2002 Mercury Cougar: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 127 complaints
127
Total Complaints
73,750mi
Median Mileage
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
Top Issue
16
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

49,200 25th Percentile
73,750 Median Mileage
98,662 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
22
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP
16
ENGINE
9
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
7
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
5
AIR BAGS
4
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
4
SUSPENSION
3
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
3
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
3

Severity Assessment

16
Crashes
1
Fires
21
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"ON APPROX. THE 15TH OF MARCH, MY DAUGHTER LOST ALL POWER IN CAR WHILE DRIVING THROUGH LUNCH TRAFFIC IN TOWN AND WAS NEARLY REARENDED BY A PETROLUEM TANKER. WE BROUGHT CAR IN TO DEALERSHIP. THEY RAN A BATTERY TEST AND B/C THAT CAME BACK FINE THEY REFUSED TO DO ANY FURTHER TESTING. SHE WAS HAVING PROB..."
"ON APPROX. THE 15TH OF MARCH, MY DAUGHTER LOST ALL POWER IN CAR WHILE DRIVING THROUGH LUNCH TRAFFIC IN TOWN AND WAS NEARLY REARENDED BY A PETROLUEM TANKER. WE BROUGHT CAR IN TO DEALERSHIP. THEY RAN A BATTERY TEST AND B/C THAT CAME BACK FINE THEY REFUSED TO DO ANY FURTHER TESTING. SHE WAS HAVING PROB..."
"ON APPROX. THE 15TH OF MARCH, MY DAUGHTER LOST ALL POWER IN CAR WHILE DRIVING THROUGH LUNCH TRAFFIC IN TOWN AND WAS NEARLY REARENDED BY A PETROLUEM TANKER. WE BROUGHT CAR IN TO DEALERSHIP. THEY RAN A BATTERY TEST AND B/C THAT CAME BACK FINE THEY REFUSED TO DO ANY FURTHER TESTING. SHE WAS HAVING PROB..."

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