2002 Mercury Cougar Steering Problems
- Complaints
- 3about this part
- Share
- 3%of 95 total for the year
- Median mileage
- 60,000miles
- Trend
- Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.
NHTSA recorded 3 complaints about the steering of the 2002 Mercury Cougar, 3% of the 95 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 60,000 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.
“I have a 2002 Cougar with 60k miles and I've already replaced the fuel pump,power steering pump, and now the heater core is clogged. Although lincoln/Mercury is the only one to work on the car, the warranty wont cover a clog. They will cover a leak...but not a clogg. How asinine is that? Fidelity warranty service is a joke!”
NHTSA complaint #10095615, filed 2004-10, 60,000 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
- 10013115Jan 1, 2004Steering column shipped without crush pad - reuse original crush pad if not damaged.
Steering: other model years
| Year | Complaints | Share of year |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 3 | 3% |
| 2001 | 1 | 1% |
| 2000 | 8 | 4% |
| 1999 | 20 | 4% |
| 1997 | 2 | 3% |
| 1996 | 2 | 3% |
| 1995 | 3 | 3% |
| 1994 | 2 | 1% |
| 1993 | 2 | 1% |
| 1992 | 5 | 5% |
| 1990 | 4 | 5% |
| 1989 | 4 | 5% |
| 1988 | 2 | 4% |
| 1984 | 2 | 12% |
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 complaintsElectrical system
4 complaintsVehicle speed control
4 complaintsOther or unknown
3 complaintsSeat belts
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