1994 Mercury Cougar engine and engine cooling problems

32 owner complaints filed with NHTSA name the engine and engine cooling on the 1994 Mercury Cougar — 23% of all complaints for this model year.

Engine and Engine Cooling complaints

23%

share of all complaints

—

median reported incident mileage

0 / 0

crash / fire reports

What owners report

“Car overheats due to a bad head gasket. Per ford's tsb 00m10, this is a known design issue that they fixed only if there was a proble during the first 7 years after the warranty inception date for 1994 and 1995 vehicles with a 3.8l engine. This defect can easily result in a safety concern due to…”
filed Feb 27, 2004
“We bought a mercury cougar 1994 and discovered we have a blown head gasket. We just found out that it is virtually impossible to find an engine for the v6 model at a reasonable price. We also found out that this 1994 model is famous for blown head gaskets. *la”
filed Oct 15, 2003

Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.

Engine-gear driven synchronizers-incorrect installation-camshaft position synchronizer (cmp) installation tool correct application. *mj
02221 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Nov 11, 2002
Incorrectly installed gear driven camshaft position (cmp) sensor synchronizer assemblies causing surge, lost of power, malfunction indicator lamp on and diagnostic trouble codes p1336, p1309 and p0340. *tt
870197 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Oct 22, 2002
Some engine assemblies with aluminum cylinder heads repaired in-vehile have been found to leak coolant and/or oil from the cylinder head gasket area. *tt
0214 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 21, 2002