Well headlight wiring harness is dry rotted like crazy the car looses power while excelerating when below 3/4 of a tank brake fluid/clutch fluid is leaking don't know why and the battery light is on
Mercury Cougar headlights problems
98 of the 1,673 owner complaints about the Mercury Cougar describe headlights failing or too dim, most of them for the 1992 model year.
- owner complaints
- 98
- worst model year
- 1992
- typical mileage
- 98,000
Is there a fix? There are 2 recalls for this area of the car. See below
By model year
Often reported together
Stalling 5Fire or smoke 5Overheating 2Hesitation 2Wipers 1Tire blowout 1Sudden acceleration 1
What owners say
Battery light is on and has for awhile. Lights keep blowing fuses. And today I had to rip out a headlight or the car would have set on fire.
Seat belt doesn't stay locked and latch broke, automatic head lights don't work the digital instrument cluster don't work and as soon as is gets so hot it vaper locks a lot
Head light switch hard to apply head light flicker on and off.sometime will not come on at all.car was in motion,and stationary
Headlights go out unexpectedly while driving at night, sometimes will blink back on and sometimes not. Very dangerous with oncoming traffic. Must pull over and wait extended periods of time to continue driving.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 mercury cougar. While driving unknown speeds, the headlights dimmed. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact inspected the vehicle and noticed that the protected wiring cover was deteriorating. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 165,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2000 mercury cougar. While driving 15 MPH, the headlights failed without warning. In addition, the windows and sun roof independently rolled down. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
1999 cougar battery connection problems or something faulty. Sometimes while I'm driving my car just goes dead. It's done that a lot lately. I now have a new battery but the same thing happens and I'm scared when it happens on the freeway . Tonight I was driving on the freeway and it went dead! I had no lights , I had no tail lights,no head lights ,no blinkers and no emergency lights and the car close behind me had to slam on breaks cause there was no emergency lane, no side of the road just a guard rail! I was in the middle of the road . Brand new battery just goes dead like it did many times on the older battery it's not the alternator either...something is not making a connection. I'm gonna end up squashed, dead cause on a freeway at night when the car dies everything dies: lights,tail lights and emergency lights if im in the dark no one would see me in time to stop if im in the middle of the road.
Tl* the contact owns a 2000 mercury cougar. The contact stated that the interior lights and headlights flickered. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated that the wiring harness had failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer informed the contact that the VIN was not included in the federal safety agency campaign number 01v031000 (electrical system). The failure mileage was 63,127 and current mileage was 67,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 1993 mercury cougar. The contact stated that while at a stop, the headlights began to flicker without warning. The contact mentioned that the failure would recur sporadically. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and stated that the vehicle was not included in the federal safety agency campaign id number: 99v275000 (exterior lighting). The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 150,000 and the current mileage was 160,000.
Related recalls
Exterior lighting: brake lights: switch
- What is wrong
- Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. The brake lamp switch terminals could overheat.
- Risk
- This could cause either a loss of brake lamp function or continuously illuminated brake lamps, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will install a new stop lamp extension harness with bronze terminals at the brake lamp switch connector, and also inspect the brake lamp switch for signs of overheating and replace, as required. Owner notification began march 22, 2001. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact ford at 1‑800‑392‑3673.
Recall number 01V032000 · Recall details
Exterior lighting: headlights: switch
- What is wrong
- Vehicle description: passenger vehicles equipped with fog lights, in which the headlights may go out for various intervals and which may be preceded by flickering or blinking as a result of the circuit breaker opening.
- Risk
- Driver's could experience a loss of visibility, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will install a headlight switch which incorporates a circuit breaker of revised design, and install a wiring harness connector, if needed.
Recall number 99V275000 · Recall details
Questions about the Mercury Cougar headlights
Which Mercury Cougar years have headlights failing or too dim problems?
The model years with the most reports are 1992 (27 complaints), 1993 (22 complaints) and 2000 (15 complaints).
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