The 1985 Mercury Cougar has 1 NHTSA recall campaign affecting an estimated 3,508 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 22 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the electrical system. Last updated July 5, 2026.
BRAKE MASTER CYLINDERS MAY HAVE IMPROPERLY ANODIZED INTERNAL SURFACES CAUSING ACCELERATED WEAR OF A PISTON SEAL. CONSEQUENCE OF DEFECT: ONE PORTION OF THE SPLIT BRAKE SYSTEM WOULD BECOME INEFFECTIVE…
MASTER CYLINDERS BUILT ON JANUARY 9, 1985 WILL BE REPLACED.
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal information removed.
“While trying to start vehicle it would not start. *ak”
“While driving at any speed vehicle stalls. When consumer reaches to 60 mph vehicle will shutdown, and the consumer has to coast off the highway to get to the side of the road. Vehicle has been in the repair shop, and dealer can't determine the problem. *ak”
“Basically the ignition switch failed, when switch was removed by owner the switch was charged and burned. Also some wiring was burned. *ak”
“Hood latch failed due to kink in the release cable.”
“Roof lining falling apart, interfering with drivers vision. *dsh”
“Electrical short in the ignition switch, smoke is coming from the steering column. *ak”
“Electrical short in the ignition switch, smoke is coming from the steering column. *ak”
“Electrical short or shock, causing the vehicle to catch on fire, engine compartmnet fire. *ak”
SUMMARY OF INFORMATION FROM MANUFACTURER:FORD BELIEVES THAT THE AL-LEGED DEFECT ONLY OCCURS IN A SMALL NUMBER OF THE SUBJECT VEHICLES ANDRECALLED ABOUT 195,732 1984 TEMPO/TOPAZ VEHICLES IN JUNE 1986.ANALYSIS: VEHICLES POTENTIALLY INVOLVED INCLUDE TEMPO/TOPAZ, ESCORT/LYNX/EXP, MUSTANG/CAPRI, LTD/MARQUIS, AND…
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL, FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1985 Mercury Cougar as of July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.