Total Complaints
2 filings
Mercury Cougar · model year
1978 Mercury Cougar
2 NHTSA complaints, 1 crash report. A VIN lookup is required to determine whether a specific vehicle has an unrepaired recall.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
- Complaints
- 2
- Recalls
- 0
The verdict
The 1978 Mercury Cougar posts top-quartile complaint standing among its own model-year siblings.
- Top 12%
- fewest complaints, own model years
- 0
- recall campaigns
The 1978MercuryCougar carries 2 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 1 crash, 0 fires, 1 injury, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.
The most frequently selected component label in reports for the 1978 Cougar is seat belts:front:webbing with 1 filings, followed by seat belts:front:retractor (1). Complaint categories reflect owner reports and intake categorization; they do not establish a defect pattern or cause.
NHTSA currently has 22 investigation files overlapping the 1978 Cougar. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should read the complaint-by-year trend as report volume, not a causal diagnosis. Use the related-complaint feed and the official recall lookup when researching a specific vehicle.
2
Complaints
1
Crashes
0
Fires
1
Injuries
0
Deaths
F
PlainCars Safety Score
0/100
1978 Mercury Cougar
PlainCars' own composite of NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings and rollover-risk assessment, each dimension normalized against the federal scale or the full national model-year corpus. Not an official NHTSA figure, and not a substitute for a specific vehicle's VIN-level recall check.
NHTSA Overall Rating N/A
Not rated
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program overall crash-test rating.
Front Crash N/A
Not rated
Frontal barrier crash-test rating.
Side Crash N/A
Not rated
Side barrier and pole crash-test rating.
Rollover Resistance N/A
Not rated
Static stability factor + dynamic rollover test rating.
Rollover Risk N/A
Not reported
NHTSA single-vehicle rollover probability, dynamic test.
Crashes Reported
1 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
Complaints vs. fleet median (215)
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
Complaints by Component
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| SEAT BELTS:FRONT:WEBBING | 1 |
| SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR | 1 |
Recent Complaints
20080129SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1978 MERCURY COUGAR. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FRONT SEAT BELTS FAIL TO OPERATE PROPERLY. THE DEALER STATED THAT HER VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER 78V108000 (SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR) BECAUSE THE VEHICLE WAS TOO OLD. THE VIN WAS INACCURATE AND THE ENGINE SIZE WAS UNKNOWN. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 42,267.
Mileage: 42,267
19950627CrashSEAT BELTS:FRONT:WEBBING
CONSUMER WAS IN AN ACCIDENT AND THE DRIVER SIDE SEAT BELT DIDN'T RESTRAIN PERSON HIT HER HEAD WAS TOTALED. TT
Compare 1978MercuryCougar to Similar Vehicles
NHTSA Investigations
Vehicle Safety Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
How many complaints does the 1978 Mercury Cougar have?▼
The 1978 Mercury Cougar has 2 NHTSA complaints, 1 crashes, 0 fires, 1 injuries, and 0 deaths reported.
What are the most common problems with the 1978 Mercury Cougar?▼
The most-complained component for the 1978 Mercury Cougar is SEAT BELTS:FRONT:WEBBING with 1 complaints. Other frequently reported areas include SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR.
Is the 1978 Mercury Cougar safe to buy?▼
Review the complaint history, crash and fire reports, safety ratings, and recall status on this page to make an informed decision. No NHTSA crash test rating is available for this model year. Compare with other model years using the links above.
Where does this data come from?▼
All complaint, recall, and safety rating data is sourced from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Complaints are filed by vehicle owners through NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation.
Data vintage: August 2026. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.
Every figure on PlainCars is rendered directly from NHTSA complaint and safety data, no number is typed in by an editor. This year-specific record is rendered from NHTSA ODI, recall, and NCAP rows for the 1978 Mercury Cougar; no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.