RoadVitals

1973 Mercury Cougar

Recalls, owner-reported complaints, investigations and safety data

Data refreshed

Owner complaintsComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
2
Latest Jun 12, 2002
Safety recallsA safety recall is issued when a manufacturer or NHTSA determines that a vehicle has a safety-related defect or does not comply with a federal motor vehicle safety standard. Recall repairs are free. Whether a specific vehicle is covered depends on its VIN — a recall listed for a model year does not necessarily apply to every vehicle of that year.
0
InvestigationsNHTSA opens an investigation to examine whether a safety defect may exist. An open investigation is not a determination that a defect exists, and many investigations close without a recall. Investigations can, however, lead to one.
0
Crash or fire reportedComplaints whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. These are the reporter's own answers on the NHTSA form, not verified findings.
0

Overview

Our database contains 2 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 1973 Mercury Cougar, most frequently naming the tires & wheels category.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

What owners report

Complaints grouped by the component NHTSA recorded

  • Tires & wheels2100.0%

Percentages are of component mentions. A single complaint can name more than one component, so these do not sum to the total complaint count.

Safety recalls

No recalls in our database for this model year

That does not guarantee a specific vehicle is unaffected — recalls are issued against VINs, and new campaigns are announced regularly. Check a VIN on NHTSA.gov.

Recent owner complaints

Reports submitted to NHTSA, shown in the owner's own words

Tires & wheels
Filed Jun 12, 2002

CARLTON, P205/75R15, DOT REPLACEMENT EQUIPMENT WITH 1000 MILES ON A 1973, MERCURY, COUGAR. PASSENGER'S FRONT TIRE HAD TREAD SEPARATION AT 45-50 MPH, CAUSING 1100.00 DOLLARS IN DAMAGE TO VEHICLE.*AK DOT CKUL IMC 115. WHILE IN MOTION THE TIRE TREAD SEPARATED CAUSING A BLOWOUT AND DAMAGE TO THE VEHICLE. AN EXPERT OF PIRELLI TIRES STATED THE REASON FOR THE BLOWOUT WAS DUE TO TIRE UNDER INFLATION. CONSUMER EXPLAINS TEH TIRE PRESSURE WAS AT THE SPECIFIED PSI. *JG

NHTSA ID
8011617
Incident
Jun 1, 2002
Tires & wheels
Filed May 28, 2002

TIRE ON THE VEHICLE HAD BULGES ON THE TREAD. CONTACTED DEALER. FIRESTONE FR721 205/75R15 (DOT UNKNOWN), REPLACEMENT TIRES, 8OOO MILES, MOUNTED ON A 1973 ,MERCURY, COUGAR.*AK WHILE DRIVING STEERING WAS WOBBLY AND SHAKY. UPON INSPECTION FOUND FRONT RIGHT AND LEFT REAR TIRES WERE OUT OF ROUND AND STEEL BELTS HAD SHIFTED. *TT

NHTSA ID
8010521
Incident
May 15, 2002

Compare model years

Complaint and recall counts across every year of this model

Mercury Cougar by model year
YearComplaintsRecallsInvestigationsIssue Index
2002953052.7
2001823053.2
20002115054.4
19994549155.6
1998101—
1997760140.3
1996622148.7
19951090142.9
19941370142.8
19931953255.7
1992923457.8
1991733261.0
1990863564.9
1989814670.7
1988551560.2
1987331360.4
1986132156.4
1985101149.7
1984171254.6
1983232—
1982241—
1981011—
1980222—
1979030—
1978221—
1977040—
1976010—
1975020—
1974020—
1973Viewing200—
1972010—
1971010—
1970010—
1969040—
1968010—
1967020—
1962100—

Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers. Older model years have had longer for reports to accumulate.