Owner reports filed with NHTSA about this vehicle, newest first and reproduced as filed. They are unverified accounts: one proves nothing, and a pattern across many is the thing worth reading. Back to the full 1993 record →
VEHICLE'S TEMPERATURE READS HOT. THERMOSTAT CHANGES INTERMITTENTLY. WAS OUT FOR SUMMER, BUT VEHICLE STILL RAN HOT. BEEN LOSING COOLANT. WOULD RUN ROUGH WHEN STARTS UP. WHITE SMOKE FROM EXHAUST. TOLD COOLANT LEAKING INTO ENGINE DUE TO FAULTY HEAD GASKET. HAD TO REPLACE HEAD GASKET.
DASHBOARD COMPUTER SYSTEM GOES CRAZY. WHEN THIS HAPPENS THERE'S NO WAY TO TELL HOW FAST CAR IS TRAVELING. ALSO, OIL GAUGE WILL SHOW THAT VEHICLE OVERHEATED WHEN IT DID NOT OVERHEAT. *AK
BRAKES SQUEAK AND WHEN APPLYING FOOT TO THE PEDAL, IT SHAKES AND SHIMMIES. DEALER CONTACTED, AND STATED DEFECTIVE ROTORS, AND REPLACED THEM THREE TIMES IN THREE YEARS. HOWEVER, THE PROBLEM STILL EXISTS. *AK
WHILE DRIVING VEHICLE WOULD SHAKE VERY BADLY. LITTLE DIFFICULT TO CONTROL. MAKES A TAPPING NOISE IN ENGINE. RUNS HOT. LEAKS ANTI-FREEZE; HEAD GASKET NOT GETTING FREON.
HEAD GASKET FAILED.
FRONT LEFT CORNER OF OIL PAN CONTINUES TO LEAK AFTER SEVERAL ATTEMPTS TO REPLACE RTV SEALANT. ALUMINUM CAST PAN COATED W/RTV. NO CORK GASKET SET AVAILABLE.
WIRING HARNESS THAT HOLDS THE BULB ON THE MOUNTED REAR BRAKE LIGHT IS MELTING. PLEASE GIVE ANY FURTHER DETAILS. *AK
WHILE DRIVING AT NIGHT THE HEADLIGHTS GO OUT WITHOUT WARNING. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER DETAILS. *AK
HEAD LIGHTS GO ON AND OFF FOR NO APPARENT REASON.
HEADLIGHTS FLASH INTERMITTENTLY AS A RESULT OF A CIRCUIT BREAKER MALFUNCTION. FIX REQUIRES REPLACING THE HEADLIGHT SWITCH OR INSTALLING A NEW CONNECTOR AND WIRING. "EA96-019" PROMPTED A RECALL, HOWEVER DEALER INFORMED OWNER THAT HIS VEHICLE WAS OUT OF SCOPE.
WHILE PARKED, AN ELECTRICAL SHORT IN THE ENGINE, CAUSED ENGINE TO CATCH ON FIRE. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER DETAILS. *AK
RECALL # 97V159000; MR. BRYLESKY IS NOT SATISFIED WITH THE RECALL REMEDY BECAUSE OF THE FUEL LINES ARE HANGING BELOW THE FRAME OF THE CAR. THIS COULD CAUSE A FIRE. *AK
HEADLIGHT FAILURE; WHEN USING THE HEADLIGHTS THEY WILL GO OUT FOR ABOUT 2 OR 3 SECONDS, COME BACK ON AGAIN AND GO OUT AGAIN. THE PROBLEM HAS NOT BEEN CORRECTED. *AK
TRANSMISSION FAILED WHILE ATTEMPTING TO PASS A TRACTOR TRAILER.
RECALL 97V159000,FUEL LINE LEAKAGE; CONSUMER HAS BEEN WAITING FOR THE RECALL PARTS FOR TWO MONTHS. *AK
RECALL # 97V159000: CONSUMER CONTACTED THE DEALER TO HAVE RECALL PROBLEM CORRCTED, CONSUMER WAS TOLD PARTS NOT AVAILABLE. *AK
VEHICLE SKIDS WHEN APPLYING THE BRAKES AT 35 TO 40 MPH. THIS PROBLEM HAPPENS DURING ANY TYPE OF WEATHER CONDITION.
IN COLD CLIMATE WEATHER THE WINDSHIELD WASHER LINES FREEZE UP ALL THE TIME. *AK
HAD RECEIVED RECALL NOTICE (#97V159000) IN MAIL. CALLED DEALER & SET APPOINTMENT. TOOK VEHICLE IN & LEFT IT. RETURNED LATER IN DAY TO PICK UP VEHICLE. WAS INFORMED AFTER ARRIVING THAT NO PARTS WERE AVAILABLE. *AK
RECEIVED RECALL NOTICE (#97V159000) & CALLED DEALER & GIVEN A DATE. TOOK VEHICLE, AFTER ARRIVING AT DEALERSHIP, WAS INFORMED THAT NO PARTS AVAILABLE FOR REPAIRS. HAD TO CALL ANOTHER DEALERSHIP THAT HAD THE PARTS. *AK
CONSUMER HAS HAD SIX SETS OF ROTORS ON VEHICLE IN 3 YEARS . THE ROTORS NEED TO BE REPLACED AGAIN. *AK
ROTORS FAILED.
CONSUMER STATES WHEN APPLYING BRAKES STEERING WHEEL VIBRATES. *AK
CONSUMER COMPLAINS ABOUT LACK OF LOCKS ON POWER WINDOWS, DOG STEPPED ON BUTTON, CAUSING WINDOW TO GO UP/CATCHING DOGS NECK IN WINDOW.
WHILE DRIVING, UPON BRAKING, EXPERIENCED VIOLENT SHAKING IN STEERING WHEEL DUE TO ROTOR WARPING, INTIALLY DEALER TURNED ROTORS, BUT WITHIN 3 MONTHS ROTORS WARPED AGAIN, DEALER HAS REPLACED ROTORS AGAIN. *AK
RESURFACED WARPED DISC BRAKE ROTORS. *AK
DISC BRAKE ROTORS WARPED WITH VERY LOW MILAGE. AIR CONDITIONER MOTOR CHIRPS AND HAS TO BE REPLACED APPROXIMATELY EVERY SIX MONTHS.
FRONT BRAKE ROTORS WARPED, DEALER STATES THAT THIS WAS DUE TO DEFECTIVE DESIGN. PLEASE GIVE FURTHER DETAILS
WHILE DRIVING 25 TO 30 MPH, REARENDED ANOTHER VEHICLE, SHOULDER/LAP BELT DID NOT LOCK UP, DRIVER SLID UNDER SEAT, FORTUNATELY NOT INJURIES.*AK
WHEN DRIVING AND TURNING THE WHEEL CAR SOMTIMES GOES TO THE LEFT OR TO THE RIGHT . PLEASE DESCRIBE .*AK
TIRE CAME OFF VEHICLE, CAUSING LOSS OF CONTROL/ACCIDENT/INJURY WITH NO DEPLOYMENT OF DRIVER'S AIR BAG.
EXPERIENCED REOCCURRING PROBLEM WITH WARPAGE OF BRAKE ROTORS, DUE TO FRONT DISC BRAKE OVERHEATING. *AK
THE VEHICLE CAUGHT FIRE FROM THE STEERING COLUMN . PLEASE DESCRIBE. *AK
BRAKE FAILURE, VIBRATION IN THE FRONT END, ROTORS WARPED AFTER 5 THOUSAND MILES, AND REPLACED PADS. *AK
FRONT BRAKES ARE SMALL IN WET WEATHER THE BRAKES DON'T HOLD ALMOST CAUSE ACCIDENT MORE THAN ONCE . TT
BRAKE ROTORS CONTINUALLY WARP, CAUSING VIBRATIONS. *DSH
POOR PERFORMANCE OF THE BRAKE SYSTEM BRAKES LOCKED UP CAUSED CONSUMER TO HAVE AN ACCIDENT. TT
ON TWO OCCASIONS CONSUMER WAS IN AN ACCIDENT THE DRIVER SIDE AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY. TT TWO PERSONS WERE INJURED IN FIRST ACCIDENT. *SLC
ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRE, POSSIBLE CAUSED BY AN ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FAILURE. TT
FRONT BRAKES REPLACED THREE TIMES. *AW
ABS BRAKES, CONTINUE WEAR OF DISC ROTORS 5 TIMES/EXTENDED STOPPING DISTANCE, MAKING A LOUD NOISE. TT
FRONT BRAKE ROTORS ARE WARPING RESULTING IN FRONT WHEEL VIBRATION. TT
ACCELERATOR PEDAL STUCK TO THE FLOOR CAR SURGED AT HIGH RATE OF SPEED. TT
CAR WAS IN AN ACCIDENT WAS DRIVING DOWN ROAD 35 TO 40 MPH CAR ACCELERATE HIT A SMALL TREE BY THE ROAD SIDE. TT
HEADLIGHTS WILL COME ON AND OFF INTERMITTENTLY. TT
NHTSA publishes every complaint as the owner wrote it and investigates only a fraction. Spelling, capitalisation and judgement are the filer’s own. What carries weight is repetition: the same component failing the same way across many filings, and whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.
Full record for the 1993 Mercury Cougar → · Every Cougar year → · How the figures are calculated →