Audited US model-year file
Exact make, model and year evidence from official US sources. Recall campaigns, ODI investigations, complaint allegations and EPA estimates remain separate.
A campaign may cover only certain production dates, plants or equipment. A zero result here is not safety clearance. Use NHTSA’s official VIN tool for the individual vehicle.
Official VIN lookup ↗01 · Safety actions first
Exact model-level NHTSA results for 1988 MERCURY Cougar. Campaign records are official safety actions; applicability to a particular car still requires its VIN.
THE IGNITION SWITCH COULD EXPERIENCE AN INTERNAL SHORT CIRCUIT.
THIS CONDITION COULD CAUSE OVERHEATING, SMOKE, AND POSSIBLY FIRE IN THE STEERING COLUMN AREA OF THE VEHICLE.
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE IGNITION SWITCH.
02 · Owner allegations
Counts are not adjusted for sales, vehicle age, mileage, publicity or reporting behavior. They are allegations, not defect findings or a reliability score.
Totals for the same nameplate, scaled against its highest year here. They are not adjusted for how many were sold, how old they are, how far they are driven, or how much publicity a fault received — an older or better-selling year will usually carry more reports. This shows where the reporting sits, not which year is better.
A dash means NHTSA holds no complaint record for that exact year, make and model. See all Cougar years with specs and fuel economy →
03 · Agency review
An investigation means ODI reviewed a possible safety issue for this exact model-year identity. Opening one is not a defect finding; closing one does not by itself clear a vehicle.
SEAT BELTS · No associated recall campaign number was published in this investigation row.
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:BUCKLE ASSEMBLY · No associated recall campaign number was published in this investigation row.
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:LINKAGES · No associated recall campaign number was published in this investigation row.
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:LINKAGES · No associated recall campaign number was published in this investigation row.
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:LINKAGES · No associated recall campaign number was published in this investigation row.
04 · EPA configurations
FuelEconomy.gov records are summarized as ranges where this model name has multiple engines, drivetrains or trims.
05 · Evidence strength
No opaque score. Evidence strength is expressed through source availability, exact match method, jurisdiction and honest empty states.
1 exact US model-year records in this bounded view.
69 exact US model-year allegations; narratives and VIN fragments are omitted.
5 exact US model-year action numbers in the approved import snapshot.
Only the exact NHTSA vPIC model name is published; unverified aliases are not merged.
No rights-reviewed official ownership record is joined to this exact model-year.
The canonical URL is this file’s permanent public identifier. Source IDs and timestamps show exactly what was matched and when; they do not turn the evidence into a verdict.
Model identity
Open official source ↗Owner allegations
Open official source ↗Official safety actions
Open official source ↗EPA efficiency estimates
Open official source ↗Action number, component, subject and open/close dates from the approved bulk import; long summaries omitted.
Open official source ↗Only NHTSA vPIC, NHTSA ODI complaints and investigations, NHTSA recalls and FuelEconomy.gov contribute to this vehicle claim. CPSC equipment notices are searched separately and never joined to vehicle fitment. UK MOT, Canadian, New Zealand and European records are not merged into this US claim.
06 · Research paths
These are transparent searches, not diagnoses or endorsed parts. Recall remedies come before purchases; exact part fitment requires VIN, trim, powertrain, production date and OE number.
Check recalls and diagnostic information before replacing anything.
Check recalls and diagnostic information before replacing anything.
Check recalls and diagnostic information before replacing anything.
Check recalls and diagnostic information before replacing anything.
Awin US and R2 affiliate inventory are not published until a US programme, merchant and exact-fitment projection are approved. No offer currently has both merchant approval and exact vehicle fitment, so commercial links never count as evidence.