# 2000 MERCURY COUGAR — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
> NHTSA complaint `471041` · 2004-01-15 · Ford Motor Company
## Severity
- **Deaths:** 0
- **Injured:** 1
- **Fire:** No
- **Crash:** No
- **Police report:** No
- **Medical attention:** No
- **Vehicle towed:** No
## Vehicle
- **Make:** MERCURY
- **Model:** COUGAR
- **Year:** 2000
- **Manufacturer:** Ford Motor Company
- **Component:** ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
- **Miles at failure:** 8,000
## Narrative
SICKLY SWEET SMELL WHEN AIR CONDITIONER ON. INITIALLY CHECKED FOR POSSIBLE FLUID LEAKAGE FROM AIR CONDITIONER. THAT WAS NOT IT. LATER TRACED TO TOXIC MOLD IN A TRAPPED AREA OF THE AIR CONDITIONING PATH. DEALER SPRAYED IN FUNGICIDE WHICH WORKED FOR A SHORT WHILE. ON ONE OCCASION I GOT OUT OF THE CAR AND INTO THE HOUSE AND COULD SMELL THIS SICKLY SWEET SMELL ON MY BREATH. THE DAY AFTER I STARTED COUGHING AND IT TOOK 3 MONTHS OF INTENSIVE MEDICAL TO GET IT CLEANED UP. THEN I GOT ANOTHER WHIFF AND STARTED COUGHING AGAIN. I DISCOVER THIS IS A KNOWN PROBLEM, BUT NOT ADMITTED. VOLVO RUNS A SPECIAL DRYING CYCLE IN THEIR AIR CONDITIONING TO AVOID THIS MOLD PROBLEM. I ALSO HEAR MERCEDES HAS A SIMILAR PROBLEM.
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*Source: [NHTSA ODI](https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/downloads/) · AI Analytics · CC0 1.0*