1990 Mercury Cougar: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 104 complaints
104
Total Complaints
89,000mi
Median Mileage
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Top Issue
11
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

60,900 25th Percentile
89,000 Median Mileage
235,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
15
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
8
SEAT BELTS
6
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
5
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:12V/24V/48V BATTERY
5
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:HOOD:LATCH
5
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION
5
EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS
4
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:ANCHORAGE
3
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP
3

Severity Assessment

11
Crashes
9
Fires
6
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"DRIVER SEAT BELT IS NOT FUNCTIONING. TT"
"VEHICLE ACCELERATES BY ITSELF. TT"
"APPLY THE BRAKES AND BEFORE COMING TO A STOP ACCELERATES 3,000RPM. PLEASE EXPLAIN FURTHER. TT"

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28