The 1999 Mercury Cougar has 7 recalls, the most serious being two separate fire risks: a battery cable that can short against the power steering line, and electrical arcing in the heater blower resistor connector that can melt the surrounding plastic.
A misrouted battery cable can wear through its insulation where it contacts the power steering tubing, creating a short that can start a fire or cause the engine to stall or not start at all. Separately, the blower resistor's stainless steel blades can damage the copper contacts in the wiring harness connector, producing arcing that melts the connector housing and raises the risk of fire. On the throttle side, the accelerator cable can have a small burr inside the sleeve that frays the inner wire over time, causing the throttle to stick or stay at high engine speed when the driver lifts off the pedal.
The door latch on these vehicles can also be a concern. A swelling coating on the latch pawl can cause it to stick open in humid conditions, so the door appears closed but is not actually latched and can swing open while driving. Prior repair attempts did not fully resolve the issue, which is why this defect appears across more than one recall campaign.
Rounding out the list, the brake light switch can overheat at its terminals, leading to either no brake lights at all or brake lights that stay on continuously. Both conditions make it harder for drivers behind the vehicle to judge when it is slowing, raising the risk of a rear-end collision.
