1973 Mercury Cougar Problems
Owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA, grouped by component
Data refreshed
What this page shows
Everything below is an owner-reported complaint submitted to NHTSA about the 1973 Mercury Cougar, grouped by the component NHTSA recorded on the report. These are not confirmed defects, and they are not recalls. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a category with more reports in it is not evidence that a part is defective.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Reports by component
Ranked by how many owner reports name each component category
- 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.
Each component in detail
What the reports in each category say, in the owners' own words
Tires & wheels
Reports naming tires, wheels, hubs, or the tire-pressure monitoring system.
From owner reports, verbatim
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
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
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
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.
Elsewhere on this vehicle
Data sources
- NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation — owner-reported complaints and the components recorded on them
Data on this page last refreshed .