The plastic sunroof transport mechanism has broken for the second time during the life of this car (I am the only owner). The first incident occurred early in my ownership and was covered under warranty. Dealership that fixed it the first time has refused to fix it again citing a 12 month warranty. This problem is a well known design defect in the 1999 and 2000 model year mercury cougars and was addressed in the 2001 model year design. The cost for replacement parts is unconscionable considering the facts regarding this well known problem. I believe that clear knowledge of these issues of the ford motor company and the industry as a whole should have necessitated a recall long prior to this and because there isn't a recall I am filing this complaint.
Mercury Cougar sunroof shattered problems
18 of the 1,673 owner complaints about the Mercury Cougar describe sunroof shattered, most of them for the 1999 model year.
- owner complaints
- 18
- worst model year
- 1999
- typical repair cost reported
- $1,200
- typical mileage
- 66,000
By model year
Often reported together
Fuel pump 2Won't start 1Premature wear 1Overheating 1Jerking 1
What owners say
Tl*- the contact has a 1999 mercury cougar with a failure mileage of 107,000. When the contact opened the sun roof she heard a snapping sound. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer, and was told that she had to replace the sun roof assembly. She felt that this was a very expensive repair for a part that only needed a plastic piece replaced. The current mileage was 137,000 miles. *ak the consumer has provided multiple pages of various customers and the problems of their mercury cougars which are located on www.cougarsunroof.com and broken sunroof poll. The consumer has also provided the invoice with an estimate for repair. Update 05/09/07
Tl* - the contact owns a 2000 mercury cougar. The contact stated that the plastic track around the interior of the sun roof was defective. The plastic which held the sunroof in place broke, and there was no other way to hold the sun roof in place without this feature. The failure mileage was 70,000, and the current mileage was 80,000.
Sunroof broke loose. Is stuck now but could potentially release from vehicle while driving. This is a major issue affecting many many vehicles. Refer to www.cougarsunroof.com. List of over 1000 complaints there. It is only a matter of time before this gets someone killed. I have a bachelor's degree in fire protection and safety engineering technology from oklahoma state university's world renowned program and this is a serious issue.
1999 mercury cougar sunroof broke and the cost of repair is unbelievable! I have seen many websites with the same complaint. Thousands of complaints. Something has got to be done. There has to be something wrong when all these sunroofs are breaking constantly.
The sunroof broke, is a common and known problem (with a website dedicated with over a thousand testimonials). Ford refuses to do anything. Only option is $1700 repair.
We bought our first cougar in 2001. It is a 1999. A month after I bought it, the sunroof broke and froze in the up position. I had an extended warranty that was told to us covered this part. When took it in to get looked at, it did not cover it and they said that the sunroof would cost $2000 to fix. Rain, snow, and anything else comes into my car now and the fabric is now ruined. It is utterly ridiculous that this manufacturer made such a faulty product and refuses to do anything to help fix it. I haven't seen a cougar since with a sunroof that is not broken. Please recall this item!!!
My sunroof broke and almost flew off of my car!!!!!!
I purchased my vehicle new, in 2000. In 2002, after driving the vehicle a total of 38,000 miles, the sunroof assembly broke and needed to be replaced. The dealership I bought the car from covered the work under my extended service plan. Just the other day, while driving my car, the sunroof assembly broke again. This time though, the sunroof detached from my vehicle. Thankfully, I was driving on a road that had little to no other traffic. Had I been driving the vehicle to work during rush hour, the sunroof would have most surely caused an accident. Also, it appears that the sunroof assembly failing is a well known problem, as it is documented on www.cougarsunroof.com. If quality is indeed job 1 at ford, why would they not fix an obvious design flaw?
Dt: the sun roof I broke. The sun roof would not close. The problem started on october 2, 2005. And when the contact took it in to be repaired, they had to break the attachments to get it to close. Afterwards , there was still a crack between the sun roof and the rest of the vehicle. This allows wind to come through while the contact was driving. She had to tape it down to keep it from flying off. When she contacted the dealership, they said it was not a manufacture r's defect, and that she would have to pay for the repair herself.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the Mercury Cougar sunroof shattered
Which Mercury Cougar years have sunroof shattered problems?
The model years with the most reports are 1999 (10 complaints), 2000 (5 complaints) and 2001 (2 complaints).
How much does it cost to fix sunroof shattered on the Mercury Cougar?
Owners who mentioned a price put the repair at about $1,200 (median of 5 complaints that include a dollar amount). Costs vary with mileage, warranty and where the work is done.
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