomly going off. My sisters locks only work half of the time. I would say my check engine light comes on about once every 3 months. I do take very good care of my car. So it's not my negligence causing the problems. It's a cute car, but in the end I don't think its worth it.
I have a 2000 cougar and have had some problems like fan blowers and fan resistors and power window problems no big deal, but I have a big problem with the electrical system. When the airbag light comes on the guages go dead then the car goes dead and then it will not start, I know it is draining something, but the battery light does not come. Is it the alternator please help if you can battery is fully charged and after it drops dead and I put a load test on it, it shows 12 volts. thanks for your time.
For anyone saying the "Trick" is to take good care of your vehicle, you have been very lucky. I purchased my '99 Cougar V6 in January of 2005 and since then have had nothing but problems. The car is super cute, but that is about all that it has going for it. For anyone who purchased a '99, you have just learned the valuable lesson I did... never buy a first year model of any vehicle, car companies need a year or two to work out all of the problems. Even if you take great care of this car, all the mechanics that have worked on my Coug agree that the 99 is just a poorly made vehicle. Especially the V6, the engine is far too big for this car. Against all my best interests I purchased a ford product and I will never buy ford again. I do not even need to mention my car troubles because they are typical of the car;alternator, driver side windows, tranny, power steering, tires, sunroof, hood latch. Though I will not complain about the trunk button or the cup holder, because that is pretty petty.
Would the person who posted the comment about his/her Mercury Cougar's gauges going to zero, the airbag light coming on & the car going dead please email me at Jennifer.Avery@duke.edu? I had the same problem today & would love to hear what was wrong with your car.
My 99 Cougar has been nothing but headaches. I've spent almost 2k in repairs each year for the last 4 years. I've had it all - 2 alternator replacements, catalytic converter, defunct sunroof, hood latch, electrical system, 2 batteries, 3 O2 sensors. I bought the car from a family member & thought that would save me headaches. I was wrong...
An update on 11/7/2007 - The problem referenced above was a faulty alternator. Believe it or not, I replaced that part 3 times in 3 years. I do want to share an experience that I had with the alternator part, itself. I strongly advise any cougar owner who needs to replace the alternator to buy a brand new part from Ford. I bought one from Advanced Auto, thinking that I would save money. Well, it didn't. Every time I brought the inoperable alternator back to Advanced Auto to ask for a replacement (they guarantee their parts for 5 years or something), they insisted on talking with my mechanic to see if it was the part or something else causing the alternator to fail. Well, it was always the part itself, so luckily I only had to pay for installation.
Hi all,
I purchased a Brand New 2000 V-6 Cougar in November of 00". I have had the same probs as everyone here!! The car has 92,000 on it right now. I have taken exceptional care of this car. I have had to replace all 4 tires (2) times now that's 3 sets of tires??? I am also in need of a passenger control arm (it's knocking over sharp bumps). I also experience a slight creaking noise from that side over smooth bumps as well,..it's weird!! I have replaced all 4 struts, brake pads, and rotors (1) time. I experience that Alternator light upon hard acceleration too. I have had the car sputter to a stop and leave me stranded with a dead battery 4 times which lead to me replacing the Alternator (3) times and the battery 1 time. I have a slight water leak from the upper corner drivers side windshield. Also been victim to the rain water/dead power steering issue. The trunk latch was the 1st thing I noticed wrong. I have also experienced the false airbag dash light? The car is very sluggish from a stop no matter what,..but then will w/o warning take off. My fog lamp wiring had also rubbed through causing a short (no light) and was a somewhat easy fix. Windshield wipers are replaced every 6 mos or less too. I can't think of anything else. If I can be of any assistance to anyone here please email jerrodrn@hotmail.com.
My 2000 cougar with the four cylinder has been good since new until now. It dies on the highway during summer & takes an hour until it would start again. It was worse when I had less fuel in the tank. I finally figured that it was the fuel pump. It needs fuel to cool the pump down. There is still no manual available for the year 2000 cougars (Chilton's or Haynes) though, you can order a manual from the stealership for $200. My brother was getting ready to replace my fuel pump & was looking on the net for instructions on how to do it when I luckily ran into this site & found out that the fuel system is recalled & they will fix it for free. I have read that the plastic gas tank droops & the fuel pump assembly is positioned too high. Still, does anyone know the procedure to replace the pump? My brother says most cars need the tank to come out, but a guy at Checker auto parts store said the the back seat may be taken out. Anyone know just in case I own this car past 2010?
I would like to comment that I have owned my 1999 Mercury Cougar V6 since spring of 2001 and have had very minimal problems with it. The left front wheel bearing got replaced in the fall of 2001, the alternator died in the summer of 2002, and the brakes were replace in the spring of 2003...new rotors and pads all around. I must say that the brakes I purchased were Motorcraft brakes from the dealership, and they are still going strong... plenty of life left on them. The tire situation is annoying as far as the odd sizing is concerned. The reason the tires wear out so quickly is because the alignment on these cars is not fully adjustable, i.e. the caster/camber cannot be changed. If you have been paying for an alignment and they did not tell you this, you are getting ripped off. The only way you can have this changed it purchase an aftermarket caster/camber kit. I do have the problem with the brake wear light in the overhead console staying on all the time even though the brakes are good. No big deal to me. My trunk release works great, the seat works great, all the windows work fine, and I must admit, I am a hard driver. I don't know if I am lucky or what, but some of the problems the rest of you are talking about are bad... maybe think about going to a different garage and getting a second opinion.
I have a 99 cougar myself... until recently I couldn't complain much other than the annoying coolant light on and off all the time,,, engine light without engine problems,, and the trunk lid I never bothered to spend a dime unless I really needed too,,, anyways overnight I swear my tranny started missing 2nd gear,, rev's up to 5000 before shifting then goes directly to 3rd,, then after driving in the city for a couple blocks I get this blinking light right below my odometer with a explaination mark,,, check trans-axle or something,,, I guess my luck has run out... oh I noticed my tires wear on the outsides allot paid for a alignment and now the same thing is happening with the new tires,, I wish I would have read the above statement about caster and camber adjustments.
I have a 99 Mercury Cougar as well V-6, 75K. Fortunately in the pass five years I've had it I've only had five problems. The trunk opener they could have kept that, I had to replace the flyer wheel, O2 sensors (which I think went bad again), and my car make this loud buzzy sound and my engine stinks like it's about to catch on fire; its been going on for four years overseas and back, but nobody knows what is wrong. I just imported it back into the states; passed inspection and all...So, far I love my car, but I'm thinking about trading it in...
My daughter who just turned 16 wanted a 2000 mercury cougar. I purchased it for her, in return she pays me back. She is working and doing just that. The cougar is the most precise thing in her life right now and she loves it. She has put an alternator on it, she has had no problem with it since. She has owned it for almost a year now, she is a very cautious driver and does no speeding I guess you can say she handles it with care.
Well this version of the cougar is based on the pathetic contour platform. These cars have such crapppy reliability it is unreal a car company would release them to the public.
I have a 2000 mercury cougar I purchased exactly a year ago. It seemed to be in great shape when I bought it, but that all seemed to go to hell pretty quickly. First thing my fog lamps shorted out, then my truck latch doesn't unlatch properly, if I "pop" it, then shut the door it re-latches and if I use the key I have to turn the key twice, now I have to replace 4 tires because they wore unevenly because of a problem with aligning them right, My windows let water pour in if I go through a car wash, and I need a wheel bearing replaced and a axle, my low coolant light goes on and off. and the check engine light is throwing a code for a catalytic converter$$.It is leaking transmission fluid all over. What a nightmare.
I love my '99 Cougar. I bought it with 102,000 miles on it and now has close to 110,000, and other than the alternator going out, the car is wonderful. Maybe I'm lucky? I don't know, but I love this car. <3.
I have a 99 cougar with 125,000 miles on it. I am having some major electrical problems too. Alarm will go off randomly. Now my blinkers and hazards only work 10% of the time. If you have anny ideas on how to fix this cheap. please let me know. I have found that if I use the key to lock and unlock, the alarm does not go off as much. The alarm will also go off just by itself and my neighbors are not very happy when it starts going on and off at 3 in the morning. Please let me know if you have any ideas on how ti fix this.
jerwest2000@yahoo.com.