Have seen many other complaints go unanswered. No safety defect listed within summary.
1993 Mercury Cougar engine complaints
Page 3 of 5: complaints 41 to 70 of 105, newest first, as owners wrote them.
On february 5, 2001 after previously paying crossroads lincoln mercury dealer in indianapolis in january of 2000 $1140.82 for head gasket repair at 59039 miles, now my car with 62913 miles is back at the same dealer for another coolant leak. The dealer has confirmed it is the engine front cover gasket leaking. I discovered ford has recalled 1996 and 1997 cougars for this same problem but not 1993 cougars. Same story with the head gasket repair not being covered by ford's extended warranty on the 3.8l v-6 engines for 1993 owners. I am in the process of sending a letter to william ford at ford motor company along with the attorney general of indiana. I will be sending copies to your organization and the center for auto safety.
No summary listed for above vehicle.
In fall of 1999, took car to two different local mechanics with tempterature gauge getting hot, leaking antifreeze, rough idling, white smoke. Spent over $800 for tune up, new parts, winterizing and so forth. In january, 2000 symptons reoccured until engine locked up - took to crossroads lincoln mercury - charged $1200 for head gasket repair. Dealer informed me many cougars have been coming in with same problem but no recall has been issued. I was given a 12 month, 12,000 mile warranty (whichever comes first) and now on january 30th, 2001 noticed the same symptons again. Have only driven car approx 5,000 miles since first repair but my 12 months expired by a week. Now car has same symtpons and again will cost me $1200 to have same problem remedied. Have tried to see if recall is in effect but can not find any info on it. I feel ford should be held responsible for a recall considering the number of complaints listed in this complaint database concerning blown head gaskets.
Vehicle stalled and temperature gauge was on h, dealer stated anti-freeze was low and replaced ignition, however problem occurred again and this time both head gaskets were found leaking internally, dealer replaced both head gaskets, there is a recall, however consumer's VIN is not included, consumer requests reimbursement.
Engine head gasket was replaced for second time.
I've been told that I need to replace my head gaskets. After speaking to several service stations and looking this up on the web, I've discovered that this is a common problem with cougars as well as windstars, mustangs, taurus', sables, etc. Ford extended the warranty on the 94/95 cougars to cover this problem, but will not repair mine. This is obviously a deffective part and a major problem. Please advise what options I have. Thank you.
Head gasket failure at 38,500 miles. Was told by dealer that the 3.8 engine had aluminun heads causing the problems with many 1993 cougars. No recall and no liability from ford motor company.
Consumer was traveling about 25mph on side street, and white smoke was coming from underneath vehicle. Vehicle was hesitating, and then vehicle had to be towed. Mechanic told him that engine needed to be replaced. Dealership will be notified.
No summary listed for abov evehicle.
Head gasket blew on engine for no apparent reason. I understand this has been a big problem in the 3.8l v-6 but my car is not covered by a recall. It is admittedly a factory defect. I think ford should be responsible for the cost of repair.
3 independent mechanics all confirm that the 3.8l aluminum engine is prone to blow a headgasket due to faulty design by the manufacturer.
Head gasket failure/common problem with 93 courgar/alum head.
Head gasket failure at 69,000 mile on 3.8l engine. Taken vehicle to an independent repair shop. Also, manufacturer notified, and informed consumer that vehicle was not covered under extended warranty. Please feel free to provide any further details on this matter.
Had to replace engine head gaskets every 25,000 miles.
Anti-freeze was leaking, and vehicle was smoking very badly. Consumer had to pull over and park car.
3.8l engine; the head gaskets blew . The heat indicator light would go over to hot. The thermostat was changed. The ford dealer has been notified.the manufacturer has extended the warranty on the 1994-1995 vehicles with this same engine.*ak
Failure of head gaskets.
My engine developed a head gasket leak, which caused the engine to seize. I asked the auto mechanic, why this happened, and he told me that because of the aluminum heads, it is a common occurence, around 75,000 miles.
Enigine head gaskets went out at 62,000 miles, causing a major oil leak and engine damage. Dealer has been contacted.
While traveling vehicle over heated intermittently. Replaced many parts, but still is having a problem. Dealer stated head gasket needed to be replaced.
Vehicle was inspected by independent repair shop after vehicle was experiencing problem with engine missing/white smoke and coolant leakages. Informed of a head gasket failure. Dealer and manufacturer notified, and informed that vehicle was not involved in an extended warranty.
Owner experienced engine head gasket failure, vehicle mileage at time of failure was 77,445.
Probably not the right place to search for answers, but we have sunk alot of money into something we feel ford new about and did nothing about. The 3.8 engine should have been investigated.
Head gasket problem. I have consulted 4 mechanics and they told me that they were aware of this problem and have repaired several 1993 mercury cougars. There should be a recall.
We bought a 1993 mercury cougar 3.8l v6 new, took excellent care of it. In dec. 1999, at 68,432 miles, 2 head gaskets had blown. The bill was $1200. We decided to keep the car since we had already put in $1200 in brand new ford rocker panels in 6/99 that had rusted out. Well, sept. 15, 2000 at 72,943 miles, not even 5,000 miles later, the head gaskets were leaking and had to be replaced again! The bill came to $600. This is outrageous!! How could ford, knowing all the time that they had a problem with this engine, refuse to entend warranty coverage to all the models this engine was in? (thunderbirds, tauruses, windsar minivans, mercury sables, & lincoln continentals). There's an actual "3.8l ford motor company defective head gasket complaint and info site". Isn't that telling you that there's a major problem with these engines? Why are they giving out a $4,000 coupon towards a new ford, merc, or lincoln product to only a select few? They are the same engine!! Our reliability is gone, we'll never buy a ford again!
Car began to shake like it was missing. White/grey smoke came out tail pipe in large quanity. With in a mile, the temp guage began moving up toward hot. I realized something was very wrong and stopped vehicle and shut down engine. Had vehicle towed to repair facility. At this point in time, the repair estimate is in the range of $1400.00 to $1700.00.
Both head gaskets went out at the same time, contacted m. Motors about it to see if there was a recal but was told no there was not, nothing they could do other than me repair it, took to another mechanic for repairs.
I spoke to the dealer, and they stated other cougars including model year 1993 were being recalled. My cougar was not among the ones being recalled for the head gasket problem. I was told by others that I should not have this problem with the low mileage on my car.
Head bolt failure, see tsb 95-310. Mercury declines repairs on vehicles prior to 1995 even though tsb is listed for 1992-1995 ford and mercury cars.
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