2002 Mercury Cougar Electrical system Problems
- Complaints
- 4about this part
- Share
- 4%of 95 total for the year
- Median mileage
- 135,612miles
- Trend
- Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.
NHTSA recorded 4 complaints about the electrical system of the 2002 Mercury Cougar, 4% of the 95 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 135,612 miles. 1 of these say a crash was involved, according to the filers.
Fewer than 15 complaints name this part, so treat the figures as a rough indication only.
Example complaints
Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
“Nhtsa campaign number:04v421000 manufacturer ford motor company was driving on a main city st. My auto stopped with no power in the left lane of busy 4 lane st. Would not start in neutral or park, man pushed it into the ctr. Lane out of traffic area. Policeman came after I called 911, after a few minutes he suggested taking key out stepping on brake then inserting key back in ignition, did that and it started right up, and he followed me to my st. And I got safely home. Prior to this shut down incident it had stalled going down a hill however put it in neutral and it started up again. …”
NHTSA complaint #10966151, filed 2017-03, 92,000 miles“I'm having the same issue with my 2002 Mercury Cougar as everyone else, but when I put my VIN number into the search, there are no recalls listed for it. I don't think that its right that my life be put in serious danger because of an apparent design issue. This car is losing all power and shutting down. It doesn't matter how fast you are going, it happens at all speeds. We thought the alternator was bad, had it replaced and the battery at the same time. The same day, the car lost all power again and died out going 60 MPH on the highway. …”
NHTSA complaint #10668046, filed 2014-12, 179,225 miles“6 months after I bought the car I noticed that after fueling that the fuel gauge still stayed on empty after a while it corrected itself but after that now everytime that I put fuel in the car it registers either empty or only half full. The dealership told me that cougars are known for theri fuel pump problems. Upon further inspection of the car they stated that they could find nothing wrong and to watch and not overfill the tank. To this day the fuel gauge is still wrong. After that the paint on the hood of the car started peeling. …”
NHTSA complaint #10083109, filed 2004-08“On approx. The 15th of march, my daughter lost all power in car while driving through lunch traffic in town and was nearly rearended by a petroluem tanker. We brought car in to dealership. They ran a battery test and b/c that came back fine they refused to do any further testing. She was having problems getting the key to turn over to start car. They fixed that problem at the same time. On the 15th of may, the car came out of the shop for the 2nd time after it had lost power twice on her while driving again.her. The dealership contacted ford headquarters for recalls. …”
NHTSA complaint #764227, filed 2002-07Related service bulletins
- 10013116Sep 6, 2004Malfunction indicator lamp (mil) illuminated - system lean diagnostic trouble codes (dtc's) - service tips. Various models including 2004 f-series.
- 10013076Oct 1, 2002Coolant lamp illuminated after cluster replacement.
Electrical system: other model years
| Year | Complaints | Share of year |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 4 | 4% |
| 2001 | 12 | 15% |
| 2000 | 63 | 30% |
| 1999 | 99 | 22% |
| 1997 | 4 | 5% |
| 1996 | 3 | 5% |
| 1995 | 5 | 5% |
| 1994 | 6 | 4% |
| 1993 | 8 | 4% |
| 1992 | 5 | 5% |
| 1991 | 11 | 15% |
| 1990 | 19 | 22% |
| 1989 | 12 | 15% |
| 1988 | 12 | 22% |
| 1987 | 13 | 39% |
| 1986 | 4 | 31% |
| 1985 | 6 | 60% |
| 1984 | 7 | 41% |
Other parts of the 2002 Mercury Cougar
49 complaintsEngine cooling
11 complaintsTransmission and drivetrain
10 complaintsEngine
9 complaintsAir bags
7 complaintsVisibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
6 complaintsVehicle speed control
4 complaintsOther or unknown
3 complaintsSeat belts
3 complaintsSteering
3 complaintsSuspension
3 complaintsBrakes
2 complaints
← All problems reported for the 2002 Mercury Cougar
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 28, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.
To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology