1999 Mercury Cougar V6 from North America - Comments

Also a 99 Cougar with alarm problems. Alarm goes off almost all the time when set, but more annoying is the intermittent beeping and hazards flashing at all hours. Happens when stopped and driving.

Any help or hints would be greatly appreciated.

paddylast@manx.net

I own a '99 Mercury Cougar and I have a question about the warped stereo buttons. Is there any way that I can purchase JUST the buttons for cheap, or do I need to purchase a whole new stereo? Does anyone have any advice on the cheapest way to get my stereo working again? If so, please email me at khan005@gmail.com. Thanks.

I bought a used 99 cougar. It had 50k miles on it when I purchased it. Two years later I am up around 85k miles. My biggest problem was the electrical system which controlled the power locks and security system, blew out the fuse. Just stick a 30 fuse into the place where Ford had the 20 fuse for that system. Second my alternator does squeak a little. But that's like very rarely when I rush to start the car. Just press the brake and turn the wheel slight and it solves that problem. Otherwise the car runs great. If tires are a problem and you live in the south buy rims and high performance tires. I've gotten those tires to last 2 or 3 years each before the tread is able to wear down.

I just bought a 1999 cougar, and was also having a problem with the alarm going off, and intermittent horn/lights flashing even while driving. I think I tracked the problem down to a bad hood switch. The hood switch is part of the alarm system. If the alarm is armed and the hood is opened, the alarm will sound. Furthermore, if any of the inputs (hood, doors, lift gate, or radio) is set/reset seven times within 8 seconds, it puts the alarm system into a diagnostic mode, so any additional input will cause the lights to flash and the horn to sound. That's was happening when I'd get the random horn/blinkers, even while driving.

I opted to remove the switch altogether, instead of trying to replace it. Splicing the two wires together allows the alarm system to arm, but of course it won't trip if the hood is opened. No big deal for me.

I own a 99 Cougar and have nothing, but headaches with it. I have replaced the motor mounts numerous times. I finally had to have them fabricated. Currently the car won't start at certain times and I have found out that the battery cables have a short in them somewhere. They have melted the fuse box and are heating up the battery to the point where the posts are almost welded to the connections. Now all of a sudden my windshield wipers won't work, in front or back. You can't even move them manually. It is like they are frozen. My driver side window has also stopped working. I have replaced my rotors three times now due to cracks and warping. Tires are always needing replaced. My tyrod has gone out. O2 censors never seem to work. I really am hating this car. Too many problems that when fixed reoccur. If anyone can help me with the wipers please email me at sandlintrio@msn.com. Thanks.

I purchased a brand-new 2002 Mercury Cougar after graduating from college and have had nothing, but problems.

First I had to replace the alternator. Then I was told that the catalytic converter was cracked and had to be replaced, at least this was under warranty at the time. The brake pads and rotors have been replaced and repaired. Then I had to replace the starter and battery. And the latest is the mass air flow system and all 3 catalytic converters have to be replaced. Unfortunately for me, the catalytic converters are no longer under warranty. The warranty on them is 8 years/80,000 miles and isn't it ironic that at 83,000 miles my catalytic converters are clogged.

I would also like to point out that my car has been well taken care of with regular oil changes, scheduled maintenance according to the manual, tires replaced, rotated, and alignment.

Kinda funny (although I'm not laughing) that before I bought this car, I had been driving a used 1991 Chevy truck for 5 years with 150,000+ miles on it. And it is still running strong as I sold it to my cousin.

I've owned my 99 Cougar for about 2.5 years. I bought it with 55,000 miles and it now has about 80,000 on it. So far I've replaced the moon roof, radio, trunk latch, hood latch, 3 tires, and probably even more that I can't remember. Sometimes my power steering quits when I go through a large puddle, but I'm lately mad about the tires. I had two blow outs within 3 months of getting the car, and recently another. They have all been rim leaks and the guy at the tire place said it may by my rims. I read that someone else had a similar problem. I love this car, but I'm really starting to get frustrated with it!

I have a 99 Cougar. I defaulted into it when we got married and my truck broke.

Troubles:

-Tranny rebuilt around 36K

-Tie Rods replaced twice

-Coolant Sensor on since about a week after it went out of warranty

-check engine light on since about a month after it went out of warranty

-more tire blowouts in this car than anything else I've ever driven

-trunk latch has not functioned for about 3 years

-tranny lines have been replaced

-"auto-down" relay on drivers window broke in the middle of last winter, had to drive to dealer to get fixed in the cold weather

-windshield washer fluid works randomly.

Current problems, the ones I need help with:

-Since it's gotten cold the idle has gone to crap, it did this a little last winter. Has anyone had problems with it? What did you do?

-Turn Signals and Hazards not working - could be relay, but I can't find a relay for them. So now it's either wiring or the multifunction switch, any ideas?

You can email me at newmexskibum at yahoo dot com.

Thanks, Josh.

Guys (and Girls) I have been reading all of your comments. I own a 99 Cougar and have since 2001. The Sun Roof went out, the driver's window stopped working, O2 censors, power coil, gasket, and last year (2006) I had to put in a new transmission. The comment about the RP M's jumping before shifting is the transmission problem I had. My tires were constantly needing to be replaced, but I switched from a V rated tire (The BF Goodrich) to the H-rated Han-kook tires and despite a minimal loss of maneuverability they are working great. One comment asked about idling in winter, and I had a problem similar to that that turned out to be an exhaust leak (not the Cat or the Muffler, but the pipe that connected them) and surprisingly that was about the cheapest thing I ever fixed on this car. Good Luck.

I also own a 99 Cougar and have had nothing, but issues, but I love the way the car drives when it works correctly. I have also replaced the alternator and it's also on its 5th window motor, which still does not work correctly. I have replaced almost every sensor possible, too. Of course when I have questioned Mercury on these issues, they claim that it's not a common problem with the Cougars. I have heard from others on the tire issues, but luckily mine has not had any issues with tires. The newest issue with mine is the headlamps. I was in some heavy rain water in the beginning of Oct. 2006 and they leaked and had puddles inside of them. I took it to be serviced by Mercury and I have not had my car back for 3.5 months! In talking with Ford I have found out that they have not made any headlamps for the 99 Cougar since Jan. 2006 and they are on a nation wide backorder. I am looking to see if anyone else has had the headlamp issues I've had? To make a long story short, I am hoping that Ford will make things right for not stocking headlamps and putting me without a car for the past 3.5 months.

I purchase my '99 brand new, and had no problems with it up until last year. I started the car one day, drove to my grandparents, and the car has never started again... that was 14 months ago. My husband is great with cars, and he is having trouble finding what is wrong with it. We had to replace the fuel pump, and that didn't work. He has taken the manifold off, and found that the fuel rail is just spewing gas into the engine- the problem is, we can't figure out what is causing it- we tried a new computer, that didn't work. We have tried so many things, and nothing. I was wondering if anyone else has come into this problem. I am getting frustrated, and about to give up.

I too have had some problems with my 99 Mercury Cougar. The trunk latch is a lost cause and I live with that as do many other writers to this web site. After 2 battery replacements and one alternator, I found a defective battery cable which Ford installed incorrectly in all 99 cougars. It was a recall long ago, but the recall has expired. Anyway, the new battery cable fixed the problem. I have a few other problems that I live with, but a new one developed that is puzzling. The car makes a high pitched whining sound in the engine compartment for just a minute or two after a cold start. My friend thinks it is the power steering going bad, but it steers fine. I don't know the cause. Any suggestions?

I bought my 99 Cougar almost 2 years ago with 65k miles on it.

I haven't had major problems with it, but I have had problems...

The Starter's gone bad, I had to have several pulleys replaced in the engine. The Check Engine light goes on and off at will since I've had the car. The Rotors on the car were warped when I bought it. I've replaced the tires only once due to busting radials on cobblestone streets in St. Louis.

The Rims often bend due to them being aluminum. None of the interior lights work. Only lights that work inside the car are the cluster panel, glovebox and warning lights.

Transmission seems to be slipping.

Window motor has broken.

I've had to get a front end alignment on it.

The Air/Heat only works on 4 and on high.

Sometimes the engine will whine until I hit the gas.

I've had to get the front drivers side ball joint worked on twice.

Often sluggish when driving..

I took my car into firestone to have to pulley's replaced and while doing so they said my alternator was bad and replaced it without my permission, later found that they messed up an electrical component and had to have that replaced at a Mercury Dealer.

My car now leaks, when it rains the drivers and passenger side floor board gets soaked.

I've been told it's the windshield so I'm having that replaced.

Does anyone know where to get new window stripping? I doesn't look like it works and I had to bust through the drivers side one day to break into my car when I locked the keys in.

Flryan23@yahoo.com.

OK, well I am a 17 year old and this is the first car that I bought myself, I have so many problems with this car it is amazing. I have had my alternator go out, my cat converter is going bad, my motor in my driver's side window is shot, and I have no clue what is wrong with my moon roof, and my fan doesn't work on any of the other settings except 4, and just last night I was driving home from work and my stereo started acting goofy, it would start cutting out and when I hit the side with my hand it started to work again, WTF!!! And when I go to start it up in the morning it makes a god awful squeaky sound, but that goes away quickly.

Please email me at paintball4food@hotmail.com with any ideas as to what might be wrong with some of the things listed above. Thanks!

Hi all, Jeb here from the UK we had the same car up until a short while ago, badged as a Ford Cougar which uses the same duratec v6.

I have a Mondeo v6 which is an American Contour with restyled lights, Please you should all make sure that you get your water pumps replaced around the 72k mark as the impellers which pump water round the engine are made from plastic?! So try and get hold of an aftermarket one made from metal, they are freely available on ebay etc. going for around £50 ($100) ish. If you don't you could suffer head gasket meltdown on the back bank of cylinders closest to the bulk head, which will overheat very quickly when the water pump fails, but it won't be picked up on the temperature gauge as the sensor for that is located at the front of the engine. A poor design by Ford.

In regard to the fan problem, it is a burnt out power resistor in the dash that will need replacing, which causes this problem on a lot of cars.

And any problems with car cutting out in turns is most likely a fuel pump failure caused by low grade fuel, I personally only run my car on 97 octane premium unleaded or 95 at worst, it makes a hell of a difference to economy and performance etc. As I've never heard of the problems described over here in England as we have 95 octane minimum in our pumps, so I'd think about boosting your octane on fill up if possible.

Regards Jeb.