"How reliable is the 1999 Mercury Cougar?"

"Based on 740 NHTSA complaints, the 1999 Mercury Cougar has a median complaint mileage of 73000 miles. The most common issue is Electrical System."

"What are common problems with the 1999 Mercury Cougar?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 1999 Mercury Cougar is Electrical System, accounting for a significant portion of the 740 total complaints filed."

1999 Mercury Cougar: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 740 complaints

740

Total Complaints

73,000mi

Median Mileage

Electrical System

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

45,000 25th Percentile

73,000 Median Mileage

99,750 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

Electrical System

Sun/Moon Roof Assembly

Automatic Transmission

Foundation Components

Engine

Unknown Or Other

Vehicle Speed Control

Gasoline

Frontal

Disc

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"DRIVER SIDE WINDOW LEAKS, PAINT HAD TO BE BUFFED DUE TO FREE FALL, REAR END HAS A SQUEAKS WHEN TURNING OR HITTING BUMPS, THE DOOR AJAR ALARM STAYS ON, AND THE BULB FAILURE LIGHT COMES ON BUT THERE IS NO BULB OUT. VEHICLE IS ONLY 2 WEEKS OLD."

"REAR WINDSHIELD DEFOGGER IS NOT WORKING PROPERLY. CONSUMER UNABLE TO SEE FROM REAR WINDOW. DEALER NOTIFIED, AND INFORMED CONSUMER THAT CODITION WAS NORMAL. *AK"

"I HAVE HAD MY CAR IN TWICE (2 TIMES FOR BRAKE & TRANSMISSION SERVICE) NONE OF THE PROBLEMS THAT I HAVE, HAD HAVE BEEN CORRECTED. MY BRAKES STILL SCRUB & MY TRANSMISSION STILL BUCKS, AFTER THESE RETURNS FOR SERVICE. I AM VERY UNHAPPY ABOUT THE WAY MY CAR IS RUNNING. ESPECIALLY THE BRAKES WHICH AR..."

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

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

Electrical System 40 complaints

25th: 53,000 mi Median: 70,263 mi 75th: 116,000 mi

Sun/Moon Roof Assembly 33 complaints

25th: 40,000 mi Median: 53,900 mi 75th: 83,000 mi

Automatic Transmission 31 complaints

25th: 45,400 mi Median: 75,000 mi 75th: 89,186 mi

Engine 26 complaints

25th: 56,066 mi Median: 79,000 mi 75th: 94,000 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

CA: 74 FL: 57 MI: 51 TX: 50 OH: 49 PA: 41 NJ: 36 NY: 34 IL: 29 GA: 29

Who Files Complaints?

50.7%

Original Owners

49.3%

Second+ Owners

Mercury Cougar — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
1990	104	89,000	Vehicle Speed Control	11
1991	98	95,000	Engine	5
1992	122	98,000	Engine	7
1993	236	114,664	Engine	7
1994	178	70,000	Automatic Transmission	13
1995	160	67,000	Engine	12
1996	77	61,000	Manifold/Header/Muffler/Tail Pipe	4
1997	112	65,850	Manifold/Header/Muffler/Tail Pipe	2
2000	283	65,000	Electrical System	20
2001	103	76,500	Fuel Pump	8
2002	127	73,750	Fuel System, Gasoline	16

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