1996 Mercury Cougar engine and engine cooling problems
21 owner complaints filed with NHTSA name the engine and engine cooling on the 1996 Mercury Cougar — 34% of all complaints for this model year.
What owners report
“Tl * the contact owns a 1996 mercury cougar. The contact stated that the vehicle was leaking anti freeze abnormally. The vehicle was taken to a local repair shop where the contact was advised that the plastic intake manifold was fractured and would need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired…”
filed Jan 25, 2011
“While driving my 1996 cougar this past september, which has only 40,360 miles on it and is stored most of the year for the purposes of collecting and preserving the vehicle indefinitely, at low speeds I noticed the obvious sign of coolant and the smell of coolant coming from up under the hood. I…”
filed Jan 5, 2008
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Related service bulletins
Engine-gear driven synchronizers-incorrect installation-camshaft position synchronizer (cmp) installation tool correct application. *mj
02221 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Nov 11, 2002Incorrectly 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, 2002Some vehicles may exhibit an intake manifold crossover (first runner) coolant seepage condition. *tt
0222 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 4, 2002Some 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, 2002Engine oil system priming procedures, service tips for reports of premature engine failure. *tt
01246 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Dec 10, 2001
Engine and Engine Cooling problems in other Cougar years
| Year | Reports | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 Cougar | 11 | 12% |
| 2001 Cougar | 11 | 13% |
| 2000 Cougar | 26 | 12% |
| 1999 Cougar | 67 | 15% |
| 1997 Cougar | 30 | 39% |
| 1995 Cougar | 19 | 17% |
| 1994 Cougar | 32 | 23% |
| 1993 Cougar | 105 | 54% |
| 1992 Cougar | 18 | 20% |
| 1991 Cougar | 17 | 23% |
| 1990 Cougar | 9 | 10% |
| 1989 Cougar | 9 | 11% |
Other reported problem areas on the 1996 Mercury Cougar
Counts are unique NHTSA complaints naming this component group. Complaints are unverified owner reports; mileage is computed only from complaints that included a usable odometer reading.