IllustrationBOTH ENGINE HEAD GASKETS FELL APART ON THE ENGINE AND HAD TO BE REPLACED. DEALER AND MANUFACTURER CONTACTED, AND CANNOT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM. RECALL ISSUED FOR THIS PROBLEM, BUT THIS VEHICLE NOT INCLUDED. *AK *ML
1994 Mercury Cougar
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Limited comparison data
There is not enough comparable history to draw a useful model-year comparison.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Cougar years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
Limited mileage data: 15 of 137 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Power Train. Review the 36 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Engine And Engine Cooling. Review the 32 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Service Brakes, Hydraulic. Review the 27 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
12 crash reports2 fire reports9 injury reports
What owners actually said
137 reportsTORQUE CONVERTER WAS SLIPPING CAUSING A VIBRATION WHEN SHIFTING GEARS. WAS TOLD BY SERVICE MANAGER THERE WERE TWO OTHER CARS COMING IN FOR THIS SAME PROBLEM THE NEXT DAY. WAS ALSO TOLD BY SERVICE TECH THAT THIS PROBLEM WAS FIXED IN THE 1995 MODEL. THIS IS A KNOWN DEFECT THAT SHOULD BE FIXED BY THE MANUFACTER
RAW GAS IS COMING OUT OF THE EXHAUST PIPE. VEHICLE WAS DIAGNOSED AS FAILED PCM LEAVING INJECTORS OPEN AND POURING RAW FUEL TO SPEW FROM TAIL PIPES CREATING A FIRE HAZARD NO WARNING INDICATORS PRESENT. *AK
I JUST THINK THAT IF A CHEVIEY TAHO AND A CHEVIE VAN HIT A MERCURY COUGAR AT A STOP SIGN AT THE SPEED OVER 55MPH AND PUSHES MY COUGAR 5 FEET SIDWAYS IN THE CORNER OF MY FRUNT END THE AIRBAGE'S SHOULD HAVE IMPLODED ???
TRANSMISSION SYSTEM MALFUNCTIONS WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE WILL SLOW DOWN UNEXPECTEDLY WHICH MAY CAUSE AN ACCIDENT. REPLACED PARTS OF THE TRANSMISSION, BUT PROBLEM STILL OCCURRING. DEALER CANNOT DETERMINE PROBLEM. PLEASE PROVIDE DETAILS. *AK
IGNITION SWITCH BECAME DIFFICULT TO TURN, MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE TO START THE VEHICLE.
I HAVE SEARCHED THE LIST OF COMPLAINTS AND FIND THAT THERE ARE MANY COMPLAINTS RELATED TO BOTH THE BRAKE AND TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS WHICH I HAVE EXPERIENCED. PLEASE REMIT THIS COMPLAINT TO THE MANUFACTURER AND ADVISE WHETHER OR NOT YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION ON WHETHER OR NOT THE MANUFACTURER IS DOING ANYTHING TO RESOLVE THESE CUT…
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I HAVE SEARCHED THE LIST OF COMPLAINTS AND FIND THAT THERE ARE MANY COMPLAINTS RELATED TO BOTH THE BRAKE AND TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS WHICH I HAVE EXPERIENCED. PLEASE REMIT THIS COMPLAINT TO THE MANUFACTURER AND ADVISE WHETHER OR NOT YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION ON WHETHER OR NOT THE MANUFACTURER IS DOING ANYTHING TO RESOLVE THESE CUTOMER COMPLAINTS. POWER WINDOWS REPLACE FOUR TIMES. BRAKES HAD TO BE REPLACED WITHIN 6 MONTHS OF OWNERSHIP. TRANSMISSION SLIPPING FROM DAY ONE BUT THE DEALER TOLD ME REPEATEDLY THER WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH IT. TRANSMISSION COMPLETELY REBUILT.
97V22500 FORD CONTOUR, 97V225000, MERCURY MISTIQUE, CONSUMER STATES THAT WHEN HE MOVES HIS FOOT FROM THE GAS PEDAL THE CAR KEEPS GOING. RECALL ON OTHER CARS THAT HE OWNS STATES THAT IN CARS WITH TRACTION CONTROL ENGINE MAY NOT SLOW TO IDLE WHEN DRIVER REMOVES FOOT FROM THE ACCELERATOR. HE IS NOW HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM WITH TH…
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97V22500 FORD CONTOUR, 97V225000, MERCURY MISTIQUE, CONSUMER STATES THAT WHEN HE MOVES HIS FOOT FROM THE GAS PEDAL THE CAR KEEPS GOING. RECALL ON OTHER CARS THAT HE OWNS STATES THAT IN CARS WITH TRACTION CONTROL ENGINE MAY NOT SLOW TO IDLE WHEN DRIVER REMOVES FOOT FROM THE ACCELERATOR. HE IS NOW HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM WITH THE THIRD VEHICLE. *AK
ANTI LOCK BRAKES FAILED TO STOP VEHICLE CAUSING ACCIDENT.
TRANSMISSION IS SHUDDERING AND SHIFTING ROUGH DURING THE 3-4 SHIFT.
Official recalls
0No recalls in this snapshot.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
1DP94005 · Engine Compartment Fire
Opened Jul 6, 1994 · Closed Sep 22, 1994
Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Engine And Engine Cooling
There is no summary currently available