20 of the 72 complaints about the 1988 Mercury Cougar are about the seat belts — 28% of everything reported for this model year. Half of the failures with a mileage on record happened before 75,000 miles.
20
Complaints
0
Crashes
1
Fires
0
Injuries
Filed with NHTSA, in their own words.
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:BUCKLE ASSEMBLY
THE RIGHT SELTBELT BUCKLE ON THE DRIVERS SIDE FAILS OFTEN. FORD NO LONGER SUPPLIES THESE BUCKLES, AND THEY ARE VERY SCARCE IN WRECKING YARDS.
NHTSA complaint #10100078 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:ANCHORAGE
IGN. SW. RECALL WORK DONE PREVIOUSLY 2 TIMES BY GALPIN LINCOLN-MERCURY. SEAT BELT FAILURE REPORTED BOTH TO GALPIN LINCOLN-MERCURY AND FORD MOTOR CORP. BECAUSE OF NO DOCUMENTED RECALL, THEY REFUSED TO REPAIR IT. I HAVE BEEN DRIVING EVER SINCE WITHOUT SHOULDER BELT PROTECTION.
NHTSA complaint #731200 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:BUCKLE ASSEMBLY
SEAT BELT LATCH IS INOPERATIVE.
NHTSA complaint #809570 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:ANCHORAGE
SEAT BELT FAILED.
NHTSA complaint #511121 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:BUCKLE ASSEMBLY
EA95-021 ACTIVE, SEAT BELT BUCKLE FAILED, WILL NOT RELEASE.
NHTSA complaint #802592 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:ANCHORAGE
DRIVER'S SIDE SEAT BELT WOULD NOT RELEASE. IT LOCKED IN POSITION. THE RED RELEASE BUTTON WAS SOLID HARD WHEN ATTEMPTING TO RELEASE.
NHTSA complaint #800607 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:BUCKLE ASSEMBLY
DRIVER'S SIDE SEAT BELT WOULD NOT RELEASE. IT LOCKED IN POSITION. THE RED RELEASE BUTTON WAS SOLID HARD WHEN ATTEMPTING TO RELEASE.
NHTSA complaint #800607 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR
FAILURE OF THE REAR PASSENGER AND DRIVER SIDE SEAT BELT RETRACTOR SEATS, BELT WILL NOT RETRACT. *AK
NHTSA complaint #800077 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:BUCKLE ASSEMBLY
SEAT BELT BUCKLE: FAULTY DRIVER SIDE SEAT BELT BUCKLE, ALLEGED FALSE LATCHING, SEAT BELT COMES OUT OF THE BUCKLE.
NHTSA complaint #983771 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:BUCKLE ASSEMBLY
SEAT BELT BUCKLE: FAULTY DRIVER SIDE SEAT BELT BUCKLE, ALLEGED FALSE LATCHING, SEAT BELT COMES OUT OF THE BUCKLE.
NHTSA complaint #983771 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:BUCKLE ASSEMBLY
SEAT BELT LATCH FAILED. *DSH
NHTSA complaint #490557 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:BUCKLE ASSEMBLY
DRIVER'S SIDE BELT BUCKLE FAILURE, BUCKLE FAILS TO LATCH PROPERLY.
NHTSA complaint #979979 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:BUCKLE ASSEMBLY
DRIVER'S SIDE BELT BUCKLE FAILURE, BUCKLE FAILS TO LATCH PROPERLY.
NHTSA complaint #979979 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:BUCKLE ASSEMBLY
DRIVER'S SIDE BELT BUCKLE FAILURE, THE BUCKLE BROKE. TT
NHTSA complaint #973894 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:BUCKLE ASSEMBLY
THE DRIVERS SIDE SEATBELT BUCKLE DOES NOT LATCH. PLEASE DESCRIBE. TT
NHTSA complaint #972404 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:BUCKLE ASSEMBLY
AFTER PUTTING ON SEAT BELTS, SNUG AGAINST HIPS, BUCKLE WILL RELEASE ITSELF. TT
NHTSA complaint #971411 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:BUCKLE ASSEMBLY
THE DRIVER SIDE SEAT BELT BUCKLE BROKE . TT
NHTSA complaint #971079 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:WEBBING
THE DRIVER SIDE SEAT BELT BROKE. KT
NHTSA complaint #971079 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:BUCKLE ASSEMBLY
SEATBELT BUCKLE DETACHED WHILE DRIVING. TT
NHTSA complaint #969911 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:BUCKLE ASSEMBLY
SEAT BELT BUCKLE BROKE.
NHTSA complaint #481968 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.