2002 MERCURY COUGAR — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 93 complaints · 3 recalls

Verdict & Safety Summary

Most-reported system: FUEL SYSTEM (40 complaints · 43.0%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 9
  • Fires 1
  • Injuries 12
  • Deaths 0
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution FUEL SYSTEM appears in 40 of 93 owner complaints (43.0%) in this vehicle snapshot. FUEL SYSTEM: 40 complaints, 43.0% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 40 · 43.0% · 1 fire reports ENGINE: 17 complaints, 18.3% of reports ENGINE 17 · 18.3% · 2 crash reports POWER TRAIN: 8 complaints, 8.6% of reports POWER TRAIN 8 · 8.6% VISIBILITY: 6 complaints, 6.5% of reports VISIBILITY 6 · 6.5% AIR BAGS: 5 complaints, 5.4% of reports AIR BAGS 5 · 5.4% · 3 crash reports SEAT BELTS: 3 complaints, 3.2% of reports SEAT BELTS 3 · 3.2% · 1 crash reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 2 complaints, 2.2% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 2 · 2.2% VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 2 complaints, 2.2% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 · 2.2% · 2 crash reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 1 complaints, 1.1% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 · 1.1% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 67 complaints, 72.0% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 67 · 72.0% · 5 crash reports 1 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
FUEL SYSTEM 40 43.0% 0 crashes · 1 fires
ENGINE 17 18.3% 2 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 8 8.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 6 6.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 5 5.4% 3 crashes · 0 fires
SEAT BELTS 3 3.2% 1 crashes · 0 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 2 2.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 2.2% 2 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 1.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 67 72.0% 5 crashes · 1 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Jul 2002; the first recall shown was reported in Aug 2004. 2002-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2002-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2003-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2003-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2003-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2003-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2004-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2004-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2004-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2005-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2005-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2006-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2007-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2007-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2007-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2008-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2008-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2008-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2009-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2009-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2011-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2011-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2012-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2012-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2013-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2014-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2015-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Jul 2002 Jan 2020 Recall campaign 04V421000 ◆ Recall campaign 04V421000 Recall campaign 06E022000 ◆ Recall campaign 06E022000 Recall campaign 08E033000 ◆ Recall campaign 08E033000
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2002-Q3 Owner reports 1
2002-Q4 Owner reports 2
2003-Q1 Owner reports 4
2003-Q2 Owner reports 5
2003-Q3 Owner reports 4
2003-Q4 Owner reports 2
2004-Q1 Owner reports 2
2004-Q2 Owner reports 1
2004-Q3 Owner reports 3
2004-Q4 Owner reports 2
2005-Q2 Owner reports 2
2005-Q4 Owner reports 6
2006-Q2 Owner reports 1
2006-Q4 Owner reports 2
2007-Q2 Owner reports 3
2007-Q3 Owner reports 3
2007-Q4 Owner reports 5
2008-Q1 Owner reports 4
2008-Q2 Owner reports 3
2008-Q3 Owner reports 2
2009-Q1 Owner reports 1
2009-Q2 Owner reports 1
2009-Q3 Owner reports 2
2009-Q4 Owner reports 1
2010-Q1 Owner reports 2
2011-Q1 Owner reports 1
2011-Q2 Owner reports 3
2011-Q3 Owner reports 4
2012-Q2 Owner reports 1
2012-Q3 Owner reports 2
2013-Q3 Owner reports 1
2013-Q4 Owner reports 1
2014-Q1 Owner reports 3
2014-Q2 Owner reports 1
2014-Q3 Owner reports 1
2014-Q4 Owner reports 2
2015-Q1 Owner reports 1
2015-Q2 Owner reports 1
2017-Q1 Owner reports 1
2017-Q2 Owner reports 1
2017-Q4 Owner reports 1
2018-Q1 Owner reports 1
2018-Q3 Owner reports 1
2018-Q4 Owner reports 1
2020-Q1 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 04V421000
Recall campaign 1 06E022000
Recall campaign 1 08E033000
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (3)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 04V421000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    THIS MAY CAUSE ENGINE HESITATION, LOSS OF POWER, SURGING, AND OTHER SIMILAR SYMPTOMS. OVER TIME, THE FILTER MAY BECOME SUFFICIENTLY BLOCKED TO CAUSE THE ENGINE TO STALL, WHICH COULD RESULT IN A CRASH.
    Remedy:
    THIS ACTION IS DEEMED A SAFETY IMPROVEMENT CAMPAIGN AND IS NOT BEING CONDUCTED UNDER THE SAFETY ACT. ALL OWNERS WILL BE NOTIFIED OF THE PROBLEM, AND DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE FDM WITH A NEW DESIGN AT NO CHARGE IF THE OWNER REPORTS THAT THE VEHICLE EXHIBITS ANY OF THE IDENTIFIED SYMPTOMS. THE FREE REPLACEMENT WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR A PERIOD OF 10 YEARS FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL PURCHASE OF THE VEHICLE, WITH NO MILEAGE LIMIT. THE CAMPAIGN BEGAN ON APRIL 16, 2004. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT FORD AT 1-800-392-3673.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 06E022000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    LOSS OF BRAKE FLUID CAN LEAD TO A DECREASE IN BRAKE LINE PRESSURE AND AN INCREASE IN STOPPING DISTANCE, WHICH CAN RESULT IN A VEHICLE CRASH.
    Remedy:
    AFFINIA (BRAKE PARTS, INC.) WILL REPLACE THE SUBJECT BRAKE HYDRAULIC MASTER CYLINDERS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON MARCH 20, 2006. OWNERS CAN CONTACT AFFINA GROUP CUSTOMER SERVICE AT 1-800-323-0354.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 08E033000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    THE NUTS INCLUDED IN THE PACKAGING FOR THESE BALL JOINT ASSEMBLIES ARE MISSING THE INTENDED PREVAILING TORQUE (SELF-LOCKING) FEATURE. IF THE INCORRECT NUT WAS TO BECOME LOOSE, THE JOINING MEMBERS MAY LOOSEN LEADING TO A SEPARATION OF THE BALL JOINT. THIS MAY RESULT IN LOSS OF VEHICLE CONTROL, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN A VEHICLE CRASH.
    Remedy:
    FEDERAL MOGUL WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE THE PARTS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON MAY 22, 2008. OWNERS CAN CONTACT FEDERAL MOGUL AT 877-489-6659.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 93 complaints · page 1 of 4

No complaints match the current filters.

EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources