The timing chain failed & broke, resulting in extensive damage to the car's engine. Car lost power & stalled on a state highway. According to independent reports from (2) repair shops, premature failure of the timing chain was indicated, resulting in thousands of dollars worth of damage to the engine - heads & valves.
1999 Mercury Cougar engine complaints
Page 3 of 3: complaints 41 to 70 of 70, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Engine light came on I thaugh it would be an electrical problem, it was not.the car would jump and accelerate when stoping at traffic lights and stopped traffic when I would press on the gas lightly. Dealership said it would be $2000. To fix. I did not extend my ford warranty. They said there was a hidden warranty with the engin and that I would have to pay $500. He aslo said I couldn't have been anything I did, the engine was coming apart, that would be the manufaturer's fault. I wish I would have not baught this cougar, its been nothing but problems and recalls. I have went to the dealership so many time I've lost count.
Engine light comes on intermittently. At first it starts in rainy or cold weather. Dealer inspected vehicle, and stated diagnosics showed oxygen sensor was the problem, part has not been replaced yet.
Vehicle cuts off on an intermittent basis while traveling any speed on highway. Vehicle accelerates and headlights, and warning light illuminate before vehicle shuts down. Dealer has been contacted. *ak
Vehicle cuts off on an intermittent basis while traveling any speed on highway. Dealer has been contatced. Please provide further details.
Vehicle stalls. When driving in rain and hit a puddle ,vehicle will stall. Also, when hitting a bump wheel will lock/ lights will come on, and vehicle will stall. Contacted dealer, and dealer stated could not find anything wrong.
Tire has continuously lost air since day one. It has been back to the dealer at least three times for this problem, each time they find no constant problem. Once they stated that a patch was leaking. The tire is so thin in spots that a 1/4" screw punctured it, thus the patch. That was not the problem. The vehicle spends more time at air pumps that gas. Now I had it aligned and balanced, where I was informed that both front tires are separating. I have long contended there is a problem. I have complained to ford and never received a reply. The tires are now on the rear, and I will take it back to the dealer, I also expect to get a major run around. The dealership I take it to is not where I purchased it. I am taking it to holman lincoln mercury in hollywood, fl. I have not taken it to the selling dealership due to distance.any advise?*ak (tiresize: p215/50r16)
On 4 different occasions vehicle will shut off suddenly andwithout warning as though someone shut key off, and then everything locks up/ loss of power occurs, and cannot even shift out of gear. Dealer has replaced starter, but it did not fix defect.
Air conditioner turns off and on without manually operating the system, once air conditioner turns back on the air is not cool.air blows like vent is closed. Also, engine will cut off without prior warning. Dealer unable to duplicate problems.
While standing outside of vehicle with windows rolled down when door closed and automatically locked. Consumer noted this was not a feature of vehicle. Key failed to unlock the door, consumer reached inside vehicle to manually unlock door. Dealer stated if a new alarm system was put in to replace the old one, problem might be corrected. *ak air conditioner turns on and off. Radio will not come on at times. Motor will die out. Alarm went off, door lock by themselves. Key will not crank vehicle at times. Vehicle jumped and jerked almost hitting consumers sister who was standing in front of the vehicle.
Intermittently vehicle will stall out and die without warning.
Engine threw rod at 40k . No other previous problems engine maintained every 3000 mi.
The vehicle developed a starting problem, it would crank excessively before starting, the dealer replaced the fuel pump but that only temporarily solved the problem as it returned shortly after replacing the pump. Nlm
While driving, engine stalled due to a defective oil pump installed on vehicle, massive oil leakage due to failure.
I normally buy foreign made autos. But this car was gorgeous. It has become a living nightmare. A flywheel was replaced after several times telling the dealer that it made a horrible screeching noise as if the key was already started. The next problem is that I hit a pothole in detroit and ruined a rim plus tire. I just recently had to replace 2 more tires that just seem to wear out for no reason. I don't do a whole lot of driving. Last month they replaced the iac switch. Now I need to take it in because it rides like a raggedy truck. It shakes and will not hold the road. You can feel every crack in the street. My boyfriend has a 88 olds and I would rather ride/drive his car than this cougar. I still have 1 year on my lease and you can bet I will never by a ford/lincoln/mercury car every again. *ak (tiresize: r16)( dot number: tire size: r16 )
Serpentine belt slips when driving in rain causing a loss in power steering and all warning lights coming on inside of car. There are various reports about this problem.......#2 front brake pads are wearing out way to early, and also had front rotors replaced.
Oil filter combusted due to pressure. Engine has been destroyed!!! Car is a year and a half old with 24,500 miles. I have a number of problems that have occurred with this car. I have ignored due to they come and go. Such as rattling noises from the trunk, cigarrette lighter is dead, gas gauge doesn't read properly all the time, lights illuminate for rear light out, airbags, coolant, next time start up car they are out??? I had a saturn for 5 years never had a problem. I have this cougar for a year and a half and look at all these problems. I am sorry a car that is a year and a half should not be getting a new engine!!!! I am extremely disappointed with mercury. I will never get another one again.
Vehicle experiencing a momentary loss of steering when driving over a water puddle, and intermittently causing malfunction to instrument panel lights. Dealer / manufacturer notified, and unable to locate cause. *ak both side mirrors fell off. The cd and the radio are not operational. The radiator hose broke after 2 months of purchasing the vehicle. The back window wiper failed. The sun roof failed. This vehicle had numerous mechanical problems.
While driving in a rainy conditions serpentine belt gets wet/ will lose power steering, leaving vehicle stuck.
While driving on a 4-lane highway, lights on the dashboard lit up and engine died. Then, consumer lost control of the vehicle. With no brakes or steering vehicle started to spin out of control and hit a guardrail at about 55mph. Consumer said it was a engine problem. Airbags did not deploy.*ak
Driver's door will not close completely.
Car stalls for no apparent reason. It will lose power as if out of gas. Rpm's will rev up high and car will act as if it is in neutral. While traveling at 70mph , the car would hesitate severely and act as if it was going to shut down. It would continue to drive , but speed would get slower and slower but the RPM's would keep going up and down. When car completely stalls , it becomes very difficult to get it started again. Once it is started, it will drive fine for about another week. The car has stalled at different speeds and totally unexpected. It has happened four times and the car becomes hard to control in traffic. The dealer has been unable to duplicate the problem, therefore unable to fix it. Other minor problems have been the hatch not opening due to leaking strut. Took 2 atempts by the dealer before problem was solved. Cd player went out and sun roof would not open.
Intermittently vehicle failed to accelerate. Vehicle been in/out of dealer shop. Dealer informed consumer that no correction could be made at this time.
While driving vehicle idles and stalls unexpectedly which may cause a crash. Also vehicle experiences a no start condition. Dealer cannot determine the cause of the problem. *ak
Brakes continually make grinding noise since ownership, several repairs and inspections to vehicle with no remedy, consumer almost in vehicle accident due to loss of brake ability, however no remedy at this time for brake failure and noise.
The engine has been replaced 2 times and the oil filter has blown off the engine.
When starting the car it's making a grinding noise. Finally, took vehicle in and it was the flywheel and starter. Dealer fixed it. Had the vehicle for two weeks after repairs, and it still didn't start. When turning the ignition key, it would either make a humming sound or nothing at all. Dealer kept it for 3 weeks and put over 100 miles on the vehicle, and still can't find what is wrong.
Enginecheck light came on after being repaired for the timing belt leak. Vehicle was leaking day after being picked up from dealer. The repairs, done between june 9-jul 9, 1999, were not satisfactory.
Since purchase of vehicle brakes have continually experienced squeaking and grinding noise, tsb #12260 states the cause may be from the silver dacromet coating on the rotors, which are embedding itself into the pads, no current repairs to rectify at this time.
Engine management computer malfunction, causing engine to stall while idling, and to cut out/stumble during acceleration. Car has been to dealership four times for service, has not been remedied. Ford service technician has verified the faults and can come up with no better than a lame "it checks out ok on the computer."
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