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The trip to the dealer wasn't a total loss because they did fix my creaking clutch pedal and they lubed the cable for the parking brake (feels better now).
Thanks for the suggestion about the lug nuts, Blane. I'll be sure to make sure they're on tight.
Happy motoring all.
Have a GREAT and safe weekend!! Happy Cougaring!
Incidentally, the air conditioner worked well through the Central Valley (Sacramento etc.), where the temperature was in the very high 90's. It was a bit noisy, set at re-circulate and fan at 4, but it more than did the job.
The huge cargo space also helped. Plenty of room for luggage for two.
The only negative was that the Cougar was a bit sluggish above 5000 ft., frequently downshifting at moderate acceleration. But, what the heck! All in all, a great car.
When I got home I found some mail from Mercury, with ads for everything but the Cougar. What's with these people?
This was the weekend from hell. Allow me to recap:
Saturday Kate and I were supposed to get an early start and trek down to my parents house for a family party. We wanted to leave early so we would beat all the crazy summer traffic traveling down to the beach. Well I forgot to set my clock, so we didn't leave the house until 11:15am. Since we left late we got stuck sitting in bumper to bumper traffic. While rolling at around 25mph in the center lane (three lane highway) I went to throttle up and nothing happened. I looked at my instrument panel and realized that the car had stalled. I had figured that I had stalled the car while shifting is slow traffic, so I tried to restart it, but nothing happened. At this point we were rolling down hill at around 20mph. I tried poping the clutch, but the only thing that did was slow us down, which was bad because I didn't want to get stuck in the middle of the highway. Kate had to hang out of her window and flag the car next to us to allow us to pull over to the right and off to the shoulder. If we were not on a hill, we would have been dead in the middle of the highway. I tried to restart the car well over 25 times, but nothing happened. I called FMC roadside assistance, but they told me they were not authorized to tow on the Parkway, so I would have to call someone else. I called AAA and they sent a truck. Since were were in the middle of nowhere, I had the car towed (on a flatbed) to Woodbridge LMC where my friends Father is the service manager. The tow cost me $143.00, but I plan to have Ford reimburse me in full. Mr. Broadly (my friend's Dad) just happened to be at work and he said he would look at it first thing this morning. He has done a ton of work on my sister's Cougar, and I completely trust him, so thats not an issue. The issue is the fact that my car has slightly over 34,000 miles on it and the warranty will be up soon. I don't need to battle with a problem that could cost me a ton of money in the future, or worse my life. Thats all I need is to be going 75mph and have my car die for no reason what-so-ever. That would be nice, no power steering, no power brakes, no nothing.
This isn't good.
Hope your kitty can be fixed easily.
Good Luck!
-Denise
My deepest sympathys go out to you and your family. Although I have never personally experienced something like this, I have responded to numerous house fires over the years working with the Police Department, so I have seen the devastation to the property as well as to the family.
I truly feel for you and your family. I can't imagine your loss, but I can tell you that all of you are very lucky to have not been home during the incident. I'm saddened by your loss, but i'm happy your still here to tell us about it.
Rob
AKA "Badulah"
CSG Caretaker
PS - After reading your post, I feel bad for wining about the problem with my Cat. Its funny how things like that put life in to perspective.
I'm glad to hear you and your family are okay!
Sincerely,
Andy.
I'm so sorry to hear about your house, Max, and your daughter's pets. It is indeed fortunate that you were out of town at the time and your family wasn't endangered. You and yours will be in my prayers.
I know it's going to be awfully rough for you emotionally for a while even so, so take advantage of your friends and family and lean on them when things seem overwhelming.
Any idea how it started? If there's anything I can do to prevent it from happening to anyone else in here, I'd like to know.
Adam
As you say, lucky you weren't home at the time.
Good luck on your rebuilding process.
Skip G.
Although it's quite a ride to the dealership from here (around 45 miles each way), it's nice to know she is getting the royal treatment.
Badulah - I've sent a note to the team regarding your issue. I'll let you know what they say.
Questions:
Any Comment on the "rumored" pushed off date of Cougar S production?
Will we still see a production S at cougarfest?
With cougarfest numbers soaring past 100 will we have enough parking? hehe.
Does Mercury offer anytype of grassroots racing support?(even free logos would be cool)
And a question regarding the directors chairs that some of us owners recieved:
How did one come to recieve this gift? Random? early buyer?
Bush or Gore?
This should keep you busy
Thanks
At any rate, the same thing happened to me in 1993 (except I got to see my house burn down on television) and the good news is that you get over it.
It can get tough sometimes, but stay optimistic and rebuild your house and your life better than ever.
Morning!!!!
MWS0520:
Thanks for the help!!!
5:30AM is too early to be playing with your computer ;-)
Skip G.
About 2200 mile later she has had a blinking engine light. According to the manual this is more
serious that a engine light that stays on. The
blinking light is due to misfiring in the engine
and it can cause damage to catalytic convertor and
may lead to overheating in the floor board and may
cause fires. The second time it happen the engine
cut off while going done a hill and she didn't have brakes. this cause an accident with a loading dock and $800.00 damage. the fourth times she lost
power while traveling 70 MPH. on a freeway. Four
trips to the Ford dealer has produced nothing
except that everything is fine and they can't find
any problems. Have asked Ford for a representative
to look at it but they have been unable to do that
until the representative is in the area
(Columbia/Spartanburg SC ). Has anyone else
experienced the same problem and the none help from Ford.
THANK yOU
Actually this is set to California time, so I posted at 8:30am EST.
MWS0520:
Can you help out joesenior and his daughter?
Malibu - Hope all is fine and good luck with Max Jr.
By the way, I found my car is littler different form other 2000 models because it was produced later in the year. It was just released from factory when I bought it. For example, the cup holder in my car is different from old 2000 ones. And my cd changer is in dash instead on in the trunk.
badulah: I heard thismorning that the ignition problem was for Ford model years up till '95. Oh well!!!
Bottom line -- when's ol' Jaques Nasser going to come on in the middle of CBS and Survivor (or Big Brother, now) and reassure me that I can get free replacements for the Fire"rocks" that adorn my Cougar's wheels?
You would think that FMC would try and bite the bullet in light of considerable customer concern about Firestone's product quality and safety. Offer us 33% off on a new set of tires that don't fall under the recall. I'm not real happy about having several thousand more miles left on my Firestones, considering where some of the SUV accidents put people.
Does anyone feel the same? Would you accept an offer from FMC for 33% discount on any new set of tires from a dealership in order to replace OEM Firestone tires? I know I would. They drive like ca-ca. Did I mention that I've seen small pieces (nickel-sized) of rubber seemingly "shaved" off the sidewalls of the tire? Just in normal wear and tear?
Come on, Jaques -- make EVERY customer feel safer!
Just my thoughts,
burnsmr4
Although the above statement is funny, it's also true. I detest my OEM Firestones with an undying passion. I would be very happy if FMC offered me a 33% discount on new tires. Two of my tires are really shot, but I plan to replace all 4 sometime in the late fall.
Even if the tires shredded, I don't think a Cougar would flip like an SUV. People think they're safer in a big heavy truck but they're actually at the mercy of the laws of physics. The things can't stop, they can't steer and they flip over if they get out of shape. The only thing they're good at is ramming smaller cars.
Hey, I put the cat in company truck mode today. Put in a 6 foot ladder and a bunch of construction tools and went to do some repair work on a house. The Cougar's versatility amazes me. This is a sport coupe but it holds tons of cargo. Of course, the car's cornering ability was reduced because I didn't want to get hit in the head with a toolbox.
First off, Malibu:
It's been said many times before, but my condolences and best wishes for your rebuild, and am glad you decided to replace Max. Thank you for sharing your heartache, I wish there was something I could do. Take care of yourself and your family, it takes a strong person to deal with these tragedies. I'm really glad no one was hurt or killed, and I'm glad you'll be able to get most, if not all, of your stuff replaced. It's the absence of the irreplaceable memories that's hardest to deal with I'm sure. Keep us posted on the status of your new life. And if you couldn't tell, we're here for ya!
Badulah:
Dude, your car problems are really scary, and I'm glad you're in process to get them fixed. Just for S&G's, did you happen to check for hairballs? ;^)
Joesenior:
I really suggest (always have) that you take that to your dealership and leave it there until they can find the problem. Also, if it persists and they don't know what's wrong, investigate your state's Lemon Law. Good luck.
All:
The reason I've been away is because I've finally found and started a new job. I'm really enjoying this first week of work at the new place and it's such a change from what I was doing that I'm actually going through a bit of culture shock. Take care, and I'll check up when I can!
P.S. The new web site and URL are coming soon, so stay tuned!
Later!
Don't get me wrong, SUV's have there place. My wife drives a Jeep primarily so we have a vehicle that we can take the dogs in. But, we never take it on trips because I hate driving it. I feel vulnerable in it. If something happens in front of me, on the road, all you can really do is hang on and pray. Give me my Cougar anyday, I know I can get out of just about any situation with it.
I will pick up my loaner car today, not sure what it will be, but it's really nice of them to give it to me. The wreckers just called and they will pick up Max on Tuesday. So I'll go by the house and say goodbye this weekend. The new cougar should be in by the end of next week. I'll keep you all posted.
I hope everyone has a safe and fun weekend!
Lisa.
- date(s) of problem
- dealership you took it to
- name of service manager
- dealership telephone number
- number where you can be reached during the day
Thanks.
If it makes you feel any better everyone ignored my posts too.
Lets quit talking about tires please. You have more chance of catching leprosy than getting a replacement from Ford. Unless you want it posthumously that is
Not sure how to respond to your post. We usually modify our Cats to go faster, but you really want an underpowered car. Maybe you should go with a diesel powered New Beetle, but if your heart is set on a Cougar, then there's a couple of things you could do to slow down the car. Before you have your parents in the car, put lots of weights in the trunk and drive with the A/C on. Check with Badulah, maybe he knows of mods that actually slows down the car.
Malibu:
I know I'm kinda late, but I'm sorry to hear of your losses. My condolances to your daughter's pets. I, too, am a pet lover. I got two dwarf bunnies. Long live Max II.
Krnch:
Do u still have the crickets in your rear wheel? If nothing else works, try putting the rear wheel in a cage with an iguana and a chameleon overnight. I guarantee you by morning, your problems will be gone.
Yeah, you're welcome. Anytime!!
Patte
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated since she is now out of warranty!!
Thanks!!
Cassy
I hardly know what to say. I got home from my
holidays, checked my garden and discovered that my
tomatoes have tomato blight and thought to myself,
what next.
Then I came inside and booted up my PC to see what
has been happening with the CSG gang and suddenly
felt like an idiot.
I cannot imagine what you must have felt when you
arrived home. I can only say that my thoughts are
with you and your family and will continue to be
through the re-building.
If it helps at all, this may be a good time to
look for opportunity and think of all the little
nitpicky things you didn't like about your house
(bathroom's too small, the kitchen could have been
laid out differently, etc..) and look forward to
fixing them in the new.
For your daughter, give her a hug for me. I don't
know what I'd do if anything happened to Spook.
So my question is--why is the warranty only for 36 months/36,000 miles? Hyundai offers 10 years/100,000 miles on their cars. I understand that Hyundai has a poor reliability image that it's trying to overcome. But even Isuzu warranties their trucks for 100,000 miles. I think the Ford's warranty is skimpy and insufficient on an otherwise great car (Cougar).