Wheel & Tire complaints by model year
Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (wheels, lug nuts, original-equipment tires, TPMS).
Mileage when the problem started
What owners report
I have Firestone fire hawk tires on my 2002 Mercury couger xr. The tire model number is 215-50-17. My car has 44,000 miles on it. I bought it new and I have had 5 flat tires on the front two tires of my car. The rear tires have 44,000 miles on them. Each time I get a flat tire, the tire is shredded in the inside and I have been lucky that I was driving in the city not going very fast. I have been told every time that my tire pressure must be low and therefore caused a flat. I got my 5th flat tire in 4 yrs on 11/22/07 (thanksgiving). My tires had just been check when I got my oil change two weeks before, but I still got a flat tire. I had just been driving on a hwy going 65mph and I am thankful it didn't happen then, I am disabled and the road I had been driving on was in the middle of no where. Soon after I return to town I got a flat tire. My husband was then in the car with me. …
Since the car was purchased new in September 2003, the tires have been a constant battle. Now as the car has reached 16,000 miles, one tire has failed completely, while two others are not in great condition. 3 tires have been punctured by small round pebbles found close to my home. One tire the steel belt actually snapped on the freeway, causing minor tread seperation and instant pressure loss. The incident was controllable and traffic was light, resulting in no accident. I have contacted bf goodrich about the problems with tires and they only offer to replace one at a time when they completely fail. Then they will only give 50% off on one new tire. The tires are OEM on 2002 Mercury Cougar. Bfgoodrich comp/ta p215/50r16 89v I really feel if one has already had a complete failure at 16,000 miles and the others have there own problems, that a second failure is possible. …
Consumer noticed blisters on sidewall of both front tires. Dealership also noticed that the wheels were bent due to short sidewall height. The vibrations from the tires and wheel caused the steering wheel to vibrate. The dealership felt the problem was due to a combination of the magnesium/aluminum wheels and the low profile tires.
Blisters on the sidewalls of both front tires. The consumer was told the vehicle had a bent wheel, the mechanic explained that it was due the short sidewall height along with the wheel design that caused the problem. During the vehicle's next oil change, the consumer was again informed the vehicle had two more bent wheels.
We were driving down the road and all of a sudden we had a flat tire. We thought the tire had blown out, but when we changed the tire, we found that the rim had burst open and the tire was perfectly fine. Thank god the car did not flip. If it had, no one would have known what happened. We called the Ford company and they told us they would not incur any cost for their clearly defective product. After all the problems they have caused the public with their defective products, you would think they would have at least had a dealership look at the rim to try and find out what happened. But apparently they do not care about their products unless someone gets killed like in the case with their defective tires. I really feel that if they had taken the complaints serious about the tire situation, no one would have lost their life. …
Dt: the contact stated the front passenger tire came off while driving. The vehicle was towed to the local dealership. All four lugs: bolts snapped off. The dealership was unable to diagnose the problem, but repaired the vehicle. This caused damage to the front and back corner panel, bumper, hood, and door.
I have only owned this vehicle for about 4 months and have had many problems including brake lights not working and back wheel locking up. It was raining, I was driving down the freeway about 55 MPH and suddenly the power steering went out completely, the heat/defrost stopped working and my battery light came on. I just installed a brand new battery just 6 days before incident, although this isn't the first time the power steering went out while raining. This time it was extremely scary due to the high speed I was driving and because the heat stopped working my windows started to fog up quickly causing my visibility to be reduced dramatically while trying to use all my strength to steer the car around a curve without hitting another vehicle. As soon as I was able to see an exit I got off freeway and car died completely driving up the off ramp. …
Purchased car new, in 57000 miles we have had to replace, 2 alternators, 1 starter, 2 batteries, entire rack and pinion, power steering pump, transmission torque converter, 4 set of brakes, 4 sets of tires plus two individual tires all with sidewall blow outs except one puncture and 2 headlight switches, 2 cig lighters. The entire upper engine gasket set had to be replaced to get to an intake leak. The head lights and foglights work itermittantly, engine warning lights are constantly going on and off. Currently one headlight is out (lamp is good) fog lights are not working (today) and an engine warning light is indicating a problem again.
Frequently asked questions
Which Mercury Cougar years have wheel & tire problems?
By NHTSA complaints, the 1999 (33), 2000 (7), 2001 (6) and 1997 (5) model years. Wheel & Tire complaints make up 7% of all complaints for the 1999.
Is there a recall for Mercury Cougar wheel & tire problems?
No. NHTSA lists no wheels & tires recall for any Mercury Cougar model year. A widespread problem may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin, so ask a dealer.
At what mileage do Mercury Cougar wheel & tire problems start?
Across all years, half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 41,000 miles; 75% happened before 50,000 miles.
What part fails most often?
Owners most often name the tread/belt (10 mentions), followed by the sidewall (8).
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.