1999 Mercury Cougar

I HAVE PROBLEM WITH TRANSMMITION SHIFTING 1ST TO SECOND CHANGES AT 3000RPM BUT WHEN I CHANGE PARK TO DRIVE SHAKES MOTOR BAD , ONE OF THE WIRES START SMOKING I LIKE I PUT TAPE AROUND WIRED BURND. TEMPERATURE IT DOESN'T SHOW BUT WHEN I OPEN THE HOOD THE CAR IS VERY HOT EVERY TIME I TRIED DRIVING IT AT FREEWAY OVERDRIVE LIGHT STARTS BLINKING I LIKE I PAID TO GET IT FIX AND STILL DOES THE SAME.

1999 COUGAR BATTERY CONNECTION PROBLEMS OR SOMETHING FAULTY. SOMETIMES WHILE I'M DRIVING MY CAR JUST GOES DEAD. IT'S DONE THAT A LOT LATELY. I NOW HAVE A NEW BATTERY BUT THE SAME THING HAPPENS AND I'M SCARED WHEN IT HAPPENS ON THE FREEWAY . TONIGHT I WAS DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY AND IT WENT DEAD! I HAD NO LIGHTS , I HAD NO TAIL LIGHTS,NO HEAD LIGHTS ,NO BLINKERS AND NO EMERGENCY LIGHTS AND THE CAR CLOSE BEHIND ME HAD TO SLAM ON BREAKS CAUSE THERE WAS NO EMERGENCY LANE, NO SIDE OF THE ROAD JUST A GUARD RAIL! I WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD . BRAND NEW BATTERY JUST GOES DEAD LIKE IT DID MANY TIMES ON THE OLDER BATTERY IT'S NOT THE ALTERNATOR EITHER...SOMETHING IS NOT MAKING A CONNECTION. I'M GONNA END UP SQUASHED, DEAD CAUSE ON A FREEWAY AT NIGHT WHEN THE CAR DIES EVERYTHING DIES: LIGHTS,TAIL LIGHTS AND EMERGENCY LIGHTS IF IM IN THE DARK NO ONE WOULD SEE ME IN TIME TO STOP IF IM IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD.

I HAVE ALWAYS HAD MY CAR WASHED AND RUST PROOFED DURING THE WINTER EVER 2 WEEKS. LAST DECEMBER THE PAINT UNDER THE BOTTOM OF BOTH THE DRIVERS AND PASSENGER DOORS STARTED HAVING THE PAINT BUBBLE UP ON BOTH ROCKER PANELS. IT STARTED BUBBLING UP THEN CURLING AND THE PAIN STARTED COMING OFF. IVE SEEN MANY OTHER COUGARS WITH THIS SAME PROBLEM AND FEEL IT IS DUE TO A DEFECT IN THE PAINT THAT WAS USED OR SOMETHING MISSING FROM THE PAINT JOB THAT WAS DONE

I AM THE ORIGINAL OWNER OF A 1999 MERCURY COUGAR AUTOMATIC V6. I HAVE NEVER BEEN IN AN ACCIDENT WITH THE VEHICLE, BUT CONTINUE TO HAVE MECHANICAL PROBLEMS. LIKE OTHER 1999 ' 2000 MERCURY COUGAR OWNERS I WORRY ABOUT THE SAFETY OF DRIVING A VEHICLE WITH MORE PROBLEMS THAN CAN COST EFFECTIVELY BE FIXED. MY LIST OF BROKEN ITEMS INCLUDE THE RADIO, POWER WINDOW REGULATOR, O2 SENSORS, TRANSMISSION AT 59,000 MILES, DASHBOARD LIGHTS (LOW COOLANT AND CHECK ENGINE), DOOR/WINDOW LEAKY SEAL ISSUES, ENGINE MISFIRE (DECREASED ACCELERATION) AND NOW MY CRUISE CONTROL AND TURN SIGNALS DO NOT WORK. UPON RESEARCHING THE RECALL FOR CRUISE CONTROL FIRES DEALING WITH FORD PRODUCTS I FOUND THAT I AM AMONG OTHER DISGRUNTLED COUGAR OWNERS. FORD/MERCURY OR FORD TECHNICIANS HAVE NOT DONE A SATISFACTORY JOB LETTING OWNERS KNOW OF RECALLS THAT NEED ATTENTION. MY LATEST CONCERN IS THAT MY COUGAR MIGHT START ON FIRE, PER MY COMPLAINT WITH FORD; THEY SEE NO THREAT WITH MY CRUISE CONTROL ISSUES AND SUGGESTED I CONTACT THE NHTSA WITH MY COMPLAINT. *TR

EXHIBITING A STARTER GRINDING NOISE AND / OR LACK OF STARTER DRIVE ENGAGEMENT (FROM TSB). THE FLYWHEEL DEFECT FIRST APPEARED IN JUNE 2001 WHEN THE COUGAR WAS UNDER WARRANTY IN YEARS AND MILEAGE. WHEN THE DEFECT SURFACED, THE COUGAR WOULD NOT KICK-OVER IMMEDIATELY, HOWEVER THIS OCCURRED VERY INFREQUENTLY. AT THE TIME, THERE WAS NO CONSISTENT PROBLEM TO RECOGNIZE AND RECTIFY. OVER THE ENSUING MONTHS THE PROBLEM CONTINUED TO OCCUR INTERMITTENTLY. AT THIS POINT, I RECOGNIZED THERE WAS A POSSIBLE MECHANICAL PROBLEM. THE PROBLEM I WAS EXPERIENCING WAS CAUSED BY A DEFECTIVE FLYWHEEL. ITS TEETH WERE SOFT AND THE DEFECT HAD WORN AWAY THE STARTER. THE FLYWHEEL HAD TO BE REPLACED ALONG WITH THE STARTER MOTOR AND IN ORDER TO COMPLETE THIS REPAIR THE TRANSMISSION HAD TO FIRST BE REMOVED.