general problems of the 2000 Mercury Cougar

The vehicle, 2000 Mercury Cougar, begins jerking as it is being driven at any speed, and results in complete shut down of engine. Sometimes the engine will restart after waiting several minutes, and will not restart at times; requiring towing. I took the vehicle to the local dealer, and an employee stated that it was known by the manufacturer to be a design flaw in that year vehicle. Another employee took him to the side and scoulded him for the disclosure. They would not discuss it further, even though I continued to question what they were doing to correct this known defect in workmanship. To this day the vehicle continued to repeat the same failure. I had the fuel filter replaced twice. Finally a mechanic replaced the cam shaft sensor (he stated that he had seen this problem with the car many times) and knew that was the problem. Even though the sensor was replaced, the car worked without shut down for approximately 4 months, but began the same sequence of shut downs all over again. The design flaw should be recalled or consumers should be reimbursed for purchase of a known defective vehicle by it's manufacturer and designer. It is a shame to get "stuck" with a lemon. Thank you.

After running for more than 10 minutes in a row engine will not restart for thirty or fourty minutes. Brakes lose control in rain.

#1 I received a recall letter from Ford in late April 2004 regard the fuel pump. I have had several problems with my 2000 Cougar loosing power on incline for the past year or so. After I paid to have a new fuel pump I recieved the letter. They informed me that the new fuel pump would be out late may 2004, but I haven't heard from them as of date. #2 everytime I drive my car for about 15 minutes or more, once I turn off the car, if I try to start it within 5 to 10 minutes it will not start. I have to wait at least 15 minutes. Ford dealership repair cannot find a problem.

While driving/turning at 55 mph vehicle hesitated then stallled. Dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem.

Sickly sweet smell when air conditioner on. Initially checked for possible fluid leakage from air conditioner. That was not it. Later traced to toxic mold in a trapped area of the air conditioning path. Dealer sprayed in fungicide which worked for a short while. On one occasion I got out of the car and into the house and could smell this sickly sweet smell on my breath. The day after I started coughing and it took 3 months of intensive medical to get it cleaned up. Then I got another whiff and started coughing again. I discover this is a known problem, but not admitted. Volvo runs a special drying cycle in their air conditioning to avoid this mold problem. I also hear mercedes has a similar problem.

This car has intermittently shut down in traffic at 70 mph, also will not start from time to time. Very unreliable transportation. Incredibly poor choice of vehicle. Key has electronic chip in it which malfunctions. Key replaced once under warranty; went bad again. Costs $400 to replace.